IBS and Holidays – 10 in 2010

 

So I just want to start with the first part of the title of my post, IBS and Holidays. It always seems that when you have IBS and think things are under control, a holiday comes along and you have a major attack that puts you out of commission and it doesn’t allow you to spend time with the people you love. It really gets in the way. It has always been that way for me. But this past year, I actually got passed it. I’m not exactly sure if I figured out how, but I think I know what did help. I started eating more Raw foods a couple weeks before the actual holidays came around. The week of Christmas I was still eating Raw and drinking green smoothies with lots of spinach. I also tried some Aloe Vera juice. I think that stuff is fantastic. It definitely calms my insides and makes me feel better in a matter of 10 minutes. I have had good success with it so far, and I will still be experimenting with it on worse days to see if it REALLY works. Over this Christmas season, I ate everybody else’s cooking, treats, snacks and of course cookies. Eating that way would normally reek havoc on my insides, and for some reason it didn’t this year, and I was ecstatic! But then after 5 days of eating like that way I just started feeling like crap from the unhealthy, cooked, processed, full of sugar foods. Every night before bed during Christmas I took fibre pills to keep me some what regular, because I knew my body wasn’t used to this way of eating and I didn’t want to get plugged up! (It’s true) The day after coming home, my stomach wasn’t doing so well, it finally caught up to me, I was feeling extremely sluggish and was getting constant migraines. I thought to myself, how in the heck did I used to eat like that on a normal basis? Since becoming mainly vegetarian and part Raw, I have definitely noticed the benefits of eating healthy and eating fresh foods. Today for supper I cleansed my soul with a giant Green smoothie. I almost instantly started feeling better with that boost of vitamins and good wholesome greenness.

So I am getting back on track, I bought a load of bananas and a huge bag of spinach, so I have no excuse. I need to get back to eating right so that I can feel energized again. I skipped the gym today because  I was feeling so lousy, but I will be back at it tomorrow. I went on Tuesday to the gym and used my new Polar F7, that thing is so awesome (Thanks Hunnie!) It is so easy to use, the chest strap isn’t a nuisance and it uploads easily onto the computer.

Before Christmas came I overhauled the fridge, I took out the old crispers and left that bottom space open, and I added an extra shelf for more room. I got some cheap white storage bins for all my fruits and veggies in the fridge. It brightened it up in there and made it a lot more organized and easier to be Raw!

Now for the second part of the title of my post – 10 in 2010. These are the 10 things that I would like to do in 2010.

1) Run a 10K marathon

2) Glass etchings

3) Grow some of my own veggies

4) Become High Raw/Vegan

5) Achieve goal weight

6) Assemble a cookbook

7) Practice Yoga

8 ) Donate Blood (Iron has always been too low)

9) Better my photography and food photography

10) Chocolate making

 

I hope that everyone has a good New Years! Be safe and stay healthy, as much as possible. I look forward to talking to everyone in 2010 and sharing all my new experiences in this next year. I can’t wait to do a post at the end of 2010 and look back at everything I have accomplished. Ooo its so exciting!

 

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150 Days Left!

Green Monsters Under My Bed

Good day all!

Yesterday I made vegetarian bean chili for supper and homemade biscuits, they were perfect! Can you say YUM! Every time I have ever tried to make biscuits they turned out to be better rocks than anything, but this time they were soft and oh so tasty, especially along side bean chili.

 

 

This morning I woke up to nightmares, oh just horrible. And to chase them off I had a LARGE Green Monster!

Eek, I need to go buy more spinach and bananas now though, I used mine all up.

Today is my day with kitties, boyfriend is gone for the day for class again. I have no idea how I am going to get through the day. There is nothing to do here!

 

I am off now to get dressed and ready. I will let you know how it all pans out!

 

 

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189 Days Left!

Looking At The Brighter Side

Last night turned out okay, House was an intense episode, it was awesome. And Canada’s Worst Driver was ha-larious!

I had a little bit of a break down as we went to bed, but I got over it.

Today is a new day, just need to look at the bright side of things, think positive. It started out good, was off to the gym and did an intense 40 minute session on the elliptical. I think I sweated everything out, and I am feeling great today! Had my GM as soon as I got home, showered up and was ready to get on with my day.

It sucks when you’re feeling down, but you always need to remember that it WILL get better. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, but it always does sooner or later.

 

Have a great day all!

No motivation

 

This morning started out with a record! I was up and at the gym again, I just love the feeling of being active. I did my cardio, and I was able to run 6 minutes straight! I totally beat my 4 minutes from last week. I took it pretty easy today after that, I want to be able to go all week to the gym so I don’t want to burn myself out just after the first day. As soon as I got home I made a GM.

 

For lunch I made 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich, on my Snowman plate of course!

This morning started out pretty good, but now I am feeling unmotivated to do anything. Its rather depressing, I just don’t feel like moving or doing anything, and I have a few things that need to be done today. Worst feeling ever.

 

Most of the afternoon I just lazed on the couch, trying to find motivation. I lightly snacked on some Dark Chocolate covered cranberries and dried cranberries. I did a little bit of stretching while watching TV.

I bummed around the city for a bit, went by a couple health food stores, just to check out the situation, see what they had, see if there was anything new worth trying, didn’t find anything today. Then I went to get some propane for the BBQ and then I stopped off at the grocery store to get a few things. It felt nice to just get out and get some fresh air. It was +14C/57F today, pretty warm and beautiful for mid-November. But that still didn’t seem to bring me out of this mood. I snacked on the snap peas and made a couple homemade Peanut Butter Cups, using dark chocolate and natural peanut butter. By the way, they are to DIE for!

 

 

Tonight should be a good night though, new episode of House and Canada’s Worst Driver are both on. So it will be a lazy evening, curled up with my blanket on the couch. Hopefully this feeling of crappiness will subside soon.

 

 

 

 

 

What do you do to get over your lack of motivation and energy?

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194 Days Left!

Staying On Track

I’ve still been on track, most days, I have slipped up every now and again, but I’m only human. Today has been super good too. I wanted to start my day out with a Green Monster, but I ran out of spinach last night when I made a huge one! So today I stocked back up on it, and stocked up on apple. I love chopping up an apple, sprinkling it with cinnamon and microwaving it for about 2 1/2 minutes. Its simple and delicious.

 

 

I have only one butternut squash left, which makes me sad because they are hard to find! I had one for lunch today, chopped up and baked. I ate it on my Christmas plate.

 

 

Tomorrow I am back at the gym, and I must say, I am VERY excited. Its been nice resting for these 2 days, even though yesterday wasn’t much resting since I was up and cleaning the condo all day. But it still counted as rest. We stayed up until like 2am last night as well, we were playing against some friends on Mario Cart Wii, it was a blasty. I am kind of hoping to be able to hit a PR on the treadmill and maybe run 5 minutes straight, if not its all good because I’ve gone from not running to running at least 3 days a week, so that’s pretty impressive in itself.

 

I also bought me some new Epsom Salts today because since I’ve been running more, I have been having more bathes to relax my muscles so I can keep going.  And it’s even calling “Relax” with eucalyptus and spearmint. I can’t wait to try it out.

 

Supper wasn’t anything exciting, that’s why there’s no picture. We had Chicken Caesar wraps.

For an evening snack, I had a pomegranate, its been so long since I’ve bought one, its a way better alternative to have a bowl of pomegranate over a bowl of popcorn.

 

 

 

How do you like to eat your Pom’s?

 

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195 Days Left!

Getting Into The Spirit Of The Holidays

Its Saturday! Which means Ryan is at his painting class, which means I get free range over the condo today and get to clean, clean, clean! bahaha.

Its funny because I read Ange’s Post about getting back on track after indulging. And I thought that was funny, because yesterday I kind of pigged out on a bag of microwave popcorn and we ordered a pizza for supper. And I just regretted putting it into my body after having such a good week. And so today I was determined to get up, clean up the house, keep moving and eat right! I have 2 days of rest for exercise now, but I don’t want to feel lazy. I don’t have wheatgrass or anything and I don’t like tea, But I did start my morning off with a Green Monster!

 

The pill I take each morning religiously is Acidophilus, I should be taking my multi-vit, calcium/magnesium, and Vitamin D. Maybe I will make a pact to myself and start doing it.

I went to Wal-Mart today because I needed to get a new items (cat litter and deodorizer mostly) BAD BAD idea, it was so busy, I hate Saturdays at Wal-Mart, especially getting close to Christmas. But I did pick up a cute little rug for decoration in front of the fireplace.

 

And still being silly, I figured I would go to the mall and go to the dollar store, where I bought a bunch of Christmas stuff. My favourites are the little reindeer and the snowman plates! I am definitely getting into the Christmas spirit now!

 

 

 

I cleaned up the living room very nicely, I rearranged a little bit so that I can decorate completely for Christmas. I need the mantle for my decorations, and as you can see in the picture, there is a television in front of the fire place. And yes there are TIRES in the middle of the living room. And then Voila! It magically appears, and its cleaned out and decorated as well. I’m not sure if we can actually light a fire in it, so I set up some candles in there, to at least get the nice glow. I also stuck a mirror in the back to help reflect the light.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

I would have to say, I am pretty impressed with the results. Now all I need to do is finish the Christmas decorations.  I might wait until December 1st though, the usual tradition. That way there is less time for the cats to destroy everything.

I have been on my feet ALL DAY. I haven’t had much of a break, other than right now writing in the blog. I have barely eaten today either. So I think I made up for yesterday’s bad eating. I can’t wait to rest this evening and just enjoy those candles in the fireplace.

I Am Strong

So today AGAIN, for the 4th time this week, which is like my record, I got up and was off to the gym for my cardio session. I did 15 minutes on the tread climber and then 30 minutes on the treadmill, most of which was walking at 14% incline. I burned over 400 calories this week. Woo!

As soon as I got home, I instantly made a Classic GM and started running a bath with Epsom salts, I could feel my muscles were crying out for it. So I hopped in the bath for awhile, and also been sipping on some Strawberry Lemonade flavoured PowerAde for that extra electrolyte boost.

 

I am taking 2 rests days now, give my body a break from the intense cardio. But I already can’t wait for Monday to come around and hit that treadmill and see how long I can run for at a time. Previous time was 4 minutes straight, maybe I can make 5?

 

I know I haven’t talked much about IBS, so today I will talk about it a little bit. I don’t want to give too many details, because those aren’t very pretty. IBS is just so unpredictable, I can be feeling great in the morning, but by supper time I want to crawl in a hole and die. And vice versa. It interferes with a lot of things in my life, which often leads to stress and just plain being unhappy. I haven’t really figured out my triggers foods, but I think I have found a few things I need to avoid, such as fats, I basically cut out meats, except for chicken and fish on occasion. I have been exercising a lot more lately, so I am hoping that will also aid in making me feel better. I drink WAY more water than I have ever before, at least 32oz a day. I used to drink like zero and drink diet pops. I have completely cut out my diet pop, and I have definitely limited the amount of sweeteners I put into my body. Too much sugar gives me headaches, so the alternative is sweeteners, I am trying to not use either as much as possible. My eating habits are definitely improving as I go on this journey, and I think that eating more whole foods is a definite benefit to all aspects. I keep a journal of what I am eating on a daily basis and the way I am feeling, and recording my attacks. That way I am able to look back and maybe see what might have caused that specific attack.  But still whenever I go out, I am still worried that I will have an “attack”, even if I have been eating carefully. IBS really has a mind of its own, and its definitely hard to handle some days. I am looking for alternative medicines or anything that may relieve my symptoms. I have been going through this for over 10 years, and I have my ways of dealing with it, but sometimes I can’t even go out. And still through all of my experiences, I stay strong. I am still depressed deep down and still have “bad thoughts” but I try to keep them from surfacing, I am trying to cope and forget about all that bad stuff and try and be happy with the way that I am. And believe me, its extremely hard. But I am strong.  If you know of any medicines or alternatives for healing IBS , please let me know!

 

Ok I feel like I am writing a novel here, that will be it for today!

 

Let’s end on a happy note:

 

Daisy cuddling with my hot water bottle (I keep it in a Powerpuff Girl pillow case, got a problem with that?)

 

Lily on Halloween nibbling on some pumpkin.

 

 

Aren’t my kids just the cutest?

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Playlist:

Spice Girls – Move Over

Spice Girls – Who Do You Think You Are

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197 Days Left

Make It Through The Pain, It Makes You stronger

 

Last night was the worst ever, I was trying to sleep but was having serious painful menstrual cramps. I woke up at like 9:30am and was just feeling like complete crap. I showered and changed into my work out clothes and sat with the hot water bottle on my lower ab for awhile. I was debating whether or not to go to the gym for an easy workout. I debated for awhile, then I decided, well I need to go put gas in my truck so I might as well go do that and then go to the gym. So off I went! Gym was great, I felt so good after. I just did 14% incline walking on the treadmill and a walk on the tread climber. Totalled 25 minutes today, yay go me. As soon as I got home I made a Classic Green Monster. I rested for awhile and then I figured I should do my yoga! It was TOUGH! But it felt good to be challenged and pushed just a little.

After that I did 10 minutes of stretching.

Here’s the yoga mat, and Lily, she’s always watching.

 

And can’t forget the GM! Yum.

 

My cramps don’t seem half as bad anymore since I’ve been staying more active throughout it rather than just curling up on the couch, even though that is very appealing to me.

 

I also did my strength training, which consisted of squats, shoulder press with band, row with band and sit ups.

 

Supper tonight was pretty simple, we made chicken quesadilla’s topped with sour cream, green onion and salsa. The filling was chicken, mushrooms, onion and cheese. It was quite tasty. Forgot to snap a picture though!

 

So all ‘n’ all today wasn’t too shabby, got a few decent work outs in which made me forget the cramps and crappy feeling. Since the evening where I have just been kind of sitting around, I have been feeling worse. Hopefully I’ll sleep well tonight.

 

 

 

Today’s Playlist:

If you’re going through hell – Rodney Atkins

Things people say – Lady Antebellum

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198 days left!

My Inspiration

Today started out not so great. Slept in! Uhg I just hate that feeling. But in no time again I was off to the gym for my cardio workout. I did my regular treadmill run and then I did some 13% incline walking for a bit, and then hit the tread climber. By the end I was very sweaty and feeling fantastic.  Once I got home I instantly made a Classic Green Monster – 1 cup spinach, 1 cup milk and 1 banana. It was de-lish.

 

I really think that my decision to race in my first 10k in May has really inspired me to keep running, and run more. It gives me a goal to work towards, and that way I don’t really feel like I am running for no reason. 199 days left!

 

I printed out 4 core yoga poses that I want to be doing, its an alternative to what Angela is doing starting today, November 11th until December 10th. 30 day Whittle my middle! I think its a great idea, what she will be following is great but I don’t have a stability ball so I am just finding something that will work for me here. I will still do 6-10minutes 5 days of the week for the month. So let’s see how it turns out!  I will continue my cardio at least 3 times per week and my strength training up to 3 times per week as well. I’ve got to see results after all this in 1 month!

 

Snack tonight was breaded zucchini sticks (I used gluten free rice bread crumbs) with a side of seasoned tomato paste for dipping. I had 5 sticks, which was just over 1 small zucchini. It was quite tasty.

 

Today I got 3 small butternut squashes. There was only like 3 in the whole store so I raided them and took them all! BAHAHAHA. I can’t wait to have one, tomorrow maybe?

Green Monsters!

Today I slept in, uhg, but I didn’t take long to get ready and head off to the gym. It was an intense cardio workout, ALOT of sweat! And then after I rewarded myself with a Green Monster.(http://greenmonstermovement.com) Today mine consisted of about 2 cups spinach, 1 cup skim lactaid, 1 banana, and a couple handfuls of mixed fruit, I added more strawberries than anything that’s why its not really “green”. I feel so energized today from working out and having a huge vitamin boost from the Green Monster.

Daisy wanted in on some Green Monster action as well.

 

Supper was pretty basic today, Chicken Caesar wraps. But still exceptionally tasty and healthy. I had two of these.

 

I bought an Acorn Squash to try because they were all out of my favourite Butternut Squashes *sad face*. I baked it in the oven for over an hour with butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. It had a good taste, but should be eaten fresh out of the oven and not heated up, I found this out by my own error. However never underestimate the squash!

 

For the evening we just hung out in the living room, watching Seinfeld, House and Canada’s Worst Driver. We also played some Mario Kart Wii.

 

 

Had a breakthrough idea tonight. I will be participating in my first marathon ever in 2010. It will be a 10k on May 30th, 2010.  It gives me lots of time to prepare and train, and it also gives me something to look forward to when I am doing my runs. Woo!

http://www.saskmarathon.ca/

 

 

 

 

Today’s Playlist:

Shakira – She Wolf

Ram Jam – Black Betty