I have lipedema, a common chronic condition that makes my legs puffy. These 3 habits help me reduce inflammation.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Elery Johnson, 36, who lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida with her husband and their three kids.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I started noticing that my legs were different when I was 12.

I look at pictures of myself in 5th grade, and I was very slim and slender.

And then I look at pictures of me at the end of 6th grade, when I had just started puberty, and my legs were significantly larger.

I had very column-like legs; no ankle definition all of a sudden, no knee definition.

I remember feeling very self-conscious and just embarrassed — my high school friends would say I have “cankles” and “cottage cheese legs.” After graduating high school, I joined a new CrossFit gym with a 3-month free trial that included weekly measurements.

I got into the best shape of my life.

But I dreaded the weekly weigh-ins.

My waist and arms would get smaller, but the trainers were so confused why the bottom half of my body would not budge.

Fast-forward to when I was married and already had my last baby.

I was 30 and had a lot of varicose veins.

We were living in Utah at the time, and I saw a vascular surgeon there.

He asked me if I’d ever heard of lipedema, a chronic condition primarily affecting women that causes fat buildup in the lower body and, sometimes, the arms as well.

After looking over my legs and performing an ultrasound, he officially diagnosed me with the condition.

It was very validating, and explained other symptoms like my leg tenderness or the fact that my legs always had this wavy, bumpy texture.

At the same time, it was bittersweet: Lipedema is a progressive disease with no cure that often gets triggered and worse with hormonal changes due to events like pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause.

Lipedema can only be managed with lifestyle changes or surgery to remove the fat.

I haven’t had lipedema removal, which is a special type of liposuction.

I’m very open to it in the future, but right now with where I’m at in my life and still having small kids, there’s a financial aspect as well — lipedema surgery is not often covered by insurance because it’s usually classified as cosmetic.

To treat my varicose veins, I’ve gotten a radiofrequency ablation and sclerotherapy.

While they helped reduce leg aching, heaviness, and some swelling, they didn’t improve the lipedema itself, so I’ve stuck to a more conservative approach in managing my symptoms.

After being diagnosed, it took me some time to find a routine that worked for me and that I could stick with.

While habits like following a mostly anti-inflammatory diet don’t make my lipedema fully disappear, I’m happy with the progress I’ve been seeing.

Researchers believe people with lipedema often have chronic, low-grade inflammation in their body.

For me, inflammatory foods lead to more symptoms.

I call them flare-ups, where my legs feel puffier or a lot more tender.

For me, a big component of reducing inflammation is my diet.

I’m not a huge breakfast person, but I try to have eggs, Greek yogurt, or a protein shake in the morning.

For lunch, I like to get creative with different types of salads.

For dinner, we all love seafood, so we very often have fish.

Grilled chicken is another staple for us, along with lots of fruits and vegetables.

I also try to stay as hydrated as possible.

Because sugar is a huge trigger for inflammation, I try really hard not to have it.

I had a sweet tooth my whole life, so that’s been a big sacrifice and I’ve gotten a lot better — any sugary drinks are a big no for me.

Bread, unfortunately, is another huge trigger.

I now eat bread very sparingly and completely avoid white bread.

I can also have a little bit of dairy, but too much and my body will definitely become inflamed.

I also have never had alcohol; I know some women with lipedema will cut out of their diets and find that it helps a lot.

I don’t completely restrict myself.

I just know that if I indulge in sugar or bread, I am going to have to pay for it later, and it might set me back a few weeks of the progress I’ve made.

I was really into CrossFit and high-intensity exercise.

But when I started to learn more about lipedema, I found out that those types of workouts can backfire for some people, because they can trigger inflammation.

Over the past five years, I found success from switching to lower-intensity exercises.

I also love the stationary bike and rebounding, a mini-trampoline exercise, which are also both low-impact.

All of these are great for the lymphatic system, because they promote movement while placing less stress on the joints.

I love yoga and, once in a while, will throw in an aerobic or dance class.

Strength training has been really helpful for me as well.

I’ll just do the leg machines, and I’ve found that this routine reduces the feeling of heaviness in my legs.

A perfect day of my routine would be a dry brushing session after my daily walk.

Because the connective tissue and the fat cells are different in lipedema, the lymph fluid can have a harder time moving through the legs.

Personally, I find lymphatic massage helps me decrease puffiness.

I start down on my ankles and I just do a bunch of short little strokes all the way up.

I do that for probably a couple minutes per leg.

So I’ll do two minutes lower leg, 2 to 3 minutes upper leg, and then do the other leg.

When I shower, I turn it to the coldest setting at the last couple of minutes and run the water over just my legs.

A lymphatic specialist told me it has something to do with toning the capillaries.

It’s kind of the same idea as cold plunges, and also helps me reduce inflammation.

When I am not in a flare-up, I can tell that my body is responding to my routine, because there’s not as much swelling throughout the day.