This has been a good week. One thing I have been working on to living well is that of trying to increase my exercising. Being over weight does not help with my many health issues so a while back I had taken out a gym membership. I did this because I live over another person and my treadmill, I have been told, rumbles and even though it is on carpet and a mat the noise for the person downstairs is still quite loud. I try to be considerate of my neighbors and some of my friends feel that I worry to much.

Anyways I wanted to start the year off on a good note as I finally was able to breath again after having a second bout of blood clots going to my lungs. This time it took over seven months so around the end of November first part of December I really started to feel like my old self. I try to go to the gym four to six days a week. I also joined a program where we have to keep a journal of what we eat, how many calories, sat. fat, fiber, protein, and added sugars. This has been a really good window to help see what my eating habits have been and where I need to improve. I do eat what they call as being "really clean". I try not to eat processed foods from a box but aim for fresh fruits and vegetables and if I buy meat I try to find organic, grass fed meat. It is more expensive so I found that if I shop smart and cut the meat portions into three to four ounce serving sizes I can get a few extra meals out of what I have bought. Usually the pieces of chicken breast or other meat is far larger than what we should be eating anyways. I also try to eat organic vegetables and fruit as well.

We have completed seven weeks so far and even though I haven't lost much weight I have lost 9 3/4 inches, lost 3% fat and gained 1 1/2% of muscle. That to me is really good. The weight will follow as I gain more muscle. You need muscle to burn the fat under it.

Sometimes staying motivated can be hard. I try to remind myself that I am doing this for me. I even try to list my reasons such as, having stronger leg and arm muscles for my MS, weight loss for controlling my diabetes so I won't need medication, having more endurance where I can walk farther. (I use to hike some and miss that activity), and exercising to prevent further blood clots. I sometimes will list staying healthy for my kids and to be able to play with my grandchildren when they visit. There are many good reasons to stay motivated. I have roughly 80 lbs to loose so it isn't going to disappear overnight like we all wish it would. So I will be taking you on this journey.

At home exercising can be done. I have a mat, some hand weights, small yoga ball, some stretch bands and a small cycle one that I picked up a department store for about $30.00. It is getting old so I might have to look for one that has more options and other tension settings. These items don't take up much space as I stack my weights with the cycle in a small spot out of the way in the living room. I have only a small area of my living room floor to exercise in as I have a very small apartment but it works. So if I can't get to the gym or if I want to do a little extra I can do it in the comfort of my home. Once nicer weather is here I hope to get out and start walking more. I just loved hearing the robins signing this morning.

That is all for now. May you all have a great week!

Introduction 

Welcome to Journey with Kate and living well. This journey is my own personal story which I hope will encourage and motivate others who live with chronic disease. Sharing this journey is also a good way to keep me motivated in doing all that I can to get myself fit and stay healthy with all of the different chronic diseases that I have to live with. I am not a medical expert so no advice or suggestions to others will be given. Nor do I endorse or have been asked to advertise for any companies that might be mentioned in this blog. I will only mention what I have tried and how it benefited me.

I will be blogging once a week to start with. Look for pages being added to help find information. As of March 23, 2019 this is a new blog and it will take me a little while to get it designed in a way that is easy to locate content.

The following are some topics that the blog will touch on and what you might expect to find on some of the future pages to be added.

I am looking forward to having you read along and share with me in my journey to living well.

Chronic Disease

The following illnesses will be considered at various times in Journey With Kate: Arthritis, asthma, blood clots, degenerative disc disease, diabetes, fatty liver, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis (MS), obesity, sleep apnea and severe dry eyes.

Exercises

Since I have been laid up for the past year and prior to that being already over weight, I will be sharing various exercises. These exercises are to help me with keeping flexible, building core strength to help my back, and strength training for arms and legs so I can stay strong as I can because of having MS. The ultimate goal is to lose weight while getting strong and building endurance.

In the very near future I will be creating pages for exercises. Some will deal with chair exercises, floor exercises, strength training and stretching. This will make it easier to see how I have been progressing. I might even include some helpful photos demonstrating the exercises.

Recipes

Eating healthy has always been very important to me and with multiple health issues I have had to cut out many food items from my diet that are problematic for me. I will share some of my recipes with photos here in my blog and hope to create a page just for recipes for easy access. I have not been asked to recommend any special brands nor have I been asked to advertise any products but I do find that certain ones do make a dish taste better so I will only mention them in a recipe as that is what I personally use. Please feel free to comment with what you perhaps enjoy.

Resources

I am an avid reader and have a small library of books that I personally like and refer back to from time to time. I will be creating a page listing various resources that I found helpful to me and where possible I will add a photograph of the publication. Again, no one has asked me to endorse or advertise for them, these are just what is in my own collection that has proven beneficial for me.

Recommendations are always welcomed in the comment section.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, may you enjoy following me on my journey and may my journey help to inspire and motivate you to go on your own journey to living well despite having chronic disease!