The Lupus Lifestyle

Lifestyle Tips for Thriving with Lupus

exercise

Appreciating how far I’ve come

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I was feeling down about myself and my progress today.  

For the past few months, ever since my triathlon, I’ve been focusing on strength training.  I’ve been working on lifting heavy weights and eating more than I normally would to build muscle (I’ll share the method I’ve been using as well as before and after pictures soon).  I have definitely noticed an increase in the amount of weight I can lift and some definition in my arms and legs. I felt like my fitness was at an all-time high. Then today happened…

I decided to take advantage of some of the classes at my gym.  I’ve never done Zumba but it sounded like fun…I am terrible at it!  I grew up not dancing so my rhythm and ability to pick up steps are severely lacking.  I felt like I spent most of the class just trying to figure out which foot should be up and which should be down.  But I worked up a sweat.

After Zumba was a BodyPump class that utilized low weights and high repetitions to tone the body.  There were several older women who had attended Zumba and were staying for the second class. I thought surely I could keep up with them so I stayed for the second class. As they gathered their weights, I thought “I’ve been lifting, I should be getting heavier weights than them.” These women were deceptively strong.  I was disappointed in my inability to keep up with the class.

I left feeling like I had a good workout but disappointed with my progress.  My body has not changed as much as I want it to, cardio wise I don’t have good stamina, my weight is more than I’d like, I haven’t perfected my diet, I’ve missed days with my smoothies, I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing in the weight room or in the gym in general.

Then I realized I’m holding myself to an unrealistic standard and I’m focusing on the wrong endpoints.  A few short years ago I was so fatigued that I could barely function, much less exercise. I fell asleep the moment I stopped moving, I had joint pain that kept me from texting or petting my dog, I couldn’t cook for myself, etc.

Now I work out 5-6 times per week for at least an hour, I cook (most days), I can sit and read without falling asleep, I play with my dog, I dance around the house as I clean.  I feel great and that is something to celebrate. I will never stop working to better myself and work towards fitness and health goals but I need to recognize and be grateful for how far I’ve come.  

Once I received my lupus diagnosis, I changed my diet to a whole-food, plant-based, vegan, gluten-free diet.  It sounds extreme, I know. But I looked back at this list of things that had improved after I changed my diet and the results are extreme and totally worth the improvement in my nutrition.  I have only improved in the past several months and feel better than I have in years! I am not perfect but that is part of the journey, and it is worth it, friends and I need to remember to celebrate that!

This is the list I made when I first changed my diet 2 years ago.

Since starting this diet:

  • I don’t sit/sleep in my car once I get home
  • I go on walks
  • I’m not dependent on coffee
  • I don’t fall asleep driving
  • I don’t fall asleep in meetings
  • I don’t fall asleep in waiting rooms
  • I think more clearly
  • I’m not dizzy
  • It’s not a struggle to listen to someone
  • I haven’t had anxiety attacks
  • I haven’t felt depressed
  • I’ve lost weight
  • I sleep better
  • I haven’t had issues with allergies and haven’t needed to take allergy medication
  • My rosacea is better
  • I can focus better
  • I can remember things better
  • I’ve been more adventurous and willing to go out and do things
  • I clean the kitchen
  • I have the energy to cook
  • I make smoothies in the mornings
  • I can use whatever finger I’d like to turn off my alarm in the morning
  • It doesn’t hurt to text
  • I don’t have headaches nearly as often
  • I don’t have chest pain nearly as often
  • My joint pain is much much less
  • My nails are growing faster
  • BMs are easier
  • I can pet my dog in the mornings without pain
  • Not taking Aleve every day
  • I have hope that things can get better.

Don’t take ________ for granted

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I did a triathlon today!


I enjoyed doing the race with my friends Lauren M, Lauren P, and at the last minute
my brother, Casey!

One year ago I did my first sprint triathlon and it was in part to prove to myself that I could do it, lupus or not.  That was almost two years after my diagnosis. It was something I never could have imagined doing when I was at the height of my symptoms.  As I look back it was a milestone, a “take that lupus!” moment.

One year and a lot of lifestyle changes later, I finished my second sprint triathlon but this time my motivation was different: I did it for my sister.

I’ve always known that exercise was an important part of my self-care for lupus.  It helps with mood, joint pain and stiffness, constipation, circulation, weight, etc.  But knowing something is good for you doesn’t make it magically easy to do. I struggle to get myself to exercise especially when I’m having a flare or am fatigued.  I convince myself that I need sleep more than exercise (which is probably true sometimes but not as often as I say it). But recently I have recently gained a new motivation for exercising.

As I’ve written before, my sister sustained a spinal cord injury which has left her paralyzed from the waist down.  She gave me a new perspective on exercise and movement in general: don’t take it for granted. “Don’t take walking for granted.”  “Don’t take being able to use the stairs for granted.” “Don’t take the ability to get up off the couch for granted.”

I never thought to be thankful that I could run…but I am.  Sometimes I feel odd doing all this exercise (running, swimming, cycling, yoga) when she can’t do any of it at this point.  But my sister is a huge advocate for me getting enough exercise because she knows it’s good for me and because I can, and that’s not something to take for granted.  

So today, be thankful for the movement you do have.  Take the stairs, park a little further away from the store, walk around for 5 minutes during lunch, play with your dog, do some yoga or chair exercises, whatever it is that gets you moving and don’t take the ability to do that thing for granted. 🙂


  • Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture with my sister but it was great having her, her husband ,
    and my sister-in-law there to cheer us on!

P.S. I’ve made a lot of lifestyle changes in the past year and my race time, weight, and difference expressions in the pictures from one triathlon to the next show it. I’ll be writing more about the changes I made soon!