A CHIC CHICK JOURNEY…FROM ORDINARY TO LEGENDARY..

I have an autoimmune condition. Triggered by chronic inflammation. For 20 years, I have managed a progressive condition that eventually, took my natural eyesight away. But this post is not about how I lost my vision, and got it back. This post is about weight gain, and my immune system.

I am not a doctor of any kind. I can only tell you how my immune system affected my weight. How, the medications prescribed to control my immune responses create far worse problems including more weight gain.

I have always gone up and down in weight. From extreme highs to sickly lows. Each time, I did not do anything mentally willfull to gain or lose the weight.What I learned about my condition is I lost weight rapidly, when I was flaring. A flare for me is when my immune system is activity battling an irritant. My immune system over responses and wraps that irritant in fibrous tissue (tumors). I found out later that I have chronic inflammatory responses disorder to environmental irritation . So when my body was in flare. I became weaker. My baby went into preservation mode. I unknowingly ate less to conserve energy. My body consumed itself and fed on the bad cells first. When, my body finished canabalizing itself. I was back in balance. The outside irritated now wrapped in a tumor. Weak damaged cells gone. This is the sick mode. NOW, my body has healed itself. Now repeat that cycle over a period of 20 years. You have what doctors will call a chronic autoimmune condition. And a lot of damage to the organ that offended the immune system the most. for me it is my eyes. For some it can be the lungs or heart. My condition is called sarcoidosis.

When I am not in sick mode. My weight rebounds to what my body maintains as abundance. Because, I just starved myself. My body’s responses is feast. To restore the lost fat and more. Just in case we have another famine. This is the bodies evolutionary response to starvation. This would happen regardless of why I starved. My body only knows I starved. So, how do I get off the merry-go-round? The medication I need to control the flares, make me gain weight as well. Most of it is water weight, but over time real pounds from feast mode becomes apart of the problem.

I am going to make it simple. If you have a chronic autoimmune condition like Lupus, or Sarcoid. You not only need to manage the flares, but your weight. It no longer about looking good. But to feel good enough to get out of the bed everyday. First, you have to exercise everyday. Exercise, promotes a healthy immune response to pain and relieves fluid retention. Exercise helps the lymphatic system do it’s job of moving fluid and toxins out of the body. So figure out your exercise language and speak it to yourself, everyday. For me it is yoga and pilates. I tried HIT it was not my exercise language. The message, I received was I had to be intense about working out. The message my body transmitted was under weight and unhealthy. Listen to your body. Yoga and Pilates is my exercise language, because the message I receive is be focus, be consistent, be mindful of your body. Pilate gives me the message to be strong, be balanced, be graceful in my movement. I also do infra saunas to help relieve fluid buildup and pain.

Your immune system has everything to do with your weight. Your immune system is located in your GUT!!!! How much more connected can they be? So if you are dealing with a autoimmune condition and you are not on a anti-inflammatory meal plan. well, you just want to be in pain. I use The Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Action Plans by Dorothy Calimeris & Sondi Bruner. I love all things inflammatory. I, am a work in progress. But when I eat according to my meal plan. Then I slip and dip into the bad for me foods. Boy, do I pay for it. I flare the next day. I feel like I drank a bottle of vodka the next morning. My skin looks dull, and I swear I’ve aged 10 years. It’s horrible. But when I am good. My skin glows, my nails grow, my eyes are clearer. No pre-menstrual pain and no flares. The benefits of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle has also helped me get off the immunosuppressant meds that are the devil’s brew. Trust me you don’t want them.

Take charge of your immune health and don’t die from what is preventable. Your over active immune responses can be control. You can get off steroids and immunosuppressant. Your doctor does not want you to be sick. They just can’t make you eat right and exercise. So, they give you pills to keep you alive while you slowly kill yourself. Remember, you went to the doctor. The doctor didn’t make an appointment to see you. Take Charge Of Your Health!!!