Cowgirl Breakdown

"I'm a cowgirl, baby"  Come on, sing it with me.  You know you want to.  I wish I could say this attitude and singing thing is inspired by great stuff.  It's not.  It's more of a "laugh so you don't cry" kind of thing.  So, I have two doctors who think I'm crazy.  I think someone might have snuck a "hypochondriac" label into my medical charts.  But, one doctor didn't even read my medical charts, I'm pretty sure....maybe the label is some huge, neon-orange sticker at the front.  One of these doctors is the one who I discussed the possibility of my adrenal issues being because of PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome).  According to her, I don't have any of the symptoms of the disease.  Never mind that Shark Weeks are always five weeks apart or the cysts on my ovaries that they've seen by ultrasound or the fibrous breast tissue.  I don't have it.  Onto the second doctor...who thinks my foot pain is all in my head.  She suggested I wear heel cups in my shoes to help with the pain and ice it or soothe it with a heat pack, whichever my little mind decides feels better.  That was her stance until she saw the x-ray, anyway.  Turns out my body has decided to mutate and turn me into a real, live cowgirl.  I've grown a spur.  On my heel.  Sounds kind of cool, right?  Unfortunately, it's incredibly painful.  Here I've been thinking it was just a bit of tendinitis or something.  Nope, my bone has sprouted a spur.  Fun stuff!  I'm trying hard to not let it hold me back.  I've added in yoga, thinking it would be a gentle exercise.  It would probably be, if it didn't irritate the spur and inflame it more.  But, I power through.  I do the elliptical for about 35 minutes.  At some point, that damn spur starts to send me signals.  I choose to drown them out with a steady stream of swear words in my head.  It works for a bit anyway.  That "Cowgirl Breakdown" thingy....that was me the other night, throwing a pity party for myself, crying over all the obstacles that keep being thrown in my path.  I didn't let it last long though.  I decided I just need to change course a bit....

So, what am I doing?  Well, I've been adding in a ton of veggies.  Cutting out the majority of processed carbs that I eat.  Adding in weight-lifting/strength-training exercises.  Eating  ton of salads.  In fact, I've been doing a whole lot of experimenting.  I've started buying mixed spring greens.  It's the basis for most of my meals now.  And then I throw stuff on top of it....a handful of grapes, some small chunks of fresh pineapple, small bits of fresh apples, strawberries, a sweet dressing.  Or...if I want something not-so-sweet...tomatoes, peppers, pepitos (high-protein and high-fiber seeds), avocado, and a vinaigrette.  My weight has bounced back up and I was feeling completely defeated.  I was snacking on naughty things and just wasn't putting any effort into it anymore.  Now, I'm going all-out.  Trying new stuff.  I've cut beef down to a once-a-week thing.  We're using ground turkey instead of ground beef.  I'm cooking with raw chicken, which I just really can't stand, but I'm sucking it up and doing it anyway.  If I happen to go out to eat, I'm making smarter choices....like salads from Chipotle instead of all the amazingly yummy rice.  The salads are pretty fantastic too though!  I'm determined to keep going and making smarter choices.  I've got to keep doing this and keep making those changes that help me improve my health, even if they do suck to make!

Okay, off to go check Lily.  If anyone cares to read...you have no idea how much the comments mean to me!  I could really use a bit of support with this and I need to get back to supporting others in the DOC.  I think it just might be the glue that keeps me together some days!