Weightloss with an Iron Deficiency

Earlier this year I decided to get a physical since it has been years since I have had one. So after everything is done and I get blood work done I get a call from my doctor to come back in. She starts asking me questions about am I always tired and other things. Now I start to get nervous because I'm like Oh God something is wrong with me. I tell her being a single mom of 3, working full time, and running two businesses would have anyone tired. I was truly tired though. Extremely exhausted almost everyday, but when your as busy as me you don't think twice about it.

Turns out I am severely anemic to the point she was very concerned and even asked me about my menstrual cycle which coincidently was horribly heavy beyond words can describe (sorry for the TMI). So she puts me on iron pills which I have to take three times a day and sends me to my OBGYN to get checked out. My doc there put me on birth control to help out. But, here's the thing....I am a horrible pill taker. The only time I have taken pills consistently is when I was pregnant. Definitely not good and this time was no different. I have completely stopped taking my birth control because I kept missing days and I take my iron pills sporadically. I may do good for a whole week and then I may not take them for a whole month.

This drives my family crazy and I don't blame them. They are only looking out for my health and all of the women in my family (mom's side) except for my sisters are anemic. Some not as bad as me and some worse than me who has even had to get blood transfusions. Turns out I'm not that far from having to get one. I do however try to get my daily intake of iron with the right foods so all is not lost.

While I am still fighting with myself and staying on track with my iron, I have found that my weightloss issues I am currently facing are results of my lack of iron. My muscles are extremely fatigued and I have to push myself through workouts. I have to take more breaks than I think I would have to if I didn't have this problem. Today, however, was an eye opener for me. In a previous post I wrote about falling off in October and last week and gained a ton of weight in those short period of times. I am one of those people who looks at food and gains weight. It is by far the most frustrating thing when you are trying to lose weight. After doing my own research I found that not only are my muscles affected but my metabolism is affected by it too.

It sucks that taking a week of brought on over 10 pounds and trust me when I say it's not easy getting those numbers to drop easily. This is my rude awakening that not only do I have to continue to eat very strict, but I always have to take my iron pills EVERYDAY to make sure my body gets what it needs. It's hard to see people lose weight with no problem when you have so much to lose and have medical conditions that get in the way. I will however not give up and find a way to reach my goals being anemic or not.

Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent. Do you have medical conditions that affect your journey? How do you push through it?