#Fitness Friday - Multiple Sclerosis and Body Image

This week has been a tough one for me. My Multiple Sclerosis has decided to take revenge on my body this week. I had a mild cold I was dealing with and that triggered my Multiple Sclerosis to flare up due to my body's weakened immune system. When that happens I get this horrible pain in my ribs called the MS Hug. When this happens, I feel like somebody kicked me in the ribs. So it has made exercise very difficult this week. I took a couple more rest days than I usually do because of it. This has caused me some mental issues because I feel like I have been failing even though I know it is just my body telling me that it needs rest. I cannot help it but I have had such a great weight loss and I have this fear that if I stop for a few days that I will drop off the wagon and gain it back which is completely ridiculous! One of the best things I ever did for myself was lose the weight like I did. I developed this healthy lifestyle and will not stray from it because it has helped hinder the progression of this disease for me. When I was first diagnosed, I had a horrible body image of myself as it was and then with the diagnosis I had an even worse body image because I thought I had this disease that I couldn't get rid of. There isn't anything to cure it and no real info as what causes it. They only know how to control it. They gave me these injections that caused me to have flu-like symptoms every other day. So now I feel like crap all the time! I gained even more weight and thought that there was no way to get better. So then I decided that I would lose weight. I quit smoking and I lost weight. That was the best decision I ever made. I have read that there are alot of things that can cause flare ups in MS. Exercise and eating healthy are the best ways to control it. There are even diet plans out there to help control MS. It seems so simple but it is pretty difficult to overcome the mental portion of this journey. I still struggle with it. I have to make myself think positive thoughts to get me through some rough times when I feel like I have failed. Here is an article on staying active with MS:  Exercising with MS. This disease causes a myriad of mental issues on top of the ones you already have as well. It causes depression, anxiety, mania, etc. It doesn't effect everyone the same way. It is very common that depression affects people with MS. I have had alot of that in my lifetime, but alot of it has to do with the fact that my family growing up wasn't typical. I have a mother that is pretty destructive mentally to everyone in her life. I let her control me for years and that was detrimental to my self-worth. I didn't think I was ever good enough. I am still trying to overcome that. It took a long time to get over her being destructive to my life. I had to stand up and tell her that I wasn't going to take it. So I am not exactly sure it was the MS that caused my depression or bad self worth. I think that it was the dysfunctional lifestyle I had with the side effect of MS. I think that I have gotten over alot of the body issues I have had since I lost the weight, but that has created different ones for me to now find a way to get over them. I have been more positive and try to focus on being positive on the inside and the outside. I realized that if I was more positive that I felt better. I am still pretty stressed out alot because of money issues and family issues, but it doesn't seem as bad as it would have 4 years ago. So my advice about how to overcome issues with body image is to focus on the positive. It's not the easiest thing but anyone who focuses on the negative all the time, will be unhappy. You cannot be happy if you are focused on what makes you unhappy. Everyone is going to judge you on how you look, but they cannot control how you judge yourself. You cannot allow others to make you feel negative about yourself. You will never meet your personal goals if you let others to bring you down. If I am able to lose weight and control my body image issues with a disease that causes more mental issues as well as body issues that prevent progress sometimes due to attacking the body, then anyone can do it!  

I have said it before and I am saying it again:  I am a Beachbody Coach and I want to help anyone that wants to lose weight. I am starting two groups in March to help people start a fitness journey. One is the 21 Day Fix and P90X3. 

If you are interested in joining me in these challenge groups, I am giving 20% off any challenge pack if you join my challenge group. There is also a special at Beachbody until the end of February. If you sign up as a coach with a challenge pack, they will waive the 39.99 sign up fee. So if you want to help others lose weight like I am doing, you can get awesome discounts on awesome products while helping others. Check out my Beachbody page for more info: www.beachbodycoach.com/fitpersonified.

<3

Angela

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