Today, I took the pillow off the couch. Not a pretty couch cushion, but a bed pillow.
I’ve had a lot of couch days over the past few years. Days where I hurt all over and felt awful and had zero energy.
Days where I woke up on the couch because moving to the bed had just been too much.
Days where I’d look around the house and see ten things that needed attention, knowing I only had energy for maybe one.
Days where I waited for the ibuprofen to kick in so I could get up.
Days where I managed to get a few things done — but then needed two couch days to recover.
Days where I thought about what my life used to be like.
Days, weeks, years in survival mode.
So frustrating. Because there’s so much I wanted to do. Normal everyday things like:
- clean the house
- mow the yard
- shopping/errands
- play with my grandkids
- make art/teach art
- finish some projects
- time with friends/family
- go for a walk
Most days my body just wouldn’t let me. And if I did even one of those things, I’d pay for it with recovery time afterwards. Back on the couch again.
But today – I carried that pillow down the hall and placed it on my bed where it belongs.
Just eight days after making some tweaks I’m already starting to feel so much better. Still have a long way to go. But it’s a start.
Don’t despise these small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10)
Last week I got a huge wake-up call from my lab results and a recent CT scan.
A1c, cholesterol, triglycerides… none of it was good. And the CT scan revealed a moderately fatty liver.
My blood sugar was 177 that day at the doctor’s office and I was feeling pretty rough.
No wonder I’d had so many couch days.
Eyes now open, I started asking myself what I could do to turn things around.
So for the past week, I’ve been reading and watching and chatting and learning about insulin resistance and diabetes and fatty liver.
I’ve begun to pay attention and make some changes. Nothing drastic — just swaps I can live with, pairings that work better for my body, and adjusting the timing of meals, meds, and movement.
And even just eight days out, I’ve noticed that I don’t reach for that third cup of coffee. I haven’t needed a Tums. And today I took that pillow off the couch.
I don’t have this figured out yet but I’m aiming for steady energy and steady days. And I’ll be sharing what I learn along the way. And I promise to keep it real.