Here’s to a healthy 2010

Happy New Year!

I know it’s kind of belated, but it’s still January, so we can still celebrate the new year.

Back at my second home: Athens, Ohio

Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed in myself. I was hoping to continue updating through my winter break, but my season job took over my life. I was hoping my mom and I would cook up a storm and I could write all about it, but it never happen.

Have no fear, readers! I am back. I am going to try to update on a regular basis. It’ll be difficult this quarter with everything that’s going on. It was nice when I was being graded on how often I post.

This year, I am really focused on keeping myself healthy. After last year’s health struggles, I think that this year has to be my year. To help with this I’ve come up with goals for myself. I prefer goals to resolutions because I know resolutions are just made so they can be broken in February. So here are my goals for 2010:

• Drink my homemade yogurt shake every day! I have to admit that I was bad for awhile. I think I went a month without drinking my shake, which really is not good. Overall, I was still okay, but  I had my moments when I was afraid I was slipping back into my sick days. So this year I will drink my shake every day.
• Eat more of a variety. I should just be honest and say “eat more fruits and veggies!” but I think that I also just need more variety. Sometimes I feel like I stick to a few dishes and don’t branch out. This year, I will try to add my variety into my diet. More fruits, more veggies, different dishes.
• Stop wanting what I can’t have. I know the SCD is doing wonders for my health and the food is great. But I’m only human and sometimes I really just want those foods I know are bad for me. I am going to appreciate the delicious food I have and not give into my weakness for certain illegal foods.
• Less stress! I almost wrote “no stress,” but let’s be real. As a college student, there’s no such thing as “no stress.”  In general I’m a bit of a worrier and tend to get stressed out more easily than the average person, so this year, my goal is to chill out. I’m going to try to take things as the come and try not to sweat the small stuff.

This is my tenth month of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and  going strong. I’m not sure how I’m doing weight-wise (I’ll have to check when I’m in Cincinnati this weekend), but I feel great!

I hope you are all off to a great start this year. I’d love to hear your goals (or resolutions if you prefer) and hopes for 2010.

May you all be happy and stay healthy!

Managing your stress, with or without Crohn’s

Midterms = stress =flare-ups

I was going through my morning routine the other day when I realized that it was about this time last year that I got sick. Last year, I was in almost the same position I am this year: taking 19 hours of classes, two midterms coming up, and a group project, two other projects and a paper due this month. Plus, let’s add on 10 hours of work and a night at The Post every week. Needless to say, I was stressed last year and I’m stressed out now.

I think it’s common knowledge that there is a link between stress and illness. When you’re experiencing high times of stress, your body becomes worn out. Your immune system is suppressed, and you get sick. It’s not surprising that in these times of stress people with Crohn’s also suffer. Stress usually can lead to a flare-up, which is severe inflammation and a reoccurrence of symptoms.

Recently I stumbled across an interesting article about using hypnotherapy to help Crohn’s disease. This article, published by Naturalnews.com, says that researchers in England found that hypnotherapy and psychotherapy improve the treatment of Crohn’s. “Relaxation techniques used in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy were found to give patients greater control over their symptoms.” I found this fascinating but not really surprising. I already know that would I start to stress about something, my stomach starts to hurt, consuming food causes waves of pain through my body, and in general I feel crappy, so this managing stress and alleviating symptoms makes sense. I’m not quite sure I will jump right in to hypnotherapy, but I think it’s important to find means of relieving stress.

It’s not just important for people with Crohn’s to manage their stress levels. We all need to take care of ourselves and work to manage our stress. I found some helpful tips to keep your stress down and to keep you healthy:

• Try hypnotherapy. It’s not a likely treatment. I’m not even sure where to go for hypnotherapy, but it’s worth a shot!
• Take a yoga class. This is easier than finding hypnotherapy. Yoga and Pilates, if you choose to get a hardcore workout too, are pretty popular right now and almost any gym offers classes. At OU, Ping Recreation Center offers a variety of yoga and pilates classes.
• Turn off your phone, laptop, all communication devices. Just for a little while, disconnect from the outside world. Take time to up be alone. Relax, take a nice long, hot shower, or a soothing bubble tub. Taking a little bit of time out of your day to take care of you is important.
• Buy a planner and use it. Don’t try to rely on just your memory. Writing stuff down in a planner helps budget your time and makes sure that you don’t forget anything.
• Focus on living one day at a time. 

Have a great weekend everyone! My homework for you is to do something that you really enjoy. Don’t get overwhelmed by next week’s workload. Focus of yourself and have some fun! I know you deserve it!