In Fine Fettle – Help Support A Healthier Melissa

The Backstory:
Over the past several years I have had medical issues. It started with just not feeling right, then feeling awful all the time. But I was working so much I just pushed through, I didn’t have time to pay attention to what my body was telling me. Then I started missing out on things because I didn’t feel well, and struggling to meet my obligations. At this point I have three different conditions, each battling to mess with my body more.

One of those conditions is IBS, which basically means that I can’t digest a bunch of foods. The severity depends on the ingredient. I can’t just buy a cookbook for my diet; the foods I can digest are specific to my body. And if I am eating the right foods I can tolerate more of some things before I see symptoms. If I’m not, like when I can’t afford very specific foods, I have a lot of pain and some alarming symptoms.

Another condition has a lot of complications, one of which is the release of toxins into my body, particularly if I eat sugar or carbs. This is the one that will eventually cause my liver or heart to fail (after a lot of pain) if I don’t eat a restricted diet.

“In fine fettle” means in good condition, in fine health. I didn’t want to call this Go Fund Me “To Health” since I am unlikely to be cured, but my condition can be managed so that I have minimal symptoms. The extra weight my frame is carrying is taxing my organs, and my liver and digestion need all the help they can get. My goal is to lose enough weight to improve my heart health, have a baseline of my symptoms and not exacerbate any of my conditions.

The Costs:
Our income is about half of the average for our region. My husband is disabled, I work part time and freelance. We got our tax refund and that was how I started a food reintroduction diet. This is an extremely limited diet, where you slowly add foods in, and wait to see if you have a reaction. Also it is very expensive, organic meats and vegetables and no chemicals in anything, everything cooked from scratch.

I did not get to complete the reintroduction. As I type this I am trying to figure out how to stretch the food I have to eat for the last week of this month.

Once I complete the reintroduction diet I will know what ingredients I can use going forward, more like the Mediterranean diet, quality food, with some adjustments for ingredients I can’t tolerate. Still a somewhat expensive diet, both in time and money.

Food $125/week average
3 meals/day x 7 days = 21 meals a week
$125/21 meals = $5.95/meal

The diet is costing me $125 a week on average. Which comes to about $5.95/meal. So while this looks like a lot of money for food, it’s less than you would pay for a meal at a fast food restaurant.

I have already lost over 80 pounds. I am just about to tick over from obese to overweight. Averaging my weightloss I am losing about a pound a week. I would need 52 weeks to reach my goal weight.

In addition to the expensive diet, I've had to cut back work hours to spend time on fitness. But if I want to get the food I need to eat, I need more money. I need your help to get through this sticky bit. On a good day I walk an hour and a half, doing about half an hour of yoga, and twenty minutes of meditation. All before breakfast. Once I don’t have to spend so much time on fitness I can pick up more work again.

52 weeks of food
$125/week for food
= $6,500
GoFundMe fee 2.9% = $189
$6,500 + $189 = $6,689 total goal

I have 52 pounds to go to get to my goal. I know I can lose the weight, I have been doing it. But I’m doing the best I can and it’s not enough. So I am asking for help. If I lose a pound a week that will take 52 weeks, which equals my goal of $6,500.

$5.95 feeds me a meal
$25 feeds me for a day
$125 feeds me for a week

How You Can Help:
Please consider donating, and sharing this among your friends. Every little bit helps.

There is a button at the top of the page to share this story. 

There is a Facebook Event that you can share as well.

If you prefer to send a gift card for a grocery store we have Walmart, Market Basket, Shaws, and Hannaford (in order of preference), send cards to: Melissa In Fine Fettle, PO Box 204, West Peterborough NH 03468.

Thank you so much for reading, for your support, and for taking the time to consider supporting me in any capacity. Know that I am forever grateful to the kind people who have helped me, and will be happy to step into this next phase of my life.

#melissainfinefettle