What I've Been Doing

I decided to write what I've been doing as a separate post from the essay. I started a journal with my food, weight, and whether I take my calcium and vitamins. I'm thinking that if I can see what my normal eating pattern is, it will be easier to figure out how to adjust it.

I'm not sure my diagnosis is correct, because no health insurance means you don't go to the doctor for minor things like random cramping in the muscles in the front of your legs. I've eliminated shin splints from the mix because not walking didn't help. By process of elimination, I've pretty much figured it's a circulation issue, probably related to varicose veins. Super-support hose helps, but the best ones only go up to one size smaller than I am.

That tells me two things. First, losing weight will help my circulation in general. Second, losing weight means I can fit into Sheer Energy or J.C. Penney's super support hose. They're expensive, but they work. I hate spending money on hose that really don't do the job. But not wearing any support hose seems to be worse than wearing inadequate support. I hate pantyhose, but not as much as I hate being in pain.

My next thing is to find a way to exercise without exacerbating the leg pain. I think I'm going to have to find out how to use the treadmills or elliptical machines in the fitness room. My walk is too much on hard sidewalks. I'm going to miss my Peet's coffee, though. I was walking to Peet's, getting a cup of black coffee, and walking home. Three miles total. We don't live close to a track anymore, which is frustrating because I enjoyed walking outside on the track the best. I don't really want to do the gym because I'd rather be outside, but I feel like I have no choice, at least not until I lose enough weight to wear the smaller, better support hose. I'm hoping that with good support hose, I'll be able to walk outdoors again.