Does Your Weight Hold You Hostage?
Weight fluctuation is common in Lipedema, but it shouldn't be seen as a failure.
Before I knew I had Lipedema, I constantly weighed myself.
I was obsessed.
I’d step on the scale in the morning and make a note if the number was higher or lower than the previous morning. In the evening, I’d step again on the scale and usually find a weight gain of anywhere between 4 and 10 lbs. Then I’d beat myself up, convinced it was because of my eating habits that day, or baffled because I’d hardly eaten anything yet still I was heavier.
I’m sure some of you can relate.
Now that I know I have Lipedema, it’s obvious to me that my weight fluctuation wasn’t because of anything I did wrong. My sluggish lymphatic system retains fluid, and depending on so many factors, I can have a little or a lot of swelling, which, of course, increases my weight.
Even now, after my liposuction surgeries, my weight still fluctuates throughout the day, or even days and weeks. I have chronic ankle swelling, especially a spot on my inner left ankle that causes a lot of pain. It’s manageable now, more so than before my surgeries, but I still have issues.
On my recent trip to FDRS, I watched a speech by Crystal Billings, also known as Lady Lipedema. Her Lipedema journey has taken her through surgery, and she is now working to compete in an Ironman triathlon. She put out a recent Facebook post about her fluctuating weight over the past week, with a difference of ten pounds.
Her emphasis was that if you feel swollen, get a lymphatic massage and get the fluid moving through your body! If you don’t have the money for a massage (Lipedema is expensive), then learn how to DIY it, and give yourself a really good self-MLD massage.
In Lady Lipedema’s post, she emphasizes that the number on the scale isn’t just fat. It’s also bones, muscles, organs, and fluid. If you’re weight increases or you feel swollen, the scale can reflect that extra fluid. That isn’t a failure. Instead, use this information of that increased number to take care of your body.
I’ve written about weight loss and fluctuation in a previous post, and how it’s more important to manage inflammation than to put yourself on a restrictive diet.
Even though we’ve been conditioned our entire lives to look at the scale and think about our body and how much it weighs (and equate it to something we did wrong), this type of thinking doesn’t apply to us. It’s important to shift our mindset and keep our body as healthy as possible with an effective conservative regimen we’ve adapted for ourselves.
Lady Lipedema’s best message was this:
“NEVER define your self-worth by these digits on the scale. It doesn’t tell the entire story, only a chapter of the book.” ~Crystal Billings, Lady Lipedema
This week I have to skip my Q&A because I’m working and getting ready for a short vacation with a long-time friend I haven’t seen in a few years. I will resume my Wednesday Zoom Q&A next week!
Have a wonderful week,
Michelle