What is Ulcerative Colitis and how does it effect my life??

If you follow my blog you may have read that I suffer from Ulcerative Colitis and I mention it often. I was told last night by my doctor it was another trip to the hospital for me or to stop eating for 5 days to shut down my system and flush it with meds. In the past, this was a huge set back for me....but that was then and this is now. With my new outlook on my health this is just a minor bump in the road. But what is UC and how does it affect me and my goals....well that is what I will tell you about today. It is not a pleasent conversation and you may not be interested in it but I hope that if I tell my UC story maybe I can help one person with their "stomach issues" or I can help you keep a positive attitude through any road bump you may have in life.

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic (ongoing) disease of the colon, or large intestine. The disease is marked by inflammation and ulceration of the colon mucosa, or innermost lining. Tiny open sores, or ulcers, form on the surface of the lining, where they bleed and produce pus and mucus. Because the inflammation makes the colon empty frequently, symptoms typically include diarrhea (sometimes bloody) and often crampy abdominal pain. (For more information:http://www.ccfa.org/info/about/ucp)

So that is my stomach as I write this...I am flared up pretty bad this time. Flareups have no rhyme or reason. I know what foods to stay away from (FRIED), what to do when I start to see a sympton but this came from an infection that my son had and passed to me. Oh yeah, they forget to tell you that it is an autoimmune dease so you get sick so often that you loose count. But what the defination above fails to mention is how it makes you feel to loose blood and fluids during a flareup. They do not say that you are in the bathroom sometimes up to 40+ times a day and that it feels like someone is taking a knife and is ripping your stomach open. When you are done with several bathroom runs (oh and yes you better run)you are left weak, empty, in pain (sometimes unbearable). I mean not only am I loosing fluids but for me I loose a lot of blood.

So why I am telling you this??? As I said, I am on a new path to change my lifestyle to healthy and fit way of life and this is a major road bump for me. I refuse to go on Predizone again so I am taking every other medicine out there to try to get this under control. But I am not letting it get me down like I would in the past. I no longer feel sorry for myself. I just need to do what I have to do to get healthy and in the mean time I plan on sticking to my normal routine as best as I can. I have been sick for 2 weeks now but I still manage to work (at home), take care of a 3 and 22 month yr old, and workout. I may have to modify my routine a little but I get it done and I feel great afterward. I explained to my doctor about Shakeology and he said that it ok to continue to drink something "so beneficial".

When you have a positive mind set you get positive results!!! I know this first hand and I living through pain and still manage to try to maintin some level of fitness into my life. I know that if I was feeling sorry for myself or circum to the pain, I would be on the couch and would not do much of anything. I refuse to live like that. Living feeling sad/bad for yourself makes you feel blah and it overwhelmes you where all you can do is focus on the bad and what you do not have or what you can not do. When you focus on your negative feelings you start to live in a negative unhealthy way. I know it easier said than done but you have the power to change the way you think and feel.

So I am on day 2 of no food and I am feeling ok....I went to the fridge about 5 times already looking for something to eat but I am going to go and make myself a protein drink. I am still going to fuel my body with Shakeology and protein drinks as well as lots of water, tea and chicken/beef stock. So I will tell you later how things are coming along but I am sure I will be just fine with whatever life throws my way (in terms of my health)

For more information about Shakeology: www.beachbodycoach.com/FitwithMeliss

Do All Diets Start on Monday???

I am sitting on the couch last night eating some ice cream thinking to myself this is my last horah because I am starting my "diet" again on Monday. After 2 weeks of vacation, weddings and fairs with the kids, I ate more calories in 2 weeks then I did in past 7 months. But I was thinking why did I wait until Monday to start again??  I mean I never hear of anyone ever saying that they are going to start a diet and workout plan on Wednesday at 3pm or a Saturday night....right!??! So why Monday??? I guess, Monday is the start of a new week the start of a new begining....like we can just wash the calories from the weekend away. It is the begining of a new week....so if I blow this "diet" by Wednesday do I wait until the following Monday again to get back on track or can I pick up on Thursday???

So today is Monday and yes I want to start my P90X routine again but I am so sore and sick that I am not sure if my body will let me. I did wake up at 5am but it was not to workout but to be hurled over in pain in the bathroom....limping back to my bed I knew that I could not even bend over to put my sneakers on nevermind do P90X. So it is almost 8am and I thinking how to do this....I mean how do I incorporate a workout when my body is so sore already??? How do I "diet" when I can not eat any salad, raw fruit or vegis....nevermind my nuts and grains. The Colitis diet is the anti weight loss diet so what will I eat??? I will figure it out!!!

Honestly I am joking because as I said in another blog I do not diet which is why I eat ice cream...it was just a crazy thought that ran through my mind last night about how many people actaully start a diet on Monday. For me, this is a lifestyle change one that I will incorporate into my daily life. My main goal of being healthy is a way of life not a short term thing....I am though a little confused on how to do this and incorporate everything I know while being sick....it is a new challenge for me but one that I know I will figure out and in the end be proud of the choices I made....weather it is to rest my body beacuse of the fatigue or to push myself to life some weights to keep my muscles strong.

How to get back on track...with UC??

I know that I have not written in a while but I was on vacation, dealing with sick kids, a wedding and a taking the kids on day trips all while my Ulcerative colitis is flared up. I hate to bitch and complain about it but I am so bummed out that I am getting sick all of the time that my energy level is so low that I can barely make it through the day nevermind do P90X. I was doing so well and on a natural high, transforming my health, body and soul through a process I started 7 months ago and now that I have been sick for 2 weeks it knocked me off of cloud 9 back to a ugly place. A place where I am sure a lot of you have been (even if not with UC or sickness) a place where you feel down, fat, well just....blah.

I want to get back into my routine and healthy mode but how do I do it??? How do I get up 3-6 times a night to get sick to wake up in pain then do P90X??? But I know when I do workout and drink my Shakeology I feel awesome....I know after pushing my body to perform even when my mind and body are screaming no that I can accomplish anything that comes my way. So do I workout dispite my pain?? Well I guess I can still take the advice of Tony Horton (aka my personal trainer..lol) I Will Do My Best and Forget the Rest!!!

So I guess this is just another set back and chapter in my life journey to better health and happiness....there are road bumps that will set you back but you have to keep making healthy decisions and every little thing you do to incorporate better health and fitness is a step in the right direction. I may not be taking leaps and bounds like I was a few months ago but each step in a positive direction is still getting me closer to my goals!!!

So yes, I am having some bumps along the way being this sick but I also make it a point to still enjoy life, my kids and my family. So being sick does not dictate me being happy....my attitude and the people in my life do!!! So I guess what I am saying when something is trying to pull you down grasp on to the good and do not let it get the best of you....enjoy the people and the good things you have in your life don't dwell on the things you don't!

Ulcerative Colitis is not holding me back....

I am in yet another flare up with my Ulcerative Colitis so the pain has set in but my spirit will not cave. In the past, I would let my UC control me and what I would be able to do which was not much but going from bed to bathroom to coach to bathroom. But that was then and this is now....the new me....the stronger me....the me who is more in control of my body!!!

I know that by working out and eating better gives me the strength to get up and push forward no matter how bad I feel on the inside. Shakeology has been giving my body the fuel and nutrients that my body needs especially during a sick time in my life. It gives me the energy to not lie in bed all day which in the past was my only option. Working out gives me the strenght to know that my body is a machine one that needs to be worked hard in order for it to balance itself out. Don't get me wrong....if I am having a really bad part of the day I will and have to take those extra few minutes to regroup myself but I know that working out and Shakeology gives my body what it needs so I am not so useless to my UC.

So yes, this was my first day back of P90X starting my last 30 days (again) and giving it my all!!! Yes my all means the last 10 mins of my workout was cut short because Ben still knows when I am doing my abs and I swear that kid knows when I am trying to get my abs in shape....but still....I woke up this morning with a million excuses rolling around my head from the fact that I was up 5 times with the kids last night, twice with my stomach to maybe I will let my body rest.....but the truth is that I pushed play anyway and I am so thankful I did not talk myself out of Chest and Back today. Come on....you know how friggin awesome you feel when you are done with a workout so use that to motivate you....that is what I did and I am so happy that I did so. So, off now to conquer a new day....feeling good about my body even if my UC is acting up!!!

www.beachbodycoach.com/FitwithMeliss