This post was originally published on April 2, 2018 and republished on April 26, 2021.

Endometriosis Awareness Month may be over, but I’m just getting started with My Endo Action Plan!

Over the last two weeks here at CWC we’ve been talking nutrition and it’s impact on healing endometriosis naturally.

Today, we’re tackling some other aspects of My Endo Action Plan…because there is a whole lot more to healing than just nutrition.

I know I’ve mentioned before how much I like to have a plan. It is important for me to take action, to have a game plan and to give myself a goal to work toward.

So while I am placing a whole lot of faith in God to bring me complete healing from endometriosis and fulfill the desires of my heart to become a mama someday soon; I’m going to do what I can in the meantime.

Hence, My Endo Action Plan. With the help of the resources I shared with you before, I’ve developed a four-prong approach to attack my endometriosis holistically, while still seeking conventional medical treatment and praying for healing daily.

My Endo Action Plan focuses on nutrition, fitness and taking care of my body, strengthening my faith for the journey, and continuing to build up my marriage.

Last week I shared with you my take on avoiding inflammation-causing foods such as gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, and caffeine. I really believe that whole, real, unprocessed foods can be incredibly healing.

Today, we talk fitness, faith, and marriage.

Now, when I say fitness, I don’t mean exercise or calorie counting. I simply mean self-care: taking care of my body and doing my best to meet its physical needs. For me, this has nothing to do with the number on a scale.

Instead, I’m focusing on things like sleep, stress relief, reducing toxins, and movement that makes me feel refreshed and rejuvenated. Here are some examples of what I’m doing on a regular basis to improve these areas of my fitness.

Sleep

I am super protective of my sleep. I start shutting down for the night almost immediately after dinner, which for Wildland Man and I is usually around 6:30 or 7:00pm. We go to bed close to 9:00pm most nights and get up pretty early and I need time to wind down before jumping into bed. This usually involves a shower followed by lavender nighttime lotion, changing into my comfiest PJs, and snuggling up on the couch with Wildland Man for the evening. I get a full night’s rest of solid sleep most nights and I try to stay consistent with our sleep schedule on the weekends, too. If I don’t feel like I had quality sleep, I will prioritize a short nap the next day if needed. Like I said, I’m super protective of my sleep.

Stress Relief

I tend to struggle when it comes to managing stress. I’ve come a long way in this area, but I’ll admit, it is not without great effort. I do not naturally respond to stress by relaxing; I tend to get anxious and keep that energy pent up inside me. So it is important to me, and for my health and healing, to make a conscience effort to reduce stress at the end of the day. I’ve fallen in love with essential oils for aromatherapy, bath salts, and roll-on concoctions. I’ve also incorporated a short yoga or meditative breathing session after long days of working on the blog.

Reducing Toxins

Because my body is full of inflammation from endometriosis, one of the primary shifts I’m learning to make is to reduce my toxic load. The more toxins my body is dealing with, the harder my body is working, and the more significant stress and inflammation response it has. So, if I can remove inflammatory foods and reduce the crud it is exposed to on a daily basis, I’m just setting my body up for more success in healing.

Now, I’ll be honest, this shift, trying to reduce my body’s toxic load, has been difficult. Once you start digging into toxin exposure you can get overwhelmed so very quickly. I had to forcibly take a step back and just start making small shifts like switching out most of the products I use for cleaning and beauty, using glass instead of plastic, and taking Epsom salt baths and dry brushing more regularly.  I still have a long way to go when it comes to living a more natural lifestyle, but I’m making progress, and any progress I make is better than it was before, which in turn is lowering my toxic burden.

Movement

When it comes to movement, it is important for me to move in ways that make me feel revitalized, not sluggish. I am very deliberate about not overdoing it because I don’t want my body to be under extra stress from working out too hard while it is trying to heal itself. My typical movement is a couple of walks a day, thanks to Lune, the newest canine member of the Country Home. We usually take a pretty hard walk in the morning, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at a pretty quick clip. Lune also does well with a short walk after dinner, but this one is usually with Wildland Man at a leisurely pace for about 15-20 minutes. Other than yoga at the end of a long day, walking is really all I’m doing for exercise. No running or race training, just enjoyable, mind-clearing walking with Lune and Wildland Man.

However, I am considering adding in some lifting after I’m fully recovered from my latest surgery. I’m just at a place where I’m feeling a bit weak in my core and major muscle groups. But again, this won’t be hardcore Olympic lifting or CrossFit. It will probably be a relatively short weight lifting program just 2-3 days a week.

I have had a past history of overdoing it when it comes to exercise so I have to be extremely careful to not fall into old habits. That is why I’m so particular about how I’m moving my body these days. I want to move, to get my blood flowing, to get oxygen moving throughout my muscles, and to sweat out more of those toxins, but I am careful to not push it so hard that my body sees it as overly stressful and responds to that stress over dealing with the inflammation in my pelvic cavity.

I should mention, this means I don’t workout every single day. Typically I will walk hard on weekday mornings when Wildland Man is at work and leave the weekends for rest and relaxation. If I’m overly tired or not feeling well, I may just walk light for 10 minutes with Lune and call it a day. If my body is telling me it can’t handle that much, I don’t push it to do more. And this is a pretty big revelation for a former athlete who was trained to push through the pain. Listening to my body is still a pretty new concept for me.

Strengthening My Faith

I honestly don’t know how I’d make it through this journey without my faith as my foundation. It grounds me, it reminds me of the greater purpose I have in Him, and it keeps me looking up when it would be so easy to look down.

I’ve always been pretty good at making my faith a priority, but post-endo diagnosis I just grabbed on tighter. I know I need Jesus in my life. I know I need to strengthen my resolve and relationship with Him so that when all the walls come down and I find myself in my lowest moments, I don’t have to search. I know He’s there, my faith clings me to Him, even in my times of unbelief.

On a day-to-day basis, strengthening my faith usually consists of devotional quiet time in the morning, followed by listening to my favorite Christian podcasts on my morning walks with Lune, and then deep, meditative prayer most afternoons. I just recently started a meditation practice and it has been incredibly healing for me. I’m walking through very real emotions, like fear, anger, and sadness and learning to acknowledge them without letting them take over. I also have found that this meditation and deep breathing sets me up for a deeper prayer experience. It really clears my head and opens my heart for connection with the Holy Spirit.

Building Up My Marriage

You know I’m passionate about intentional marriage. And while it would be so easy for me to put my marriage on hold while I deal with the emotions of endometriosis and my struggle with infertility, it is the last thing I want to do. Because I need Wildland Man in my corner. And I need him to feel loved when I’m struggling to show it.

I don’t want to become so self-focused on my healing that my marriage suffers. And, to me, a strong marriage founded in faith is a major part of my healing. Strengthening my personal relationship with Christ, followed by strengthening my relationship with Wildland Man are my two highest priorities in this life, no matter what season I’m in or what valley I may be walking through.

So, I will continue to make a daily effort in my marriage, even during the hard times.

My Endo Action Plan, my healing from endometriosis, is not a quick-fix solution. This is a long-term commitment. It is more than a 30-day diet or workout regimen. It is a true lifestyle shift.

And this fact can be a bit daunting at times. There is no silver bullet here. These are changes I’m making for life, for the improvement of my health, for the healing from endometriosis, and for the ability to conceive our own child.

Whenever I feel a bit overwhelmed by all these changes I’m working through, I tell myself it is all just a part of my 5-year plan. The way I see it, telling myself it is a 5-year plan tricks me into thinking there is an end in sight. The reality is, if I make these changes last for 5 years I don’t see myself falling back into old habits. By then this lifestyle will be the norm.

If you haven’t yet, please consider reading the previous posts in this Endo Awareness Series. And even though March has come and gone, continue to spread the word on endometriosis. You never know when you might be helping someone get an earlier diagnosis.

[UPDATE]

Country Wife Chronicles is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

I wanted to share something special with you, dear readers. I want to invite you into my personal story with endometriosis and infertility via a new and upcoming book, (In)Fertility: Secrets, Struggles, & Successes.

This book is a collaboration of several authors–both fertility specialists and women like me sharing their personal experience with infertility. I was able to share my story from my viewpoint with a single chapter in (In)Fertility, much like I have here on Country Wife Chronicles, but in an all-inclusive way that I haven’t done before.

This story represents my path to Intentional Fertility, it is me inviting you into the fold to really understand what infertility feels like and what, if anything, you can do about it if you are faced with that difficult diagnosis as well.

Infertility takes its toll on you, mentally, physically and emotionally. This book is about solidarity from those that “get it,” but it is also about so much more. This book shares a confidence to advocate for yourself, reminding you of your strength. Reminding you that even when the journey gets hard, you can do this. You can play an active role in your infertility story.

Be sure to sign up for CWC’s email newsletter to be the first to hear of the book’s release–in both digital and print form. I think you’ll glean so much from the neighborhood of women authors sharing personal stories and professional insights and I would be honored if you to chose to purchase a copy for yourself or someone you know that may be facing their own journey through the infertility valley. 

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Be Still & Know…

DISCLAIMER: While I make every effort to share current and correct information here on Country Wife Chronicles, I am not an expert on endometriosis and I am still learning. I am simply sharing my story and the resources I’ve found to be helpful in this journey I am on. I welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors. In reading this blog, you agree to not use this material as medical advice to treat any condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be experiencing.