The Road to Health is Paved with Good Intentions

There was a day about two weeks ago that for whatever reason, I wasn't able to exercise.  As the day wore on, so did the depression.  I was a little surprised how quickly it came and how heavy it was.  In that moment I realized that all my exercising, supplements, and eating healthy were helping keep the depression away, but they weren't healing me.  Sure, I'm mostly happy, but I wouldn't say I'm joyful or light or at peace.  My husband and children deserve a joyful wife and mother.  I deserve to be a joyful wife, mother, and woman.  That's when I decided it was time to seek professional help. This isn't the first time that I've thought about seeing a counselor, but it is the first time I've acted on it.  During my husband's deployment, I was encouraged to see one, but I told myself that I didn't need to, and that I was fine.  I was strong enough to handle my husband being gone, my two small children, and being pregnant.  I was Superwoman

Over a decade ago I belonged to a gym and had a fantastic trainer.  She told me that an exercise routine needs to be switched every 6 weeks because your muscles become used to it and it's no longer a challenge.  To see growth, you have to change.  Tomorrow is the last day of week 6 following the routine I talked about in  Depression and Exercise .  I don't usually exercise on Sundays so I'm reporting today.  I planned on doing a weekly report, but that failed so here's an overall summary of the last 6 weeks. Goals: no more than 20 grams carbs, 112 grams fat, 90 grams protein First column is the exercise program, whether I did physical therapy (indicated with a T), and what weights I used for the arm exercises (half, one, or two pounds). The second, third, and fourth column are carbs, fats, and protein respectively. The last column is for notes.  D means I ate dairy and CP shows I had collagen peptides. Week 1 1/1 - Barre 1 half (this was a carb weekend so I

When I think about it, I started this journey several years ago.  My sister was struggling and after reading " The Hormone Cure " by Sara Gottfried , she met with a hormone specialist.  Although now she doesn't feel she got a lot out of it, she did learn a few things about her body that benefited both of us.  I figured if she wasn't able to absorb certain formulas of vitamins, I probably couldn't either.  I also decided to see an OB/GYN who specialized in hormones.  We talked about what was going on and due to the fact that I was nursing, she kept it simple.  She had my blood work run, and based on the results recommended that I take magnesium*, calcium, iron, and vitamin D.  Through my sister's experience, I added the methylcobalamin form of vitamin B.  I have since learned that some of the formulas I was taking weren't the best.  Turns out buying your vitamins from regular grocery stores isn't the best idea.  They tend to have fillers which limits th