# 2012 - get fit and eat healthy - whos with me?



## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 7, 2012)

right, thats it, enoughs enough - im going to dust off my running trainers and clear the garage out and get back to working out and running to see if treating my body (and guts) makes me feel any better.

Is anyone else thinking along the same lines as me and ditched the crisps and biscuits for fruit and rice cakes?

Motivation is the key for me, especially during these cold and dark nights.

New years resolution..


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## Cookie (Jan 7, 2012)

Most definitely.  I know from experience that my body treats me as well as I treat it, so when i am feeling bad I can only blame myself (well, to a degree, anyway).   I am back on my gluten-free diet and exercising regularly.  I feel better just thinking about it!


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## nitty (Jan 7, 2012)

Count me in.  I'll probably be a slow starter as I'm a bit of a fair weather exerciser, but being newly diagnosed has been a bit of a wake up call to looking after myself a bit better.  I'd love to lose a stone of the extra weight I put on when I was pregnant - and my youngest child is nearly 9 years old!!

I'm not one to exercise for the sheer sake of it, and I hate running and anything high impact, but I do like to get out walking, and have done a couple of bike rides recently.  So as an incentive I have persuaded my sister to sign up with me to do a bike ride for charity.  It's about 55 miles long and it's in August, so plenty of time to start gently and build it up, but with a goal at the end to keep me going.  I live with a husband who is a fell runner and triathlete - he'll probably eat his cycling shorts if I manage to do it!!


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## SandyM (Jan 7, 2012)

Still some leftover biscuits and beer etc. after Xmas to be had although I am definitely going to ease myself into the running and healthy eating again soon.
I find exercise and healthy eating go hand in hand and I definitely notice an improvement once I get into it as long as my crohns isn't playing up that is.

Right - just need some willpower


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 8, 2012)

This is good folks, keep em coming! 

I've just ordered myself a fitness DVD and earlier today tidied the garage up and washed down my weight bench and other bits, so it's all systems go from here on in.

Keep us posted on your progress, any goals set and basically an overview of how it's going:dance:


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## __JK__ (Jan 8, 2012)

I'm in!  Deffo want to sort my lazy backside out.  Not long had surgery and it's really given me a craving to get fit.

Just posted a thread asking advice cos i've never run without being chased in my life.  

I don't like doing things by half.  If i'm gonna run, i'm gonna run a marathon!  anyone up for that?


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## Tesscorm (Jan 8, 2012)

__JK__ said:


> i've never run without being chased in my life.


:rof:  Me too!

Nitty - also trying to lose some of that 'baby-fat' and my baby's 17 years! :lol:  How pathetic is that!  :ybatty:

I'm in!  Need some willpower and some friendly shoves to get this New Years resolution going!

Good luck everyone!


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## nitty (Jan 9, 2012)

Just to encourage those who may not be able to have some sort of major event as a goal to aim for, and speaking as one of the laziest people I know, I started this morning by simply walking to the chemist for my meds.  Normally I would have gone in the car on my way to somewhere else, but I made the conscious effort to drop the kids at school and then keep walking.  The chemist was not open yet, so I made a little detour through the local church and library gardens.  It was actually very relaxing.

Little steps...:thumleft:


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## ekuskrash (Jan 9, 2012)

I've done that today! I went out to take some photos and walked to the place I wanted to go (5 km each way). I felt tired but good... But I messed up when I got home, showered ate 3 pieces of bread with butter and some cookies (don't know how to describe them u.u
But hey... you got to start somewhere right?


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 9, 2012)

I just wanted to offer some encouragement to you guys!  You can do it!  I started exercising regularly (I try to do 3x per week) around the time that I hit remission.  I've been working out for about 8 months or so and I've got some muscles now!  I am loving seeing the results and I feel great when I exercise.  Hopefully my success can motivate somebody to keep up with it.  As the old cliche goes, if I can do it then anybody can!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 9, 2012)

Thanks soo much for the encouragement, it defo helps!! 

Just got in from 5 a side footie and so we'll see how I feel in the morning.

I've got a hospital appt tomorrow with my consultant so we'll see how that goes, but I'm gona crack on with staying as fit and healthy as I can!

Keep going everyone!!


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## Juansin (Jan 10, 2012)

I am really thankful to all of you for Great encouragement from your side because i was feeling tired last night and there was also very cold . I admire your posts too .


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## bkbigfish (Jan 12, 2012)

I can't run, it's to hard on my body. I mtn bike, usually about 20-60 miles 5 days a week, it's not hard on your body. I know that being really fit helped me recover well after open small bowel surgery, even all the Dr's and nurses really made me feel good about being fit and surgery would not be too hard on my body, they were right! I recovered very well and gained 30 lbs and can eat everything. I attribute a quick recovery to taking care of my body, no smoking, drinking and not too much fast food. Billy.


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## nitty (Jan 15, 2012)

Took the kids for our first geocaching trip today.  It's been a crisp sunny winter's day, and having regular targets helped keep the kids interested and keen to keep going.  We didn't go very far, perhaps a couple of miles, but it got us all some much needed fresh air and sunlight, and stunning views of the beautiful Peak District.  Definitely therapy for body and soul!


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## DanaDeadPetals (Jan 16, 2012)

I started in December, joined the gym and I've been motivated. A little flare has kept me away for 4 days, but I'm determined to get back! Great thread! Let's get fit and take our bodies back!!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 16, 2012)

DanaDeadPetals said:


> I started in December, joined the gym and I've been motivated. A little flare has kept me away for 4 days, but I'm determined to get back! Great thread! Let's get fit and take our bodies back!!


fantastic, well done!!:thumright:

keep going, we can all reach our goals and stay fit and healthy if we all pull together, share our experiences and motivate one another to keep on with this!!


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## Nerple (Jan 16, 2012)

I started about 2 years back, and hoping this year is the year I finally get to my goal weight and maintain it.  I am currently down 60 lbs from the start but the last 10 have been a pain and I keep bouncing around between my goal and 10 lbs over.  Getting back to logging my food and exercise as I did best when doing that.  Though now trying out myfitnesspal.com (previously used fitday.com, but myfitnesspal has a bit more of a social aspect so hoping having friends doing the same will push me more)

Was very happy today, with the day off for MLK day, managed to get 160 minutes on the bike and 50 minutes of strength training.


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## secrets (Jan 17, 2012)

I dance!  In the nice weather, I get lots of exercise because I have a 2 acre farm which I mow, snip, take care of grass, gardens, etc.,  in winter, I could SO easily become a couch potato (complete with bag of potato chips).  I got a WII two years ago for Christmas from my children, and my grandchildren gave me the WII FIT and a Michael Jackson WII dance.  This year I got the ABBA DANCE for WII.  So when the house is empty and all are gone out, I dance for 15 minutes or so every day.  Trying to dance to a MJ is a REAL WORKOUT --- but, HERE'S A QUESTION FOR YOU?

I cannot seem to rebuild muscle --- is it my age  (60) or is it the drugs.  I don't weigh much, I average between 105 and 110 and that's about it for the last decade or so.  Tiny but not muscular.  Have been assuming it was the drugs, but never asked anyone, so do you know?


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 18, 2012)

Well, so far so good my end. 

I've been on numerous walks, played footie and generally been more active since starting this post and feel pretty good?!

However, I still struggle not to eat things like crisps and the odd biscuit, but I have cut down on fatty foods quite a lot-I've even 'tried' having sandwiches without spread, which is a little dry, but it's better for me I guess.

I've switched to brown/whole meal bread, dry cereal in a bag for lunch at work instead of a bag of crisps, and try (guts permitting) to eat an apple a day.

Well done to everyone who's giving this a go!!


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## rygon (Jan 18, 2012)

I wouldnt go too far with dieting. I you dont enjoy your food then you wont stick to it. I found I had to try other things and change my diet slowly.

I'd watch out for wholemeal products as it can cause us lot problems (yuo might be ok but be careful). Bread is supposed to be very bad for you anyway. I stick to rice cakes with cheese or peanut butter (2 ricecakes with stuff in the middle fills me up more)

If theres a microwave at work you can always make a stew or something and put it in containers. Easy to make in the slow cooker and will last over a week


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 18, 2012)

rygon said:


> I wouldnt go too far with dieting. I you dont enjoy your food then you wont stick to it. I found I had to try other things and change my diet slowly.
> 
> I'd watch out for wholemeal products as it can cause us lot problems (yuo might be ok but be careful). Bread is supposed to be very bad for you anyway. I stick to rice cakes with cheese or peanut butter (2 ricecakes with stuff in the middle fills me up more)
> 
> If theres a microwave at work you can always make a stew or something and put it in containers. Easy to make in the slow cooker and will last over a week


I guess i just find it hard to eat/try anything different. My body is used to pretty much the same foods, as too much fruit and veg makes me go to the loo a lot. I used to love salad with croutons and cubes of cheese, but I can hear my guts rumbling with anger and the mere mention of it?!

I'm also trying to up my fibre intake after my consultant said it would "bulk things up a tad" but I've got a jpouch so I don't want to go too mad and find myself with a blockage?!

My main aim this year is to get back to weight training and build a bit of muscle and tone up.


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## rygon (Jan 18, 2012)

Someone wrote a great article about fibre (notice how we spell it americans  ) on here, and that soluble fibre is good, but the insoluble fibre can cause troubles.

My mate has a jpouch and finds it hard putting on weight. Hes just started going to the gym and drinking sci-mx omni hardcore which is doing him good. Its gluten free which he needs. Ive tried it and its been ok on my stomach, so has pHd synergy iso 7. Not sure if you want to go down that route tho.


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## kathyrussell (Jan 18, 2012)

I totally agree I can Only eat Soluable Fibre Apples semm to be good for me I dont eat the peelings ..


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 22, 2012)

So how's everyone getting on?

Bit of a lapse for me today-full English fry up this morning, pizza for lunch then a full roast?! I'm taking it as my naughty day and I'll get back on it tomorrow!

Remicade no4 this week as well so we'll see how that goes!


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## guest9933 (Jan 22, 2012)

Mr Bedfordshire said:


> So how's everyone getting on?
> 
> Bit of a lapse for me today-full English fry up this morning, pizza for lunch then a full roast?! I'm taking it as my naughty day and I'll get back on it tomorrow!
> 
> Remicade no4 this week as well so we'll see how that goes!


wow your crohns musn't be that bad if I ate all that I'd be suffering horribly today but it sounds so yum I can't even tolaerate pizza the sauce a dough mess me up badly roast are good though.

And on the topic of exercise I'm so tired from the remicade I can hardly keep my eyes open I've only had 2 doses and waiting for the third and hopefully I can get back to the gym.

I'm 5'7 and was 90kg not sure what that is in stone or ponds but had people telling me I was a tank oh how I miss my muscles and training I love pumping iron in the gym now I weigh 50 kg and look like a 12 year old thats what my friends GF said to me and I just felt worse why can;t some people just shut they're mouths sometimes


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## indianhart (Jan 22, 2012)

*Yaaaay!*

Just had my husband hook up my Wii and will start with my Wii-fit yoga tomorrow!  Thanks for the uplift and its great to see everyone on board too!  I go for a colonscopy on Thursday but will forge forward and do as much yoga as I can!!  Thanks for the inspiration!!! :ghug:


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## SandyM (Jan 23, 2012)

Started back at the gym Thursday last week and making more healthy diet choices. The plan is to go early morning before work twice a week to start with and build myself back up to running outdoors again come spring. Hard to beleive I was running 10k's at this time last year! It's going to take some commitment to get back to that level but gotta start somewhere and you still get the feel good factor no matter what level of fitness when you hit the shower after a good workout. Feel better already for it.

We all need help with motivation at times.
Again thanks for the inspiration


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## indianhart (Jan 23, 2012)

*Yoga!*

Did 15 minutes of yoga today! :thumright: I'm so happpy to have at least done something!  Thanks for the motivation!  Starting slowly but slowly but surely!!!  Very happy about this! :biggrin:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 23, 2012)

SandyM, you can do it!  It took me awhile to get back up to the fitness level I was at before I became ill, but I did get there.  In fact, recently I looked over my fitness logs from back when I was healthy.  I'm currently lifting around the same amount on the weight machines now as I was back then - but when I looked closer at my logs, I saw that I was only doing 12 reps on each machine back then.  I do 20 reps per machine now!  I'm more fit now than I was before I became ill!  You can do it too, it might take awhile and there might be setbacks, but if you keep at it you can do it.

And for those who have mentioned having difficulties eating healthier - me too!  I have a tough time with fresh fruits and veggies.  Strawberries and tomatoes seem to hit me especially hard and I always seem undigested bits of them in my poo later.  I have tried juicing my fruits & veggies and that's been going really well.  It's very easy on my tummy, I think it's because all the fiber and seeds and skins and stuff like that has been completely broken down.  Steamed veggies seem to sit in my tummy okay also.  And if you're a snacker (I am!), I've found that rice cakes are a good alternative to stuff like potato chips.  Any other suggestions for tummy-friendly healthy snacks would be welcomed!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 23, 2012)

After my day of eating rubbish yesterday, I've stuck with healthy foods all day today and played footie tonight, even though I felt very tired after work and couldn't really be bothered?!

I've still got to print off a workout plan of some sort as otherwise I'll just do a load of different exercises in my garage gym with no real clue as to if it's doing anything?!

Well done to everyone, keep up the good work-I'm sure our body and guts are thankful.


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## Derfernerf (Jan 24, 2012)

I've kind of started this also, as a new years resolution. I'm going through a pretty rough flare at the moment but I've started trading soda for water, started cooking my own meals instead of fast food (using fresh ingredients). The weather is not so great here right now, but when it warms up I plan on walking, riding my bike, and even hoping to buy a kayak come spring time. I love kayaking, but only go about once a year, 2 of my buddies picked some up last year, so I have people to go with, and theres plenty of places around here to drop the kayak in the water and just go.

This idea started not so much as getting fit and healthy, but actually just getting out more. I feel like I spend my free time at home (sleeping most often) because of the fatigue and whatnot. I would like to be out, enjoying the nice weather. Walking/hiking, biking, kayaking, camping. Heres to 2012 and enjoying the beautiful outdoors!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 25, 2012)

Great to see so many people onboard with this thread;it's given me a boost knowing I'm not on my own!

Let's get more people involved-come on guys, post up, we're all in this together!:thumright:


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## Cookie (Jan 25, 2012)

Thanks for keeping this thread going...misery loves company, right?   Only kidding.  I am actually feeling great since i have been eating better and excercising.  Since Jan 1, I have been gluten-free again.  Also been running (Tues/Thurs/Sat), strength training (M/F) and attending a power yoga class (W).  I have noticed a definite increase in my energy level.  Hoping to regain the level of fitness I had prior to my fistula surgeries, but I am turning 40 next month, so I guess I need to be realistic and just be happy that I can still do any of these things at all.

Thanks for the boost guys!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 25, 2012)

Derfernerf, I used to kayak often before I became ill.  I haven't taken my kayak out since I became ill though - it's been collecting dust in my basement for the past 2 years.  I am definitely going to take it out this summer though!  (It's a 2 person kayak, so if worse comes to worse and I feel too ill to paddle, my husband can pick up the slack.)  It's so much fun going kayaking.  There's a little stream that goes right near our house that is absolutely wonderful for kayaking in.  One end of the stream is right by a nature preserve, and you can actually paddle into the nature preserve and it's the area where cars and hikers don't go, so you're totally alone.  The first time we paddled in there, we saw a mother and two baby deer drinking at the edge of the water.  It was so beautiful in there!  I am definitely going kayaking there again this summer!


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## Derfernerf (Jan 25, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> Derfernerf, I used to kayak often before I became ill.  I haven't taken my kayak out since I became ill though - it's been collecting dust in my basement for the past 2 years.  I am definitely going to take it out this summer though!  (It's a 2 person kayak, so if worse comes to worse and I feel too ill to paddle, my husband can pick up the slack.)  It's so much fun going kayaking.  There's a little stream that goes right near our house that is absolutely wonderful for kayaking in.  One end of the stream is right by a nature preserve, and you can actually paddle into the nature preserve and it's the area where cars and hikers don't go, so you're totally alone.  The first time we paddled in there, we saw a mother and two baby deer drinking at the edge of the water.  It was so beautiful in there!  I am definitely going kayaking there again this summer!


It is a blast! We have tons of little rivers around my area, and plenty of places to park a car and just go. With how low-impact kayaking is, it's nice on the tummy and joints, yet still great exercise and a great way to enjoy the outdoors and see some beautiful scenery. The best part (if you have extra time to burn) is if you get tired/want a break, set the paddle down and relax. The current will carry you downstream. Or like you said, bring an extra person to pick up your slack. It's not a race, enjoy it! Heres some basic info I found on line about the health benefits of kayaking:

_To move the kayak at about 5 mph is going to require about 0.1 hp of effort.Which is going to use up about 400 calories per hour.  And so, four hours of paddling is going to burn up about 1600 calories!  A weight watcher's dream!

When you are paddling you can expect to do about 500, maybe more, maybe less, strokes per mile!  Placing the paddle in the water and executing a good stroke is going to incorporate every muscle in the upper body and some lower body muscles as well.  This means that in one hour at 3 mph you are going to do about 1500 repetitions of low impact upper body movements, which no matter what your fitness goals are, you are going to tone up almost every muscle in your body.  Hey, you are going to look good!_


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 26, 2012)

I didn't realize kayaking burns that many calories!  Who knew you could sit down for a few hours and still burn nearly a day's worth of calories, ha ha.  We have tons of streams around here although some of them are weird because they go right through the city.  There's one creek that starts out in a scenic area and goes through the botannical garden, but then you start to go past houses and then you go right under the main drag and past McDonalds and stuff!  It's crazy.


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## SandyM (Jan 26, 2012)

Cookie said:


> Thanks for keeping this thread going...misery loves company, right?   Only kidding.  I am actually feeling great since i have been eating better and exercising.  Since Jan 1, I have been gluten-free again.  Also been running (Tues/Thurs/Sat), strength training (M/F) and attending a power yoga class (W).  I have noticed a definite increase in my energy level.  Hoping to regain the level of fitness I had prior to my fistula surgeries, but I am turning 40 next month, so I guess I need to be realistic and just be happy that I can still do any of these things at all.
> 
> Thanks for the boost guys!


Hey Cookie,

That's a good mix. Good for you!! You must have been super fit before your fistula surgeries. (Been there and it's not fun) I'd be sleeping all weekend after that lot of training on top of work.

I am slowly building my running up again and signed up with a gym today after a few pay as you go sessions!  It will take me a while to get back to my target fitness level and it will depend on my guts behaving as well. I am already noticing improvements and I seem to have a fair bit more energy although my appetite has increased as I'm now burning more calories. Hopefully signing up will give me the incentive to go more frequently and also to get my monies worth.

Hey folks - As we are talking fit and healthy - What foods do you all find go well with exercise? I try and eat white rice or pasta with chicken or fish the night before a hard session. For a small session I'd just opt for porridge or banana before hand.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 26, 2012)

With regards to food, I read somewhere that it's good to eat protien after exercising to help heal the muscles.  So I try to eat something like eggs or goat cheese or soy yogurt after I get back from the gym.  Hard boiled eggs are one of my favorites.  I'm lactose intolerant so I can't do a lot of dairy, but I've been meaning to try greek yogurt and see if it affects me negatively (I can do some dairy like butter and ice cream - can't do milk or cheese though).  I've also been snacking on rice cakes and bananas lately as those sit really well in my tummy.  For fats, I try to do "good" fats like avocado, almond butter, and olive oil.  A banana with some almond butter smeared on it is a lovely snack!


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## rygon (Jan 26, 2012)

Ive got some "make your own" yoghurt (powder you mix with water) and it says its lactose free (Think it contains lactose but the bacteria eat it all), its a probiotic yoghurt as well. Called Easy-yo, seems to be about the same price as natural yoghurt in the supermarkets in UK


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## Cookie (Jan 27, 2012)

SandyM said:


> Hey Cookie,
> 
> That's a good mix. Good for you!! You must have been super fit before your fistula surgeries. (Been there and it's not fun) I'd be sleeping all weekend after that lot of training on top of work.
> 
> ...


Yeah Sandy, I find the hardest thing is accepting the fact that I am not near the level of fitness that I once was.  Like when I run and struggle to get up a hill and think about how easy that hill once was. It is comforting to know that somebody else can identify-Thanks! On the bright side, they say that it is much easier to re-gain fitness than to build it in the first place, so I try to keep that in mind.  Now if only the Crohns would cooperate!

As far as food, I agree with Cat.  I try to have a proetin snack following a workout.  Favorites are sweet potatoe chips or veggies with hummus, a scrambled egg with avacado or Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts.  I often eat a gluten-free waffle with banana and peanut butter, a Lara bar, or a smoothie with Carnation Instant breakfast and soy milk for breakfast.  For my other meals, I follow a gluten-free diet (found it helpful for my gut) and try to eat low-fat, nutrient rich foods.


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## David (Jan 27, 2012)

I'm in!  I've been doing well with fitness lately but will step it up a notch.  For diet, I am:

1.  Cutting out junk food except a tiny bit of dark chocolate covered pomegranate each night to keep me sane.
2.  Going to work VERY hard to get my n-3 / n-6 fatty acid ratio in line.  Historically, humans are about 1-2 in that ratio.  The north american diet is more like 1-25!  And lo and behold, n-6 fatty acids are inflammatory.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jan 27, 2012)

One thing I know I'm going to struggle to deal with is expecting too much too soon. 

Before crohns (as with many) I was a keen gym goer and even had the added bonus of being one of those people that could stuff my face full of takeaways, chocolate and rubbish and not put any weight on aside from muscle as I was working out 5 out of 7 days. Basically, I'm know I'm never going to be in that good shape again, but have no patience when waiting for the 'guns' to reappear!

I haven't had a marsbar for weeks-aaaarrrrgghhh!!:ybatty:


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## SandyM (Jan 27, 2012)

Thanks to all for their advice and post workout suggestions.

Great thread Mr B. - Lets hope we can all make some improvements and continue on for the rest of the year. I'm sure we can stick with it if we help each other


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## rygon (Jan 27, 2012)

Now that I am feeling much better (thanks Infliximab) Ive been doing a lot of exercise. Since coming out of hospital august Ive put on 2 stone. 
Just bought some new trainers (4mm drop from heel to to toe, which should allow me to run using my forefoot instead of my heel)
Also been doing a lot of weights (1st time ever done these) I cnat remember who had it in their signiture but www.bodybuilding.com had some great training programs.

Also started kickboxing again 

Need to sort out my diet and start having more veg juice drinks and stop going for the crisps when I feel hungry (my main weekness)


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 30, 2012)

Mr. Bedfordshire, I used to be the same way - got impatient with not seeing results in the mirror right away.  That was before I became ill.  Now that I'm on the other side and have been through tough times and now am in remission, I focus on my health when I exercise and I think that's really helped me stick to it.  I've been working out since about May 2011 and I do see results now, which is a great added bonus.  I love that I have muscles!  But that's just the icing on the cake, the real and ongoing goal is to get as fit and healthy as I possibly can be, because I know how miserable it is to be very weak and ill and I'd like to push my body as far in the opposite direction of that as possible.


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## SandyM (Jan 30, 2012)

rygon - thanks for the link. Stop buying crisps and get rice cakes instead! You can have with savory or sweet topping or can buy them flavored. Much better for you than crisps.

Cat a tonic - I like your thinking. I can relate to that. My wife says I always go too far when I am on a health+fitness kick. She may be right so this time I am trying not to overdo it. It is addictive when you start seeing results and makes you feel so good about yourself but I guess a little often is a good start point and depending on how one feels in the crohns dept you can decide if best to increase levels as you decide.
Good for you


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## Cookie (Jan 30, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> Mr. Bedfordshire, I used to be the same way - got impatient with not seeing results in the mirror right away.  That was before I became ill.  Now that I'm on the other side and have been through tough times and now am in remission, I focus on my health when I exercise and I think that's really helped me stick to it.  I've been working out since about May 2011 and I do see results now, which is a great added bonus.  I love that I have muscles!  But that's just the icing on the cake, the real and ongoing goal is to get as fit and healthy as I possibly can be, because I know how miserable it is to be very weak and ill and I'd like to push my body as far in the opposite direction of that as possible.


That's awesome Cat.  I couldn't agree more.  I have two extremely ill parents so I have been fighting genetics my whole life.  My view was that I needed to be as strong as I could to fight off what inevitably may be coming my way.  Of course I never wanted to believe that I would actually get sick.  But I also believe that if I was not in the shape I was in when I got my diagnosis, my Crohn's would have been a whole lot worse.  There are certain things that we have no control over, but I think we owe it to ourselves to control what we can and that is always my motivation.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 30, 2012)

Thanks Sandy!  Oh, and I love rice cakes too!  In fact I'm snacking on some chocolate rice cakes right now.    Every Monday morning I go to the grocery store before work and stock up on snacks for the week.  I used to buy stuff like potato chips (crisps) and donuts, now I buy stuff like bananas and rice cakes.  And you're right, rice cakes come in a ton of different flavors!  I prefer the chocolate ones personally.  Yum!

And yeah, it is tempting to overdo it when on a fitness kick.  I exercise 3 or 4 days per week and that seems like a good amount for me.  Any less and I'd feel lazy, any more and I feel like I might risk making my guts angry.  I started at 2 days per week and worked my way up.  I know not to overdo things - my mother is a marathon runner and she totally overdoes it.  She has given herself running-induced asthma as a result of running too much, and she's had some bad falls while running and has a lot of back pain.  Going overboard with too much exercise has some bad consequences!  And she's otherwise healthy, I'm the only person with IBD in my family.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jan 30, 2012)

Cookie, I'm the opposite in one regard - both my parents are healthy, as is everyone else in my family.  I'm the only ill one!  (I had a great-grandfather with UC but he died many years before I was born - he's the only one in my family that I know of with IBD, and I'm the only living one in the family with it.)  So this illness just sort of hit me out of the blue in 2009.  (I'm not fully diagnosed yet, but GI and GP both agree that it's some sort of IBD.)  So yeah, up until I got ill, I would exercise, but I was doing it more to look good & lose flab/get toned than anything else.  Now it's all about reclaiming my health!


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## tiloah (Jan 30, 2012)

rygon said:


> Now that I am feeling much better (thanks Infliximab) Ive been doing a lot of exercise. Since coming out of hospital august Ive put on 2 stone.
> Just bought some new trainers (4mm drop from heel to to toe, which should allow me to run using my forefoot instead of my heel)
> Also been doing a lot of weights (1st time ever done these) I cnat remember who had it in their signiture but www.bodybuilding.com had some great training programs.
> 
> ...


I've been looking for a source for a good weight lifting program. A lot of the communities out there aren't terribly newbie friendly. I don't want a full body program because my lower body gets worked a lot more than my upper. I want to balance it out a bit.


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## Cookie (Jan 31, 2012)

My husband just stumbled upon a website called myfitnesspal.com.  It is a great way to track your diet and exercise and has a huge nutritional database with calorie, fat, carb content, etc.  There is also a phone app to track your meals.  Worth checking out to anyone trying to stick to a program.  (sorry if this was mentioned somewhere before...seems like I may have seen it, but i couldn't find it).


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 1, 2012)

Cookie said:


> My husband just stumbled upon a website called myfitnesspal.com.  It is a great way to track your diet and exercise and has a huge nutritional database with calorie, fat, carb content, etc.  There is also a phone app to track your meals.  Worth checking out to anyone trying to stick to a program.  (sorry if this was mentioned somewhere before...seems like I may have seen it, but i couldn't find it).


Thanks for the heads up-defo worth a peek. This got me looking at other apps and there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of apps to assist us.

I spent quite a few hours on bodybuilding.com which I think is a superb website, packed full of everything and anything you could possibly need.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 1, 2012)

Just a note to say well done to everyone for getting onboard with this thread-it's great to see so many of us wanting to get fit and healthy, which in turn will hopefully aid our symptoms associated with crohns. 

Some great hints, tips and motivation which has definitely helped me, especially this week as here in the UK it's been -2 degrees with flakes of snow in the air as I make my short walk into my garage and put the fan heater on ready for my workout. 

Feel free to post up your aims, goals, achievements and even a log of what you have-or will be doing to get in shape. 

Keep going everyone- it'll be worth it!!


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## SandyM (Feb 1, 2012)

One step at a time for me - although feeling tired. It is a good feeling of being tired if that makes sense?

My programme as of last few weeks:-

Mon - Leaving car at park+ride on City outskirts and walking last 2 miles to work and back.
Tues - Gym 1 hr before starting work, cardio
Wed - As Mon
Thurs - Gym 1 hr before work, cardio
Fri - Walk or Gym (depending on energy levels)

Sat - short run or cycle
Sun - rest

Plan is to increase my Sat run/cycle and introduce weights in a few weeks time after pulled muscle in shoulder is better and to be more careful what I eat as well.

Thanks for the inspiration!


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## tiloah (Feb 1, 2012)

My plan at the moment is: 

3/week - couch to 5k and weight lifting
Tuesdays - roller derby practice
Remainder - ab workout/plyos

Rest days are by necessity, either on days where I didn't get enough sleep the night before or when I have a migraine (like today).


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## rygon (Feb 1, 2012)

whats your weight lifting program diesanduhr?


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## tiloah (Feb 1, 2012)

rygon said:


> whats your weight lifting program diesanduhr?


Right now it's 3 sets of 10:

Bench press
Triceps push down
Lateral pull down
Leg extension
Weighted crunches
Free bicep curls
Triceps extension

at whatever weight that I am spent by the end of the sets.


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## rygon (Feb 1, 2012)

Not sure if this will help if you get bored but I found it pretty good (need to start light just to get used to it tho) http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/train-like-gsp-beginners-guide.html


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## tiloah (Feb 1, 2012)

Thanks! I will look at that. I had been thinking about trying this out. If I use the gym where I live I have very limited equipment. So eventually I'm going to have to choose between motivation/convenience and progress (I have a Y membership but it's so faaaaaar).


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## rygon (Feb 1, 2012)

I try and keep my exercises at home. I dont think people realise how good jump ropes are (great for upper body).
Ive got dumbbells, and the rest is push ups situps etc... want something to do pullups tho.

Again this looks good http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/gsp-strength-and-conditioning-circuit.html

Your circuits look quite long, not sure if I have the energy to do it all lol. I'll give it a go when I get chance tho, cheers for that


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## tiloah (Feb 1, 2012)

Ugh. I would love to jump rope but I am super conscious about the people below me. I live on the 5th floor!


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## rygon (Feb 1, 2012)

do it when theyre asleep then, maybe 2-3am .. im sure theyd appreciate it


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## tiloah (Feb 1, 2012)

Haha. I also can't keep dumbbells (or books) in my house because we move at least once a year and they are a pain. Bluuuhh!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 2, 2012)

I've started:

-5 aside footie Monday night
-gym workout in my garage tues, thurs and Saturday, 2 muscle groups per night. Got a workout routine from bodybuilding.com, which I tweaked a bit as I've got a gym in my garage and not got all the kit.
-walk the dog every night for a good hour, which I've always done, but I'm just going that little bit further these days.
-Sunday rest.

Starting Monday I'm switching from toast in the morning to porridge with fruit, or toasted pancakes with honey and tortilla wraps for lunch alternating between that and a home made pasta salad.

I've already stopped eating crisps and a chocolate bar everyday, and now opt for fruit and a bag of cereal at work for lunch as a snack.


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## PVail (Feb 2, 2012)

I started cycling again after two years off,  2 degrees outside and sun shining . never enjoyed a day out like it. Took all after noon and went 20 miles. So cold I could hardly feel my Alien inside . God I almost felt normal. keep fit yes within reason .


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 12, 2012)

Thought I'd bump this up to top of the page just to keep us all going.

Its bloody freezing in my garage but I'm still plugging away in there. Music loud is my motivation!

Keep going everyone!!!:ybiggrin:


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## tiloah (Feb 13, 2012)

Did week 4 workout 1 yesterday and survived! Starting to think I might actually be able to do this.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 13, 2012)

diesanduhr said:


> Did week 4 workout 1 yesterday and survived! Starting to think I might actually be able to do this.


Fantastic!! Keep up the good work-you can do it!!:dance:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 13, 2012)

I have a cold but did my workout today anyway.  Sheesh, it is hard to count reps while your head is in a fog from cold meds!  I feel good though, I was so congested and exercise always makes my nose drip, so going to the gym cleared up my congestion (although my nose is still dripping a bit now, ha ha).  My husband has this theory that you can "sweat out" germs so he likes to make himself really sweaty when he's sick.  I got sweaty in the gym and I do feel a bit better now - I wonder if there's any merit to that theory?

Mr. Bedfordshire, loud music gets me going too when I'm exercising!  And I wouldn't complain about working out in a cold place, I love working out in the cold.  I crank up the air conditioning in the gym even during the winter - it makes me work out that much harder to get warm!


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## Girun (Feb 14, 2012)

*Exercise*

I def. Am in started a long time ago but am off an on seems like I would do so much better if could stick to foods I know agree with me maybe self sabatage. Will def. Try harder glad to know others are doing the same with same or similar issuesoo:.
Needed extra inspiration thanks formboost:thumright:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 17, 2012)

How's everybody doing?  I've been stressed out lately but I find it really helps to hit the gym hard when I am stressed.  Also, when I get the afternoon sleepy feeling, I do a bit of yoga in my cubicle at work to get the blood flowing.  I usually do something like the warrior pose or sun salutation where I don't have to get down on the floor as I have no yoga mat in my cubicle.  It's been helpful!  I'm still somewhat struggling to eat healthy foods every day but I'm working on that.  I got this food & calorie tracker app for my Kindle and I'm trying to use it more often to see what I've been eating and how many calories I should be eating.  I'm at the upper limit of being at a good weight for my height and don't want to gain any more weight, and ideally I'd like to drop a few pounds.  Of course I can lose weight super easily when my illness is active, but now that I'm in remission it's a bit more difficult!  (Not that I'm complaining, I'd rather be in remission than ill and skinny, and I'd rather lose weight the right way than through d & malabsorption.)


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## simon47 (Feb 17, 2012)

Lost 20lbs since xmas...yaaay ! I know it sounds like a lot for month and a half, but I've always been a gym rat. I've been in remission since Dec. so I figured it was time to go all out (while I can !) Changed by diet and workout 5 days a week. Also before my resection I lost 5o lbs due to not eating (scared to). so I have clothes that I bought post-op that i can get back into. I turn 48 in three weeks ,and feel better than i have in a long time. If you can do any exercise..I recomend it. cheers


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 17, 2012)

Well, it's the 3rd week of February and it seems many are still keeping up with this, which is fantastic!

From a personal point of view, I'm trying to workout 3 times a week, that's weightlifting, 5 aside footie once a week and doing my very best to eat healthy, but I'm finding that the hardest thing?!

I defo feel better, and the main differences I've felt is that I'm not nodding off at 9pm every evening and also when my alarm goes off in the morning I'm straight up with a spring in my step.

With regards to losing the areas of unwanted fat in certain places and to try and get the muscles to show through, I've been looking at fat/shredding pills to just give me a helping hand-what do you guys reckon?


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## tiloah (Feb 17, 2012)

Just truckin' on the Couch to 5k. Today is week 4 workout 3 and I am not looking forward to it! XP I think I've lost 13# now. And I've been kickin' *** in my new league. In March I might skate in my first public bout!


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## Cookie (Feb 17, 2012)

I went skiing last weekend and it threw me out of my routine.  Although I consider downhill skiing to be a pretty good workout (at least my 40 year old body thinks so!), the 4 day break from my normal routine made it hard to pick things back up when I got home.  It was technically only a 3 day hiatus from exercise, but when I hopped on the treadmill last night it was dreadful. I'm hoping I fare better with my strength training video tonight.

BTW, has anyone else here done The Firm workout videos?  They have been around for ages, but I still find them to be the best thing going.  I update my collection regularly to keep it fresh, but I just realized that I have been doing these things for 15 years now!


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## tiloah (Feb 17, 2012)

Whew, just finished week four! I am pretty amazed I was able to do it. Guess now we'll see how week five goes.


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## SandyM (Feb 18, 2012)

Oh Dear!!

I seem to have let the healthy eating and training slip somewhat this last week!!

On the plus side my company sent me out to Houston, Tx on a training course on short notice and I can honestly say I have well and truly stuffed my face with all sorts of food & drink including a few alcoholic beverages but my guts have held out really well and I am going to miss the food very much. Flying back home tomorrow after a week here.

I am told the weather in Houston isn't normally so wet and cold but it has still been warmer than I am used to in Scotland.
Hopefully get back to USA for a holiday in the years to come rather than business 

Back in training next week after I get over the jet lag. Oh well - One has to indulge from time to time 

Hope everyone is sticking to their plans? I am thinking if not for Crohns I'd be 3 times the size I am :lol2:


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## Girun (Feb 18, 2012)

I have not stuck to the plan will do better this upcoming week


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## simon47 (Feb 18, 2012)

For those of you who say you,ve slipped a bit ... don't feel bad about that. But DO get back to it if you feel well enough. You are better just walking down the road and back if you dont want to do a full workout. Mentally , you've still done something. And the next day it will be easier to do it again . Also SandyM...glad you liked the food inTexas( and it liked you). With our disease anytime we can actually enjoy the food in front of us is a plus. cheers. Keep it up people. YaaaaaaaY us !!!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 18, 2012)

simon47 said:


> For those of you who say you,ve slipped a bit ... don't feel bad about that. But DO get back to it if you feel well enough. You are better just walking down the road and back if you dont want to do a full workout. Mentally , you've still done something. And the next day it will be easier to do it again . Also SandyM...glad you liked the food inTexas( and it liked you). With our disease anytime we can actually enjoy the food in front of us is a plus. cheers. Keep it up people. YaaaaaaaY us !!!


Wise words Simon! Doing something is better than doing nothing at all guys and girls! Just try and not to make it a walk to the chip shop or pizza place?!:shifty:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 18, 2012)

I agree 100% Simon!  Everyone will slip up on exercise or diet from time to time, but you can't get discouraged and give up because of a slip-up or two or ten.    Just do your best.  I've certainly not eaten the most healthy foods lately but that's okay, what's done is done and I've just got to try to eat more healthily (healthfully?) in the future.


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## tiloah (Feb 19, 2012)

Totally agree with you guys.

I am so proud of myself today. I ran 5, walked 3, ran 5, walked 3, ran 5! (Week 5, workout 1). I thought it would kill me but it was actually pretty okay! I am dreading week 5, workout 3 though, which is just running for 20 minutes. Eek!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 19, 2012)

Nic, I panicked when I read your post because I thought you were talking about miles.  Then I realized it must be minutes.  Ha ha!  I thought you ran a marathon today or something!  Still, even if it's minutes that's a lot of running and I bet that does feel good, good for you.  I dislike running although it's been growing on me and I can now run for 5 minutes at 5 mph on the treadmill.  I do that as a warm-up before lifting weights 3x per week.  It definitely gets me warmed up and I'm not at the point where I could run any further than that!

I did yoga today and then I attempted to walk the dog, but she's got a foot injury and her bandage came off on our walk, and long story short, I ended up carrying her home to keep any dirt from getting in her stitches.  I carried her about a block and she weighs 50 lbs.  Wow, my arms were tired after that!  So I did some unintentional strength training today, ha ha.  I feel good now though.  Maybe I should carry my dog around more often!


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## simon47 (Feb 19, 2012)

Hey Cat-a-Tonic, why don't you trade your 50lb dog in on two 25lb dogs and you could do arm curls and shoulder press exercises while you walk. !! ..Just kidding. Serously though..do you find the yoga helps reduce daily stress..I've been thinking about adding it to my regimine. cheers


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 19, 2012)

Simon, I like weight lifting best and I do find that significantly helps reduce my stress.  Yoga is nice, I do it on the weekends and when I can't get to the gym, and it's good for stress relief too.  But I really, really like weight lifting.  I love pushing my muscles to the point where I can't move them anymore - there's no room left for stress when you're that spent!  Now, I am in remission, and I don't think I could have lifted weights when I wasn't in remission.  I was able to do yoga back when I was still really ill though.  So give it a try, it's a decent workout but not too rough on you if you're not feeling well.  I find that I'm better at yoga now that I've been lifting weights for awhile, so they do seem to complement each other.


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## simon47 (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks, Cat-a-T, I hope I didn't offend with my dog comment.. very much a dog person myself. Yeah, weights are my thing too...have to force myself to do cardio, but the more i do it the easier it gets for me. in remission now for a couple months after thirty years of nasty. Even managed to do the required obstacle course for my police application 8yrs ago at 40. LOVE THE WORKOUTS !!!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 19, 2012)

No worries Simon, I'm a cat person myself (as if you couldn't tell by the profile pic ) but I love my dog too.  Wouldn't trade her for the world although she could stand to lose a few pounds!  Ha ha.  Maybe I could bench-press her.  I have heard that there's this thing called baby-aerobics or something like that, apparently when you have a new baby you start doing exercises using the baby as a weight.  As you get stronger the baby gets bigger so the workouts get more difficult the more the baby grows!  It's very weird.  I don't have kids and I don't know if I could use a baby as an exercise tool!  Let alone my dog.

I have to force myself to do cardio too.  I jog to warm up before lifting, and I try to do the exercise bike for at least a few minutes a day too.  But I just don't like it very much, ha ha.  My mother is a marathon runner and I just don't see the appeal of that!  I think I would get bored, not to mention exhausted, running for hours like that.


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## tiloah (Feb 19, 2012)

Haha, oh Cat I wish! I am so out of shape!

The reason I run is because it has always been a struggle for me. Even in junior high and high school. I was on track and we had to run a mile as a "warm up." I was always a sprinter and I considered the 200m long distance! I run to prove to myself that my will is stronger than my body.


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## nwood10 (Feb 20, 2012)

I'm in!  I got the Kinect for xbox 360.  It is great fun and great exercise.  I purchased Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 which is a great work out. It monitors your progress and gives you feed back while you work out (like, "lift your legs a little more", "keep your arms straight").   

I started this a while ago, but stopped because I haven't been feeling well.  I need to start it up again.  

I also want to start running again.  My wife and I are planning to run a 5k in May...so we'll see how that goes!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 20, 2012)

Nic, that's great, mind over matter!  And wow, a mile "warm-up", that sounds like one heck of a warm-up all right!  I used to do gymnastics for a couple years when I was in middle school and they'd do all sorts of cruel things to get us warmed up too.  They'd make us run laps and then go right into jumping jacks and then more laps and then crunches or push-ups and more laps.  It was way more exhausting to do the warm-up than it was to do the actual gymnastics!

This reminds me, they must have done similar warm-ups at the track team at my high school.  I was never in track, but I knew a girl who was quite obese and she wanted to do shot-put or something like that (it was one of the things where you hurl stuff, and I don't think it was javelin).  So she joined the track team but quit after one day, apparently she couldn't handle their warm-ups.  It does seem weird that they make everyone do so much running even if you're just doing sprints or shot-put.  I guess it would look bad if a track team has someone who can't run a mile?  That's all I can figure.


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## Girun (Feb 20, 2012)

I love to run however have to talk myself into anything anymore so not motivated.  I hate that about myself. Once I'm out there I think how glad I am to b doing it, but ughhhh. Got to find motivation


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## tiloah (Feb 20, 2012)

Girun said:


> I love to run however have to talk myself into anything anymore so not motivated.  I hate that about myself. Once I'm out there I think how glad I am to b doing it, but ughhhh. Got to find motivation


Oh yes, I can relate to this. I have the same problem with derby. I have to drive quite a ways to get to practice and sometimes I positively dread going, but once I start skating I am always, ALWAYS so glad I did it. Our brains are so weird sometimes.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 21, 2012)

This is going ok for me so far, but I just feel as though I need a slight boost, so after doing some research both on this forum and on the net in general, I've ordered some 'hemp protein powder'.

I'm by no means expecting to be a muscle Mary in a matter of weeks, but after a workout I struggle to get the protein in, so have opted for the easier way of just buying the stuff. 

I long for the day when/if someone says to me "you been working out?":cool2:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 21, 2012)

Mr. Bedfordshire, that day will come!  I've been working out since May of 2011, so coming up on a full year now, and lately I've had a few people ask me if I've been working out and then they wistfully say they wish they had the willpower or drive to exercise too.  It's a nice feeling and I've actually recently told a few people that I work out regularly and I have IBD (technically I'm still undiagnosed, but both GI and GP have unofficially said it's IBD).  One co-worker of mine in particular, her jaw just dropped when I told her I have a chronic illness and I exercise.  I think it must make "regular" people feel very unfit to see that someone with an illness could kick their butt in the gym!  It's a nice feeling for me though.  

I have some issues with getting enough protien after a workout too.  I've been trying to have 2 hard boiled eggs after each workout (I don't eat the yolks though as they are gross, I just eat the egg whites).  I need to incorporate more protien into my after-workout meals besides just eggs though.  I'm still struggling with diet - the exercise is the easy part!  Let us know how the protien powder goes for you, I'll be interested to hear if it helps.


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## tiloah (Feb 21, 2012)

I have serious difficulty getting enough protein and I always have. Eggs don't even have that much! Argh. I really don't like the idea of protein supplements because they're just processed nonsense, but protein is a tough one.


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## rygon (Feb 21, 2012)

Ive tried a few suppliments (shop bought generic whey one) that did bugger all. Sci-mx Omni pro which I found great (although just came out of hospital and feeling better so expercted to get better) and PHd synergy, which I find better than the shop bought one as I dont get much aching at all after a hard workout but dont think it was as good as the omni. Without taking these and just keeping to omlettes instead I find the suppliments better


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## tiloah (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm starting to get to the point where I think protein supplements, as much as I am not a fan, are probably better for me than simply not getting enough protein. But they're expensive too! Protein is always expensive.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 22, 2012)

I am so stressed out today and I can't wait to go to the gym.  I'm going to absolutely kill it in the gym and try to let go of as much stress as I can!

On the subject of protien, my husband told me something interesting the other day but I don't know if it's true (hubby knows a lot of trivia but not all of it is necessarily facts).  He said rabbit meat is super high in protien, probably the highest protien meat you can get.  Anybody know if that's true?  I don't think I've ever actually eaten rabbit but if it's got that much protien then I would be willing to give it a try.  My father-in-law goes hunting often so it wouldn't be a problem for me to get some rabbit meat from him.


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## tiloah (Feb 23, 2012)

I was too scared to attempt week 5 workout 2 today, so I went for a hike instead. Haha! Tomorrow though, no more putting it off.


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## SandyM (Feb 23, 2012)

I am greatful for this thread. It has gave me the motivation needed to recover form my business trip to Houston last week..so much food and with the jet lag - it has been hard to get back into training.  It is so so weird how the body works. I have had almost a week off from serious training and was starting to feel very lethargic and today I got up at 6am and managed 10k on the treadmill! wow Surprisingly I got the energy from somewhere? So weird how you sometimes do real good when you are feeling drained of all energy.

Boy will my legs be sore tomorrow though! Keep motivated people


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## Cookie (Feb 23, 2012)

Funny how you say that about doing well when drained of energy.  Is it because expectations are lower?  Sometimes when i am dragging, I just tell myself I will do half of my goal so at least it's something.  When I start out with that half goal in mind, I almost always accomplish my initial goal and feel sooo much better after doing it.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I had a similar set back two weeks ago.  Happy to say, I am back on track. Good job on not letting all the yummy Texas BBQ set you back!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 23, 2012)

Nic, I like the new profile pic!  You're adorable!

Sandy and Cookie, I can totally relate.  I didn't sleep Tuesday night due to stress and worry, and the next day I was so tired and didn't feel well.  But yesterday I went to the gym anyway and I pushed myself hard and felt great afterwards!  I slept well last night and feel good again.  The stressful situations are still there but somehow I can deal with them so much easier after I've been to the gym, even if I'm tired and feel otherwise crappy.  I figure, just going to the gym is half the battle, and once I'm there I may as well make it count!  Glad to hear you two have recovered from your setbacks too.  Keep up the good work!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 23, 2012)

Defo agree that working out/exercising relieves stress-I've had a manic couple of days at work and when I start my workout I can just feel it destressing me.

Having received my hemp protein yet, but will report back my experiences with it once I start to use it. 

I had a low energy day yesterday but gave it a go anyway and pretty much got 3/4 of my workout done, which is better than nothing as you say.

I've also taken a picture to try and compare the changes (if any) over the next few months of my body shape and think this has also given me an incentive to push myself, that coupled with the picture of me on holiday in Ibiza before I got crohns and was able to pack muscle on (sob) so at least I've got motivators aswell as you guys!

Keep up the good work!


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## SandyM (Feb 23, 2012)

Good to know I'm not the only one who has tired days. I have tried some protein shakes but they really don't seem to agree with me. I'd kill for being able to fuel the muscles and build my upper body a bit. Eggs and chicken don't seem to be enough to do the job or I ain't trying heavy enough weights?

I have experimented a bit with exercise over the years and found mornings best to fit running or workout in due to work/family commitments and it does start the day off well for me. You can then relax knowing your done for the day! I do get tired around mid afternoon but I find that exercising later in the evenings after getting home from work I then can't sleep all that well and the stress then goes up the following day and I feel crabbit due to lack of sleep!

Guess you have to fit it in depending on your lifestyle/commitments and how ones bowels are behaving?

Mr B. - Yes please do let us know how the hemp protein goes. I tried soya protein but the taste sucked big time even with flavoring added. Yuck, I hate even thinking about it.

Cat: Ditto re. comments on Nic's new profile pic.

Right - time for some sleep now.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 23, 2012)

Sandy, I hit the gym during my lunch break and I find that really helps, I don't get that afternoon sleepy feeling on the days I go to the gym.  I try to go to the gym every Mon, Wed, and Fri, and I do yoga at home on the weekends.  I get a full hour for lunch so I use that entire hour to work out and then I eat my lunch at my desk after I am done exercising.  That's been a really good system for me.  Tues & Thurs I still have my lunch hour open to eat, read, relax, run errands, etc.  It's not too much exercise and not too little, and I don't have to get up early to work out.  I'm just not a morning person (not really much of a night owl either!) so I find it ideal to exercise in the middle of the day.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 23, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> Sandy, I hit the gym during my lunch break and I find that really helps, I don't get that afternoon sleepy feeling on the days I go to the gym.  I try to go to the gym every Mon, Wed, and Fri, and I do yoga at home on the weekends.  I get a full hour for lunch so I use that entire hour to work out and then I eat my lunch at my desk after I am done exercising.  That's been a really good system for me.  Tues & Thurs I still have my lunch hour open to eat, read, relax, run errands, etc.  It's not too much exercise and not too little, and I don't have to get up early to work out.  I'm just not a morning person (not really much of a night owl either!) so I find it ideal to exercise in the middle of the day.


Fantastic efforts, great determination!!


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## Girun (Feb 23, 2012)

Have run 3miles x 2 this week would like to run at least 3miles friday, saturday and bump up to four or four1/2 sunday.  We will see, want to get back to full pace after last week off,with flare.


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## Cookie (Feb 24, 2012)

On the subject of profile pics, Cat, I love yours. Is that your cat?  He/she looks nearly identical to my cat, Shady, who passed away last year. She was my best friend through my transient single years.  I miss her dearly.  Everytime I see your profile pic it makes me smile!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 24, 2012)

Thanks Cookie!  Glad it makes you smile!    Yes, that's my cat, her name is Lydia.  That's an older photo, she was only 2 or 3 years old when it was taken.  She's almost 9 now!  She's a really good cat and perfect for me because she loves to follow me into the bathroom.    Ha ha.  She keeps me company and entertains me on my bad days.  I have a dog too, and I love my dog, but I am more of a cat person than a dog person.  My dog is a big silly oaf and my cat is more elegant and low-maintenance.  I like that.


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## Cookie (Feb 24, 2012)

I always thought I was a dog person until Shady accidentally found her way into my life as a stray kitten.  She ended up staying with me for 14 years.  Who knew???  I loved that she was independant and low-maintenance.  She was part lover and part b*tch...I think that's why we got along so well!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 24, 2012)

I am kind of the opposite, I have always known I'm a cat person.  I've had my dog for just over a year and it's been a learning experience for sure!  I really do love the low-maintenance aspect of cats.  I even have one of those robotic automatic self-scooping litter boxes, so I only have to deal with cat poo about once per week when I empty the tray it collects into.    I got my dog before I was in remission, as I wanted to exercise a bit but didn't think I could do much, but I thought that a daily walk wasn't out of the question.  I found my dog through a co-worker who couldn't keep her and I do have to say that she's about as perfect as a dog can get.  She was 2 (3 now), so not a puppy but still quite young with a good amount of energy but not hyper, she came well-trained and is smart, and is my favorite breed (Pembroke Welsh corgi).  She's a great dog for a cat person to have.  

Sorry to the others for turning this into the pets thread!  Back on track, how's everybody doing?  I might be crazy, but I'm thinking of trying to run a mile tomorrow.  There's a nice footpath near my house and it's almost exactly 1/2 mile from my house to the lake on this path, so I could jog to the lake and back.  There would probably be walking involved at times but it's been many years since I've even attempted to run a mile and it sounds like something I could do, even if I go slow and walk a bit.


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## Cookie (Feb 24, 2012)

Yeah, didn't mean to switch the subject...

Congrats on trying the mile, Cat. Doing a walk/run is the best way to build up to it.  Once you get that first mile down, the others come easily.  I've always said that if you can run a mile you can run a marathon, which may be a bit of an exaggeration, but there is such a mental component to running that isn't always talked about.  Once you break that barrier, look out.  It can be addicting.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 24, 2012)

I know from seeing my mother that it's addicting!  She runs marathons regularly.  She just completed the 50 States Club - she ran one marathon in each of the US states.  Now she's trying to run one marathon on each continent.  She did Africa (Marrakesh, Morocco marathon) and she's doing Antarctica in a few weeks!  It's crazy!  She's nearly 60 and has barely slowed down at all.


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## Cookie (Feb 24, 2012)

That is awesome.  I hope I can be like that.  Of course, I'll have to start with marathon #1.  I was 5 weeks away from my first planned full marathon and up to 20 miles in my training when I finally gave in to the pain my abscess was causing and elected for surgery.  That was 5 years ago and I still have not made it back to that level.   I am currently training for a 15k on March 18th. I hope to use that as a springboard to another half in May and then I will set my sights on a full.  A full marathon has been at the top of my bucket list for years and I am determined to do it before I die, even if I have to crawl half the way!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 24, 2012)

I hope you don't have to crawl!  I don't know if I could ever run a marathon, I'm going to start with one mile and see how I do.  Running is not really my thing but it's growing on me.  Back to the subject of pets, I wish I could run with my dog, but she's short and a bit fat and she cannot run far or fast.  (She's recovering from foot surgery right now too, but even when she's well she cannot run much at all.)

Ack.  I feel fat and lazy today.  I usually hit the gym on Fridays during my lunch hour, but today my mom and aunt were in town so they took me out to lunch.  I have tickets for a comedy show tonight so I can't go to the gym after work.  I really better run that mile tomorrow or I'll be falling behind on my exercise!


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## Cookie (Feb 24, 2012)

Ha,  I once saw a lady trying to run with her basset hound.  He was as round as he was long.  I couldn't help but laugh...poor little guy.   She was practically dragging him up the street.

I hate it when something comes up to sabotage my exercise plans.   At least it was something good, though.  You'll make it up tomorrow.   Let us know how that mile goes.  Good luck!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 24, 2012)

Ahh, so much better.  I decided to take a quick afternoon break and zipped down to the gym and did some weights and feel much better now.  I will still try for that mile this weekend but I'm glad I got something of a workout in today.  Like you said, I also hate when something sabotages my workout plans!  My guts usually don't like it when I workout shortly after having eaten a meal, but I just did a really quick one and I don't think my guts had time to notice.    I really hate missing getting to use the gym, because the gym I use is in the basement of my workplace, and I can only use it on weekdays.  The building is closed on the weekends.  So at least I can say I did the weights 3x this week as usual, and I'll do what I can this weekend in terms of jogging and yoga.  Can't wait for summer so I can get my kayak out on the weekends too!


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## tiloah (Feb 24, 2012)

Finally did it. Walk 5/Run 8/W5/R8. Ugh! Cardio wise I was fine but I did overheat which is just uncomfortable/painful. Bluh. But I did it! *punches air*


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 24, 2012)

diesanduhr said:


> Finally did it. Walk 5/Run 8/W5/R8. Ugh! Cardio wise I was fine but I did overheat which is just uncomfortable/painful. Bluh. But I did it! *punches air*


Superb well done!!


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## rygon (Feb 24, 2012)

Awesome, well done diesanduhr. If its that bad move to UK, no chance of overheating 

On a side note does anyone think its worth making a new post on fitness wear/equipment reviews. Ie what shoes, shorts etc you wear and how you get on with them?


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 24, 2012)

Rygon, I wear my mom's old running shoes.    My workout clothes I usually buy either on clearance or at thrift stores or garage sales.  Nothing fancy whatsoever, just stuff like yoga pants and old t-shirts that I don't mind getting all sweaty and gross.


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## rygon (Feb 24, 2012)

gotta say i use old clothes for running in, but ive heard proper shoes are a must. If you get them properly fitted as well they arent normally the most expensive

I got some off new balance website £20 off. One foot fits like a glove the other not so well. Going to see how it is in a couple of months before getting the file to it i reckon (me and my fat feet lol)


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## SandyM (Feb 25, 2012)

diesanduhr said:


> Finally did it. Walk 5/Run 8/W5/R8. Ugh! Cardio wise I was fine but I did overheat which is just uncomfortable/painful. Bluh. But I did it! *punches air*


Yes - Well done indeed diesanduhr,

The correct technical clothing does make a big difference for running but isn't entirely necessary. Really depends on how serious you wish to be and if you can justify the cost. Either way try to wear something that will let your body breath and avoid overdressing as you will heat up real quick when running.

See if this link works? It may help.

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/whattowear/0,7152,s6-240-325-330-0-0-0-0,00.html

There are lots of sites for sales of sportswear and fitness forums but don't see why we can't have a thread on here for this kind of thing 

In the heat a cotton t-shirt will suffice but wearing a cotton t-shirt/sweater when it's close to freezing will leave you feeling chilled when the wind cools that sweat next to your skin.

Good effort everyone!! I had a good week but it all went pear shaped last night after a works night out. Oh I really wish I hadn't had so many buds. Self inflicted so can't complain.

@ Cat: I used to go out to gym during lunchtime like you but I don't think I would be able to eat at my desk afterwards with my new employer.
I am not a morning person either, so I have to make a real effort to get up in the morning.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 25, 2012)

Just finished a biceps and legs workout after waking feeling full of energy today?! House music was on, sun shining through the garage window and I actually stuck to the workout plan, which given it was legs (which I hate doing) I'm very pleased about.

Just got to have a healthy dinner today and stay away from the snack cupboard.


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## tiloah (Feb 25, 2012)

I wear "below the knee" leggings from American Apparel and usually a T-shirt. I know on longer runs tech fabrics are important, but I find them staticky and uncomfortable. I buy running shoes usually once a year. Right now I'm running in Brooks "Trance." I have a pretty neutral gait. I almost supinate but pronate at the last second. Hehe.


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## tiloah (Feb 26, 2012)

Just finished W5W3 (running 20 minutes straight). I decided to run on the lake for this one. It was 45 degrees out and the wind was freezing and I think that made a big difference in me staying comfortable. It was surprisingly easy. I think had I done it on my usual treadmill it would have been much more difficult.

After about 17 minutes of running my guts started giving me grief, but I was determined to finish even if it meant having an accident (luckily I just made it when my run was over).


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## simon47 (Feb 26, 2012)

Thanks for posting that ,diesanduhr, very inspirational. I know that sometimes at the gym I have to run off to the toilet a few times during my workout..but in the end I feel way better for having pushed through the workout. cheers


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 27, 2012)

Good job, Nic!  You go girl!

I didn't go on a run this weekend as I had intended to, but I have a good excuse.  My brother got an apartment and decided to move out of my house over the weekend, so I helped him move (I wanted him OUT so I was happy to help get his junk out of my house, ha ha!).  That was kind of a workout in itself though, lugging boxes and bags around.  He got a basement apartment so we had to carry heavy stuff down some stairs.  Now hubby and I get to move furniture around and do some cleaning to turn bro's room into a guest bedroom too which sounds like it could be a fair workout too.

The good news is, my brother's stuff is out of my house, which means his food is out of my cabinets and fridge!  I'm taking the opportunity to fill the empty space there with healthier stuff.  I saw the thread about sardines and I bought 6 cans of sardines (packed in water, not oil).  I bought some blueberries too as they're one of the berries I can eat without trouble.  Yay healthy snacks!


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## tiloah (Feb 29, 2012)

UUugugughgh. So in derby one of the skills assessment things we do is 25 laps in five minutes. I gave it my all and actually finished with quite a bit of time remaining (many people didn't finish). But we immediately went into another drill and I had to drop out. My chest felt very irritated and I kept coughing up mucus and had a blood taste in my mouth. Not pleasant! I left practice early. I guess I am just bummed. I forget that I am still getting back in to this and need to be patient with myself.

I am forgetting my constant mantra, which is "HUMBLE YOURSELF."


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## simon47 (Feb 29, 2012)

Hey diesandduhr, be honest...you would have been more bummed with yourself if you hadn't given your all !!. Yaaay you. Sometimes we have to push a bit to know our limitations. Don't be too discouraged. Next time...         Cheers


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## tiloah (Feb 29, 2012)

Thanks. Yeah I had some other stuff going on (I broke the side mirror off of my car!) and I was not a happy panda when I wrote that. I'm feeling a bit better now.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Feb 29, 2012)

frustrated!! arrrrrggh!! 

dont you just hate it went youve had a workout, stuck to your plan, feel good and then straight after you need to go to the loo?!! it just makes me feel like all my hard work the previous hour is going down the toilet-literally! oo:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Feb 29, 2012)

25 laps in 5 minutes sounds like a lot in not a lot of time!  It's a bit scary that you were coughing up mucus and tasted blood, that's definitely no good.    I hope the next practice is less awful.

My husband was rubbing some lotion on my back yesterday and he said he could see and feel muscles!    One of the weight machines I do is a rowing machine which says it works the back muscles.  I couldn't tell if it was doing much but apparently it is!  I can tell I've got arm and leg muscles and if I could lose this stubborn bit of belly flab then I'd probably be seeing stomach muscles too.  I like getting toned!  Getting healthy is still my main goal, but it's nice to have results I can see too.

I'm still working on eating healthy.  I had a can of sardines for a snack today (then I had a few mints to mask the fishy breath and burps, ha ha).  I was given a coupon for a free Krispy Kreme donut and I've had it in my wallet for weeks - haven't felt the desire to cash it in!  I'm pretty proud of myself for that.  I'm hoping to just let it expire.


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## tiloah (Feb 29, 2012)

Mr Bedfordshire said:


> frustrated!! arrrrrggh!!
> 
> dont you just hate it went youve had a workout, stuck to your plan, feel good and then straight after you need to go to the loo?!! it just makes me feel like all my hard work the previous hour is going down the toilet-literally! oo:


Yes, it's a painful reality check. But I do prefer it to needing to go in the middle of a workout!


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## tiloah (Feb 29, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> My husband was rubbing some lotion on my back yesterday and he said he could see and feel muscles!    One of the weight machines I do is a rowing machine which says it works the back muscles.  I couldn't tell if it was doing much but apparently it is!  I can tell I've got arm and leg muscles and if I could lose this stubborn bit of belly flab then I'd probably be seeing stomach muscles too.  I like getting toned!  Getting healthy is still my main goal, but it's nice to have results I can see too.


You're a beast! Congrats on getting results (and resisting that Krispy Kreme). I can't wait 'til my hard work becomes visible results.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 1, 2012)

Thank you Nic!  I was really tempted to go to Krispy Kreme this morning before work.  But I remembered a trick I heard about resisting food urges - it said that if you really want something, just put it off until later.  If you still really want it later, then you can have it.  But most of the time, I find that if I put off a craving then I don't want it later!  So as I was driving to work and drooling while thinking about Krispy Kreme, I told myself, not today - maybe I'll have it tomorrow!  And it worked, the urge is gone (hopefully it will still be gone tomorrow too).  I had a banana instead when I got to work and I feel really good about that.    Maybe I will finally lose this stubborn stomach flab after all!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 5, 2012)

How's everyone doing with their diet and fitness?  I got some good workouts in this weekend, I went on long walks with my dog both days.  It snowed heavily on Friday and it's hard work walking through deep snow!  Especially when you're wearing big snow boots.  Diet-wise I'm doing okay, I've been trying to eat sardines regularly as I was inspired to by the "sardines for IBD" thread.  I've also been trying to eat blueberries regularly as they're one of the few fruits I can reliably eat without trouble.  Sardines and blueberries make great snacks (not together though!).  I'm a snacker so I'm trying to eat healthier snacks!  What healthy stuff do you guys snack on?


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 8, 2012)

Hey all, this thread is awfully quiet lately!  I hope that means you're all out exercising so much and so hard that you don't have any time or energy left to post in here.    At any rate, I hope everyone is sticking to their diet and exercise goals!

Spring weather is finally here, we've had a few rain storms but otherwise it's been sunny and warm and lovely.  So today I asked my hubby to get my bicycle out of the basement and put air in the tires.  Saturday is supposed to have really nice weather so I'm planning on going on a nice long bike ride!  We live close to an arboretum so I'm thinking I will ride my bike through there.  It sounds so nice and peaceful!  I haven't ridden my bike in ages (literally, it's probably been over 10 years - I'm glad I held onto the thing!).  I've been doing the exercise bike in the gym to build myself up and I'm excited to ride a proper bike again!  What outdoor exercise activities is everyone else doing now that springtime is here?  (Sorry Australians, I guess that means autumn is here for you guys!)


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 8, 2012)

Are we all still going for it then gang?!

Couple of things I've noticed since starting:-

•I feel a little more alert and it almost feels like my body is repaying me for exercising and feeding it right.
•after I play footie, my body is totally knackered the day after, so I've made that a rest day.
•even though eating healthier foods is better for you, I don't feel as full up eating rice, pasta, fruit etc and I STILL look for crisps and biscuits when I'm peckish?!
•sticking to a workout plan I also find hard as there are days where I simply don't feel like doing legs, so instead opt for chest or shoulders.
•podcasts off iTunes is definitely the way forward;there are sooo many 'free' downloads for us all on there which are all legal.
•it's good to look back on the past and think about how we could exercise pre crohns, but don't let it get to you or put you down.
•I've taken pictures of my physique and saved them in an email folder and will look again with upto date pics in 6mths. This I think is probably the best clue to see if I've actually made a difference.

Let's here how you are all getting on now it's been a few weeks; any views, progress, hints and tips just let us all know.

Keep going!!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 9, 2012)

Good tips and observations, Mr. B!  I also tend to still gravitate towards less-than-healthy snacks at times especially when I'm really hungry.  I do tend to have low sodium so sometimes I will let myself have some chips, but most of the time I try to have something healthy and filling.  I've found a banana with some almond butter smeared on it is pretty filling, as is a can of sardines.  If anyone else has a juicer, fresh juice is also filling and really tasty and healthy, as well as being easy on the guts (easy on my guts anyway).  We've talked about juicers in other threads, so I won't go in-depth here, but a simple mixture of carrots, an apple for sweetness, and a tiny bit of ginger into the juicer makes a lovely drink that is surprisingly filling and obviously quite healthy too.  I got my juicer for $10 at a garage sale and it was worth every penny and then some, I love it!

I'm still planning on doing my bike ride tomorrow although the weather report is saying 20 to 30 mph winds!  Eek!  I hope it's not as windy as they're saying, it might be a really tough workout pedaling into the wind.  My hemorrhoids just healed recently too so I hope a few miles on a bike seat doesn't persuade them to re-appear.  But nonetheless, I will give it my best shot!  I really want a new bike but can't justify buying one until I can prove to myself that I'm actually going to go on bike rides regularly (after all, I haven't taken my current bike out in over 10 years!).  So, for now I will be taking my old beat-up bike out and will see how I do.  I know I need more cardio so here goes!


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## tiloah (Mar 9, 2012)

Week 6 workout 2 today. Ran on the lake in the rain. Felt good.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 10, 2012)

Does anyone else get headaches during their weights workout?

Never used to get it pre crohns when I used to workout but am finding it after approx 20mins of weight lifting now-weird?!


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## Irene3 (Mar 10, 2012)

This is such a great thread.
Dishandur....how do you get motivated to excersise through your migraines? I'm feeling really unwell and headachy, and can't seem to get motivated to do much, let alone work out when I'm unwell.
- in regard to diet, I want to join you guys, and cut back on a lot of refined sugar, but bit by bit, because on prednisone Iv been having a lot of sustagen, with added sugar, and my body craves sugar, especially when I feel unwell.
- I'll be trying a bit of pilates to begin with I think, yoga stretches, and try to build on fitness from there.
    Thanks for all the inspiration guys. It's great to see so many of you, that struggle with these horrid crohns symptoms, and Pred side effects, still trying to stay fit. It's motivating. So I'll be trying to stick to it daily, and be checking all your posts when I'm not motivated to do much. 
   Thanks again


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## *AJ* (Mar 11, 2012)

This sounds like just the thread I need =) I am joining the gym tomorrow (third one in less than 6 months!) but I think I have finally found the right one for me. I did enjoy exercising etc when I was at my previous gyms so I am hoping to get back into. I work full time so I need to try organise properly so I don't burn out(my worst Crohns symptom is the fatigue!)

Hope everyones well as can be!

AJxx


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## tiloah (Mar 11, 2012)

I could never exercise during a migraine! Even getting up off the couch makes my head pound! I consider migraine days my "rest" days. I unfortunately get them often enough that it works out that way.

I had a scary fall last night. I was skating backwards when a wild newbie appeared behind me, and in an effort to avoid her I transitioned forward, then fell straight down on my left knee. At first I thought I had broken my tibia! It hurt really bad but after a few seconds I was able to get up and skate over to my stuff (we had been "cooling down"). After a rough night last night I ended up in urgent care this morning. The good news is the doctor doesn't think I did any real damage (just bruised and swollen with some fluid in my knee) and my x-rays were clear. The bad news is I can barely walk so my running and skating might be on hold for a bit. I am supposed to skate in my first public game this weekend so I am hoping I will be ready to come back by then. But I won't skate if I'm not.

Oh and I guess I can tell y'all my derby name now, since my league is letting me skate with it. Semi Colon! (Gonna hit you like a semi!) Hehehe.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 11, 2012)

I did my bike ride today!  I went about 5 miles, and now my butt is SORE!  For others who ride bikes, do you have a special cushy bike seat, or does your backside just get used to riding after awhile?  I haven't ridden an actual bike in years (probably not since high school, and I'm 32 now!) so I am hoping my butt will get tougher the more I ride.

I was going to do my bike ride yesterday, but it was so windy - like 30+ mph winds.  So I took my dog for a walk instead, and that went terribly.    It was fine up until my dog started playing with a much larger dog.  They started playing a little too rough, and the big dog knocked my dog and she fell hard and started whimpering and crying and limping.  Oh no!  It turned out she sprained her leg and now the vet says she can't go on walks for at least 2-3 weeks (and of course I had to take her to the emergency weekend vet which costs much more than her regular vet).  Ugh!  So no more walks for awhile, good thing I have my bike.

Irene, you said you crave sugar.  Just a thought, but have you had your blood sugar tested?  Maybe you're low and that's what's causing the cravings?  Or it could just be a pred thing, I know I crave pretty much all foods all the time when I'm on steroids.  

Mr. B, I don't get headaches when I work out, sorry to hear that you do.  Are you drinking enough water?  Dehydration, even mild dehydration, can cause headaches.  My workout issues are that I tend to reflux when I am exercising, especially if I have eaten recently (I had a banana an hour before my workout on Friday, and I belched banana burps the whole time and felt banana trying to come up my throat a little bit), and also my nose drips like crazy when I work out.  Apparently that's fairly normal and a lot of healthy people have that happen too so I don't worry about that.  Just wipe my nose on my sleeve and keep going, ha ha.


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## tiloah (Mar 11, 2012)

Oh no, your poor pup! I hope she feels better soon.

In my experience your butt gets used to bike seats pretty quickly, but it will be pretty sore the first couple times.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 11, 2012)

Thanks Nic!  The really sad part about my dog is, this is her second foot injury in as many months.  She just had surgery on her back right foot a few weeks ago due to an infection, so she had just recovered from that and now she sprained her front right leg.  Ugh!  She's a corgi so she's really short and walking isn't as easy for her as it is for taller dogs anyway.  Plus she's a little bit overweight so she really needs to go on walks!    Hopefully after she recovers from this she won't hurt herself again anytime soon.

I hope my butt adjusts as quickly as you say to the bike.  I'm thinking of investing in a new bike (my current bike is the same one I had in high school, I kept it though several moves even though it just sat in storage/my basement) and I am now thinking of investing in a cushier seat too.

I love your derby name, fun and appropriate!    How's the running going?  Do you have a 5K in mind to run when your training is complete?  I saw an article in the news about this crazy zombie-themed 5K, it sounds really fun!  There's not one in WI, but if they add one around here I think I would love to train for it!  Here's the link:
http://runforyourlives.com/


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## tiloah (Mar 11, 2012)

I'm gonna do the color run and I'm super stoked for it! Although I'm not sure how much running is really involved, it's just for fun.

Here's a video about the color run: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZWsfHC-0d6A


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 11, 2012)

That looks like fun too!  I'm glad there's more fun races coming about like the color run and the zombie run.  My mom ran a marathon recently called the Haunted Hustle, it took place on Halloween and all the people at the water stations, aid stations, and a lot of the spectators too were in costume.  I don't think I'll ever be a marathoner but that does sound more fun than the average marathon!


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## rygon (Mar 11, 2012)

well my exercise has been put on the back seatfor a while due to breaking my wrist in 2 places snowboarding grr. thinking of running with my cast but not sure if it will get too uncomfy/itchy/smelly


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## tiloah (Mar 12, 2012)

Oh Ryan noooo! Luckily wrist breaks heal relatively quickly. Are you going to have surgery for it or will it heal on its own?


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## rygon (Mar 12, 2012)

The nurse said everything looks in the correct place so doubt i will need sugery. 1st time ive ever broken a bone so totally new experience lol. Its a bugger to do normal day to day activities, im not even allowed to drive 

Will have to think of somethings to keep me from boredom


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 12, 2012)

Rygon, that stinks!  It appears you're still able to type okay so at least that's something.  Glad to hear you probably don't need surgery either.  I've broken 2 bones in my life, my nose and my big toe!  Neither had a cast, they both just healed on their own (nose healed crooked and probably should be surgically fixed but that's a whole other story).

My butt is not nearly as sore today as it was yesterday, which is surprising.  I had expected it to be really sore today.  So that's encouraging and I hope to have many more bike rides in my future.  If I can build up my stamina enough, I could possibly even ride my bike to work on nice days.  It's about 12 miles one way from home to work so that'd be 24 miles round trip.  There are several commuter bike paths in my city though so it's definitely do-able  and I could pretty easily avoid riding in traffic.  I won't be up for that for some time yet though so for now I'm just going to try to go on enjoyable rides.  I went through the arboretum yesterday and I'm thinking my next ride will be on the bike path that goes along the lake.  I want to get a basket for my bike, that way I could even pack a little picnic.  I don't even have a water bottle holder on my bike so I need to accessorize!  I just stuck everything in a backpack on my ride yesterday and that's not ideal.  Don't want to strain my back if I can avoid it.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 14, 2012)

I bought a new bike!  I'm very excited.  My current bike is 15+ years old so it's kind of beat up.  It's a mountain bike, and I feel like I'm hunched over the handlebars.  My new bike is a "comfort bike" which is similar to a beach cruiser but not quite as retro looking and it also has multiple gears (I looked into beach cruisers as they're really cute bikes, but they seem to have only one gear!).  I ordered my new bike on the internet so it isn't here yet but I'm very excited.  I ordered myself a basket for the front and a lock and a new helmet too.  Gas prices are going crazy lately so I justified the cost as being a few tanks' of gas worth - and if I can ride more and drive less then the cost will be offset pretty quickly.  I'm a few miles from downtown, I'm about 1/2 mile in either direction from two lakes, there's lots of bike paths around my city.  So I am going to go gung-ho with bicycling this summer!  I don't think I'll be able to bike to work (12 miles one-way) but I can bike lots of other places.  If I need to go to the store for a few things, I'll definitely be biking instead of driving.  

How's everybody else doing with their fitness goals?  Diet-wise I was bad today, I had two cookies.    Yuck.  The second one sat in my stomach like a rock.  I will remember that the next time I'm tempted by cookies!


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## Cookie (Mar 14, 2012)

Doing okay.  I went to Vegas two weeks ago and that almost de-railed me.  I completely gave in on my gluten-free diet (and drank more than I should have, of course) and it took over a week for my belly to recover, which made exercise really unappealing.  If I hadn't commited to this 15K this coming weekend, I might have jumped off the train altogether.  But I am proud of myself because I stayed with it.  I ran 7 miles on Sunday and 4 very hilly miles last night.  Also have been eating well too, which makes a huge difference for me.  So all in all, I think I am doing pretty well.  Have overcome two near setbacks in the last month (vacation wise), so that gives me lots of confidence going forward.  I'll let you know if I still feel the same after Sunday!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 14, 2012)

Not a good week my end. Just haven't for into my stride and been able to get settled in for workouts what with one thing and another.

Looking to hit it hard tomorrow, then again for 4 days running ready for rest day Monday. Just got to keep motivated.


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## Chrismac (Mar 14, 2012)

I definitely need to exercise more. I get exercise from my job, but not always healthy. More the back breaking kind.
I used to run and loved cycling, but have got out of the habit.. the last time I cycled a small distance I fainted at the end because of the anaemia. 

I really want to start running again though, I miss it a lot.

By the way, Mr Bedfordshire, I'm a Luton girl. Grew up in Caddington, went to school in Dunstable. Small Crohnie world.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 14, 2012)

Chrismac, I'm the opposite - I have one of those jobs where you sit at a desk for 8 hours straight.  I usually exercise during my lunch hour though, so it's a nice active break in the middle of a sedentary day.

Cookie and Mr. B, sorry to hear you've both had some setbacks.  Cookie, good luck with the 15 K!  If my mental calculations are correct, 15 K is about 9 miles?  That's quite a bit!  I never ended up going on my mile jog as the weather and then my dog's injuries got in the way, but the weather is getting better and my dog is almost totally healed.  I just have to do it!  Of course now that I'm getting a new bike I just want to ride instead of jog.    I'm hoping once the newness of my bike wears off that I can incorporate some jogging in too but I expect to ride around quite a bit when I first get my bike.

I have a co-worker who is trying to lose some weight and get in shape too, and although she doesn't have IBD, she and I talked about fitness and diet and weight loss a bit today and we do have somewhat similar goals.  I told her about how I had 2 cookies today and she said we should keep tabs on each other to discourage ourselves from eating sweets.  She knows I use the gym at work regularly and I told her to join me in the gym anytime!  So I may have a new diet & fitness workplace buddy.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 15, 2012)

Just bout to start a workout so here's hoping I stay motivated for the duration.

Re:hemp protein powder- I simply cannot get used to the god awful taste of the stuff it's disgusting?! Think I'll try something different.

Let's hear from you all to see how your all getting on:rosette1:


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## Cookie (Mar 15, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> Cookie and Mr. B, sorry to hear you've both had some setbacks.  Cookie, good luck with the 15 K!  If my mental calculations are correct, 15 K is about 9 miles?  That's quite a bit!  I never ended up going on my mile jog as the weather and then my dog's injuries got in the way, but the weather is getting better and my dog is almost totally healed.  I just have to do it!  Of course now that I'm getting a new bike I just want to ride instead of jog.    I'm hoping once the newness of my bike wears off that I can incorporate some jogging in too but I expect to ride around quite a bit when I first get my bike.
> 
> I have a co-worker who is trying to lose some weight and get in shape too, and although she doesn't have IBD, she and I talked about fitness and diet and weight loss a bit today and we do have somewhat similar goals.  I told her about how I had 2 cookies today and she said we should keep tabs on each other to discourage ourselves from eating sweets.  She knows I use the gym at work regularly and I told her to join me in the gym anytime!  So I may have a new diet & fitness workplace buddy.


You are right, it's 9.3 miles.   I have done this race 3 times previously, but it has been four years since the last time and I am quite nervous.  I think I have trained okay, but you never know what's going to happen come race day.  Not looking to set any personal bests, just hoping to finish.

Don't be too hard on yourself about the cookies.  We all cave in every now and again!  Yesterday was "pi" day at our work (3.14...we are science geeks).  I resisted most of the day, but ended up "tasting" (yeah, right) the filling of a chocolate cream pie.   If it hadn't been for the gluten in the crust, I'm quite sure I would have eaten the whole piece!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 15, 2012)

Yeah, yesterday was a bad day diet-wise.  Besides the two cookies, it was Pi Day and my hubby made these little individual pies.  I usually have one little pie when he makes them, but since it was Pi Day and they were so yummy I had two!  Blah.  I felt totally stuffed and my guts weren't particularly happy about that.  Today I'm doing much better.  I've eaten smaller portions, I even had a salad (it caused cramping for a bit but I'm okay now) and then a co-worker asked if I wanted a bag of potato chips.  It was not an individual size bag either!  I politely said no thank you and she took the chips away.  Phew!  Onwards and upwards.  To make up for yesterday, I'm just going to have juice from my juicer for dinner tonight.  I don't need calories and I do need nutrients so fresh juice is the way to go.

Mr. B, I haven't tried hemp powder myself but it sounds pretty foul.  When my brother lived with us, he would drink this wheatgrass juice which smelled terrible and stained our drinking glasses green.  He said it tasted horrible when he first started drinking it, but after a few weeks he got used to the taste and then began to actually like it.  Yuck, I never got used to the smell or the green stains, and I could never bring myself to try the stuff as the smell alone was gag-worthy.  Kudos to you for trying to drink something awful.  I hope you're able to find a less-noxious substitute!

Cookie, good luck with the race!  I think I've already mentioned this, but my mother runs marathons.  She just completed a marathon in Antarctica (yes, really) last week.  The race organizers advised her that this race would be really tough and that she should assume that she'd be finishing 1 to 2 hours later than her usual marathon time.  She did it in 6 hours + and she's usually right around the 5 hour mark so not terrible.  Like you said, she wasn't trying to do any personal bests either.  She just wanted to have fun!  So, good luck and have fun.  And be glad you're not running in Antarctica.


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## Cookie (Mar 16, 2012)

Antartica?  That's amazing.   Is she going for the 7 continents thing?  I think I mentioned this before, but my ultimate goal is to run a marathon (well actually, to qualify for and run the Boston marathon, but I guess i should start with running a marathon first).  I have tried training for one several times, but always end up with fistula problems.  I think that running may actually have something to do with it.  I had my last surgery in Oct of 2009 and am doing pretty good so far.  I just don't know how far I should push it.  

Anyway,  thanks for the well wishes on Sunday.  I'll let you know how it goes.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 16, 2012)

Yeah, she completed the 50 states a couple years ago and now she's going for the continents.  She did Africa (Marrakesh, Morocco) last year and Antarctica last week, and of course she's done North America, so 3 down and 4 to go.  She did Boston 3 or 4 times, I can't remember for sure.  She doesn't have IBD (she thinks she has celiac but doesn't - long story) so she doesn't have any health issues standing in her way except for stuff she's caused herself (she's had a few falls and has given herself "running-induced asthma" from chronically running too much).  She's a little crazy!  I doubt I'll ever run a marathon, but she's run enough for the both of us.  

That sucks that running seems to cause fistula problems for you.  I don't have fistulas (knock on wood) but they sound just dreadful.  I'm not sure which type of IBD I have (not fully diagnosed but GI and GP have said it's IBD and it's not UC, they're thinking either Crohn's or microscopic colitis) so I don't know if fistulas are something I'll ever get.  I can imagine that they'd interfere with being able to exercise so I hope they don't come back for you!

Oh, I got a confirmation from Amazon that my new bike has shipped and it's arriving on Monday!  Yay, I'm excited!  My husband says he's assembled bikes in the past and that "it's easy" so hopefully he can put the thing together for me.  Some of the reviews said this particular bike is really easy to put together and others said it's a total nightmare, so I don't really know what to expect!  It's just a bike though, it's not like we're going to be assembling a robot or a spaceship or something.  It shouldn't be all that difficult.  It's been unseasonably warm here, temps in the upper 70s and even low 80s (fahrenheit) and it's supposed to be warm through at least next week Wednesday, so I hope to get at least one good ride in before it cools down again.  

Diet-wise I'm doing pretty well too after recovering from the cookies & pie.  I had fresh juice and a Slimfast for dinner last night (the juice just wasn't enough on its own to fill me up).  Starting to plan what I want to grow in my little garden this year too.  I can't do a lot of fresh fruit & veggies by themselves, but I can easily stomach fruit & veg that's been put through my juicer, so I plan to grow some things I can juice.  Yum!

I probably won't be on tomorrow, so happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  I hope we can all avoid the green beer, yuck.


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## Cookie (Mar 19, 2012)

Well, I did my 15K yesterday and finished under my goal.  My time was 1:30:31 which is 9:46 per mile.   I was secretly hoping for under 10 min mile, but didn't adevertise that too much in case it didn't happen.  I was 75 out of 228 in my age group and 1203 out of 3000+ overall.   All in all, I feel pretty good about it, but I won't lie, I am sore and worn out today!  usually i would do some strength training on Monday, but I think I will make it a rest day!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 19, 2012)

Cookie said:


> Well, I did my 15K yesterday and finished under my goal.  My time was 1:30:31 which is 9:46 per mile.   I was secretly hoping for under 10 min mile, but didn't adevertise that too much in case it didn't happen.  I was 75 out of 228 in my age group and 1203 out of 3000+ overall.   All in all, I feel pretty good about it, but I won't lie, I am sore and worn out today!  usually i would do some strength training on Monday, but I think I will make it a rest day!


Fantastic well done! Treat yourself to a rest day as a reward.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 20, 2012)

Congrats, Cookie!  Getting a time under your goal must be a very good feeling, well done!    Hope you enjoyed your rest day.  Do you have a race in mind as your next one to train for?

I overdid it with exercise on Sunday but my body must be getting used to doing a lot of exercise as I didn't pay for it the next day!!  That's a really good feeling.  I did yoga on Sunday morning, then I took the dog on a brisk walk, and then in the afternoon I rode 6 miles on my old bike.  It was really windy and my old bike is not great, so the bike ride was very tough and I was super tired and sore afterwards.  Still, the next day I felt okay and managed to hit the gym as usual so I am quite proud of that!  I got my new bike yesterday and took that out for a test ride, and it's SO much better than my old bike.  My old bike is 15+ years old so it's pretty beat up and the brakes don't work very well and it's just generally hard on me.  The seat is super uncomfortable on my booty, it's not the easiest to steer, obviously not the easiest to stop, and it's a mountain bike so I felt all hunched over the handlebars.  My new bike, on the other hand, is a "comfort bike" so the handlebars are higher up, allowing me to not have to hunch over at all!  I can sit upright on my bike and that's lovely.  And of course the brakes work great and the steering is much better.  It's got this fancy gear-shifter thing right on the handle too, like how a motorcycle shifter is I believe.  I bought some accessories online, like a basket, lock, and new helmet, and those are arriving tomorrow.    I got a cushy gel seat too so my butt won't be so sore.  Once I get those installed, then I'll be all set to be able to run errands on my bike, so I can save gas/money and continue getting fit.  Win-win!  

Diet-wise I've had a bit of a setback though, it seems that bananas are triggering my GERD to act up!  Bananas are my go-to fruit so that is really frustrating.  I can't digest a lot of other fruits, strawberries and tomatoes are particularly bad (even in remission, if I eat them I will see undigested tomato and strawberries in my poo).  So I am trying to figure out how to get fruit without upsetting my guts or my GERD.  Juicing them is the only thing that really works at this point.  Anybody have other ideas besides juicing?  I can steam and juice veggies so at least I have two options there, but steamed fruits doesn't sound appealing at all.


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## Elbeasta (Mar 22, 2012)

Awesome thread - quite inspiring!  
I had a flare up this weekend after hosting 10 out-of-towners for a family funeral - so stressed, no time to eat, and too much wine.
Monday I was really down and felt awful, so I wanted to cancel my appt with the personal trainer at the gym (discount training at the office gym!).  My wonderful husband said "no way! you always feel better afterwards!"  And he was sooo right.  I felt great! It was a huge surprise - really counter-intuitive.  I'm guessing endorphins? Or stretching?  We did a lot of squats, presses, and pull-ups.  Tonight I'm looking forward to a run - getting back into it after the winter.  Maybe 2 or 3 miles. Do any of you run barefoot?  I'm in "invisible shoes" now, hoping to be barefoot this summer.
The only thing is that I get realllllllly tired after running or working out.  Protein helps (fish or designer whey), but I've depended on caffeine to keep sharp at work, and now, well, no more caffeine for me.
anyway, psyched to see everyone getting out there!  Good luck with the bicycle, Cat!  And Cookie, congrats on your time!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 22, 2012)

Great to see so many people on board and taking a keen interest on this thread!

The working out side of things is going pretty well for me;I've compiled a workout plan using bits and bobs off the website, using mostly bodybuilding.com. 

I'm trying my hardest to steer clear of unhealthy food, by eating more fruit and veg, whilst washing it down with water rather than fizzy drinks and to be honest I'm feeling a lot better for it!!

Keep going everyone, you can do it!!!!


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## Elbeasta (Mar 22, 2012)

Oh, and Cat,
can you eat mango?  frozen mango is (relatively?) cheaper these days (or at least, as cheap as frozen peaches), and I nuke some up to add to a whey protein shake in the morning - no problems.  frozen peaches are good, too.  Nuked up, with honey and cinnamon ... a not-bad dessert.
--Lisa


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 23, 2012)

Lisa, welcome to the forum and thanks for the tip!  I haven't tried mango in awhile but I believe the last time I had it that there were no ill effects afterwards.  There's a little grocery store near me that usually carries fresh mangoes and they aren't too terribly expensive, so I think I will pick one up this weekend and give it a try.  The part about adding honey and cinnamon sounds delish!  Yum!  I know I can do canned peaches so I'll try that if the mango is a no-go.

Mr. B, good for you for drinking water rather than soda!  I had to give up soda when I first became ill, I don't know why but for some reason it causes me awful pains to drink anything carbonated.  I'm guessing maybe the bubbles get stuck along my digestive tract?  It feels like sharp gas pains, it's not pleasant and certainly not worth it.  I can't do caffeine either as it seems to be a migraine trigger for me, so I pretty much have to drink water!  That's fine with me though, I like water and don't miss soda.

How's everybody doing?  I had a bad tummy day yesterday due to some poor diet choices (entirely my own fault) so I had to take it a bit easier at the gym today than I would have liked, but I am glad that at least I was able to go to the gym.  And of course I'm trying to eat better today, although I haven't had much appetite today truth be told.  I lost a couple lbs this week (on purpose this time!) and I'd like to lose about 10 or 15 total, so I think I'm on a good pace.  There's no rush for me to lose weight, I'm not overweight or anything, I just put a bit too much weight back on the last couple times I was on steroids.  I weigh about 140 right now (I'm a 5'8" female) and I would like to be about 130 or max no lower than 125.  But of course my main focus is still to get healthy, not weight loss, so it won't bother me too much if I stay at 140 but continue getting fit.


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## Elbeasta (Mar 24, 2012)

Wow, Cat.  Good for you getting to the gym when your belly wasn't feeling good.  Hope the mango works out!  And thanks for the welcome!
Yesterday afternoon, I went to a great yoga class they've offered at work - just 5 of us in a conference room on the 19th floor with a very good instructor.  A great way to start the weekend!  Today: gym. Tomorrow: run.  Monday: trainer.  Pacing myself now - I usually overdo it when the warm weather hits!
The worry today is a party tonight - I guess I'll bring my own food?  How do you all deal with social engagements and diet restrictions?  Also, since I'm off caffeine, I might need to ask for a quiet place to nap...  sheesh.
Happy weekend!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 24, 2012)

Not a good day for me-was due for a arms workout but having started I lost interest after 10mins and called it a day?! 

Feel a bit weird today, no real go in me or any kind of motivation to workout so fingers crossed tomorrow I will?!


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## Elbeasta (Mar 24, 2012)

Hey there, Mister B- sorry to hear you're not feeling right.  I definitely have those days, too.  Sounds like you're in-tune with what your body needs - and bowing out early can keep you from getting injured.  Rest days are important in any exercise regimen.


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## elizamt (Mar 25, 2012)

*Marathon?*



__JK__ said:


> I don't like doing things by half.  If i'm gonna run, i'm gonna run a marathon!  anyone up for that?


I started working out on a regular basis (5-6x/week) and eating healthier about a year and a half before I had surgery/was diagnosed with Crohn's. Didn't seem right to me that I was making good decisions regarding fitness and diet, and yet was getting sicker. Since surgery last May, I've tried to really get back into working out. Over the summer, I was going to the gym and also taking boxing classes. Once law school started back up in the fall and stress levels went through the roof, I had a slightly more difficult time sticking with it. I was constantly tired and didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. After fall exams, I went home for Christmas break and started working out again 6 days a week.  I made a commitment to myself that I was going to set myself a goal and stick with it, Crohn's be damned. I'm "training" for the Walt Disney World Marathon (hopefully!) that takes place each year around Christmas. I wake up at 4:30 in the morning Monday through Friday to get my run in before classes. Right now, I'm running about 4 miles a day, with my "long" run holding steady around 6 miles (~10km). I've seen the changes in my health -- it seems like I'm using the bathroom less frequently than last semester (and more like a normal person again) and have seen an improvement in my fatigue levels. All of my scans have shown little to none inflammation since September, so I'm hoping that holds steady.  I'm gonna finish a marathon if it kills me!


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## elizamt (Mar 25, 2012)

*Sugar?*



Irene3 said:


> - in regard to diet, I want to join you guys, and cut back on a lot of refined sugar, but bit by bit, because on prednisone Iv been having a lot of sustagen, with added sugar, and my body craves sugar, especially when I feel unwell.
> -


I'm not on prednisone, but I've noticed that I have an unnatural hankering for sugar on a regular basis. Before surgery/diagnosis last May, I'd have candy or ice cream on the occasion, but never on an almost daily basis as I am now. I sometimes wonder whether this is a product of being sick or whether I'm just feeling sorry for myself!


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## Cookie (Mar 26, 2012)

Just checking in with the thread.  How's the new bike treating you Cat?  I love getting new equipment or gear...gives me a little spark.  I'm jealous!  And elizamt, i am with you on the marathon thing...do or die!

Had a pretty lazy weekend myself. I did a light run on Saturday and then yesterday...not a darn thing!  Usually I would be ridden with guilt, but for some reason I didn't really even care.  My body was telling me I needed a rest and sometimes you just have to listen to it, right?  Tonight I plan to do a strength training video and put myself back on track.

Good job everybody on keeping it going!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Mar 26, 2012)

Rubbish couple of days my end what with birthdays, family visits and generally too busy to work out, which I know is no excuse?!

Bit tired today after the clocks went forward over the weekend but Im aiming for a hardcore arms workout tonight to catch up.

Still not seeing any physical changes but I def feel more alert and awake from starting this back in January 2012.


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## tiloah (Mar 27, 2012)

Ran for the first time today since injuring my knee. I think it went okay.






I'm not the biggest fan of Jillian Michaels but I really like that quote.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 27, 2012)

Nic, I didn't know you injured your knee.  I must have missed a post somewhere.  That sucks!    Glad to hear you're able to run again!

Cookie, I am loving the new bike!  I did about 6 miles on the bike on Sunday, rode to the grocery store and back.  It was pretty much all uphill the way there so that was pretty challenging, and the way back home was nice and relaxing.  I invested in a cushy gel seat for the new bike, and it made a world of difference!  No butt pain or soreness whatsoever!    The rest of me, however, was pretty sore and tired, but that's okay.  

I had a massage that evening after my bike ride, and that made me REALLY sore!  I hadn't had a massage in quite awhile (my masseuse is a family friend and he makes house calls for friends and he also charges a reduced rate, which is great - but he's also a nursing student who works full-time, so he is usually very busy which is why I haven't had a massage in awhile).  I'm not sure if this is just because it's been awhile, or if he used more pressure than usual, but my back and neck were SO sore after the massage.  I went to the gym as usual yesterday and I had to not do as much because I was just so sore.  I feel somewhat better today but am taking today as a rest day as I don't want to injure myself.  (Yesterday I worked my arms & abs more so as to not aggravate my sore legs & back, so today my abs are sore!)  I'll try to hit the gym again tomorrow, hopefully all the soreness will be gone by then.

How's everybody else doing?  Diet-wise I am doing okay, a few minor slip-ups here and there but for the most part I'm doing pretty well.  I lost a couple pounds, too!  For the first time in awhile I am finally under 140 lbs - the scale yesterday said 139!    Yeah!  Finally I'm getting some of the steroid weight off of me and my tummy is looking flatter and not quite so flabby.  That's a great feeling!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 27, 2012)

Elbeasta, I must have missed your post.  It's probably too late now, but when I go to parties and am not sure if there'll be any safe foods there, I always bring safe snacks in my purse.  Usually an Ensure or some crackers, something small and portable like that.  My friends and co-workers all know at least a little bit about my illness so they don't really care if I don't eat their food or if I leave a party early due to being tired or whatever, so I don't worry about doing that kind of stuff, I know people understand.  Or if they do think I'm weird, they keep it to themselves and I don't care what they think anyway.


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## elizamt (Mar 27, 2012)

Cat-a-tonic: 

I think soda does the same thing for me in giving me sharp gas pains. When I first got sick and had abdominal pain b/c of an abscess, I told myself for three months that I was just being a big wuss. I chalked it up to bloating from drinking too much soda and redbull leading up to exams, easing up on my workouts, and eating more unhealthy foods. Exams are the hardest time for me because I literally have to go into hibernation mode for a month and just sit in the library. Even though I know I shouldn't, I use soda to get me through studying for 20 hours straight. Coffee and energy drinks (now) realllllllly make me use the bathroom 123187087 times a day, so even though soda makes me bloated, I give in. Diet Mountain Dew is literally referred to as "the house wine" of my law school, haha. Also, random, but caffeine is the ONLY thing that cures my migraines. I take 2 excedrin migraine which have a ton of caffeine in them. 

Side note: Ran 4 miles this morning at the gym! Movie theater there was playing Michael Clayton, not the best movie to run to, but it works!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 28, 2012)

Elizamt, glad to hear that I am not the only one who is affected by soda!  I wish caffeine helped my migraines, but it seems to cause them instead.  About the most fun beverage I can handle these days is lemonade, ha ha.  And even that I don't drink very often because I try to avoid excess sugar too.

There's a movie theater in your gym?  That's awesome!  There's a little bitty TV in my gym with a DVD player, so if I'm alone in the gym (and I usually am) then I can put whatever I want on that, but I usually can't see the screen (it's angled towards the treadmill, not the weight machines, and the bulk of my workout is weights - I just do the treadmill to warm up and cool down).  So I tend to put on concert DVDs of my favorite singers/bands, that way if I can see the screen great, but if not then I've still got some good music to listen to.

How's everyone else doing?  I had a bit of a dissapointment, I thought there was a new health food store in town but I was so wrong.  This little store popped up recently and the sign says "GFS" - I figured it must stand for something like Gluten Free Store?  Then I saw in smaller letters below the GFS that it says "Garden Food Store" so I thought, great, it must be health food!  I'll check it out!  And wow, what a disappointment!  It's one of those bulk-food stores where everything comes in giant containers.  Huge industrial-sized cans of corn, giantic bags of potato chips, etc.  Like Sam's Club I guess but you don't need a membership card or whatever.  It was mainly canned/pre-packaged stuff too, hardly any "garden" type foods.  I saw one giant bag of shredded lettuce and one bag of oranges in the store and that was the only produce there.  Pretty sad, and what a misleading name!  They should change the "GFS" to mean "Giant Food-like Substances".  Bleh.

The exercise is still going great, though - my muscles recovered nicely during my rest day yesterday and I felt great at the gym today.  I'm trying more interval-type training and I think that's going well so far.  For example, I used to jog at 5 mph for 4 or 5 minutes straight to get warmed up at the start of my workout.  Now I will run at 6 or 7 mph for a minute, walk for 30 seconds, run again, walk again, etc.  I'm enjoying that and it keeps me from getting bored.  I never really cared for running and even jogging for 5 minutes would make me a little bored and watching the clock to see when the 5 minutes would be up.  I'm still watching the clock now but just to keep an eye on when to stop/start running, not out of boredom.


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## elizamt (Mar 28, 2012)

The movie theater in the gym is Uh. Maze. Ing. I honestly think it's the only thing that has motivated me. I go to a Gold's Gym, and a lot of them apparently have the "Cardio Cinema." It's not as big as a real movie theater, but the screen is probably almost 15 feet wide and they've got 6 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, and 5 bikes in there. The gym plays a different movie each day, most of which are pretty high energy. 

Interval training is the best way to lose weight (or so I've heard). Jackie Warner (a trainer from the Biggest Loser) has a book called "This is Why You're Fat and How to Get Skinny Forever," and she says that if you've only got thirty minutes a day, you should do high intensity interval training rather than stay at a flat speed. Her beginner work out is 1 minute recovery walk, 2 minutes fast walk on 15% incline, 2 minute sprint, and then repeat. I try to incorporate some intervals into my runs, too. Today was a short day - only 2 miles - so I started out at 5 mph and ended the second mile at 6.5 mph. Yay us!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Mar 29, 2012)

That sounds cool, I think there is a Gold's Gym around here, I wonder if they have a movie theater too.  I just go to the little gym in the basement of my workplace, it's small but it works for me.  It's free for one thing so can't beat that!  And since it's only for employees in my building, there's hardly ever anyone else in there, which is fine by me.  I almost never have to wait for a particular machine to open up, and I can grunt when I'm lifting weights without embarassing myself in front of others.    Ha ha.  It seems like when other people are in the gym they want to chit-chat with me and I just want to focus on my workout so I am totally happy with being alone in there.  I do wish there was a movie theater though!  I am jealous of that!


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## Cookie (Mar 29, 2012)

I am thinking that maybe I should post this in another thread, but on the other hand, I think that those reading this thread are more likely to understand.  Beware, rant ahead...

I have alluded to it on this and other threads, but I have not wanted to really put it out there because I was hoping for it not to be true.  But I don't think I can deny it any longer...my fistula problems have returned.  I can't begin to tell you all how bummed out I am.   I have been doing so well with the diet and exercise and feeling great both physically and mentally.  About a month ago I noticed more than usual leakage and swelling around my anal area.   I decided to ignore it hoping it would go away.  Not the case.  I have a full blown bump right in the area of my previous abscess.  It's sore and draining and I am right back where I was two years ago.  Arg!

A very brief history...I have had issues with recto vaginal fistula for years.  I have tried Remicade, literally lived on Cipro and Flagyl and eventually had surgeries (2006 and 2009) which aparently have proven to be only a temporary solution.  I am sooo frustrated with this.  My husband keeps telling me to go to my doctor, but why???  So he can give me more meds that provide temporary relief and make me feel like crap and then I end up having surgery again?  The last surgery weakened my sphincter muscles to the point of leakage...what will another one do? I just want it to go away on it's own!!!  Think that might happen??

This is not meant to be a whoa is me post.  Just looking to vent to those of you who can relate...Thanks for listening!


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## tiloah (Mar 30, 2012)

Oh Cookie I'm so sorry. I think you know it won't go away on its own though. I hope you are able to find a treatment that helps. *hugs*


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## Cookie (Apr 3, 2012)

Yeah, I know.  I just don't want this thing to control my life.  When I am taking med for it, it feels like it becomes the focus of my life.   I don't want that to happen.  I just want to try and keep it manged and get on with things.  Of course I know that if the inflammation gets too bad I need to do something about it.  But right now it is draining and I am feeling ok.

Thanks for the encouragement diesanduhr.  Crohns will not beat us!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 3, 2012)

Aw Cookie, that really sucks.    I haven't had fistulas (yet, knock on wood) so I can only imagine how painful and frustrating it must be.  I can say that I push myself to exercise though all sorts of things like hemorrhoids, fissures, nausea, pain, and reflux, so I totally agree with your attitude - it won't beat you and you will get through this!

I hope everyone else is doing okay with their diet and exercise?  I'm doing well, I recently discovered that I can eat oatmeal again (oats upset me greatly back when I was not in remission) so I have added oatmeal to my healthy diet.  I can even add blueberries as those are usually safe for me, and a little honey too for sweetness.  Yum!  I have borderline-high cholesterol (apparently it's a genetic thing, no amount of diet or exercise will lower it by much - my mom who runs marathons also has high cholesterol in spite of her exercising like crazy and eating a very healthy diet).  I know oatmeal can sometimes help with cholesterol so I'm happy to add it to my diet.  Not sure if it will actually help any but it makes me feel good to eat it.  I've been exercising lots including riding my bike on nice days.  And I'm trying to surround myself with good influences too - I have a lunch date today with a friend who is totally into exercise and healthy eating, so we will have a healthy lunch and talk about diet & fitness.


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## elizamt (Apr 5, 2012)

Seven mile run scheduled for Saturday morning! Got slightly discouraged this morning when I went to do my scheduled 4.5 miles and could barely finish 1. I've been having some nausea issues the past few days, plus sore from a flag football tournament last week, so I'm chalking this morning up to my body going on strike. Resting up tomorrow, hoping for a solid 7 miles Saturday!

P.S. Anyone doing any of the Team Challenge Half Marathons listed on ccfa.org?


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## Dr.Who (Apr 6, 2012)

im with you buddy!! just lemme
eat another cookie.. lol

i usually go for walks, at least 30 minutes a day usually more.
i recently bought a pedometer, and found out 15 min = 2,500 steps = 1.5K = 1mile... hm maybe i got that wrong...

i think of all the walking ive done and cant imagine how many steps that has added up to.

crazy


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## lizzy16 (Apr 7, 2012)

Now that I'm finally feeling better again (thank you, Pred), I'm timidly getting back into exercise after about 6 months (eek that's a long time!). Getting inspired by this thread, I'm gonna ditch the processed junk and my beginner's yoga dvd is ordered! My flatmate also has a sports hula hoop that I've been using (starting slowly), it's really good for the core and I can work out in front of the tv. We also went to an African dance class this week and it was the most fun I've ever had working out, the teacher was fantastic! I need to do exercise that is also good for my mind as I tend to get bored and frustrated easily, here's hoping I can stick to it!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Apr 9, 2012)

It seems to have gone a bit quiet on this thread?! I hope we're all still exercising and trying to eat healthy?

As its been Easter I've taken my foot of the gas over the last 4 days with workouts, what with DIY that needed doing round the house, but I did manage a pretty intense workout this afternoon which made me feel less guilty!

One thing I have found out over Easter is that too much chocolate doesn't agree with my guts- Urgh! I've had watery stools and now have a very sore backside just in time for the return to work tomorrow-greeat!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 10, 2012)

I'm still here, Mr. B!  I've been doing so well and the weather's been so nice that I haven't been on the forum as much lately.  Like you, Easter threw me a little bit off track but I'm getting back to where I need to be.  I managed to avoid chocolate but had a couple slices of cheesecake on Easter - yum, but not good for me!  And I slacked a bit on my exercise and I forgot to take my psyllium for a couple days over the holiday weekend, so I've been paying for that a bit.  I'm back on the psyllium and hit the gym extra hard yesterday so I'm feeling quite a bit better today.  I need to remember to take better care of myself on holidays and not let them be an excuse to eat poorly or not exercise.

I hope everyone else had a good Easter and managed to avoid eating too many treats!


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## Cookie (Apr 10, 2012)

Still here too!  Dealing with the fistula issue, but it hasn't kept me down.  Like Cat, I am enjoying the nice weather.  Had a bit of a bummer of a day on Saturday when i fell two miles short of my goal on my run.  Was wanting to do 8.5, but could not eek out those last two miles.  I was so dissappointed with myself afterwards.  This is the first time since Jan that I went out with a goal and did not meet it.  I tend to be pretty hard on myself when that happens...I need to learn to let it go.  I plan to give it another go tonight.


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## Cookie (Apr 11, 2012)

Well last night's run was a successful 8.5 miles.   I had a particularly rough day belly wise...at least 15 trips to the restroom with lots of mucous.  This is typical for me during  "that time of the month".  I was not looking forward to my running and fearing another failure.  So I convinced myself to just get out there and do 4 miles at any old pace I could.   Well, I ended up feeling good and doing all 8.5 miles in less than 10 min/mile pace.  It totally made up for the bad day on Saturday. Reminds me of why I love running!

How's everyone else been doing?


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 11, 2012)

Good for you, Cookie!  That has got to be a good feeling.    I'm very impressed as I am still working my way up to running one mile without stopping.  Last time at the gym I managed to do 1/2 mile at 5 mph without stopping so I'm halfway there but I feel like my running progress has been really slow.  I do much better at weight-lifting and yoga than I do at anything cardio, but I am trying to improve my cardio efforts.

I've been a bit depressed today as I found out that a colleague of mine has cancer.  I know that I always feel so good and depression lifts significantly after I hit the gym, so I am really looking forward to my workout this afternoon.  I pushed myself pretty hard on Monday and am going to try to push at least as hard again today.  Diet-wise I've been crap lately, I ate a bunch of potato chips yesterday and now I just feel greasy and heavy and bloated and blah.  I'm going to remember this feeling the next time I'm tempted by something I shouldn't have - it's not worth feeling yucky later and they weren't that tasty anyway.  I packed a healthy lunch today (sardines packed in water for a snack, plain oatmeal with some fresh blueberries for lunch) so hopefully I'll recover quickly from the potato chips episode.  I can eat chips while flaring all I want, as I tend to lose both weight and sodium easily in a flare, but in remission it's another story and I don't need the extra calories nor sodium (nor pimples!) now.

Has anyone got any tips or tricks for avoiding bad foods you know you shouldn't have?  I remember my mother telling me that many years ago she used to drink a lot of soda, but she developed cysts in weird places and her doctor said she should try giving up all caffeine.  She was such a soda addict that it was really hard, but she started telling herself "there's maggots in the soda" and she'd picture nasty writhing maggots in her soda, and that was enough to get her to kick the habit.  And sure enough, her cysts went away.  Maggots don't really gross me out very much though so I don't know if that'll work for me.  Anybody have any other tricks or ideas similar to that?


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## Cookie (Apr 11, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> Has anyone got any tips or tricks for avoiding bad foods you know you shouldn't have?  I remember my mother telling me that many years ago she used to drink a lot of soda, but she developed cysts in weird places and her doctor said she should try giving up all caffeine.  She was such a soda addict that it was really hard, but she started telling herself "there's maggots in the soda" and she'd picture nasty writhing maggots in her soda, and that was enough to get her to kick the habit.  And sure enough, her cysts went away.  Maggots don't really gross me out very much though so I don't know if that'll work for me.  Anybody have any other tricks or ideas similar to that?


Wow, that's pretty harsh...I would end up eating nothing after that!  The only two tips I have for avoiding junk food is 1) the obvious don't buy it 2) join an on-line food diary website such as myfitnesspal.com and track your calories.  It's a huge data base of nutritional info for lots of food, plus tracking the calories really makes you think about everything you eat.  Before I eat something I know I shouldn't, I always think about what it will do to my food log calorie total.  I guess I just don't like not meeting my goals  :lol:


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 11, 2012)

Sorry if that was gross, ha ha.  She applied it ONLY to soda, she'd just tell herself that there were maggots in soda and she'd picture maggots in soda - all other foods were still maggot-free in her little analogy.  It did work, she hasn't touched caffeine in many years.  When I was a teenager and I gave up eating red meat, I would just think of all the sad cows getting chopped to bits in the slaughterhouse, that was enough to turn me off of beef (nowadays red meat upsets my guts too much so I still don't have much problem avoiding it).  I need an analogy that'll turn me off of potato chips and candy though!  

Well, I went to the gym, pushed myself as hard as I could (which wasn't quite as hard as last time) and I just feel tired now.  I didn't sleep well last night and I'm planning to hit the hay early tonight, hopefully that'll get me feeling a little more chipper.  I still feel rather blah right now.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Apr 11, 2012)

A much better day today. Seemed to have bags of energy so was in the gym for a good hour doing legs and shoulders and now I'm walking round with legs like jelly which surely means I've done something right during my workout?!

Was also thinking to myself today that I should go back to my 'slightly' unhealthy eating habits and once again have more pastries, chocolate and bread as I feel the eating healthy side has taken an edge off my energy and power when working out?! What du guys reckon?


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## Cookie (Apr 12, 2012)

I agree that the eating healthy thing can go too far and zap your energy.  I am upping my calorie intake too.  I think I have been going overboard.  I think we all know what is an ok amount of food for us and when we are just gorging ourselves.  When you try to be healthy, it's really easy to over do it.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 12, 2012)

Yeah, I've noticed too when I consume too few calories I get very fatigued and just want to sleep.  I need to consume a certain amount of calories daily or face the consequences.  My weight loss is going pretty slowly as a result but I'd rather stay the weight I am and not be fatigued.  I don't even really *need* to lose weight, but I'd like to lose about 5-10 lbs.  I'm 5 foot 8 (female) and I currently weigh 140 (I had dropped down to 139 but just gained a pound back over Easter due to poor diet choices).  So I'm fairly thin, and I've got some muscle tone.  I still have a bit of a flabby midsection though that I'd really like to lose!  If I can lose the belly flab then the outside will match the inside, I'll be feeling good and looking good.  Of course this is all just a secondary goal and my primary goal is still to just get as healthy as possible so that I can fight my illness as effectively as I can and stay in remission as long as possible.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 12, 2012)

Oh, and Mr. B, I totally know that "jelly legs" feeling after a good leg workout!  I think of it as "baby deer legs" because I feel like I am tottering around on legs that resemble those of a weak little newborn baby deer.  Ha ha.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Apr 15, 2012)

Another update my end:-

•I've found that eating healthy 'all the time' has had an almost adverse affect on what I wanted it to do?! By this I mean that I think my body is now craving more calories and that the sudden shock to the system isn't good and I don't feel to have as much energy or go in me for workouts like before.

•as mentioned previously I had to swap the hemp protein powder as I couldn't stand the taste, and so opted for whey isolate protein powder,which, tasted delicious but I've also noticed its triggered a few spots on my face which I didn't get before starting my latest powder?! I've suffered in my teens years ago but this latest protein powder seems to have triggered a few minor spots.

•I can definitely feel a change in my muscles since beginning this thread and my workouts, but nothing too major, but there's defo some tightening and slight (and I mean slight) muscle building going on in the right places:cool2:

So..im upping the calorie intake and kinda going back to my previous eating habit, but will not be as militant with the whole 'I must eat healthy' thing. I'm binning the protein powders for good, as I don't really want to look 16 again, and I'm going to carry on with my daily workouts of 5days a week in the gym with 2 rest days.

I definitely feel better since starting this thread, but I'm going to let my body take control and not feed it what I feels best, but what it tells me too instead. 

Just read this back and it's almost like a personal journal type post, so apologies for that. Anyhow-I hope to hear from you all, maybe with a similar type post with a mini breakdown of how things have gone so far.

Keep going everyone!


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## musicislife52 (Apr 15, 2012)

I hula hoop semi-regularly and do yoga 3 times a week. Both of those activities are so freeing! I went on my first bike ride of the year today, and realized I need to work on cardio a lot more! Glad I stumbled across this post. Hopefully it'll help keep me motivated!

When I workout, my bm's are more regular, my pain is decreased, and I have a lot more energy (unless I overdo it, of course). 

My favorite post-workout snack/meal is a green smoothie. So refreshing and chock-full of nutrients to help me recover! (To get enough calories, I love to add bananas, mangoes, and dates!)


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 16, 2012)

Mr. B, I like your observations, this is very much a learning process so thank you for sharing what you've learned!    I need an adequate amount of calories too (and not all "healthy" ones, I need some carbs) or I feel fatigued and just want to sleep.  One of the things I noticed when I first went into remission was that my body craved two things, food and exercise!  I thought the food cravings was just part of the steroids, as I was on Entocort for 7 months, but now I realize that my body needs a certain amount and variety of calories to function properly and I guess that was what it was trying to tell me.  So in my (non-medical, non-expert) opinion, I would say it shouldn't be an issue at all to increase your calorie intake especially if that's what your body seems to be saying it needs.  When trying to get healthy, it is tempting to restrict calories more, but it seems to me that I don't really need to cut that many calories out or it impacts me negatively.

Music is life, hula hoop sounds fun!  I haven't done that since I was a kid, I think I might give it a try as an adult!  I need to lose some flab from my midsection anyway and that sounds like it might be a good way to do it.  Have you found it's pretty easy on your tummy?  Even in remission, if I do too many ab exercises then I do end up in a bit of pain later, but hula hoop sounds like a decent ab exercise without being too high impact.  Thanks for the idea!  

So, it turns out that my hubby and I enable each other to eat foods we shouldn't.  We planned a little date night on Friday, we decided to go see a movie.  Between dinner and the movie, we had some time to kill, so we figured we'd buy some candy to sneak into the theater since candy costs way too much at the theater.  So we walked around Target and saw that all the Easter candy was on clearance for super cheap.  We loaded up an entire handbasket with candy and spent not just the movie but the whole weekend snacking on candy.  My LRQ was in some pain last night and I'm sure it was because I ate too much candy!  How awful of me, and I didn't exercise at all over the weekend except to walk the dog.  Yuck!  I am not proud of any of that.  I pushed myself in the gym pretty hard today and feel a bit better now, but I need to find some self-control quick because there is still a lot of candy in my house.  I'm kind of glad it causes me pain, hopefully I can avoid eating more of it!


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## musicislife52 (Apr 18, 2012)

Hooping has become a major outlet for me. It's such a good workout, but is wicked fun and a great stress reliever. I don't use a weighted/workout hoop.. Those can hurt you. A regular "adult-sized" hoop is really low impact (but still provides you with results!). This is an awesome reference site http://www.hoopcity.ca/

I've gone on a bike ride every day for the past three days (2.5 miles each time!). I hooped two of those days and lifted weights a little bit one of those days. I did an hour of yoga today and hooped a little too.  And said no to cookies haha.

Yoga has been helping me a great amount with stress. It has also been helping me improve my posture and breathing, and basically every other aspect of my life!

I saw a post on this thread with someone saying they couldn't eat fruit. Maybe the fruit wasn't fully ripened? I know I don't feel well when I eat unripe fruit.

Do any of you use videos for your workouts? Any favorites? I really love this yoga routine when my neck and shoulders are bothering me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHIs7_iMl8


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## Emily (Apr 19, 2012)

I'm joining the club!! Ever since I've been in remission the weight has slowly crept back. I've never been a workout person, in fact never played a sport and don't know how to use 80% of the machines at the gym but I'm determined to not let my weight go just cause I don't know how to work out. I think I weigh about 135 right now and my normal is 120ish (I'm 5'2) so I have a little ways to go, I've been eating very badly. 

Anyway, today I went to the gym for the first time in 3 years maybe, and did 30 mins each on the sitting bike thing and the elliptical. My thighs are my biggest issue. Anyway I want to be in shape for vacation this summer and I think working out will get me out of this slump I'm in so I can focus on finals. Here we go!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 19, 2012)

Emily, there should be someone on staff at your gym who can help show you how to use each machine.  Or if not, there should be instructions on each machine.  It'd be best to ask someone though so that you don't risk hurting yourself.  I love lifting weights, there are 8 machines (technically 7 but the leg machine sort of flips around so that you can do both thighs and hamstrings) and I do 20 reps on each machine 3x per week.  I love it!  I like strength-training SO much more than I like cardio, although I know cardio is important and I need to do more of it.

Music, good for you for saying no to cookies!  I said no to treats at work today too, a co-worker brought in chocolates for his birthday and I politely declined.  (I'm pretty sure they had nuts in them and nuts cause me such pain, although I do love chocolate so it was still hard to turn them down!)  I love yoga too and I just got myself a new bike, although I haven't ridden it in a couple of weeks.  I don't use workout videos usually, although I do use the Wii Fit when I do yoga.  It's not really a video game, more like an interactive workout video I suppose.  It gives you feedback on how you're doing and what areas you need to work on (strengthening your core to better your balance, etc).

Okay, this is pretty random, but while I'm thinking of it and on the subject of yoga - does anyone know any good yoga poses that are very easy on the neck?  (That don't require neck movement or turning of the head at all?)  My aunt (who has Crohn's) is considering spending the summer here in the city I live in, and she broke her neck a couple months ago in a car accident.  She's okay all things considered, not paralyzed and not in a halo, but they did have to insert this permanent metal rod into her neck to stabilize her broken neck and she does wear a neck brace too.  So she can't really turn her head or move her neck, but she loves yoga and she said once that she'd love to do yoga with me sometime.  So, any ideas for both IBD-friendly and neck-injury-friendly yoga poses?


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 20, 2012)

I bought a hula hoop today!    I'm so excited to try it out this weekend.  Hopefully it'll help me say goodbye to the tummy flab!


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## Emily (Apr 20, 2012)

Cat, the gym I go to is my school's so I don't think they have trainers  I will try to get other people to teach me though. And hula hooping is awesome! I know a girl that is a professional hooper and instructs classes on it, she has an amazing body! Hooping is an amazing exercise if you can get really into it!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 20, 2012)

Emily, that's too bad, my gym doesn't have trainers either.  I go to the employees-only gym in the basement of my workplace.  It's small but it suits my needs, and fortunately the weight machines weren't too difficult to figure out on my own.

I am looking forward to doing some hooping this weekend!  I just bought a cheapo like $6.99 hoop while I was at Walgreens this morning, it has purple metallic sparkles on it, ha ha.  Obviously it's meant for kids but the size is good and it's not too heavy nor too light so I think it'll work okay for me.  And if I find that I like it and am doing it regularly then I will invest in a higher-quality hoop... although I just might have to add some purple sparkles to it if "adult" hoops don't have sparkles.


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## rygon (Apr 20, 2012)

is hula hooping like this? 
[youtube]Ob3r0F41Aws[/youtube]

you may want to try http://bodybuilding.com for exercises. Im not one who wants to look musclular (good job lol) but it does have asome great polans to follow (or make your own) but more importantly it shows you how to use weights properly (pics and videos)

Im more into High Intensity Training (HIT) where 30-45mins in the gym is good enough for me (then 10mins stretching afterwards).

Emily,  im sure you should have someone to show you how to use eveything properly (normally due to insurance), they might be the best ppl to ask


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## elizamt (Apr 22, 2012)

I might be a freak for saying this, but I'm SO excited to be able to get back to my regular workout routine! My law school exams are almost over, after a month of hellish preparation and test-taking. Five days, and I'm home free until next year! Looking forward to getting back to the gym and workout - harder, better, faster, stronger is gonna be my motto for the summer!


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## x_jj_x (Apr 24, 2012)

kickboxing & weight training keep my strength up...& it's therapeutic to imagine i'm kicking my ilness' arse


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 24, 2012)

Eliza, you're definitely not a freak!  I'm jealous, wish I had the whole summer off!  Enjoy your free time and exercise lots!  

I have been doing a few minutes of hula hooping per day and I can definitely feel it in my abs, wow!  It's funny, my mom and brother came over for a visit on Sunday, and they saw my hoop and asked about it, so I gave them a little hooping demonstration.  As I was hooping, my brother was like, "Are you breathing?"  I gasped and said, "No!  It seems to be easier to do when I hold my breath!"  Then I tried breathing while hooping and that was much more difficult.  I gave my brother a turn with the hoop, and I realized he wasn't breathing either, so I told him to breathe and he also started struggling much more and the hoop significantly slowed down when he was deliberately breathing.  I wonder why it's easier to hoop when you hold your breath!  Maybe it's just a beginner thing and I'll learn to breathe and hoop at the same time soon.

My diet is still hit-or-miss though.  I stupidly had a donut for breakfast yesterday and that threw my whole day off.  I was more crampy, could do less at the gym, etc.  I'm doing better today.  I will probably get a cold soon - I have to spend the next few days in a training class for work, and I was told that every single person in the class (except me) has come down with some sort of a cold and they all currently have sore throats.  Great!  I have stocked up on disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer but I'll be shut in a room for several days with germs floating around everywhere, it's not looking good.  I hope that if I do get this cold that everyone else has, that it's not too bad and doesn't last very long.  Wish me luck!


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## hawkeye (Apr 28, 2012)

Working on getting back into the running...went out this morning for 2.25km in about 16 minutes, haven't really been running that much over the past year.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Apr 30, 2012)

How's everybody doing?  I survived my training class and managed not to get a cold!  Everybody else was sick, and the sickest person sat right next to me, but somehow I remained healthy.  Hey, I'm not complaining, just shocked and surprised!

Healthy eating is still hit or miss.  I tried having a salad the other day and it put me in a world of pain, cramping, d, etc.  Awful!  Sometimes I can get away with salad but clearly not this time.  So I've not been eating much healthy food and pretty much went low-res for a bit (yesterday's lunch was broiled fish and a baked potato without the skin).  Somehow I still ended up losing a pound, probably from having d and not much appetite due to the salad incident.  I don't like losing weight through being ill so even though I had wanted to lose a few lbs, I am not happy and would have rather lost that lb the right way or not at all.  Today I think I'm finally back on track diet-wise, I had sardines for a snack and oatmeal for lunch, and I'm going to stop by the store and pick up some blueberries for tomorrow's snack.  (For some reason I can do blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries without any problem - but strawberries cause pain and do not digest.)

My exercising is going well, I lifted something heavy the other day and my mom felt my arm while I was lifting it and she was like, "Wow!  You have huge arm muscles!"  Well, they're not huge because I'm a girl so I'm not bulky or anything, but I am getting strong and toned which is great.  Healthy inside & looking good outside.    It's been just about a full year now since I started lifting weights - I started in May 2011, I started small and did light weights 2x per week.  Now I do 20 reps on each machine and I do weights that are heavy enough that my muscles pretty much completely fail by the time I get to that 20th rep, and I do that 3x per week.  I'm glad I started small and worked my way up, that way I didn't get burned out or injure myself or anything like that.

So how's everyone else doing?  This thread has gone a bit quiet again lately...


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## musicislife52 (May 1, 2012)

@Cat - That's awesome you got a hoop!! Since it's a kid-sized hoop, you'll have to move faster to keep it up, which is why you're not breathing much! By keeping your abs tense, it prevents a lot of breathing but makes it easier, and you're still getting a great workout either way... But breathing helps your muscles get the oxygen they need to recover and keep going, so try at least breathing a little! If the hoop falls, no big deal!  I actually make hoops and could probably make you one! I have tons of colors but no sparkly ones... yet.  That's going to be my next investment. I've never shipped a hoop though so I'd need to look into that.

Practicing yoga helps you to be aware of your breath, so maybe do some breathing exercises before? You can also use your hoop for some stretches.. it actually can help with your alignment. And stretching helps you build muscle faster since it creates little micro-tears that heal as stronger tissue (obviously don't overstretch though!!). 

I only did yoga once last week but went on a little hike and did a good amount of walking over the weekend. I've sadly been neglecting my hoops..  But once my semester is over, I'll be able to workout a lot more, and I can't wait! I've been eating pretty well but had a lot of cheese this weekend and felt like crap because of it, so I'm doing a cheese detox now hahah. 

@rygon - Hooping can be like that once you have practiced a ton! Haha. 

@x_jj_x - I used to kickbox years ago and would love to get back into it. It's such a great workout and I love what you said about kicking your diseases arse too! Great way of looking at it.


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## Miss Underestimated (May 1, 2012)

Haha, I search for "oatmeal" and this came up. Cat, I have Crohns and I can eat the same berries you can. Just discovered that oatmeal (soluble fiber) seems to help a lot. I was searching to see if others were eating it, didn't recall anyone mentioning it.

Made oatmeal cookies - no raisins.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 1, 2012)

Music, I would be interested in a proper adult hoop if you can figure out how to ship it!  Actually, what I'd really like is a collapsible/portable hoop so that I can fold it up or telescope it or whatever and throw it in my gym bag.  Do you think you could make something like that?  If so I'd gladly purchase one from you even if it didn't have sparkles!    (Sparkles would be best of course though, ha ha.)

Miss Underestimated, back when I was really ill I couldn't handle oats, even oats in cereal would kill me (Cheerios were not my friend!).  But now that I'm in remission, oats are fine on my tummy.  I take a teaspoon of psyllium (soluble fiber) daily as well.  I just had my cholesterol tested a couple months ago and it was borderline-high, so after that result I've been trying to eat more oatmeal as I know that it can lower cholesterol.  I have noticed that psyllium definitely helped with having fewer bowel movements and oatmeal seems to help as well.  I used to think that all fiber was painful with this illness, but now I know that's not necessarily true.  It's more a matter of soluble vs. insoluble - I still can't do much insoluble fiber, even in remission!

And how interesting that you and I can eat the same berries - I'm assuming then that you can't do strawberries either?  Blueberries have never bothered me and they're my favorite.  I'm not a huge fan of blackberries or raspberries but I will buy them if I can't find blueberries.  Have you tried adding berries to plain oatmeal?  It's yummy!


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## Jim Gonsler (May 1, 2012)

*Exercise and Diet is a big deal*

Those are two constants for me.  Whenever I start playing around with sugar, dairy or gluten, I start up with the problems again.  Exercise has helped me for years!  I prefer weights, because I like the visible results in addition to the feeling I get afterwards, but running is great, swimming is bettor, walking is good too.  Anything that gets your circulation up.   When you get that blood pumping, only good things in terms of healing seem to come as a result.  In addition, stress (which also aggravates my crohn's) seems to go right out the window after exercising.  I'm sure a lot of you out there agree.


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## rygon (May 2, 2012)

just found this article on how to run a marathon. Gives some good info on any running

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/cb10.htm


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## Miss Underestimated (May 3, 2012)

Cat-a-Tonic said:


> Music, I would be interested in a proper adult hoop if you can figure out how to ship it!  Actually, what I'd really like is a collapsible/portable hoop so that I can fold it up or telescope it or whatever and throw it in my gym bag.  Do you think you could make something like that?  If so I'd gladly purchase one from you even if it didn't have sparkles!    (Sparkles would be best of course though, ha ha.)
> 
> Miss Underestimated, back when I was really ill I couldn't handle oats, even oats in cereal would kill me (Cheerios were not my friend!).  But now that I'm in remission, oats are fine on my tummy.  I take a teaspoon of psyllium (soluble fiber) daily as well.  I just had my cholesterol tested a couple months ago and it was borderline-high, so after that result I've been trying to eat more oatmeal as I know that it can lower cholesterol.  I have noticed that psyllium definitely helped with having fewer bowel movements and oatmeal seems to help as well.  I used to think that all fiber was painful with this illness, but now I know that's not necessarily true.  It's more a matter of soluble vs. insoluble - I still can't do much insoluble fiber, even in remission!
> 
> And how interesting that you and I can eat the same berries - I'm assuming then that you can't do strawberries either?  Blueberries have never bothered me and they're my favorite.  I'm not a huge fan of blackberries or raspberries but I will buy them if I can't find blueberries.  Have you tried adding berries to plain oatmeal?  It's yummy!



Going to try the blueberries and oatmeal - sounds good. I was quite surprised that the oatmeal didn't bother me. I haven't had any in years, except maybe just a piece of someone else's cookie or bread with oatmeal in it.

I can eat one strawberry just fine, but only one, and not every day. Like you, I prefer blueberries. I like to make preserves, cobblers, and baked goods with blackberries and raspberries. I'm scared of the seeds if I eat too many, and haven't experimented with it much. I'll experiment a little more when they come in around here - they grow wild. I just have to make sure I get them clean and don't eat while I'm picking them, hahaha.

I can eat mangoes, but not peaches, broccoli, but not green peas. It's really strange.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 3, 2012)

Miss Underestimated, I thought of you yesterday - we planted a blueberry bush and a blackberry bush in our yard.    They might grow wild around here but I live in the city so there's not a whole lot of wilderness in my neighborhood, so growing them myself seemed like a good bet.  I just had oatmeal with blueberries on it today for my mid-morning snack, yum!  As for the other things you mentioned - I can eat mangoes too, and I can eat canned peaches.  I can do steamed or cooked broccoli and peas.  The one fruit I had to give up recently, which I really miss, is bananas!  They started making my GERD act up and I would get the vurps and taste banana.  So I've cut them out of my diet for now and may revisit them later.  I miss them.  

Jim Gonsler, I agree!  Exercise is very important.  I lift weights 3x per week and do other things like walk my dog, ride my bike, do yoga and hula hoop, as often as I can too.  If I skip the gym, I notice a definite change for the worse in how I feel.  As long as I go to the gym and watch what I eat (and take my meds and supplements and psyllium, and get enough sleep, and avoid stress...) then I feel quite good.  And you are right, exericise is wonderful for relieving stress.  I could have the weight of the world on my back, hit the gym, and come out feeling carefree.  The harder I exercise, the better I feel.  It's good stuff!


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## Miss Underestimated (May 3, 2012)

That's funny! I can't eat bananas either. I don't have gerd - they give me that yucky acid stomach - very uncomfortable. 

Wild berries - I live near an interstate highway. Berries grow on the grassy land that backs up to the highway, and up on the hills near the overpasses. I'd grow them too, but I have so many trees I barely have room to grow my little patch of tomatoes. I have to take the skin off the tomatoes, but I've always been able to eat them.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 15, 2012)

Wow, this thread has been quiet for awhile!

Miss Underestimated, I love tomatoes although I know I shouldn't eat them.  For awhile I tried removing both the skins and the seeds, but I'd still see tomato in my poo later.  No part of tomatoes seem to digest for me.  I still eat them sometimes as I just love them.  They don't hurt going through fortunately - strawberries don't digest but they do hurt, so I tend to avoid strawberries entirely but I will eat tomatoes at times.

I had a rough week but things are going better now.  I got what seemed to be a mild case of food poisoning last week, so I wasn't able to hit the gym for a little while.  I'm feeling better now and went back to the gym yesterday.  I took it really easy as I didn't want to do too much on my first day back after being ill.  It went well, and I felt like I could have done more.  I'm going to hit the gym again tomorrow and plan on pushing myself harder.  Wish me luck!

How's everyone else doing with their diet and exercise plans?  Anybody else lost weight or gained muscle lately?  I lost 5 lbs in 4 weeks - I lost 1 lb per week for 3 weeks, then I lost 2 lbs due to the food poisoning.  I didn't intend to lose the initial 3 lbs over 3 weeks - I'm not sure how that happened.  I wasn't specifically eating fewer calories or exercising more.  I don't think my IBD is becoming active again, I feel like I'm still in remission (things were iffy during the food poisoning episode but I'm mostly back to normal now).  The only thing I can think is, maybe I've now got enough muscle on me that I'm able to more efficiently burn calories?  I know that muscle burns more than fat, and I have been consistently exercising with the exception of last week.  So maybe I just lost a bit of excess fat weight because I'm finally in proper shape?  That would be nice!


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## ontariomom (May 16, 2012)

Wow. I just happened to find this thread. I still havent explored all boards on here yet!! I have to admit i havent read every post in this thread...there is a lot!!! LOL 

I am just sitting here this mroning thinking how much i miss working out. I used to love being on my stationary bike, but with the peri rectal fistulas i have found it too uncomfortable to sit on that seat. I have been worried about doing alot actually for fear of causing more discomfort or pain in my bum. 

But i also know that i am feeling very bunched up and sore in my  back and s houlders from NOT doing as much.....

and i could stand to lose a 'few" pounds. 

I am pretty lucky i think. I have alot of foods i cannot eat, but i seem to have quite a few i can. I wish i could eat more fruits, i love fruit but am still expermenting to see what i can handle. apples dont seem to be too bad, strawberries seem ok once in awhile....watermelon is a NO, bananas just give me heartburn, I eat alot of cream of wheat, instant oatmeal, toast with pb and honey.....I am going to try a salad today, chicken ceasar, its ok once in a while...jsut not daily. 

I have my Turbo Jam dvds, Wii Fit, treadmill, eliptical, bike, and some free weights. 

Now all i have to do is actually start using them. I think it will help me with my depression as well and keep me busy and feeling good. 

does any here have any rectal fistulas? What exercises do you do??? Or do you find you can do anything and they dont bother you???? I knwo some days i ache and weep and i am afraid of being too active or they will be like that too often. And then i will stop working out......

Ok now off to tidy up and perhaps start with something easy today.......


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 16, 2012)

Ontariomom, I don't have fistulas so I can't speak to that, but it sounds like you've got a good assortment of workout equipment at your disposal.  It would probably be best to start small, maybe do some yoga on the Wii fit or walk on the treadmill or do a gentle pace on the elliptical, then slowly build yourself up to doing more, faster, etc.  If you can't do the bike, there's still plenty of other stuff you can do.  Good luck with it!


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## Mr Bedfordshire (May 16, 2012)

its been too long since ive checked or touched base with this thread - apologies everyone.:ybatty:

Well im still trying to work out as much as i can, but ive gone back to eating what i want, as healthy foods just left me feeling hungry and tired.

There are days where i feel like i could work out all day, and then there are others where i simply cannot be bothered?!

I have to be honest with myself and say that i probably dont hit it hard enough when i do work out, and need to do it more regularly than the last few weeks, but theres always something else to do or im back late from work and by the time ive walked the dog, had dinner and caught my breath, its time for bed.

Im also able to lift more than when i first started, but im not seeing any difference in my appearance thats anything to shout about. theres an ever so slightly change in some muscle groups but nowhere near what should be after 5mths of working out.

hows everyone else?


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 16, 2012)

Mr. B, it took me awhile to notice any muscle tone.  I was on Entocort for awhile and I know that corticosteroids can cause muscle wasting - not to mention, I was ill for awhile before Entocort and not absorbing nutrients properly and was losing weight, so my assumption is that I lost quite a lot of muscle from steroids and being ill.  So, when I started lifting weights a year ago, I had to build myself up to where a normal human would be before I would start to see muscle and tone above and beyond that.  It was probably a good 6 months or so before I noticed any change at all.  It's been a year now and I definitely have some muscles although I know I'm still (probably always will be) a work in progress.  So don't get discouraged, this illness puts us at a disadvantage with things like this, but it is possible to get stronger and see muscles form - just keep working at it!


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## rygon (May 18, 2012)

I found I didnt see any muscle for ages until i changed my regime to taregt only a couple of muscles at a time. Just keeping on going and having fun and im sure you will start seeing results sometime

Well my wrist is getting better (2nd physio today) so decided to go for a run and lose this gut ive been carefully growing over the past 2mnths.

Managed 4miles in 43.5mins which im pleased with (even happier i didnt stop). Felt good afterwards but now starting to feel it on my legs, not looking forward to tomorrow waking up lol


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 19, 2012)

My exercise plans have taken one hit after another.  First I had that food poisoning a couple weeks ago.  After that episode, I went back to the gym but took it easy so as to not rile up my guts again.  But then yesterday I was rear-ended and now have whiplash so once again I have to skip the gym for a bit and then will ease my self back into things.  Sigh!  I just wish stuff would calm down for awhile so I could exercise properly!  I did walk the dog today and am thinking of attempting some yoga soon, but this has really put a damper on both my fitness and my enthusiasm.    Stupid setbacks.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (May 31, 2012)

Uh-oh, this thread has gone awfully quiet again... anybody else still here?

As for me, I've had one issue after another but am finally feeling good again.  I hit the gym hard yesterday and that felt great, I am going back again tomorrow.  And this weekend, there is a bicycle thing going on in my city.  They shut down some major city streets for the day and let people ride bikes (and jog, rollerblade, whatever) in the middle of the roads - no cars allowed!  It's a 5 mile route that goes around downtown, and they have bands and food and activities and stuff along the route (and of course porta-potties!).  It sounds like a lot of fun so I'm going to do it.  Exercise + fun stuff = total win!    I'm excited!

Oh, and it's officially been a full year now that I've been in remission and I have been exercising regularly the entire 12 months too.  I feel great, I've got muscles, life is good!  It took awhile for my muscles to show up (I think I lost a lot of muscle both from being ill & losing weight, and also from being on steroids for awhile, so it took a long time just for me to build myself back up to where a normal person would be, let alone to put muscle on on top of that).  If anyone else is reading this who is working out but not seeing results and getting frustrated - keep going!  It's undoubtedly harder for us but it's not impossible, it just takes a little longer.  You can do it, don't give up!  If I can do it, I promise that you can too.


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## SandyM (May 31, 2012)

Thanks for that uplifting/inspirational post Cat. I have to confess my running and gym has slipped somewhat in the last few months due to working offshore and being on nightshift! Result was my tummy has been playing up a bit but nothing too serious. Away again for another 10 day trip offshore tomorrow but when I get back I'm going to set myself some goals. This will not only for exercise but better nutrition and sleeping patterns as well hopefully.

I haven't been on here for a while so not up to date with what's been going on.

Glad you have done so well. Congratulations - long may it continue for you


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## SandyM (May 31, 2012)

Thanks for that uplifting/inspirational post Cat. I have to confess my running and gym has slipped somewhat in the last few months due to working offshore and being on nightshift! Result was my tummy has been playing up a bit but nothing too serious. Away again for another 10 day trip offshore tomorrow but when I get back I'm going to set myself some goals. This will not only for exercise but better nutrition and sleeping patterns as well hopefully.

I haven't been on here for a while so not up to date with what's been going on.

Glad you have done so well. Congratulations - long may it continue for you


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## ilovedevon (May 31, 2012)

Hello all!  I am new to this forum and not quite sure how to post anything like info about myself yet but I wanted to contribute to the conversation!

I walked today and jogged a block.  I was doing the Brazilian Butt Lift DVDs but they require a lot of time and really didn't feel like doing that much work today.  I feel like once I get out of exercise, I can't get back in.  Any tips?

Also, I eat oatmeal almost everyday!  I use plain oatmeal and add natural PB, cinnamon and honey!  It's delicious and does not give me any problems!  I'm still a little leary of berries as I heard to stay away from seeds...haven't had any in a LONG time...


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## b4britney (May 31, 2012)

i find it really hard to really get into exercise at home!! i have a wii-fit, but i never use it!! so i joined the gym! and i still have to kick myself in the butt to go, but once i'm there, its great!! i could workout there for hours!


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## ilovedevon (May 31, 2012)

I have a kinect for Xbox!  Also never use it.  I stopped "donating" to the gym lol.  I guess I just have to force myself bc I know it moves my bowels more.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jun 1, 2012)

Defo need to keep upto date with this thread:ybatty:

Well for me I've really let it slip in recent weeks due to lack of motivation, working away from home and generally can't be arsed to have a workout after a long, stressful day at work.

Now, what I have noticed is that when I stuck to a healthy, low fat diet at the start of this thread/beginning of working out, I lacked energy and stamina when working out, so a month or so ago I went back to eating what I wanted, but in recent weeks have noticed that the fatty bits have returned with a vengeance and so I'm now looking to purchase a treadmill.

My only concern is will it just sit gathering dust in the garage?!

What's peoples opinions invest cardio workouts to lose weight? I'm not one for physically going out for a run I might add.

I was thinking fitness DVD? P90x is the one I'd love to try but think that would be starting too big, so may get a celeb workout DVD and see how I get on.


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## ontariomom (Jun 1, 2012)

i started really working out last week. I started doing my Turbo Jam workout dvds. I used to love them. They are intense but have the option of doing a modified workout. I do a lighter version right now. But i ahve done 2 days last week and 3 this week so far . I only manage 10-15 min a day, but i do feel better mentally. 

They tone up pretty fast so i am hoping to notice some difference in another couple of weeks. I plan to work my way to up to 20 min a day 3-4 days a week. Maybe start the treatmill or kinect or wii fit a couple other days for a lighter work out. 

I didnt do anything yesterday as i felt so horrible. So hoping that today i can manage. I am so afraid if i have to miss too many day that i wont get back into it, and i know i need these workouts. 

I have had a treadmill for 6yrs, sometimes i dont touch it for months......sometimes i use it everyday for months. I figure it all balances out.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jun 1, 2012)

It sounds like motivation is a sticking point for many here, so let me share with you what keeps me motivated.  When I hit remission about a year ago, I knew I didn't want to backslide back into a flare if I could at all avoid it.  So I decided to do whatever I could to be as healthy as I could - that includes diet, exercise, meds, supplements, stress management, getting enough sleep, etc.  I know I'm not perfect and I'm going to slip up sometimes, but just because I slip up doesn't mean that I've ruined everything - a slip up is just that, and I've got to keep going in spite of it!  Can't let that chocolate I ate yesterday or the gym day I skipped the other week get me down, just have to keep trying.

What keeps me motivated specifically to keep going to the gym?  For one thing, I feel great when I exercise - being able to exercise at all makes me feel normal and lets me forget, even if just for a little while, that I've got an illness, so I am motivated to go to the gym to get that feeling.  And I feel great after I exercise too so there's another bit of motivation.  But the big thing is that with every rep of weight lifted or every step on that treadmill, I feel like I am one tiny bit closer to beating my illness.  I know IBD is incurable, so this is an ongoing process, but with everything I do in the gym I am a little bit stronger and my IBD is a little bit weaker!  I'm a constant work in progress so my work is never done and I'm never going to stop fighting with everything I've got.  The fact that I've lost a bit of weight and have gained muscle and fit into my clothes better and all that, that stuff is a lovely added bonus, but it's not my main reason for exercising.  I just think about my illness and how much I'd like to punch it in the face, and working out is as close as I'll ever get to punching IBD in the face!


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## Nerple (Jun 1, 2012)

Nevermind, replied to an older message thinking I was on the last page.


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## optimusmog (Jun 4, 2012)

I'm training for a marathon (which is a new thing) and trying to keep up with boxing (not a new thing). The thing that keeps me going, in spite of feeling like crap half the time, is that I used to feel like crap MORE than half the time! I don't want to be a bikini model, or even run a marathon twice, I just want to be stronger tomorrow than I am today, and do something I thought I couldn't. I grew up dealing with asthma and migraines already, so being diagnosed with Crohns was sort of just another jab at my self-concept. 

I know it's hard to keep at health and fitness goals every day, especially when sometimes our intestines decide that we can't have a normal day, but I'm doing this to prove to myself that I can do anything, even if I'm nowhere near THE fastest or THE best or whatever, I'm MY fastest and MY best. I think when we get so sick and we're in the middle of being so beaten down by this stuff we forget that we're damn tough people, you know? To deal with this specific type of disease every day often means we have to restrict or deprive ourselves of basic experiences that many people are able to take for granted - like eating(!!!!), feeling attractive, or leaving the house without an elaborate bathroom plan involving maps or whatnot, ha! So, cheers for us.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jun 7, 2012)

Optimusmog, good luck with the marathon training!  I'm sure it'll be tough but very rewarding.  Which marathon are you going to run?

As for me, I feel like I'm reverting back to childhood a little bit at least in terms of the exercises I'm doing.  I bought a new bike a few months back - my old bike was the one I had in high school and was 15+ years old.  I hadn't ridden a bike in years but decided to start again.  Then I bought a hula hoop because that sounded like fun exercise, and it is.  And most recently, I bought a jump rope.  Wow, that is a tough exercise!  My guts don't really like me jumping up and down, they get a bit shaken up and aren't too pleased with that but I still try anyway.  My arthritic hip also isn't super happy.  But even when I ignore those issues, I can't jump rope for more than about 30 seconds without getting completely exhausted!  I used to jump rope quite a lot when I was a kid, now I'm wondering how I did it!  It's a really tough exercise!  I'm going to keep up with it, hopefully my body will adapt better the more I do it.


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## Mr Bedfordshire (Jun 9, 2012)

I don't know what it is but Ive no motivation to workout the past 2weeks?! 

My equipment is starting to gather dust and I just cannot be bothered to do any workouts whatsoever?!

It's month number 6 now and back in January I was saying to myself "come the summer I should feel pretty good" but that's not the case.

As far as my actual crohns goes I feel quite good, so I haven't really an excuse to not workout?! Very strange!


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## elizamt (Jun 9, 2012)

Mr. Bedfordshire, do you have a certain time of day that's set aside as your work out time? I get up at 5:15 and go to the gym for about an hour or an hour and a half before work each morning, and then on the weekends push it back to around 8am.  I find that having a set time really helps me stay somewhat motivated.  Plus, I like going first thing in the morning because it means I don't have any excuses not to go.  In the past, if I skip my morning work out and tell myself that I'm going to workout in the afternoon, I always come up with things that need to be done (grocery shopping, cleaning, etc.) to put off going to the gym.  Just a thought!

On another note, I'm officially signed up for my first half-marathon at the beginning of November!  Averaging about 5 miles per day, with a longer run on Saturdays (8 miles, as of today). Having something to work toward also helps me stay motivated, especially since it cost money to enter.

Keep up the great work, everyone!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jun 9, 2012)

I agree 100% with Eliza about setting a gym time beforehand.  I go lift weights 3x per week on my lunch hour.  Every Mon, Wed, and Fri.  I just automatically reach for my gym bag on my lunch hour on those days, don't even need to think about it.  I don't get to eat my lunch until I've put in some time in the gym!  (I spend the entire hour in the gym and then eat at my desk afterwards.)  I don't like getting up early or staying up late so lunch hour it is!  I actually like working out during lunch, I don't get the afternoon sleepiness on my gym days, I stay alert and awake and can power through the rest of my workday.  It definitely works for me to have that time set aside and saved specifically for working out.  My weekends are so unstructured and sometimes I end up exercising and sometimes not (I walk my dog every weekend but I sometimes don't do more than that anyway).  So yeah, I'm rambling again, but try setting aside a specific time for working out!  It really does work.


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## judylynn (Jun 13, 2012)

Hi everyone... I haven't been on the forums in a while (almost a year). I just came across this topic and thought I would share an idea for getting into shape: (someone might have already suggested it but as I said I haven't been on in a while and didn't read all the posts). 

I've started "Hooping" or "Hula Hooping" to get into shape. (I'm not overweight or anything...infact I'm underweight). I started waist/hip hooping about two months ago but had to take a few weeks off after having a misscarriage   I started back up yesterday with at least trying to hoop for 30 Minutes everyday. When its not too hot or rainy I hoop outside with the radio and will get really into to trying tosses and different tricks as well as just waist/hip hooping. On days when its too hot, rainy or to late in the day to be outside I hoop in my living room while watching tv. (So far I haven't taken out the TV or the glass coffee table).

I hope to change my diet here pretty soon to something a little healthier, as right now I sorta just eat whatever. I LOVE junk food and have been known to eat oreas with milk while laying in bed on more then one occassion.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Jun 21, 2012)

Judylynn, I've been hooping a bit too.  I usually hoop in my kitchen as there's just enough room in there.  I just do 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there.  I've been doing a fair amount of exercises from my childhood in fact - in addition to hooping, I've been jumping rope and riding my bike.  Wow, jumping rope is a lot more difficult than I remember it!  I can jump 50 times in a row right now but that's exhausting and my calf muscles are really tired after I do even that amount.  So a few minutes of hooping and jumping are a really good & quick workout!  I need to work more on my cardio so I plan to jump rope as often as I can.  I even bought two jump ropes, one to keep in my gym bag (which I keep at work, where the gym is) and the other one is kept at home.

How's everybody doing diet and fitness-wise?  My diet has been pretty crappy lately but I'm still doing great with the exercise.  I did have a small salad the other day and didn't pay for it - from what I can tell, I can have a small salad as long as I eat other stuff along with it.  If I have just a salad as a meal, then I definitely pay for it.  And I can't have salad multiple days in a row either.  So as long as I stick to small salads as part of a larger meal and only do salads every so often, I seem to be okay.  Oh, I've been juicing more too now that it's summer - I had a mixture of carrot, apple, cucumber and kale this morning as a breakfast juice.  Yum!  I don't really like the taste of kale, but I know it's super healthy and the other veggies sort of take the edge off the taste a bit.  Does anyone else do juicing?  I love it, it's the safest way for me to do veggies and fruit!


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## Jim Gonsler (Jun 22, 2012)

Too many good reasons to work out than to be sedate! As hard as it is to get started, it's an altogether different experience when the endorphins start kicking in midpoint through the work out, even bettor when I'm headed for the showers.  I do the stationary bike and then do a series of free weight/machines then wrap up with the bike again.  Swimming is even bettor I hear.  Great way to control stress, which though not clinically proven to effect Crohn's I do believe is a big contributor.  I'll be 62 next December.  After doing this routine for the past 40 years, I can say that for an old man, I'm pretty well cut.  Also, I've been able to control the Crohn's (Thank God), have a lot of energy, and can do just about everything I did as a younger man.  Of course getting started in the morning is a little tougher.  Anyway, my wife says I have the body of a 20 year old.  Exercise, certainly does have it's paybacks.  If your doing it already, don't stop, If you thought about starting up DO IT!!
Jim


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Aug 13, 2012)

Bumping this thread up as it's gone awfully quiet!  Anybody else still on board with this?

I am still doing well with exercising - in fact, I've inspired my hubby to exercise more too!    We joined a "real" gym recently (I usually go to the gym that's in the basement of my workplace, but that's only open during work hours, so I can't go work out in the evenings or on weekends - only on my lunch hour!).  Hubby said, "I've decided I'm just going to do whatever you do, because you're getting some awesome arms."  Blush!  I told him, I just do every weight machine every time, even the ones that seem really hard (the abs machine seems like a torture device for someone that has IBD!  Eek!  But I do it anyway and most of the time it goes fine).  So yeah, you know you're getting into good shape when your husband is jealous of your muscles, ha ha.    We bought a used exercise bike recently too, and hubby used it for about an hour yesterday, then he commented that he was surprised how good he felt afterwards.  I was like, duh!  Ha ha.

Diet-wise I'm just eating what I like and what doesn't hurt, so not as healthy as I should be.  I'm trying to incorporate more healthy things when I can - I'm eating a lot of mangoes lately as those don't cause pain or issues, and I'm doing more juice in my juicer too.  And oatmeal is still a staple in my diet, very healthy and hopefully is helping me get my cholesterol down.  But admittedly I eat a lot of chocolate too.  (They say dark chocolate can be healthy, right?...)  I'm at the point where I'd rather exercise and feel good, and would rather just eat what doesn't hurt so that I can keep exercising.  So healthy eating is not such a priority right now.  Exercise is awesome though!


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Aug 24, 2012)

Bumping this up again... is anybody else still on board with this?  Anybody.....

Well, I'm still trying this, so I'll just keep talking to myself in here.    Diet-wise I'm still kind of a mess.  I tried eating grapes a few days in a row but my body didn't like that.  Stools got really loose and I got crampy, then I started pooing out undigested grape skins, so I stopped that.  Back to my juicer I went - the good news is, grapes are full of juice so I got a lot out of them when I ran them through my juicer, so I had grape & carrot juice this morning for breakfast and that's been sitting much better than actual grapes did.  I apparently just need to give up on actual fruit & veg and just juice everything!

Exercise-wise I'm still doing great.    Still lifting weights 3x per week.  I'm planning on going on a bike ride tomorrow - the exercise bike is great for when it's dark out or bad weather or whatever, but it's so much different riding my acutal bike, it seems to work the core a lot more to balance and turn and steer and all that stuff on a real bike rather than just sit on my exercise bike and pedal and that's it.  So I'm thinking of riding my bike a few miles down to the local farmer's market - gotta get more fruit & veggies to stick in my juicer!  Ha ha.


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## simon47 (Aug 30, 2012)

Sorry guys ,haven't posted for a while, but working out still 5 days a week. I still start with 30min of treadmill, fast walk on a steep incline. Still do some weight lifting ,but I am now doing more body weight exercising...chin ups ,pull ups , dips etc. Feeling great, although last bloodwork showed 'significantly elevated' billirubin count!! Side effect of years of azathioprine and humira , aparently. Oh well, there's always someone worse off (unfortunately) so can't get too down on myself.  cheers to all


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## elizamt (Nov 4, 2012)

Just completed my first 10K today! Originally planned on doing a half-marathon, but some Crohn's issues got in the way of my training. Still happy about the 10K!


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## simon47 (Nov 4, 2012)

Huge congrats on the 10k. Glad that you're not too bummed (he,he !) about not doing more. We crohnies sometimes have to change plans spur of the moment. Its easy to get down on ourselves, instead of feeling great about what we've accomplished. cheers ,   Simon


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## sid (Nov 6, 2012)

After a year or so ,after a disciplined diet, weight training and yoga I seem to have gained my normal weight back.earlier I looked embarassingly skinny.


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## Cat-a-Tonic (Dec 14, 2012)

Hey, this thread has gone a bit quiet again.  Only a couple more weeks to go in 2012!  For those who have stuck with it, I'm so proud of you all!    I've stuck with it too, as usual I do much better with exercise than with diet, but I have been trying to use my juicer more.  I plan on working out 5 or maybe even 6 days out of this week though so I'm still loving the exercise!  Let's finish 2012 strong!


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## Jim Gonsler (Dec 14, 2012)

To my Cohn's Forum Friends,
Unfortunately I've been out of the exercise loop for almost 2 months now.  I had either a stroke or a seizure, they're still trying to determine which.
Anyway, I can't drive for 6 months and the gym I use isn't in my house.  Still doing what I can however. Still eating right and taking immune system friendly supplements.  To all of you out there that believe you are in control and not the Crohn's I continue to applaud...keep it up.  
Jim


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