Is anyone on Tumblr?
I have a Disney blog and would love more followers

My blog on Tumblr isn't Disney but fitness.

http://frostgetsfit.tumblr.com/

Hi Everyone!
I'm Jamie, 48, from NC and I am also a Disney Addict!
I am SO excited that there are fellow DAs here that I can connect with. I'm going to be honest and say that I'm not a huge fan of the MFP community overall. There seems to be a lot of judgment and "you have to do it THIS way" kind of people out there and that drives me crazy. We are all individuals and what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. I think we all have to find the thing that clicks for us. I've been a member here for a long time, but after being told off 10 or 11 times, I just set myself to private and used the site to log my food only if I wasn't tracking it in a notebook. Off my soapbox, but I'll say that I've found this group to be great on Facebook and I'm glad to be part of an encouraging place.
Brief past: I lost abut 170 pounds over 10 years ago and have been in maintenance since April 2003. I did it on my own. Portion control & lots of exercise. I didn't want to give anything up that I loved - just wanted to learn to eat in moderation. Once I completed my goal, I went back to two things I loved when I was younger: dance (tap & jazz) and running. I maintained between 120-125 pounds for years with little trouble.
What happened to me: Starting in Feb of 2012, I started having really weird things happen with my weight. For example, I might gain 20 pounds in one day and then lose 14 the next , then lose 14 and then gain 12. Every day was a wild weight change like this. This with no changes in diet/exercise.
Then, around the beginning of 2013, I started hurting really bad in my feet, ankles, knees, and hips to the point that I could hardly walk when I got up in the morning or if I had been sitting a long time. I had some previous issues in my hands and shoulders, but I could live with them. In March 2013, I got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthiritis and in the space of 3 days my life changed. Leg & feet joints were so bad I had to give up dancing & running on the spot. A regimen of medications offered - most of which I refused because I don't want to take them until I have to (especially pain pills!!). And so on.
The disease and medication affected me somehow and my body spiraled out of control. I literally couldn't eat (it was a good day if I could get 700 or 800 calories in me) but I felt so bloated and full all the time. By the time we went to WDW in September, I weighed in at 150 pounds - yep, that's a 30 pound weight gain in 6 months!! I was so discouraged and depressed. The trip was fun but as soon as we returned home, I was in full on depression.
I got into a full-on flare right before Thanksgiving and it ran into Christmas and was still going strong then.. During this time, I met a lady at work who also has RA and she told me that going off gluten helped her incredibly. I am not a Celiac (or never have been) and I am skeptical of "trendy" diets, but I was so bad off that I would try anything. I talked to my doctor and she agreed that it did help some people who were gluten sensitive and it was my choice if I wanted to try it. So I started it right before New Year's and to my surprise, it worked!!! Most of my joint pain is gone - completely gone except for in a few areas. And I have dropped 14 pounds - losing the bloated and full feeling. I feel like this is a miracle. I feel so much better and I'm so grateful that I met that lady. There's no guarantee it will work forever. But for now, it is and so I'm trying to be as GF as possible.
GF is HARD for me because I love pasta, bread, pizza, so on and it feels like gluten is in everything. Also, cooking GF at home is freakin' EXPENSIVE!! So far, I've mostly been eating premade foods and some basics like eggs and cheese. But I finally have gotten a few cookbooks and am hoping to get some crockpot stuff made this weekend. We'll see how that goes.
I still can't run or dance, but I am walking a lot and I'm definitely back on a more normal diet plan as far as the calories I eat every day.

Anyway - thanks for listening to this incredibly long story. I would love to be friends with any of you, so please feel free to request. If you are also GF, I'd really appreciate an add as I'm trying to figure this whole thing out.

Here's to all of us getting healthy!!