Baby Steps to a Healthy Diet

Eating healthy is very difficult, especially in a time and money constrained world. Fresh out on our own we are trying to prove ourselves to our colleagues, keep a social life, network, stay in shape, and stay in budget. Millions of people have done it before us, so it shouldn't be so hard, right? Well, everyone is different, we all have different strengths and weaknesses and that is what makes the world wonderful, but our own lives stressful. When deciding to start something new, it is important to take baby steps so you won't be overwhelmed. In this blog I will go over some tips to hopefully get you started on eating right.Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional and not liable for your health (but I am doing research and following my suggestions myself, I won't intentionally steer you wrong). Seek the guidance of a healthcare professional when changing diets or starting a new fitness program.

#1: Make a food journal

There are multiple ways you can do this. You can get a small, pocket-sized notebook and write down everything you eat (write down the date and time as well) or write it on napkins and scrap pieces of paper (unless you are prone to loosing those) or use a smartphone app. The purpose of this exercise is to see what you eat everyday. You may be unaware how much junk food you eat, or how healthy you eat. At this point I just want you to write down you daily meals and snacks, go over them at the end of the day and begin thinking about them. Jot down notes when you think of them about how you feel about your meal. Are you proud of yourself for what you ate that day? Do you think you made some wrong decisions?

#2: Drink plenty of water

The rule of thumb is to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Dehydration is very serious and can occur very quickly. By the time you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated! Early symptoms of dehydration include tiredness, low energy and headaches. Do you feel this way through out the day. Try just carrying around a water bottle and drinking out of it regularly! This may solve your problem! On top of that, water helps with digestion and helps your immune system. Drinking this much water is very easily doable for several reasons:

• A single glass of water is only 8 ounces. That is about the size at least 3 medium drinks at a fast food place.
• This includes all liquids consumed: juice, fruits, soups... But keep in mind that caffeine and alcohol are dehydrating. So sodas and martinis don't count.
• It is now the in thing to carry around a reusable water bottle. No more going to the drink machine and shelling out more money every month, flattening your last dollar bill on the corner of the machine, or begging people for change.
• It is also possible to flavor water without spending much financially or space wise. Just stick a box of the flavor pixie sticks at your desk and dump a new one in each time you fill up. However, these are full of sugar also. I would suggest, instead, adding a bit of fruit juice to your water as a healthier alternative.

So I want you to go out and make a small investment in your health and buy a reusable water bottle, and maybe even a refrigerated filtration pitcher while your at it! The water bottles are usually just around $10, and they are reusable! Water is cheap, this one little change will do you a great deal of good with little cost. Maybe even just reuse the last bottle you will ever get out of a soda machine. But there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Wash the bottle daily!
• If you purchase a bottle, purchase one with a kind of a spout that you put your mouth around (I have one like a coffee mug and it spills everywhere! But if you have a trick then buy one like that).
• Do your research. There are certain chemicals in plastic that are being discovered to be harmful when used in water bottles. I would suggest reading several, recent articles on the subject, or going to a camping/sporting goods store. You would not believe how much those guys know.

This is all I will leave you with for now. Be sure to watch what you eat and drink you water. Write down how many times you drink your whole bottle a day. There is such thing as water poisoning, but that involves so much water it is very uncommon. And hold yourself accountable! Look at your food journal, and even show it to others. You may be able to hide your junk food habits behind closed doors, but once it's written down for even just your eyes, your secrets out!

Crohn's Disease and Diet

Sitting here, in the hospital, without much to do, I have begun my research on my projects. I have begun with what I think is the most important: diet. What you eat is everything! It controls how your feel physically and emotionally, and whether or not you are able to complete simple or complex tasks. Think about how you feel at the end of the day when you realize you had nothing to eat, or nothing but junk food out of the snack machine, or if you ate healthy, balanced and regular meals. What you eat makes a huge difference in your day.

I began my research with what is suggested for a normal person. The government just came out with a new method for figuring out what to eat each day called MyPlate. They have simplified the classic pyramid to hopefully help people figure out what the are supposed to each at each meal. But this isn't the answer for everyone. I did research on this and found a great article that goes over MyPlate and gives it's own suggestions for making it even healthier. For instance, they suggest putting dairy foods in with protein, rather than making them separate. I will write a comprehensive blog with this information and other information, but in the mean time, here is a link to the article.

Along with discovering what is important for everyone to eat, I did a lot of research on what is important for those with Crohn's Disease to eat. As I have mentioned I have Crohn's Disease, and am currently in the hospital recovering from some sort of infection caused by my second bowel resection about a month ago. A bowel resection involves removing a portion of the diseased intestine in order for the patient to hopefully go into remission for a number of years. It worked really well the first time, and aside from this infection, I have done very well this time.

But because of diseased intestine, which doesn't absorb nutrients as it should, and bowel resections, Crohn's patients often have issues with absorption of nutrients and it is often necessary to take supplements. Along with this, many Crohn's patients are sensitive to some foods, varying case by case, which can prevent a patient from getting the necessary nutrition. There are a wide variety of methods for getting extra nutrition into a Crohn's patient, from OTC vitamins to IV nutrition.

I have enjoyed doing my research and doing everything I can to have a healthy future, and helping everyone have a healthier and happier future.

Starting Over

One of the best things about life is that everyday you wake you, you can start over. You can decide to be a different person, a better person. Now I can't say you can change everything about your life (your job, your living circumstances, your credit), just by waking up and wishing for it, but by having this attitude, that you are ready to change you can make a drastic difference.

I have written about my health several times. Just to refresh, I have Crohn's disease. It is a very serious and very unpredictable digestive disease. I was very sick in middle school, and went into remission after a bowel resection. That surgery was 11 years ago. Over the past 5 years I have slowly becoming ill again, and my Crohn's became fully active about a year ago.

About a month ago I woke up in severe pain, and went to the ER. From the first moment I stepped in doctors were mentioning another surgery. I was caught by surprise because my own doctor was hopeful that we could get me into remission without surgery, and I wasn't nearly as sick as I was in middle school. A few days later I had my second bowel resection.

I was granted the chance to start over. Over the past year I have lost 20 pounds, lost a significant amount of energy, missed out on social events, and hadn't been able to properly organize my new home. I already knew that my Crohn's was active, but it was a relief to realize the reason for my recent extreme lethargy.

I was granted a chance to start over, and I am going to take full responsibility for myself and use my fresh start to the fullest. The Lord has granted me this start over at the best time possible. I am ready to start my career and my life, and with my new health I can put everything into this.

Soon after being released from the hospital I discovered some websites that would help with just this. They are all free, and are all designed to make over different parts of your life. I am very excited to follow the free programs, and set up routines that will give me a clean and orderly home when I wake up, peace and serenity, lots of energy, and be a better person to those around me.

The first is called FlyLady. FlyLady is a sweet woman with lots of advice, suggestions and encouragement for those who are interested in becoming her Flybabies, She, and several others, hand out daily advice and encouragement on cleaning and organizing your home, and on improving your life. There are a series of baby steps that I have just begun that help you to set up routines to keep your house clean. Most of them involve a daily wipe down or few minute clean. It is amazing how much can be cleared in just 2 minutes, and how great ones sink can look if you wipe it out once a day. A new, small task is added on each day, and individualization is encouraged. Once the baby steps are completed there are daily missions to be done around the house as your time allows, and a new task is added on monthly that just takes a few minutes. This program is very well organized, and did I mention free! I have really enjoyed every part of it so far.

Another program is similar to FlyLady, but a little bit looser. This one I have barely started, and look forward to starting it fuller soon. It is called HabitHacker. This one is comprised of three ninety day plans, Create, Nest and SOS. I'm going to do Nest first. This involves cleaning and decluttering your home. Each day you receive an email about the next days project. For instance, spend 5 minutes cleaning one area off, and keep it clean. The Create program helps you discover your inner artist and the SOS program is for your personal health.

Currently I am reading a book and the accompanying blog, the Happiness Project. A women, who was completely content with her life, decided she wanted to be more than content. She did a vast amount of research on areas where she felt she could improve, created resolutions, and followed them. In January she decided to "boost energy," and in February she decided to "remember love." I have just begun reading about March in which she decided to "aim higher." While reading this book I have gone ahead and written down various areas in which I plan to improve my life. I am very encouraged by what she has discovered in herself, and how much it has helped others around her. Ones attitude is truly contagious.

My final plan is to completely revamp my health. I have always been very small, and viewed exercise as a method to loose weight, and then maintain it. Over the past year I have changed this view, but was too weak to act on it. I viewed dieting the same way and would eat junk food as much as I could. I plan on beginning a loose workout plan, simply running and walking regularly, and more importantly I am going to work with a nutritionist about eating healthy for me.

The most invasive part of my plan for health comes from a 7 step plan to break a real addiction that I, and many others, have. It is a sugar addiction. Dr. Kathleen Desmaisons is a therapist who specialized in alcoholism, is a recovering sugar addict, and is currently researching sugar addiction. She noticed that a lot of recovering alcoholics exhibited the same symptoms she did in relation to sugar, and that many alcoholics turned to sugar. Her own experience has shown that she feels physically and mentally better when she doesn't eat sugar, something I have noticed as well. And she has discovered that there is more to both addictions than just saying no. Her book "The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program" outlines these sevens steps, and how to customize them for yourself. The steps are primarily about changing your diet to satisfy the chemical imbalance that causes both sugar addiction and alcoholism. There is also a website, called Radiant Recovery, that accompanies this book that outlines the seven steps, has a support community and online classes to help you with each step and beyond. I am very excited about this program and knowing that this will give me many more healthy years.

These are my self improvement plans. Everyone has areas in which they can improve themselves, and these programs will by no means make me perfect. But I would encourage everyone to wake up every morning and tell themselves "this is a fresh start," and to do what you can to enjoy your day to the greatest extent possible.