What Does Progress Look Like with Lipedema?

What does progress look like? Sometimes that is hard to see, and sometimes it is hard to remember where we started from.

For me, I started my current job in July 2012, and I feared being able to keep it, due to the physicality of it.

It is primarily a desk job, but I park up to five blocks away, and have a lot of stairs (inside and outside) before I can reach my desk.

At the time I started, and even though I was doing aqua aerobics twice a week, I was in a lot of pain to walk any distance, just standing was incredibly painful.

When going down stairs I would turn around and take the stairs backwards (facing the steps), because the backs of my lower legs would hit each step if I tried going down the normal way. Let me tell you, it really hurts when you catch your leg on the step, but it also scared me that it might cause me to fall down the flight of stairs because I would try to step differently to avoid hitting my leg.

When I began training in March of 2013 it really helped me get my core stronger, and increased my strength overall, and improved my mobility. AND helped me with my physical responsibilities at work.

So while I look almost exactly the same as I did when I started this job seven years ago, I know how different I truly am. I try to remember the beginning, where I started, and be mindful and generous with myself on those days when the walk back to the car seems extra challenging.

These are my after pictures, and I feel truly blessed.