Hello there,
So this started as a thread on Twitter but was getting so long that it was either going to send people to sleep or make them throw their phones out the window… so here it is Hannah Gets Healthy
Today (Monday 21st June) I had an appointment with my lovely Physiotherapist M (she has a name but that’s what we’ll call her). M is lovely and she’s like chatting to a friend rather than a medical professional who has no time for you or something like that.
I’ve been seeing her since around February. Between my pregnancy with Jaxon and my pregnancy with Rex, I developed an umbilical hernia. I had an ultrasound but was told by my old GP (who was a bit useless but that’s another story!) that at 2.5cm there was nothing to worry about, just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse we’ll do something then. (Between the two pregnancies I moved to the same GP that Chris is with because the level of care at my old GP was rubbish and getting worse)
During my pregnancy with Rex, it was getting worse but mostly written off as just the extra pressure that happens in your abdomen while pregnant. Around November/December I contact my “new” GP via the eConsult system and I got a call back with a discussion about having another ultrasound to see where we were up to now. The eConsult system has become really popular during the lockdown and I really like it because I can put down everything I’ve been thinking about around an issue and it’s there for the doctor – along with photos – when appropriate!
I was sent for an ultrasound just after Christmas, I’m not sure how much my hernia had worsened but I was immediately referred for Physio to work on closing the Diastasis gap around the hernia.
So that was around January/February sort of time and now we’re in June. Following each visit I’d have exercises to go away and do and they have been improving things. Today the Physio talked about further steps and considering going for an appointment with the consultant to ask questions and see if I was a good candidate for surgery.
Back in 2013, before Jaxon, I joined Slimming World, to attempt to loose around 3 stone so that I fit in the “Normal” BMI bracket. Since then I’ve gone on to learn how unreliable the BMI chart is and that it actually does a lot of harm. I’ve also learnt that SW is really not that good for my mental health. To start with I lost 1.5 stone by the time I was 13 weeks pregnant with Jaxon, I then put this back on during my pregnancy and lost it all again following Jaxon’s birthday (when you realise he was almost 10lbs of the 20lbs I put back on you can see where the weight gain came from! Between then and April 2015 I had almost lost the 3 stone but I wasn’t coping very well amongst other things and it was making me miserable. I could have a really good week socialising with friends and actually getting out to different groups but if it was around food, I was “spending all my syns” on cake or hot chocolate or something else yummy but “not good” for me.
We’re now here in 2021 and I asked the question, in both pregnancies and in a health check we had to do as part of fostering, my weight has always come up as an issue. I get the why but sometimes it’s really not approached in the nicest of ways. (Another story for another day!)
I asked the question because I wanted to go prepared. If I could show the Consultant, that since now and my appointment I’ve lost X amount of weight or X amount of inches, it might show me to be the “ideal candidate” kind of thing.
So where do I start? I really don’t want to be going back to a group like SW or WW because they are both as bad as each other and I worry will have a negative impact on my mental health. I’ve been trying to do more Ring Fit Adventure but with commitments to my small business and looking after the boys it can feel like there isn’t time for it. I think the biggest thing is trying to make better food choices but some days it’s easier to get a burst of sugary energy by eating chocolate than it is to pick up a piece of fruit. It’s “nicer” to drink a can of cola than it is a glass of water. (I’ve also drank 750ml of water since dinner so could be up all night needing the loo…)
Then I think about how I feel when I see videos and photos of me. Today I posted a Reel on IG of me dancing around the kitchen, I nearly took it down again because to me I don’t always look like how I think I look in my head. I know I’m overweight but when I think of myself it’s a just a little here and a little there and nothing to necessarily worry about. But then I try to find clothes that fit me and find I’m getting closer and closer to the end of the size chart or having to shop in different shops because things don’t fit me any more. Today’s t-shirt has been worn so many times there’s no size number on the label any more but I think it’s a 20 or 22. My jumper is a 2XL – I bought it when I was about 15 weeks pregnant with Rex, it was a bit on the baggy side then, now it’s kind of snug in places… My trousers are a size 18 (they do keep falling down though so that’s a benefit but I’m sure if I went to try and buy the same size in the same style they wouldn’t fit and I’d need bigger).
Anyway, I guess I’m just spewing my thoughts out here and trying to process what’s going on in my head. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’d rather not do fad diets but happy to try things. I am still breastfeeding but not exclusively as Rex is now 10.5 months and so often only having milk in the night, first thing or before naps. (And even some of them I’m not sure how long they will last).
I’ve been reading a bit about Keto Diet and Intermittent Fasting but how do you know if it’s a fad or it’s worth the effort – especially when you’re juggling cooking for kids too?
