Why it's worth it...

Today while enduring my first day of trying to eat a strict Paleo diet, I  had to dig deep to find the motivation to continue, even after just one meal. My favorite meal is a bowl of cereal, any kind, any time of the day or night, and not waking up to that very thing this morning was already a downer. As I may have mentioned before, I am the suckiest at dieting, mainly because I don't even realize that I'll be nursing a sweet tea all day or that I might pop 20 starbursts into my mouth during a single hour. But this diet is different- this diet may save my life.

I was looking back through some pictures today and saw a few of me when I was on my longest round of prednisone, a few years back. 

(15 pounds up)

Compared to my normal size

If you don't know much about steroids, let me just tell you- you want to make sure that the benefits outweigh the consequences. 

Steroids commonly cause:

Excessive hunger/thirst

Chronic trouble sleeping

Nervousness

Rapid Heartbeat

Mood Changes

Abnormal Weight Distribution

Excessive Hairiness

(just to name a few, and I've experienced all of these)

You start to think you might be going crazy, or wondering if a certain ache or issue is your condition worsening, or a side effect of the drugs. Often times, folks with my disease end up on a cocktail of 3 or 4 different drugs, all with the ability to confuse your symptoms and give you even bigger issues, then you take more drugs and supplements to counteract the negative effects.  It's a never ending cycle.

Currently, I'm only able to take one specific steroid and only for short time due to the fact that I'm breastfeeding, so my doctors have big plans for me once I wean my son. 

And that brings us back to why this diet matters. I don't want to be a guinea pig on a bunch of drugs. I don't want moon face and hair on my chin and "roid rage". I just want the simplicity of a life apart from disease.

Here's to a great day 2!