When you have lipedema, there can be a lot to manage.
Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Move your body. Wear compression. Support lymphatic flow. Get enough water. Sleep well. Manage hormones. Consider herbs and supplements.
It can become a full-time job just trying to figure out how to take care of yourself!
I know because I live with lipedema too.
I’ve written quite a bit about my own experience with lipedema and what I have learned both personally and professionally as a Clinical Herbalist and Health & Life Coach. I’ve talked about my personal lipedema story and natural healing journey, my clinical herbalist’s perspective on lipedema, food and nutrition for lipedema, lifestyle strategies that support lipedema, and the important connection between hormones and lipedema.
How do you actually put all of this into practice without becoming overwhelmed?
There are many things we can do to support this condition, which is great news!
Research and clinical experience increasingly point to lipedema being much more complex than simply having excess fat. Lipedema tissue can involve connective tissue changes, fibrosis, inflammation, vascular dysfunction, and fluid dynamics.
That gives us many different areas we can support.
But having 15 things that might help does not mean you need to start 15 things Monday morning.
Instead, you can ask: What does my body need most right now?
Lipedema and Stress: The Piece We Don’t Talk About Enough
Your Body Experiences Many Kinds of Stress
When we hear “stress,” we often think about emotional stress, worry, work, relationships, finances, or difficult circumstances. But our bodies can also experience physical stress.
Not sleeping enough is stress. Undereating can be stress. Over-exercising can be stress. Pain is stress. Illness is stress. Constantly worrying about symptoms is stress. And trying to do all the things for lipedema can become its own source of stress.
Stress does not cause every case of lipedema, and lipedema is certainly not “all in your head.” It is a real connective-tissue and adipose-tissue disorder. But chronic stress can affect systems that matter when we are trying to live well with lipedema, including sleep, pain perception, inflammation, eating behaviors, digestion, blood sugar regulation, and our ability to care for ourselves.
That makes stress support an important part of the bigger picture.
When Lipedema Itself Becomes the Stressor
This is one reason I incorporate limbic system and nervous system work into my coaching and herbal care.
I teach how to recognize when the brain and body are repeatedly moving into a stress response and practice responding differently.
Sometimes that means breathing exercises. Sometimes it means changing the way we talk to ourselves about our bodies. It can mean gratitude, prayer, better boundaries, prioritizing sleep, learning to rest without guilt, or gradually becoming less fearful of foods, movement, medical appointments, or symptoms.
For me, as a Christian Health coach, it also means continually bringing our thoughts back to Christ rather than allowing fear about our health to dominate our days.
Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
You Don’t Need Another List of Things to Perfect
Supporting yourself doesn’t mean doing everything perfectly.
It means learning what your body needs most right now, establishing a few foundations, and building from there.
That is a major reason I created Living Well With Lipedema. Rather than handing you another enormous list of recommendations, we work through the pieces gradually while I teach what lipedema is, why all the things support you, and teaching you what actually works for you.
Living well with lipedema isn’t only about changing your legs, it’s also about being able to live your life well while caring for them.
Want to Join Me?
Living Well With Lipedema is my 12-week coaching program designed to help women understand lipedema and gradually put the nutrition, lifestyle, herbal, lymphatic, and mindset pieces together.
You’ll receive educational material to work through between sessions, live coaching and Q&A, community support, and guidance for creating a routine that fits your body and your life.
A roadmap for what to do with all the information.
The program starts September 26, but you can register now. The first live coaching session is Oct 5th.
I’d LOVE to see you there and support you on your journey.
Some Notes From My Clients:
“Working with this coaching program gave me the exact tools I needed to finally get myself moving in the right direction. Everything was laid out step by step in a way that fit my personality, which made it easy to know exactly what to do. I also appreciated how the program helped me reframe my thinking, shifting from a negative to a healthier mindset. I’ve not only improved my health, but I’ve also learned tools that I can carry with me for the long term.”
“I am doing well! I’ve got my younger sister taking care of lipedema now. She went to a specialist and got it confirmed. My sister shared the things I had taught her and the doctor was pleased, adding in some other physical things specifically geared towards my sister. But most of the supplements she recommended were the things you have me taking. She said she hadn’t researched much about the herbs (which didn’t surprise me) but told my sister they can’t hurt. So thank you for all the help!”
“I was able to go to the fair in the heat and spend the whole day there with out my feet and legs hurting! It was great! Last year it so hard and I was so exhausted!”
“My digestion has improved a lot, bowel movements are better, feeling less bloated, have more energy, pain in my body is gone”
“Every time I stop taking the herbs for my legs, the pain comes back! I don’t know why I stop!”
