What's Your Reason?

There is a reason behind everything we do. And there is a choice that precedes every decision we make. And thus is the reason for the decision. Sounds deep. But it's not!

Today was a "rest day" for me in my workout schedule. I did a hard leg workout yesterday and it's typically the day after that that I will take my rest day. So that only leaves 1 (maybe 2) days a week that I'm not in the gym. But today I was reminded again of WHY only taking 1-2 days/week off is max for me.

Remember why I started this blog in the first place? If not, refer here. I have a form of Colitis. I am food intolerant. And I have stomach and mouth problems that drive me crazy most of the time. BUT, I try not to focus on them. I focus on things I can do to alleviate them. 


There are 2 ways for me to do this:

1. Through food (or lack thereof)
2. Through my workouts

My post today is not about food. It's about the working out portion. Working out is my "friend." Literally. It's a 110% positive relationship. I think we all strive for our relationships to be like this! For me, working out = less stomach problems. Working out = a better attitude and frame of mind. Working out = control (over my stomach issues).

I will choose, almost each and every day of my life, to workout - I have decided this. And my reason is because it helps me manage all the random stomach problems I have. Ok....and I'll admit, my other reason is to keep it rockin' my entire life! 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and above - always keep it rockin', healthy and fit!

So tell me, what's YOUR reason?!

Priceless

Day 66.

My supplements have increased. This is okay. Here is my new supplement protocol.

• Chlorella - 1/2-1 tsp daily
• Betaine HCL - 1-4 caps with each meal
• Probiotic - 2 caps per day
• Zinc Solution Mouth Rinse - 2 tsp at night
• Aloe Vera Juice - 3 Tbsp daily
• Fish Oil - 1 tsp daily
• B-Supreme - 2 caps per day
• Digestive Enzymes - 1-2 caps with each meal
• Cal/Mag/Citrate - 1 scoop at night
• GI Microb-X - 2 capsules in the morning and 2 capsules at night
  

I am doing very well with keeping up on this all. I have failed to keep up with the Betaine HCL. I need to get back to that, since I know I'm still not fully digesting the way I should be. The GI Microb-X is very new for me. It is a parasite detox cleansing. You can find out more information about this particular brand I take here.

I was talking to a trainer at our club today. She told me a story about a woman she knows. The woman's husband has Chrons. Chrons, for those of you who don't know, is another "digestive" disease. You can learn more about Chrons here. When I found out I had Proctitis, I had a Colonoscopy and Endoscopy to determine what was wrong. They thought it was most likely I had one of three things: Colitis, Celiac or Chrons. All three are no good!

Anyways, this woman was telling the trainer that she wanted to have another baby, but that due to his Chrons medications the doctor advised they should not have another one. He is also overweight (at least she thought he was). And here is where I jump on my "medication soap box."

I am not a doctor. I do not give medical advice. I do not prescribe medication. What I do prescribe to, though, is the theory that we are over-medicated and under-educated when it comes to medicine. And I believe that I am able to do this because I have witnessed it first hand.

I was diagnosed with Proctitis around May of 2008. I went on "medication." Around July, I had a major flare-up. We were able to take care of it for the time being. I continued to go up-and-down. My mouth, meanwhile, never improved. I didn't change my diet too much, since I always ate very healthy. Sometime this past (early) winter, is when I decided I'd had enough. I was done with the medicine that was costing a fortune, getting me nowhere and even pushing me backwards. Shortly after that is when I found Leah, got my blood allergy tests done and finally moved forward in my life!

• Cost of my medication - $600/one-month supply
  
• Cost of my initial consultation and blood tests with Leah - $427 ($202 for blood tests)
  
• Cost to follow a clean diet, avoiding the foods that don't like me - PRICELESS
  

I have experienced first-hand what medication can do to someone. But please trust me when I say that medicine is not the enemy. The enemy is not educating yourself on what the medication you're taking is/does. Furthermore, the enemy is the one who is closed-minded to the idea that food can heal or at the very least can aid in healing.

If this man took this approach, then perhaps, just perhaps, the medication would not be the determinate as to whether or not they will have another child. I guess we can all take that for whatever it is worth to you.

I felt pretty good again today. My stomach hurt a little bit after lunch. My mouth was about a 5/6 today. Not sure why that would be? Overall, though, I cannot complain much. I took a nice Epsom Salt Bath tonight. Relaxing!

Here was my day:

Breakfast

• Nutribiotic Vanilla Rice Protein Powder with Unsweetened Rice Milk, Coconut Milk Light, Flax, and Stevia
• 1/2 Fruit Fusion Bar (Dried Apple and Cranberry)
• Unsweetened Applesauce
  

Snack

• Organic Apple
• Organic Raw Carrot

Lunch

• Sweet Apple Chicken Link (TJ's)
  
• Squash (steamed) + sea salt
  
• Baby Scallops + Ancient Harvest Pasta
  
• White Peach
• Organic Cranberry Green Tea
  

Snack

• Organic Raw Carrot
• Orange

Dinner

• Squash (steamed) + spinach (steamed) + garlic + sea salt + fish oil + spirulina
  
• Wild Salmon Burger
• Snap peas with Olive Oil/Salt/Pepper
  
• Unsweetened Applesauce

Time to relax with my Chamomile Tea (and my wonderful husband!).

Finding Relief

(Still on) Day 61.

I am finding relief - finally. I am not proud to say how I found my relief. Therefore, I will not share it. I will say, though, it's a common practice with people who have my type of Colitis. Before finding Leah and getting help naturally, I used to have to find relief in this manner all the time. It's not fun. And again, I am not proud of it. But, since I truly believe that I was having a flareup, this is what I had to do.

I do not believe that what has happened this past week has anything to do with something I ate. I have been eating as I should to a "T." I honestly believe that I had a flareup caused by stress. Stress can cause me to flareup. Clearly it does not happen all the time, but it is a major trigger for anyone with colitis.

So now that I'm hopefully going to start "de-flating" again, it is critical that I learn how to manage myself. I need to be the manager of me.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but my Grandmother gave me a book called, "The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People" right after I had my tonsillectomy. She wrote on the inside cover, "July 8,2004 - To Sarah Kay Jewison on the day you had your tonsils out. May your future health be great from this day forward. Love and God Bless, Grandma Minges." That was almost 5 years ago! Unbelievable how much has happened since then with my health and life in general. I am thankful, so very thankful, for the steps (huge steps) taken forward.



From this book and chapter 2 (Use a strategy for happiness.): "Happy people let themselves be happy. Unhappy people continue doing things that upset them." Niven continues to say,(in this amazing 1-page chapter) "Small children know when being cranky will get them an ice cream cone. And they know when being too nosy will get them a cross reaction from their parents. Children understand that there are rules and predictable patterns to life, and they use a strategy to help them get what they want. Living a happy life as an adult is like trying to get that ice cream cone as a child. You need to know what you want and use a strategy to get it. Think about what makes you happy, what makes you sad, and use this to help you get what you want."

Niven always gets me thinking. These words made me think about how they related to my idea of "manager of me." I think that managing me is what will make me that happy when I can actually do that:) Sounds "profound," right?? It's not supposed to. It is what it is!

No need to mention what I ate today. Same thing as every other day, just in smaller amounts. I may have a lean burger for dinner tonight - with red wine - of course! My sister-in-law, brother-in-law and their family are coming tonight until Tuesday morning! We are so excited to spend the weekend with them. All in zen....of course!

And I'm spending my weekend doing the best I can to remain stress free. I need to build myself back up! I know I can.

Happy Friday to You and Yours! And remember...I've been here; I've done that; I've been through this - I'm here listening if you ever want to write.