Update and gratitude

My apologies, I have been MIA for quite awhile now.  My husband and I just bought and moved into our first house, it happened quite by accident, but after adding some new flooring and fresh paint, we are finally moved in and life is becoming "normal".  Or, as normal as it can be leading up to Christmas amidst boxes!  I wanted to provide you with a few updates on running and the runs.

In terms of running, this has been a rollercoaster for me.  I may not be made for running, which I am finding hard to absorb after reading Born to Run (amazing book, read it even if you are not a runner).  I cannot not get injured.  Call me clumsy, but I cannot seem to get on track and go two weeks without something happening.  Ever since I received the go-ahead to start running again I am plagued with a bum knee after each run that essentially prevents me from running for approximately one week.  I promise this is not me wimping out, it involves not being able to walk up or down stairs (off and on I am that girl in the office tower who takes the elevator up or down one floor - how very embarrassing).  So, my chiropractor and I have come up with a new game plan that is essentially one last kick at the can; she very diplomatically stated that if this does not work I should find something else to occupy my time.  The plan is to walk/run (or run as things progress) 2 km approximately 3-4 times a week for two months.  The reason why we chose 2 km is because my knee starts throbbing around 3 km, so the theory is that if I stop before then and master that distance I might just build up enough muscle to increase my distance after the two month mark.  If not, at least I have a cute lulu running skirt that I can wear around the house...  So have I been doing this?  Ha!  Once.  I told myself that over the next couple of weeks I should do what I can as we try to get the house somewhat organized before Christmas and in January I will commit to at minimum three runs per week. 

Now let's talk about the runs - I had a few days in the middle of the move where I hit around 15, but aside from that I am hovering in around five, which I can deal with.  My husband and I are re-introducing vegetables after a moving hiatus filled with garlic knots, slices of pizza, wine and beer.  For anyone with IBS you can understand how unpleasant it can be to convince your body to digest fruits and vegetables, but, I seem to be doing all right at the moment.  I certainly have not added in any whole wheat items at this juncture, that would have disaster written all over it. 

In the Christmas spirit, I thought I would share with you a little list of what I am grateful for in relation to the new house:

1. I have stairs.
2. Two sets to be precise.
3. I adore the wall colours and flooring we chose and it makes me feel happy.
4. It is fun living in a neighbourhood and it feels safer when I go for a walk at night.
5. The house has more than one floor which enables me to feel decidedly un-hampster-like compared to the apartment.
6. I cannot hear every move my husband makes.
7. I have a propane fireplace and I turn it on even though I know it costs me money every time I use it.
8. There are built-in bookshelves in the basement which allows me to partially live out my dream of a home library.
9. My husband was comfortable with me taking up the whole closet in our bedroom, the downside being he has his own dressing room of sorts - my closet is bigger though!
10. My closet has a tower for my shoes.
11. We have a backyard! 
12. Our barbecue is no longer sitting in our living room, it is on the deck and we are using it!
13. We finally caved and bought a microwave after three years because there was a space for one in the kitchen.  I did not think I would like this as much as I do - I no longer have to heat my Magic Bag up in the oven.
14. No fire alarms have gone off while making toast.
15. No fire alarms have gone off period.
16. No one is smoking in the building.
17. My husband thinks he is Mike Holmes and is quite busy as a result.  I call him Tim Taylor.
18. I am super excited to be in before Christmas - we are setting up our first tree ever!
19. We have a dryer that dries our clothes in less than four cycles.
20. We can hang our clothes to dry out-of-site in the utility room.
21. I really feel married now, it felt kind of pretend before and I am excited to share this milestone with my husband.

Oh my goodness - I had to come back and add one last item - I forgot the most important item of all - two toilets!  This should have been at the top of my list!

Food Gone Wild

WARNING:  This is an IBS-specific post, and may contain TMI - Too Much Information.

We have all been lead to assume that fruits, vegetables, lentils and whole grains are healthy and should represent a large portion of our diet.  I would also like to believe this is true, but, unfortunately, for some of us, this can run horribly awry in practice.

For the last few months I have had the sneaking suspicion that I have been heading toward a full-blown IBS episode. Firstly, as my episodes are normally about every two years or so, I am clearly due.  What tipped me off though were the minimum of seven to eight visits to the ladies room each day (double what I think of as normal) for the past eight weeks. I have had gas so badly that I have been unable to sit up straight at work and have been forced to drop everything, call a cab and head home to my magic bag on more than one occasion.  It has begun to affect my routines, my corn starch usage has gone through the roof and I cannot decide whether sitting or standing is preferable.

In an attempt to combat this I have tried a few things.  I had my first abdominal massage, I am now seeing a naturopath (the third in my lifetime).  I find myself agreeing to consume tinctures and Chinese herbs with names like bu zhong yi qi tang.  I have yet to try a rice water remedy that is supposed to help regulate me.

The likely question here is - is it something I'm eating?  I tried that experiment - I did the clean eating thing - I peeled and steamed my veg and fruit.  I ate lots of sugar-free applesauce and fruit cocktail (fresh fruit can be tricky for IBSers to digest).  I ate more fibre, I drank more water (more than my 3+ litres a day), I drank digestive teas, I did the digestive-friendly yoga poses and lots of yoga breathing.  The results?  It gave me the shits, like, have-the-flu kind of shits.

Upon realizing that this was not going according to plan I bought a lot of Boost and Gatorade (to help replace electrolytes).  On particularly high-pain days I have been drinking 1-3 Boost.  Some days I have a completely liquid day so it does not hurt quite so much by the time I hit number 8. On better days I have 1-2 Boost, applesauce, white bread with peanut butter and either more white bread, applesauce and an egg or grilled chicken with steamed broccoli.

However, a funny thing happened.  I went on vacation.  In the land of Olive Garden salad and bread sticks, pizza, fried food, dessert and alcohol.

Amazing milkshake at Duckfat in Portland, Maine

Aside from a little gas, I was at 1-2 washroom trips a day - without the big D and minimal amounts of pain!  I even hiked up several mountains at Acadia National Park without crapping my pants or popping a squat!  The only real side effects are my clogged arteries and the extra padding around my tush.

View from Acadia Mountain

Another beautiful view 

What does this mean?  It certainly goes to show that stress is the leading factor contributing to this IBS episode.  It also shows that when in an episode food can have little bearing on your symptoms.  So does this mean I plan to continue along this road to chunky town?  Definitely not.  Come hell or high water I am putting my fat pants away.  But, it does mean that as I go back on "real" food, life will be pretty awful, for quite awhile as my body gets used to trying to process fruits and vegetables.

As an IBS sufferer it is often difficult to choose the right foods because my reaction to the good food goes against everything I have been taught - from the food guide to my specialist, to all the health, fitness and wellness bloggers out there.  The healthy choice certainly feels pretty unhealthy to me as I have to go every hour, on the hour from the time I wake up.  It certainly feels unhealthy canceling appointments and making up excuses as to why I have to miss that meeting or have my colleagues believe that I really cannot shake that flu.  It is also really awkward dealing with the corn starch in a public restroom - all signs point to addiction.

So today, my first full day back from vacation I started off with my morning shake (Shakeology, cocoa powder, cinnamon, skim milk, peanut butter and banana baby food) and stuck to real food aside from my one ultra dark chocolate truffle and some butter on my white bread.  My body certainly cannot take whole wheat bread and vegetables all at once - one step at a time.  As I slowly, but surely trade in my fat pants for my skinny jeans, think of me, perpetually on the throne, in a cloud of corn starch.  Think of this as installment one in Food Gone Wild - an IBSer's tale of strange food choices, all in the name of the colon!

For those of you with digestive issues, I would love to hear if you have any recommendations!