Asking for a Friend - Health, Fitness & Personal Growth Tips for Women in Midlife

Understanding Lipedema: Kristin Richards on the Emotional Toll, Solutions, and Advocacy

• Michele Henning Folan • Episode 125

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Join us as we unravel the complexities of lipedema, a widely misunderstood condition affecting countless individuals. With Kristin Richards courageously sharing her personal journey, we bring clarity to the distinction between lipedema and lymphedema and highlight the unique challenges faced by those living with lipedema. From its symmetrical impact on the body to the granular texture of affected areas, we explore the physical and emotional aspects of this condition. Kristin stresses the importance of self-care and wellness as a cornerstone in managing lipedema's daily challenges.

Our discussion dives into how hormonal changes during key life stages, such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, can trigger lipedema. The conversation exposes the difficulties of early diagnosis, often mistaken for cellulite, and the emotional toll it takes during adolescence. Discover the intricate relationship between lipedema and inflammatory diets and how these factors can exacerbate symptoms. Listen as Kristin shares her journey toward health and the crucial role of community support in navigating these challenges, offering hope and solidarity to women affected by this condition.

As we wrap up, we focus on the treatment landscape and the empowering role of community advocacy. Kristin Richards shares valuable insights on the benefits of GLP-1 medications and the importance of holistic self-care practices like dietary adjustments and daily walking. Her advocacy work through social media platforms is an inspiration, highlighting the power of connection and support in seeking answers and strength. We also direct listeners to resources like Lipedema.org and the Lipedema Project, which can be invaluable in this journey. This episode is a beacon of support and resourcefulness for anyone wanting to understand and support those living with lipedema.

You can find Kristin Richards at:
https://www.instagram.com/thekristinrichards/

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Are you ready to reclaim your midlife body and health? I went through my own personal journey through menopause, the struggle with midsection weight gain, and feeling rundown. Faster Way, a transformative six-week group program, set me on the path to sustainable change. I'd love to work with you! Let me help you reach your health and fitness goals.
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Michele Folan:

Every woman has a story. When I work with clients, they each come to me with their why, their why, as to what motivated them to seek assistance in getting fit, nailing down their nutrition and focusing on longevity. Sometimes it's an upcoming trip, maybe it's a wedding, or they're now an empty nester, but for some women, they may have gone through a really rough patch in life. The common theme, however, is that they've put it off far too long and they're finally ready to make themselves a priority. When we take care of ourselves, it not only does amazing things for our physical and mental well-being, but it has a positive ripple effect on those around us. I'd like to share Faster Way with you. Let me show you what has been a game changer for me. Go to the show notes of this episode or reach out to me on social media Health, wellness, fitness and everything in between. We're removing the taboo from what really matters in midlife. I'm your host, michelle Follin, and this is Asking for a Friend. Welcome to the show, everyone.

Michele Folan:

When I took on doing this podcast, I committed to continue to learn in order to bring the listeners current and new insights into health, wellness and aging. In my many years in the health industry. I had seen hundreds of people with lipedema, but I never knew what it was, much less what it was called, until I stumbled upon Kristin Richards' Instagram account and I knew this would be an excellent topic to share with this audience, as you, too, have probably seen someone with lipedema that may not have known much about it. Kristin Richards, welcome to Asking for a Friend. Thank you, I'm excited to be here. Yeah, so we were talking before we started recording, and you're putting yourself out there on Instagram is a relatively new venture for you, and so we'll dig into that. But first of all, I would love for you to tell the audience a little bit more about you. What would you want them to know about you in terms of personal stuff where you went to school, where you live and family?

Kristin Richards:

Sure. So I am a happily married woman, a mom of two. I've got my daughter just left for college and that's been its own roller coaster of emotions as I navigate that. My son is a junior playing two varsity sports this year. So just proud mom, busy mom, entrepreneur all the things.

Kristin Richards:

I live here close to you in Indianapolis, indiana, and I'm a college dropout, so that's not something that people walk around town toting, but once you kind of get to a season in life where you're more comfortable in your skin, it's like, hey, that just wasn't my path, that wasn't my trajectory. And so I worked in corporate America. I was with, actually, anthem, blue Cross, blue Shield on the insurance side, and national business for gosh, 14, 15 years until my first marriage imploded. And then I found health and wellness. My eyes were open, all of the scales were removed and I just fell in love with this helping women and helping them embrace aging and embrace vitality and really just learn that they have to put their oxygen mask on first. I mean really like summing everything up into just a quick introduction. That's truly what my heart's passion is.

Michele Folan:

Well, I have to say a toast to you in terms of using that term. Where we can't pour from an empty cup, we have to put ourselves first. It's not selfish, and that's a mantra of this podcast, for sure, so I appreciate you saying that. Yes, I love your bravery in coming forward and talking about lipedema. I know it's made you a little vulnerable, to kind of tell your story. I think a great place to start, though, would be can you explain what lipidema is, and also let's delineate between lipidema and lipidema, because I did not know there was a difference until you just mentioned that before we started recording and that's okay because you're in good company.

Kristin Richards:

Lipidema is a fat disorder and basically it's an accumulation of disproportionate or diseased fat. It actually stops communicating. Healthy fat stops communicating with the rest of the fat and that always makes me chuckle like healthy fat. I don't know any woman that's like, yeah, healthy fat. But our healthy fat does communicate with the body and it's alive and it's working with the rest of Lipoedema is diseased, it portions itself off and becomes just an accumulation. Now the difference and the key thing that we look for is symmetry. So you would have symmetry between your upper arm, say, or your lower legs or your thighs. They're going to be very similar in this disease. Proportionate fact. Lymphedema, on the other hand, can impact one side of the body. One leg will really blow up, while your other leg is standard, healthy, whole, still functioning properly. So that's the biggest tell is the symmetry between the body parts, versus one body part being inflamed, not draining properly, etc.

Michele Folan:

Does it usually affect legs more than other body parts?

Kristin Richards:

Legs- is the most common area. It can appear in your upper arms. It can appear in your belly, which is not as common, but it can appear there. There's rare cases of it becoming apparent in your face, so really it doesn't know boundaries very well, but usually it does stick to your legs and most commonly the knee down, which is where I had lipedema.

Michele Folan:

How do you delineate if it's regular fat? So say you had it in your belly or your arms. How would you delineate that from regular fat deposits?

Kristin Richards:

And that's such a great, great question, because that's what we get all the time Like how do I know? Is this normal fat? Is this cellulite, is this lipedema? And the biggest tell is there's almost a granular feel to the diseased fat. It doesn't feel like normal fat, it doesn't give it's harder, it's painful, it's heavy. Women report, like myself, bruising and you won't even know. Some women are more prone to bruises. But you remember, gosh, I hit my elbow on the car door. You remember an event that occurred to cause those bruises. So it's really the biggest difference is going to be pain. Lipidema fat is most commonly associated with some level of pain and discomfort, where normal cellulite is uncomfortable to our eyeballs but it's not uncomfortable to our physical self. So that's the biggest piece. That's different.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, so I had told you in my many years in the health industry and I would see people with lipedema in doctor's offices or in the hospitals and I never knew that's what it was. I'm sure I figured it had a name but never had learned about that in all my years in cardiovascular and diabetes and everything else. So it's so interesting. And then I guess my next question would be how common is it so?

Kristin Richards:

statistically. They say that 11% of women can have or present with lipedema and the problem I have with that statistic is no one knows what it is. That statistic is, no one knows what it is. So if 11% is the statistic, but we have this huge population of women that don't even know they're dealing with this, especially women like myself that are stage one. Typically you'll see lipidema diagnosis more connected with obesity and morbid obesity. So myself I've been 160 pounds or less most of my adult life and you wouldn't look at me and say, gosh, she's obese. I bet she has a medical condition. So it's that undiagnosed population that I really am led to believe that the population is much greater, that that statistic is not really true and accurate.

Michele Folan:

Okay, is it hereditary? Is there a hereditary component?

Kristin Richards:

it Okay. Is it hereditary? Is there a hereditary component? Yes, it is hereditary. It is passed through women 1% of men present with lipedema. It's very uncommon for men to actually get this condition and usually they are facing some sort of estrogen dominance, you know, and and all things. What does it come back to us for women? Hormones, hormones, hormones, right In all things. What does it come back to us for women? Hormones, hormones, hormones, right. And so you will see, the trigger for lipoedema is going to be puberty, pregnancy and menopause. Those are the main triggers, those big hormonal fluctuations where you'll see, gosh, my legs look different. They don't seem to be the same as they were pre-pregnancy or pre-menopause, or pre-puberty.

Michele Folan:

All right. This makes me question now. So it is possible for teenagers to have this? Yes, yes.

Kristin Richards:

Absolutely yeah. I was 12, Michele, when I first found and saw and realized my legs were shaped differently. I was thin, I was a cheerleader, it was in sixth grade and we were leaving an away game and a couple boys on the bus started making fun of my stump legs and it was at that point. Oh, it's, it's, and my story is so common and so similar with this audience in this community that I'm building on Instagram. It's these just wretched middle school era that these women are having these horrific things set to them and then we go into hiding. It's just this huge shift, this transition in our lives and I know personally and I know from the women that I'm serving in and communicating with that it's life changing at such a young, fragile age and we just don't have the skillset, that intellect, to be able to the emotional intellect to be able to navigate that.

Michele Folan:

It's really tough, yeah, and then you end up wearing long skirts and pants your whole life without really addressing what it is, and that can be painful.

Kristin Richards:

And there's two paths. Yes, I'm sorry to interrupt you. There's two paths, because most women like myself, will also become obsessed with exercise and calorie restriction and you're always constantly like maybe if I eat less my legs will look better, maybe if I do more calf raises, maybe if I run more I do. And so it becomes an obsession. And there's just this divide in the road where some women are like, oh my gosh, I'm going to just starve myself, and other women are like well, it is what it is, and they go down the road to obesity, and so it can have these huge impacts on the adult versions of these teenage girls that are facing this condition.

Michele Folan:

You had mentioned in one of your posts that there is a connection between lipedema and leaky gut. Can you explain that a little bit?

Kristin Richards:

Sure, sure. And it all comes back to this highly inflammatory diet that most Americans are eating. You really have to work hard to stay away from the inflammatory seed oils and the glutens and the dairies and all of that, but the leaky gut is coming back and it's going to trigger that immune response. So the immune response, our body gets all inflamed and upset and that leads to higher oxidative stress levels. And so oxidative stress for the new listener, those that aren't scientifically based is just that free radical imbalance. So free radicals sound like good fun guys, but they're bad, they're diseasing, they're aging ourselves, they're making us not feel well. And so when we peel back the layers, when we peel back the onion and we look at what's the root cause, 99% of the time it's high oxidative stress levels. So it's just that sprinkled down effect that, yes, what we put in our mouth inflames our gut, inflames our cells and we end up sick. And so it's just one of the connections that we're finding, because, of course, there's so little science, there's so little research surrounding lipedema.

Michele Folan:

Do people often confuse it with cellulite? I mean, I know you said it feels different, but does it look similar?

Kristin Richards:

It looks very similar. It looks very similar especially to the naked eye and to professionally trained practitioners. I sought out doctors over the last gosh. I lived with this 36 years before I knew it had a label, before I knew it had a name. And I would ask from time to time, and then you'd get to the point where you're like they're just going to tell me to eat less and work out more, and so you, just you almost you're embarrassed to even have that conversation with your, you know your OBGYN who's seeing all the parts, but you're like don't look at my legs, you know. So it's, it is, it's. It's very difficult to navigate these seasons.

Michele Folan:

Well, you're really fit. I mean you're extremely fit. I'm trying, sister, I'm trying. When did you start to really hone in on? At least you're going to work out, you're going to watch what you eat. When did that health foundation come into play?

Kristin Richards:

I come from a long lineage of obesity in my family and I knew from early, early on I did not want that. I wanted to be active for my kids, I wanted to be present and doing all the things. So as early as 12, I remember doing Jane Fonda workouts. I'll be 50.

Kristin Richards:

So some of your listeners might not know that she used to have workout tapes that we did in our living room but I did. Jane Fonda in the living room, you know, was constantly trying to walk and be active. So I've always been an active individual. You know I've battled disordered eating most of my life. Didn't realize it had a label. It just thought that's what, what women did, but into my gosh. Thought that's what women did, but into my gosh. It was probably after my yeah, it was after my son was born. So about 16 years ago, to get that baby fat off, I took up running. So I run half marathon. So it's just been as much of my identity as my name as far as being athletic and working out and trying to constantly stay in motion.

Michele Folan:

When you were working out to do these marathons. Were your legs painful during that time?

Kristin Richards:

Incredibly painful and it's not a pain like a poke or a pinch or it's just constant heaviness, and I truly think a lot of lipoedema women report no pain. I think we get so used to that heaviness, that painful kind of brushing against or squeezing, like if my husband was to massage my leg or I was to get heaviness, that painful kind of brushing against or squeezing, like if my husband was to massage my leg or I was to get a massage. It wasn't comfortable on my legs, especially the lymphedema areas. I think we just get so used to it that it becomes part of us and we don't realize it's not normal, this is not what a healthy leg feels like, and so, yes, it's a huge piece of the puzzle.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, I always like to ask people who have had a bit of a metamorphosis in terms of their health and their fitness so, besides doing marathons, what else did you do to lose weight?

Kristin Richards:

So that's an ongoing question in life, right? I feel like I finally got a grip. When I was heading into my 49th birthday I was about 48 years old I decided that I had really been through the menopause pit. I know you talk about that a lot on your podcast and I just was in this season of apathy and, consumed by apathy, I tease and say my people weren't as cute as they were. You're like my humans that I birthed. I'm like, ah, go away. But I was coming out of this season. I was on, you know, the hormone replacement therapy and doing all, trying to check all the boxes as I navigated that post-menopausal season. But the weight was creeping around my middle and I've always been a pair, you know, I've always dealt with my legs, but God did give me this tiny little waist which does look even more tiny compared to my lower half, and so, as I started to have that weight creep around the middle, I'm like I got to do something.

Kristin Richards:

And so what works for me isn't what I would recommend to anyone. I dove in and did 75 hard. I don't know if you're familiar with that challenge Incredibly intense challenge but it helped me rewire my brain. I can do hard things. I can do hard things heading into this next season, into my 50s, and so I completed 75 hard and changed my diet. I cut out dairy, I cut out gluten. I was literally checking all the boxes, Still had no idea I had lipidema, had no idea. So I completed that from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day.

Kristin Richards:

Basically, I just wanted to make it extra fun and do it through the holidays not recommended, but did it and so once I completed that, I had to tweak the hormones a little bit. I had to tweak my hormone replacement therapy, but then we did additional blood work and found I also was battling PCOS. Oh my God. So it's like, okay, here we go, and that's, as you know, metabolic in orientation. And so we started with some microdosing, some GLP-1 peptides. I am a proponent of those. There's all kinds of mixed opinions out there, but in the right dosing it really was that game changer and it helped me recognize food noise and recognize that disordered eating and I was able to heal a full body. You know, I took back my temple.

Kristin Richards:

As I say, it was not just I want to lose weight to gain it, to lose it again. I was like I'm done, lord, not just I want to lose weight to gain it, to lose it again. I was like I'm done, lord, please. You know I want to complete this challenge and I want to change the trajectory of the rest of my days. So let's, how do I do that? And that's really what it's been. So I lost 37 pounds and have kept it off since July of 23. So I think that's the huge piece of the puzzle is, especially for us Americans we can lose weight but we can't keep it off. So it's really holding on to that. That's been a huge accomplishment.

Michele Folan:

That's fantastic, Kristin. And so you lose this 37 pounds and you still have lipedema, so the legs never got smaller, have lipedema.

Kristin Richards:

So the legs never got smaller, no, and so I lost 37 pounds and I stumbled, just like you did. I'm scrolling on Instagram and it was February, March of 23. And I literally see a woman's legs that look just like mine. I mean I'm like hold on, and her handle had lipedema, something in it. And so I go to her page. I have goosebumps just sharing this story with you, and bawled my eyes out. I'm like these are my legs. There's a name for this condition. I mean it's so wild that in this Western culture, in the healthcare system that we have, that you can live 36, 37 years I eating literally half of your body and not know it's due to a medical, that it's not your fault, it wasn't my fault, it wasn't. You know, I could. I could work out and starve until the cows come home and this fat would not go away. So it's just, oh, it's such an emotional story and I was able to get a diagnosis through that. Once I found the label, it was like what do I do? How do we?

Michele Folan:

you know, let's get to work, and so that brings up. Oh my gosh, I have so many questions. There's a lot to unpack here. I want to, if you don't mind. Can we back up to the GLP-1s? Yes, of course, and I've said this a million times on the podcast. I know people are tired of me saying it, but I launched the first GLP-1 back in 2005. So very, very familiar with the drug class, and I have clients that are currently on GLP-1s or have been on a GLP-1. I am not anti -GLP-1 for any reason. I'm curious, though, about the microdosing. How does that work for you? What does that entail, the microdosing? So?

Kristin Richards:

I work with an incredible integrative doc who's about an hour away that's the story. We have to drive and seek out and pay a lot of extra money for good care and he introduced this concept and at first I was like I'm not diabetic, I don't need this. And so it was really through his education and he said we are going to start with the tiniest dose and just see how your body responds. And so I've altered and changed that actual milligrams, the units, et cetera over the last year and a half. But it was that small introduction that I was like oh my goodness, and the number one thing, michelle, and the biggest reason I'm such a proponent of these peptides and this class of drugs is that food noise.

Kristin Richards:

Like I told you, I'm obsessed about food. Did I eat too much? Did I eat too little? I mean, it was just this ongoing track in my brain. I didn't know all the things that I could do with my brain once that was silenced and so for that reason alone, I would continue down the microdosing path and it just my body responded, my blood work, I mean, just improved dramatically. You know, there's just so many good pieces to it. It's tough that it's such a hard conversation with some individuals because they're like no, it's awful, it's killing everybody, you know. It's like no, just educate. They've been around for decades.

Michele Folan:

And truly has. And this is my only rub with GLP-1s are the doctors that are prescribing it without coaching their patients, and they're very effective. They're finding more and more every day about. You know, it's activity in the brain, because we have GLP-1 receptors all over our bodies. So I get the opportunity now to work with clients who I'm like wait, got to prioritize protein. You got to eat protein even when you're not hungry. You've got to lift weights. We've got to do weight-bearing exercise because we've got to preserve that muscle mass. So you're obviously doing that already anyway because of your current lifestyle, so you're good there. So I just wanted to talk about that just for a second.

Kristin Richards:

It's not a monotherapy and that's you know. And the unfortunate piece, you know, and doctors are just saying, oh, do this and still drive through McDonald's. And that's you and I both know. You know, I know you're passionate about weight training. If I could tell any woman, especially in my twenties, what I would give to start lifting weight. Muscle is medicine Like oh, yes, yeah, that's a whole other conversation for us, I'm sure.

Michele Folan:

Oh yeah, and I tell my clients I said it's your metabolic currency. It is building that muscle will help your metabolism tenfold than anything else you can do. So, okay, all right. Enough about GLP-1s. All right, I would like to know at what time did you seek out help in regard to a surgeon to help you with this?

Kristin Richards:

So I found out, I was officially diagnosed April of 23. And the fortunate, unfortunate piece is that you have practitioners that are performing surgeries that I wasn't comfortable with. So I was diagnosed by a dermatologist and very dry, you know, this was this huge, dramatic day for me and there was, you know, no emotion. That's fine, you know. He took one look at me and said yes, this is lipedema, also known as two body syndrome. I'm like genius, yes, that's 100% my life. And so he wanted to do three different surgeries.

Kristin Richards:

I don't know if I mentioned earlier I only had it from my knees down. So I had these big bulky knees and big ankles and big calves, and so I was able to. You know, we had this discussion and he wanted to do, like the outer side of my calves first and then my knees, and I was just and it was going to be $30,000 to $40,000, you know. And so I left his office, grateful that I had the diagnosis, but then also like I can't imagine spending 40 grand on my life. I've got a kid going to college in a year, you know. So it was just this high hope, small, crushing all these emotions, and so I just dove in and started doing some research, you know.

Kristin Richards:

And again the fortunate, unfortunate pieces. You see these doctors, these surgeons, popping up on Instagram. I wasn't comfortable with the idea of a surgeon advertising like trying to draw it's almost emotional warfare, like, hey look, you've got these legs, you can stand up in the middle of surgery. It just, it just didn't sit right. So I really took a long season, I paused, did a lot of research like how do we know that someone, you know what type of doctor, would be most comfortable? And I came back to all of that to be said, it boiled down to me that what's the number one procedure or the most common procedure that a plastic surgeon performs Liposuction. What is the procedure being used for this? Lipedema removal, removal?

Kristin Richards:

Rifle section, except in a lot of these Instagram physicians. We'll just kind of jumble them all up there together. They're doing it in a too messy setting so they're not sedating these women. That very first doctor that I spoke with his nurse after the doctor left, the nurse is speaking with me she said I do want to warn you. If you decide to proceed with this procedure, with this surgery, it's incredibly painful for our lipedema patients. You will be awake, you will know what's going on and I'm like lady, you just closed the deal. Who in the heck is going to sign up for this? Close the deal? This is you know who in the heck is going to sign up for this?

Kristin Richards:

So I wanted to be sedated. I wanted a tenured board certified plastic surgeon that was comfortable and confident in taking on my case, and that's how I proceeded. You know there's a long waiting list and here and there, and I truly, Michele, was just blessed to find a surgeon within 50 minutes of me that met with me, was familiar with lipedema, was comfortable taking on my case, and so we started the insurance approval process just to see what would happen. And it was approved is the happy part of the story. Yes, it was huge and they didn't push back as much as I thought. So the doctor's office submitted for the pre-approval. About a month later, my insurance carrier came back and said hey, do you have any medical history? Do I have medical history? And so I just gave them about six sheets. I wrote a very heartfelt letter and said here's what this has been like, here's what it's looked like, here's my life, here's the challenges, here's what I've done, a chart of all the therapies I've done, from acupuncture, weight watch. I mean like just gave them a rundown.

Kristin Richards:

A month later, december 26th of 23, I get the mail, no one's home, and I opened the letter and my insurance carrier has approved my surgery and we're going to proceed. I really left it in God's hands. I'm like, if you approve it, this is the only way I feel comfortable, and like this is the path that you want me to go. And I again, it's so, all the goosebumps, all the feels, sharing this, this story with you, because I could not believe. And then it's oh, my gosh, what? What are my legs going to look like? I know right, can we do it tomorrow? Are you booked? Are you busy? Can we get it before the new year? And so I wasn't, you know. We of course had to wait, and my surgery was February 16th of 24. So I'm about six months post-op, just a little over.

Michele Folan:

All right, you did your research. You got it covered with insurance, which I think is phenomenal. Yes, so they do this. It's kind of like liposuction.

Kristin Richards:

It's liposuction.

Michele Folan:

Okay, and then, like liposuction, is there any chance that it can reaccumulate?

Kristin Richards:

So the way that it's been described to me and the way my plastic surgeon explained it to me is, yes, if I completely let my health go, so if I do not maintain a healthy lifestyle, the fat could reaccumulate. It most likely will not reaccumulate in the places that it was surgically removed, but I could get it in my arms, I could get it in my stomach, I could get it in my face. So, again, it's one of those we're never done right. We constantly need to stay in motion. I need to stay on an anti-inflammatory diet and keep doing all the do so that I can keep this condition at bay. All right.

Michele Folan:

Well, there's your motivation for staying fit and eating well, and I also think too, Kristen, just from the perspective of advocacy, the fact that you are advocating for women to get it looked at, get the diagnosis. It also keeps you motivated because you are a living, breathing example of someone that just kept at it until you got what you needed to feel better about yourself and a huge piece of that advocacy for me is I didn't know and I can't imagine.

Kristin Richards:

I want to help the younger generations of girls. But also, this condition is progressive, you know, and that's something we really haven't touched on, it doesn't just stay stage one, you know, it goes all the way to stage four and there's different types and different body parts where they assign the location of the disease. Fact. But because this condition is progressive, because women do and can become immobilized, we have to share. We've got to get loud about what this is. If nothing else, I share all the time on my Instagram page rule it out, have the doctor tell you it's normal cellulite. It will respond to calorie restrictions, to healthier habits, et cetera. But rule it out because it will progress and it's just not a pretty road. It's a very difficult painful path.

Michele Folan:

Do you still have to wear compression stockings?

Kristin Richards:

So my surgeon, told me I didn't have to, but I do. I find relief. You know I still have some nerve regeneration going on. I still have, you know, some tingling. That's normal. You know it can take a year for those nerves to heal. And so I do. I wear, just, you know, some medical grade guys I found on Amazon, Nothing fancy, but I do sleep in those and I find that it's keeping everything where it's supposed to be and it makes me feel like I'm doing everything I can do. I don't want to look back and go what if I wore compressions post-surgery? So no, I just think that's a huge, huge piece to be in your self-care routine. If you have lipedema is compression wear.

Michele Folan:

So you said you eat anti-inflammatory diet. Can you tell the audience a little bit about what an anti-inflammatory diet looks like the outside of your grocery store.

Kristin Richards:

You know the outer ring of your grocery store, so it's trying to stay away from anything that's processed, trying to include fruits and vegetables. I always have seemed to have kind a hang-up with dairy, but I loved cheese, so it was like this constant vicious cycle that I would go in and I would just like suck it up. My stomach's going to be upset, but it tastes good for five seconds right, like so many of us do. But once I started removing those components from my diet and started making my own sourdough and really trying to help my family, weed things out of our pantry, we all started feeling better, and that's truly what it boils down to.

Michele Folan:

I will have a very hard time giving up dairy Gluten, not so much Dairy.

Kristin Richards:

I struggle, I just yeah, I'm the opposite, so I can have a little bit of gluten. We go out. I want a good cheeseburger. You know I'll have that, but it's that, I don't know. It's that lactose and it gets me. So you know, we all have it.

Michele Folan:

Yeah, oh yeah, it's so common and we you know. And then my husband and I were having this discussion this morning about seed oils and the stuff that's in our food, and is our government really protecting us from food additives? And is milk the same as it was when we were kids? Blah, blah, blah and it's constant. It's blah, blah, blah, you know, and it's constant. What advice do you have, Kristin, for women who suspect they may have lipedema? What kind of resources could you share?

Kristin Richards:

So there's two great organizations that I am constantly sharing and promoting on my page, and that's Lipedema. org and Lipedema Project. Both of those websites are packed full of resources. There's even provider directories where physicians and practitioners have said hey, I'm aware and can diagnose this condition, and there's an international directory. I'm sure you've been on my Instagram and I'm constantly like reply Lippy, and I'll send you this provider directory or this quiz or these tools, because women, they don't know where to go. And if I can take out some of that guesswork and just point here it's right in your inbox, where you already are, go, take a look and see. Is there a local provider you know? Then we can, we can start that process and just see is this what we think it is? Are you working with clients then? Somewhat, and so we kind of spoke about this before the call.

Kristin Richards:

I decided I've been in on social media, more on Facebook for six years, so my husband teases I'm an overnight. I'm a six-year overnight success because I've really grown my Instagram with sharing this lipedema story and this vulnerability and this education piece, and so originally, health and wellness has been my heart and passion and it's been more menopause, coaching, weight loss journeys and accountability partners and those kind of relationships that I've built, and it's switching more. So I'm taking on, I'm doing some free consultations with lipedema ladies to just kind of see what does this look like. I don't know. We're fluid right now. We're trying to see I don't know that a stage one woman like myself. She already knows all the things to do, she just needs this extra piece of information to kind of plug into her self-care. So we're really just kind of navigating this and riding the waves as we can.

Michele Folan:

You know I can make so many parallels to your experience with lipedema and women that simply want to get some HRT. You know it's like you get the roadblocks and people aren't listening and you got to find the right provider and it's like God, this has got to stop. It's so frustrating. Yes, I would like to know what one of your own pillars of self-care is. Aside from eating anti-inflammatory, what else do you do for yourself?

Kristin Richards:

I'm an avid walker, Michele. I walk every day and I started the day I started 75 Hard, and I'm such a nerd that I have tracked all that I've walked rain, shine, sweet hail. My neighbor says you're out here rain or shine. I'm like, yes, sir, I am. Um, it's like 650, some days of consecutive walking outside. I want to be exposed to the fresh air, I want the elements and even just a quick. You know, 15, 20 minutes is such a mood changer. You know, you and I both know it's so helpful with menopause, it's so helpful with our mood. It's huge. It's a tremendous tool for lipedema and getting that lymphatic flow moving. So I can't say it enough Go walk, park further away, do whatever you got to do, but just start walking, start increasing those steps.

Michele Folan:

Oh, I love it. You are singing my song. I know I know I put that out there all the time about walking it's free, it's simple and you go out and walk in the morning, you're setting yourself up for success for the day. You're getting sunlight, which helps reset your circadian rhythm, you're getting in touch with nature and I hate to say this, but many days I don't even put my earbuds in, even though I have a podcast and I want people to listen to my podcast while they're walking. Sometimes it's just good to unplug Absolutely. I just yeah. And for fat burn, it's such a perfect form of exercise.

Kristin Richards:

It's tremendous, it's tremendous. I'm right there with you, you're preaching to the choir.

Michele Folan:

Yes, ma'am Kristin, where can the listeners find you?

Kristin Richards:

Super simple the Kristin Richards on Instagram and it's K-R-I-S-T-I-N. The original spelling. I'm being almost 50. We're the original Kristins. There's others coming up, but so the Kristin Richards on Instagram and it's Kristin Richards on Facebook. You know, I have pretty sizable platforms on both of those and both of those spaces and it's growing only because of women that are so gracious like you, that are helping us share this message and get the word out and helping me advocate even more for these women.

Michele Folan:

Well, Kristin this was so nice to have you on the podcast and I again appreciate your bravery and putting yourself out there to really help other women get answers when they've been dogged by something that is totally out of their control in some yeah, in a lot of instances. So thanks for being here, thank you so much for having me.

Kristin Richards:

It was an honor.

Michele Folan:

I am so grateful for the ratings and reviews from our listeners. Did you know that your reviews help other people find Asking for a Friend? If you like what you hear, won't you please leave a review on Spotify or Apple? Thank you from the bottom of my heart.