Fixing my health for more than just me

There are many reasons why health is important to me.  One of them is I want to feel and perform my best so that I can be the best possible version of myself.  Another big reason my own health is important to me is because I want to be healthy for my family, specifically for when I want to have a baby.  Being recently married, kids is a fairly common topic of discussion.  When do we want to have them, how many, etc.  I decided that 2018 was going to be the year of health so that I could make sure my body is on track for myself and for carrying my future children. 

I don’t think this is a topic that is discussed very often.  You see and read all the time about people’s personal wellness journeys, but I want to go deeper.  I am devoted to health and wellness for more than just myself.  One of my main motivations for going to see a functional medicine doctor and figuring out what I needed to work on was to ensure that I am in the best health to start a family.  I knew my hormones were out of whack so I definitely wanted that tested out and I knew my energy was too low to support a growing life. 

Finding out there were so many areas of my health that I needed to work on really threw me initially.  I was disappointed in myself to learn that these “healthy” habits I had formed actually had caused me harm.  I was pretty down about this for a while but decided I needed to change that energy and focus on healing.  Right away I started taking steps towards getting myself back to where I should be.

Since it came back that my hormones were unbalanced (high estrogen and SUPER low progesterone), I made the decision with Derek to remove the IUD hormonal birth control I had been using.  Since the IUD gives off hormones, it was causing my body to stop making ones on its own.  Balanced hormones are extremely important when trying to get pregnant.  I wanted to give my body all the time it needed to readjust and not have to worry that we would have problems in the future when we were ready to get our family growing.  I have already felt significant changes since going off hormonal birth control.

Through extensive blood work, I learned that my low energy levels were from severe adrenal fatigue.  Basically, from extra stress and over working out, I pushed my adrenals past their limits and I was feeling the consequences.  Since then, I have drastically changed my workout schedule and have implemented new techniques to lower stress.  I am working on being way more intuitive with my body and what it needs.  If I have a class scheduled but I wake up feeling tired, I know have no problem skipping and doing a slow walk instead.  I started taking baths at night to relax and also meditate daily. 

Just as important as it is to be healthy for me, it is also that important to be healthy for my family.  I have thought about being a mom since I was a little girl, it is going to be one of my greatest achievements.  I want to make sure that I am giving everything I possibly can.  If I am running on fumes, I am not going to be able to be my best.  This way at looking at my health has made it easier for me to slow down.  Since there is more at stake than just me, it gives me an extra reason to pause, rest, and listen to my body.