A Summer of Health...Small Victories!
I've been open about my Crohn's disease to most anyone who is willing to listen since 2016. I've had Crohn's since January 2006 when I was diagnosed at age 17. It is a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease which basically means the beginning of my colon and the end of my small intestine is pretty much always inflamed. Crohn's is an autoimmune disease which causes a number of digestive symptoms. You can look the symptoms up. Basically anywhere I go -- especially a place that is new to me -- I'm mentally taking note of where the bathrooms are.
I've been telling myself for years that I don't digest raw veggies and fruit well. Which is kind of true -- salads and strawberries can literally be my worst enemy if I eat too much. But it's also something that I've been leaning on and using as an excuse for far too long. I also haven't had much luck with running in the past due to it shaking up my intestines and causing sometimes urgent needs to use the restroom.
Well...this summer is the summer of change. Healthy change. This week I started cleaning up my diet for the first time in...well, a long time. I went grocery shopping on Monday afternoon (yay summer break) and essentially bought out the produce section. Spinach. Berries. Watermelon. Grapes. Cucumbers. Everything. I've literally eaten spinach more in the past 3 days than I have in the past 3 months. And you know what? For something that has caused pretty significant issues with me in the past, I digested it just fine!
I've been killing it! Minimizing sugar. Increasing protein intake. Regulating portions. Going to the gym every day. Drinking an enormous amount of water. I've done it all! Even eating salads. Mmmm, salad. I was feeling amazing because for the first time in a LONG time for the most part I was eating fresh, healthy foods.
Tonight was the first time in the past 3 days I didn't feel good at all. I had some pain in my stomach indicating something wasn't sitting right. I was feeling quite defeated because I had literally just taken a nice 2 mile walk around our local lake and I got back and...I felt gross. We ate dinner, I picked at my food, and I sat on the couch feeling like a failure. Which is insane because this "new" lifestyle has been 3 days and of course I'm going to have good days and bad days.
At 8:00 tonight I took my butt off my couch and I forced myself to go to the gym. I still didn't feel right. I was gassy and feeling disgusting. But I went. I'm one who LOVES going outside but when it comes to serious workouts I prefer the gym since bathrooms are never far away. I am hoping to quash that fear this summer...for now though the gym is a great option for days like today when the last thing I wanted to do was visit the gym.
I jumped onto the elliptical and told myself to simply do as much as I could. I ended up going through the entire workout even though I couldn't keep up the pace I started at. And you know what? That's ok! I still got in a solid 35 minutes of sweaty work on the elliptical and I felt pretty accomplished after that. I even jumped on a few weight machines afterward.
I'm now home and sitting back down on my couch. My gut still doesn't feel quite right, but that's ok. I fought through it. I accomplished a good, sweaty workout that will help me get closer to my health goals.
So here the summer health goals are, for all to see!
1. Drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.
2. Decrease sugar intake. Increase protein intake.
3. Go to the gym/get a good sweaty workout in at least 5 times per week.
4. Hit 10,000 steps 90% of the time.
5. Start Couch to 5k, stick with it to the end. RUN a 5k!!!
6. Through all of this, achieve first weight loss goal of losing 25 pounds.
Lofty, but achievable! I'm excited to see -- and feel! -- the results!
I've been telling myself for years that I don't digest raw veggies and fruit well. Which is kind of true -- salads and strawberries can literally be my worst enemy if I eat too much. But it's also something that I've been leaning on and using as an excuse for far too long. I also haven't had much luck with running in the past due to it shaking up my intestines and causing sometimes urgent needs to use the restroom.
Well...this summer is the summer of change. Healthy change. This week I started cleaning up my diet for the first time in...well, a long time. I went grocery shopping on Monday afternoon (yay summer break) and essentially bought out the produce section. Spinach. Berries. Watermelon. Grapes. Cucumbers. Everything. I've literally eaten spinach more in the past 3 days than I have in the past 3 months. And you know what? For something that has caused pretty significant issues with me in the past, I digested it just fine!
I've been killing it! Minimizing sugar. Increasing protein intake. Regulating portions. Going to the gym every day. Drinking an enormous amount of water. I've done it all! Even eating salads. Mmmm, salad. I was feeling amazing because for the first time in a LONG time for the most part I was eating fresh, healthy foods.
Tonight was the first time in the past 3 days I didn't feel good at all. I had some pain in my stomach indicating something wasn't sitting right. I was feeling quite defeated because I had literally just taken a nice 2 mile walk around our local lake and I got back and...I felt gross. We ate dinner, I picked at my food, and I sat on the couch feeling like a failure. Which is insane because this "new" lifestyle has been 3 days and of course I'm going to have good days and bad days.
At 8:00 tonight I took my butt off my couch and I forced myself to go to the gym. I still didn't feel right. I was gassy and feeling disgusting. But I went. I'm one who LOVES going outside but when it comes to serious workouts I prefer the gym since bathrooms are never far away. I am hoping to quash that fear this summer...for now though the gym is a great option for days like today when the last thing I wanted to do was visit the gym.
I jumped onto the elliptical and told myself to simply do as much as I could. I ended up going through the entire workout even though I couldn't keep up the pace I started at. And you know what? That's ok! I still got in a solid 35 minutes of sweaty work on the elliptical and I felt pretty accomplished after that. I even jumped on a few weight machines afterward.
I'm now home and sitting back down on my couch. My gut still doesn't feel quite right, but that's ok. I fought through it. I accomplished a good, sweaty workout that will help me get closer to my health goals.
So here the summer health goals are, for all to see!
1. Drink at least 80 ounces of water daily.
2. Decrease sugar intake. Increase protein intake.
3. Go to the gym/get a good sweaty workout in at least 5 times per week.
4. Hit 10,000 steps 90% of the time.
5. Start Couch to 5k, stick with it to the end. RUN a 5k!!!
6. Through all of this, achieve first weight loss goal of losing 25 pounds.
Lofty, but achievable! I'm excited to see -- and feel! -- the results!
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