Stressing About Stress

     Who doesn't have some form of stress in their lives be it good or bad?  Life has a habit of throwing things at you, and it is incredibly important to know how to handle it before it consumes everything in your life.  Stress is unique to everyone, and there is no one specific way to handle it.  Some people exercise, others go to a movie, or read a good book, but the important thing to do is find something that works for you!
     So, today I challenge each of you to take five minutes to sit and think about what is really stressing you, and jot down some ways that might help to take some of that stress away.  Asking a spouse to do the dishes, or taking the time to visit the spa, go play some golf or sign up for that dance class you have been eyeing.  It doesn't matter what you do!  That's the beauty of it!

     Go ahead and let me know what works for you.  It might just help someone else struggling today:)

Exercising and Lupus

     One doesn't need to have lupus to have problems with finding the right type of exercise to float your boat and keep you fit and healthy.  Exercise in general brings forth thoughts of mid evil torture devices created to deflate egos, permanently maim the psyche, if not the body, and reinforce why I don't have a membership in the first place.  Sure, I've tried different gyms with their high tech machines for strength training and muscle building, and I've even tried personal trainers for help when I got stuck in a rut, and, for the most part, it helped for the first few months.  Yet, it eventually petered out to the point of canceling said membership and wallowing in froyo Cherry Garcia on the couch, chastising myself for another failed attempt at getting healthier.
     Well, I am here to tell you that you really don't need a gym membership, although kudos to the ones that do, to get fit and active in life.  In lupus, as in other chronic diseases, proper exercise elevates mood, increases range of motion, alleviates aches and pain, and might even help someone shed unwanted pounds.  I have mentioned before that I am training to walk a race, and there have been a lot of ups and downs along the way, changing strategies til I believe I have found what I have been after all along.  You see, I have needed a form of exercise that fit easily into my already crazy schedule of homeschooling, writing, house cleaning among other things.  It had to not only be relatively easy to learn, but modified specifically to meet me at the level my body is in at the moment.  Additionally, it needed to be portable and relatively cheap because living on a shoestring budget requires it.  So, what is this easy, modifiable, portable exercise routine that is still fun?
     I really wish I knew, because my perspective on fun, and easy change with the wind, unfortunately, but I'll tell you what currently works for me and also what the experts say are good for almost anyone.  First of all, I have picked up Iyengar Yoga which has helped significantly for my aches and arthritic joints.  Once learning proper alignment, apps will do the trick, but classes are frequent throughout cities and towns, and one need only look to find them.  Additionally, since walking on the treadmill sends shock waves of excruciating, knife like pain into my already pain filled body, I've resorted to walking outside along with getting an indoor walking DVD that has  walking programs for as little as one mile on up to five.  Lastly, swimming, I believe, will become my new best friend for the plethora of benefits that it brings.  Of course, swimming isn't portable, but it's one of the best forms of exercise out there.  There's a reason why swimming can be done well into the ninth decade of life.
     Now, where do the experts come into all this ?  Good question!  First, talk with your doctor prior to beginning any type of exercise, please.  Second, yoga and swimming have been the most prescribed by my rheumatologists, hands down.  Walking is also great no matter how fast you go.  It is getting up and moving that will improve health, and help with mood.  Please visit this link for the Lupus Foundation of America to see a wonderful blog post about staying fit with lupus!

Everyone is different and requires different forms of exercise to achieve the desired effects that are needed and wanted.  Please don't give up on finding what's right for you!  Sometimes it takes trying new things, like yoga, to meet your goals.  So, don't be shy!  Go out and find what's right for you and your body:-)

Happy day, my friends:-)

Flying Through Summer

Summer, Summer where have you gone?  If you've found that your Summer has flown by, you're not alone!  This summer has been full of dance recitals, trips to see both sets of Grandparents, a short, but well loved, frolic on the beach, house cleaning, race training and now to get prepared for the next school year full of drama and memories.  If there was a stop button for life, I would have pressed it thousands of times already this Summer.  Each day has brought trials and triumphs, grunts and laughs, and I wouldn't change them for the world.  Tooth Fairies, birthdays and the 4th of July blurred by in one maelstrom storm called life, and I'm grateful to be included in the lives of so many family members and friends!  How to thank each one of you properly is a dilemma and one that would be totally inadequate, but I thank you all the same!

Life is full of wonder and possibility these days.  Race training is slow but steady which is a feat in itself.  Now walking up to 5.5 miles on my long day of the week, my times are improved even with illness mixed in.  Definitely throwing a silent party for that one!  Improvement is still improvement even if it does come at a snails pace.  Staying true to my health reform for my life, I have recently taken up Yoga, again.  Yep, I've tried it before much to my frustration, but this time I've found an app that has opened a new world of exercise and one that has significantly helped me deal with my lupus aches and pains.  It's a slow progress, indeed, but a friend of mine helped me tremendously on the proper form of Yoga for my situation, and I look forward to reporting the results in future posts.  I might even post pics;-). It's all about what works for you, right folks?

Anyway, life is revving up these days through the end of Summer and will roll right into Fall as I'm closing in on finishing up my first novel!  Excited, nervous, enthusiastic are all words that would accurately describe my mood these days.  While it's been a huge learning curve, it's one that I've grabbed by the horns and am enjoying to say the least.  I implore anyone who has a dream to see it through.  Writing has always been therapeutic for me, and a living at it would be phenomenal.  Who knows what the future will bring, but at least I've given it the old college try!

My closing comments to you come from Steve Maraboli, "BREAKING NEWS: You're awesome and designed for success; live this day accordingly!"

All the best, my friends!

Eating for Health

While Spring has definitely arrived, I am still trying to recuperate from the Holiday's.  Being ill for the majority of 2014 has impacted not only myself, but my family as well, and all I can say is that I am yearning for a time to be healthy if only for a solid week.  My latest illness has kept me sick for a week, and as I went to apply my makeup this morning, I realized that it had indeed been a full week of being sans makeup.  First thought?  My poor, dear husband!  As much as I'd like to think that I am still a wee pup of 22, sadly those days have gone, and my husband is a saint for never saying a word.  Ever faithfully, he made dinners, washed and folded laundry, kept the kids from harming each other, and worked a full time job to boot.  Of course, I do have to add that he gave me the stomach bug that I am sadly recovering from, but he's my champion all the same!  Did I mention that he volunteered to stay home so I could sleep for a day and wade through the loving chaos I call our children???  They are beautifully, and wonderfully made, and they are full of independence and virtue mixed with a bit of oil and vinegar.  While it is tough to navigate the waters of parenthood, I really wouldn't have it any other way.

Yet, I digress.  My health is in sore need of help, and I have had ample opportunity to peruse the web and was struck by all the articles on juicing, paleo diet, and so on and so forth til I became quite ill reading all of it.  It is an amazing big world full of ideas and insights, but sadly not one addresses the real issues of what goes on behind illness, inflammation and why our bodies are attacking themselves.  The articles are meant to empower those who seemingly have lost their way into attaining the perfect body full of health and vitality if only we would just eat this instead of that, or exercise this way instead of that.  While eating better is a good idea, and doing a form of exercise that is doctor okayed is wonderful, it is the idea that if you juice or choose some extreme form of dieting and exercising you too will be cured from your illness.  If that were true, don't you think everyone would be doing it?  Yet, it is almost with a sense of blame being placed on the person with the illness that is demoralizing and counterproductive in my honest opinion.  Some illnesses like high cholesterol, and Type II Diabetes are correlated to what we put into our bodies, and I am sure with all the pesticides and antibiotics that our furred friends are fed that supply us with milk and beef along with pesticides on our crops do nothing but enhance illness.  Yet, environment is only one cause of an illness, especially one that is autoimmune in nature.  Genetics play a heavy hand in these debilitating diseases, and it saddens me to see all the articles suggesting to people that are struggling everyday of their lives for a moment of peace from pain, aches, joints that are so inflamed they can't move that if they only juice for meals, cleanse their bodies or exercise a certain way they too can be pain free or illness free.

Many of the claims state that we need to take all these herbal medications in order to enhance our immune systems.  However, it is because of an enhanced immune system that these autoimmune diseases are unleashed, and enhancing it further with a mix of herbal remedies could quite possible make it worse.  A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and full of life giving water has always been the go to formula, and it is one that is easier to follow, and one that has stood the test of time.  Exercise, approved by one's physician, in any form is always a plus and one that has been shown to improve quality of life and longevity.  There are components of each fad that are okay.  Fruits and vegetables are not consumed enough in our daily lives.  Lean proteins from either meats or nuts are also wonderful, but it is with a well balanced diet that we will receive the life-benefiting effects rather than from denying our bodies from one group of foods i.e. carbohydrates.

So, it is with lightness of heart that I bid you "Healthy Eating," my friends.  Please understand that a fad is a fad, and one that will come and go, but you are worth more than that.  You are meant for great things, and your body is your tool.  Mold it, love it, and by all means enjoy what it can do!  Life is amazing regardless of chronic illness.  Grab hold of what you can control, and sit back to enjoy the ride:)

Bon appetit!

Holiday Fervor

The Holidays have arrived, and I am sure most are in a tizzy over shopping, baking, house cleaning, work, family rearing and trying to hold onto that last shred of sanity that is threatening to leave at any moment.  Don't worry, though, it means you are one hundred percent normal!  Over the last couple of months family emergencies and personal health issues have assaulted my own sanity to the point of oblivion.  Yet, here I am striving onwards and upwards in this cataclysmic hurricane called the Holidays.  Now, don't get me wrong!  I absolutely love the Holidays and everything that they stand for.  It is the hustle and bustle that threatens to derail even the most competent at time management, and it is with this that I focus on today.

It is well known that this time of year brings up thoughts of Holiday songs, pumpkin pies, presents galore, and turkey, ham or seafood depending on family tradition and location in the world, but it is also a well known time for stress leading to fatigue, the blues and even illness.  It is with the later that I am all to familiar with and strive to keep at bay at all costs, and this year is no different.  Stress is inherent in any family occasion especially when we cram a year's worth of memories into a day, a few days or even a week, and stress can and does cause our immune systems to become overloaded making it impossible to fight off even the slightest of colds.   So, this year is going to be different!  At least that is what I keep telling myself.

So, how do I plan on keeping this year's Holiday stress in check?  Great question and one that I am still struggling with, but I have kept the stress to a bare minimum so far, and I hope to cruise through the New Year's with a smile on my face this year by sticking to my plan.  The plan, so to speak, is to prepare ahead.  It seems so simple, but it is something that I have not mastered.  Yet.  This year I have almost all the presents ordered or purchased.  The hubbie has been tasked to finish all the kiddo shopping that I was unable to do which is not a lot since I made a list that fit within our budget which we have thus far followed.  Over the last several weeks, we have purchased a few extra items for the Holiday meals on each trip to the grocery store in order to absorb some of the cost over a couple months versus a week.  Yes, this did mean that we had to come up with a list of stuff well before the event or events in our case, but it has saved us a ton of stress and money!

The biggest issue that our family is tackling, though, is travel.  We have always traveled on the Holidays.  Even if it meant traveling a couple of blocks, we have packed our kiddos up and gone to visit each set of Grandparents and subsequent Aunts and Uncles at said homes on the same day.  However, we have noticed that our kiddos have not and are not into so much traveling.  One side would inevitably get tired, fussy kids, and it has not been fun for Grandparents, kids nor parents alike.  It became an even trickier issue when one set of Grandparents moved about 14 hours away, and we ended up moving away from the other set of Grandparents due to work opportunities.  So, it was definitely time for a change, and change is difficult for anybody.  It was with great deliberation that we decided to stay home for Christmas this year.  Our kiddos had asked in the past if we were going to stay home, and when we told them this year we were, you should have heard the joy!  They will be able to play in their pajamas all day if they want, and they couldn't be happier.  Of course, we have made other arrangements to have Christmas with both sides at different times, and it will work out well for everyone making the stress level decrease by a fraction and maybe prevent a flare or other infection from causing ruckus this year.

Another area of stress relief this year was exercise.  My friends there is nothing better than exercise to reduce stress.  A simple fifteen minute walk, ride on the bike or yoga helps tremendously.  Of course, my body had another idea in mind as my back has preceded to go out on me.  So, I have had to resort to meditation which is another great technique to reduce stress even if you can not get out of bed.  When life throws you lemons, it is my policy to throw them right back!

Life means joys and sorrows, and unfortunately most of the time we can not pick when stress will hit us full force in the face, but we can decide how to handle it.  Preparing ahead by cleaning a room a day til family comes over, or adding on extra items on the weekly grocery list, exercising or just doing a five minute meditation will reduce stress in a big way, and I hope that everyone has as stress free of a Holiday season that you really deserve!

The best thing to hold onto in life is each other. -Audrey Hepburn
Read more at http://www.mainquotes.com/quote/4044.html#2edZ4ijoezjDQzXe.99

Happy Holidays to all!

Katrin

I Broke Up With My Scale

It seems that there are a million and one websites, TV commercials, and organizations that can help you lose weight fast.  All you have to do is turn on your TV or look in the mailbox.  Of course, they make it sound so easy, and all you have to do is buy into the program, and you too can be the svelte woman or man that you were meant to be.  I have to say it is tempting, and I have bought into some of the hype in the past too.  I am only human, but I have come to the realization that no website, organization, how to tip or drug is going to get me that magic number on my scale.  So, I might as well keep my money, thank you very much, and get down to the root of my issue.

I know, I know.  Seems ridiculous, right?  I know what many of you are thinking because it has gone through my mind a time or two and that is 'How on earth am I to get to that "perfect" size or number without them? Please, don't tell me diet and exercise for the umpteenth millionth time!'  Well, this is where my eureka moment hit me!  Ready to hear the mind blowing, earth shattering Aha! moment that I recently discovered???  My weight is not my problem.  Yep, I said it!  It is and always will be a number, and one that will continually go up and down depending on the month of the year, day of the week, and time of day.  It is unavoidable and completely natural.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not saying gaining 25 to 50 pounds or losing it is normal except if pregnant.  I am talking about the few pounds that we seem to gain towards the end of the day after all the water and food that we consume during the course of our wildly complicated day.  The  minute we lose the concept of weight being a problem we set ourselves free from the torment of our self-imposed, TV pushed prisons.  We can look at food in a different manner.  One that is what it has been so willing to be for us and that is nourishment and medicinal in nature.  Yep, you heard it here.  I said medicinal!

I have recently begun an overhaul of everything that I eat from reading labels for saturated fats, sugars, carbohydrates and the list goes on and on.  What I have found is that we as a society eat what is quick and easy to prepare as our work and home lives are pulling us in hundreds of thousands of directions.  Feeding our families and ourselves something from a box, fast food establishment or take-out is so much easier than slicing, dicing, baking and waiting.  Trust me!  I have been there and done that, but due to my lupus not getting better but slowly getting the best of me, I decided enough was enough.  I had pretty much started over with granola, yogurts, more fruits and veggies to see if I could feel a bit better still focusing on that dreaded number on the scale.  I thought I had the perfect concoction to rid me of those pounds and thus feel tremendously better in the process.  Problem was I not only stalled on my efforts with the scale, but I did not feel an iota better.  Almost defeated in my attempts I pushed on to find out what was causing this horrible plateau in my weight loss venture.  Boy was I surprised when it hit me that I was focused on the wrong thing.  Weight!  I needed to focus on my health first and foremost, and I figured that my weight would probably take care of itself.  So, with some trepidation I set out again, but this time really reading labels and focusing on what exactly I was putting into my body.  The shocker came when I realized I was eating 'healthy' but these products were stocked full of ........SUGAR!!!  Yikes!

Sugar is the culprit in so many venues leading to not only diabetes but inflammation in the body which was something that in lupus I needed less of, but I had no idea that I was consuming so much.  On average in the early 1900s, I read that the average daily consumption of sugar was around 15 grams a day.  Not as much diabetes, heart disease, etc... back then.  Fast forward to today, and the average person eats approximately 125 to upwards of 150 grams of sugar a day!  Unbelievable but true I am afraid.  So, it was with this eye opening jolt that I transformed my daily intake of sugar focusing on fresh fruits (2-3 daily) and tons of veg.  My gut griped for a week or so, but I eventually got used to it, and I have continued to exercise about 30 minutes six to seven days each week.  I am now getting about 20 to 30 grams of sugar a day, and it definitely took some getting used to, but I am already feeling some benefits.  My fatigue while still ever present has abated a little, and I have an overall sense of joy too.  Weird, but true!  Now, as far as my weight?  Well, that's started moving down too!  I had been stuck at a number for months, but now it is finally moving downward.  I have to say I am thrilled, but not for the weight.  No, I am thrilled that I am finally starting to feel better, and it really does not have anything to do with my scale.  So, I broke up with my scale over the last week, and I am not sad one bit about it.  So long and farewell!  I am on this journey of health for good, and I can not wait to see what changes the future will bring with this new way of thinking too!  Sure, it takes time to chop and dice, but not nearly as long as I thought, and it is gives me warm and fuzzies all over knowing that my children will adopt this way of thinking at such a young age.  They, hopefully, will not ever have a relationship with their scale the way I have over my lifespan.

I hope for everyone reading this that it will in some way help you to focus on health being the ultimate goal and not what a number on a scale reads.  I would not be a pharmacist without stating a drug taken to suppress our appetite or cause weight loss could end up shutting kidneys down, destroying a liver and possibly death, and it has been proven over and over again that once off the medication, people gain back the weight lost plus more!  Our bodies are beautiful, awesome machines that if well fed will hum with pleasure for decades mostly avoiding nasty side effects of heart disease, stroke, chronic pain, inflammation and more.  A pill begets another pill for maintenance, and a program will ask you to buy into a maintenance program.  We do not need someone else to feed us.  We need to relearn to feed ourselves and save a ton of money in the process!

All the best friends,

Katrin
Challenge yourself with something you know you could never do, and what you’ll find is that you can overcome anything.- ANONYMOUS

Life with Lupus

In the world of lupus, no day is like the rest, and the ordinary nuances become the extraordinary. The body while being under attack, screams for rest, yells with aching clarity each time we move either getting out of the bed in the morning, trying to play with our children, or even just sitting in a chair.  Pain is a reality for most in this enigma of a disease along with increased chances of stroke, heart disease, miscarriages, migraines, neuropathies, depression and the list goes on and on.  Moreover, I have had my share of time to openly grieve the loss of what could have been.  Always wondering what it would be like to not have debilitating fatigue, energy to keep up with my beautiful children, and not having to see the hurt in their eyes each time I say "Not today."  Of course, pain would be nonexistent except for the occasional cold, and viruses like the flu would not strike fear in my heart each year during the months of October through March knowing that with my immune system I could end up in the hospital in the blink of an eye.  People would not look at me funny when I tell them I have a disease called lupus, or think that I am just being lazy or stubborn.

Yes, I have had plenty of time to think in the days that my body, in lack of better terms, has let me down and raged with body aches, unexplained fevers, enlarged lymph glands, hair loss, joints jolted with pain, unbearable fatigue, and a soul that cries out for the mere thought of a reprieve.  My life is truly unique.  As someone else has so eloquently explained it, my spoons are limited.  I do not have an unlimited supply of energy to do all that I crave.  Each day is given differing amounts of spoons (energy); thereby making it nearly impossible to create a schedule to follow.

However, as bad as it may sound, the fact remains that I am still blessed beyond all measure and fiercely, devotedly, unabashedly living with lupus.  My focus has definitely changed over the last decade with this disease, and it has taken me on a path of love, understanding, acceptance and survival.  I have changed many things along this journey, but I have always tried to listen to and respect my body.  Respect comes in many forms either through sleep habits, exercise, and what I put into my body either food wise or medicinally.  Our bodies are under constant attack, and trying to act on the things that I can change has definitely helped over the years.

I wish and hope for everyone out there with any kind of debilitating disorder/disease or the caregivers that give their all each and everyday without the thanks they deserve may eventually come to grips with loss.  The loss of a life that had been dreamed of or expected until this disease unknowingly stripped it from you.   I hope your quality of life is improved and that focus is put back on what you can do as opposed to what you can't.  Life is what you make it.  Perceive the impossible then go get it!

All the best,
Katrin