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Archive of ‘Stomach’ category

5 Years

5 years ago
On August 6, 2007, my life changed. I woke up with a normal, functioning GI system. I went to bed (on a 13 hour flight to Israel after throwing up for five straight hours) a completely different person. A sick person. A person doctors could not treat; a person who eventually ended up visiting two top surgeons at Cornell who both recommended having my colon removed. My life also changed that summer when I got my job at Merrill Lynch, which was an amazing job with wonderful people at a company I wish still existed because I wanted to stay there forever.


[Taken approx 3 hours before I became permanently sick]

4 years ago
At the very end of the summer of 2008, my life changed. The stomach issues I thought were just a weird thing that would go away were worse than ever. I felt uncomfortable, miserable and obsessed constantly about how my life changed so much in one year and wondering if I would ever be back to normal. Up until summer hit, I spent my weekends in my bed. But I love summer and I love warm weather and I was tired of being single and I decided to start dating. I met my ex at the very end of the summer.  At the exact same time as that? Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch and I actually cried, knowing that the ideal job situation I enjoyed for the last year couldn’t last much longer.  And with both these events, my life changed. For the better? Not so much, but I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason and I wouldn’t be where I am today if this didn’t happen.


[My brother and I on a ferry to Bainbridge Island]

3 years ago
In the summer of 2009, my life changed. I will always remember summer 2009 for being rainy, cloudy and cold. Almost every weekend sucked. But the summer was marked by something else. After reading blogs for awhile by then, I decided to try something I never considered: running. I wanted a way to exercise outdoors and I wanted an exercise I could do anywhere, and the bloggers I read who were running and racing made it look like fun. My first attempts were slow and difficult. My knee hurt; I tried running too fast and felt like death. For some reason, I kept trying and a couple of months after I ran for 25 minutes for the first time, I ran my first race. And I unknowingly set myself on a crazy course I could not having possibly imaged for myself, because really, a marathon? That is the summer I became a runner.

Dori's first race    Dori running first race
[My very first race]

2 years ago
By August, 2010 my life changed. My stomach was doing so much better, I thought the worst was finally over. I felt awesome all the time. I didn’t get bloated after my meals. I was single, and summer is the absolute greatest time to be single after a crappy relationship. I was taking Core Fusion. I was running a lot. I held my first backyard party. I traveled to the Hamptons to help film a Core Fusion class with YogaVibes. I hiked the Appalachian and stood in New York and New Jersey simultaneously (having no idea I would live in New Jersey two years later). I spent Labor Day weekend in the Smoky Mountains at my baby brother‘s wedding to girl who was already a sister to me. I  felt strong from my first six-months of strength-based exercise; I felt more confident and happy with myself than I ever was before. And while all those things were absolutely amazing, the GI improvements were unfortunately short-lived; a couple of months after summer ended, my stomach took a turn for the worse and it’s been bad ever since. So while everything was pretty great that summer, my life did change, but not in the way I so desperately hoped.

Dori on Appalachian in NY and NJ     Dori backyard party with Missy

1 year ago
On August 8, 2011 (one year ago today), my life changed. I started my new job.


[Thanks to my daily email from Timehop Abe.]

I didn’t feel 100% confident in my decision. I wanted to leave the company I was at (a position I also didn’t feel totally comfortable taking) and didn’t want to make the same mistake again. But I was also excited. I knew it would be a challenge, and more than anything, I needed to be challenged. I stepped off the PATH train into a world I never knew existed until my interview: Jersey City. I mean, I knew Jersey City existed, but I didn’t know it was so nice. So pretty. So quiet.

I made the right decision by accepting this job for more than just the work (which absolutely was the right choice for me, as it turns out). Not only did I accomplish more at work in one year than I ever have before, accepting this job led to Andy and I moving to Jersey City in our first apartment together which was the greatest thing that could have happened for us. Both sick of Manhattan, both unable to afford anything decent — if I didn’t work in Jersey City, we never would have known this incredible world with tons of farmer’s markets, great restaurants, cute bars, pretty parks and cleaner air was an option. And I can still get to my beloved workout Refine Method in 30 minutes (priorities, right!).

Dori and Andy - Jersey City
[Jersey City!]

The one thing that hasn’t changed? My GI issues. I am practically as lost now as I was in 2007 when it all began. While I can manage my symptoms a lot better (which happens to cost a LOT of money), I am frustrated and upset. When I got sick, I  thought it was just a weird bug that would go away; I never expected it to become a 5+ year ordeal. I can’t even believe it’s been that long; it feels like yesterday that this all began. Yet here I am, five years later, thousands of dollars poorer and without many answers. So while I plan to contact a new GI doctor soon (in case science changed since I saw the surgeons), I am frustrated. But I’m also happy that my life events of the past five years led me where I am today.

I don’t know what will happen with my medical stuff by this time next year. But I do know that by this time next year, my life will be completely different for multiple reasons. While some of the reasons are really sad, there are more that are happy. I’m excited to watch the year unfold. A lot can happen in five years — but even more can happen in six.

And I will leave you all at that.

Cooler Cleanse Review + Core Fusion Cardio DVD Winner

Thank you for the great response to the Core Fusion Cardio – Pure Intensity DVD Giveaway! It was really helpful for me to learn about all your favorite exercise DVDs — there was a lot of consensus about Jillian Michaels’ No More Trouble Zones. I will have to give it a try. I also got a nice laugh at some of your old school video choices, especially my sister-in-law Mallory who enjoys the Paula Abdul’s cardio dance workout. My brother chose a real keeper. (P.S. Happy first anniversary!)

Core Fusion Cardio - Pure Intensity

Core Fusion Cardio – Pure Intensity is really an amazing at-home exercise option, so I was really happy to give you all a behind-the-scenes look at the filming. This contest had exactly 100 entries. For some reason I feel like that made my life easier but really it has absolutely does not matter at all. The Random Number Generator chose #39, which is Julie at A Case of the Runs. When asked what her favorite workout DVD is, Julie said:

So far, I work out the Jillian Michael’s DVDs. If I had my own place (soon, I hope!), I’d use workout videos way more often…

Congratulations, Julie! Email me with your address and I will have Acacia send the DVD out to you!

In other news, you might remember that I was having some really bad GI issues a few weeks ago. I started going back to doctors, had a mostly pointless endoscopy and then started feeling a little better on my own. During the time I was feeling really sick, I was barely able to eat. I had no appetite (which in the four years of my illness has never once happened before) and when I did eat a few bites, I would feel so overstuffed and full really quickly. I was in so much pain but I needed to get some nutrients in, so it was a quick decision to start another Cooler Cleanse.

I figured it would be more healthy nutrients and vitamins than I could get in any food I managed to eat, and it would also give my body a break from digesting food, which it was clearly having trouble doing. And I hoped I would come out of the three days feeling much better, which has happened before.

Of course, my situation is extreme, but many people without GI issues choose to do a juice cleanse. The Cooler Cleanse site explains how the Cooler Cleanse works and answers the six big questions about juice cleansing. But please talk to a professional before embarking on any dietary change or juice cleanse.

3 Day Cooler

I chose the 3-Day Cooler. Each day includes two green juices, one red juice, one fruit juice, either a spicy lemonade or a coconut water and a nut milk. One of the reasons I choose Cooler Cleanse over their competitors is because I really like that every day of the juice cleanse is not exactly the same. There is slight variety and when all you are eating for three days is the same juice, every bit of variety helps.

Cooler Cleanse also offers a 5-Day Cooler, a Raw Cooler (raw, vegan, healthy food, helpful in the days before and after your juice cleanse or on its own) and a Custom Cooler where you can choose which juices to receive.

The juices come in easy-to-carry coolers. which you get to keep after.

Cooler Cleanse

This is what my days looked like:

Day 1

Essential Green
Pineapple Ginger
Essential Green
Spicy Lemonade
Essential Red
Brazil Nut Milk

Day 2

Essential Green
Grapefruit Mint
Essential Green
Young Coconut Water
Essential Red
Almond Milk

Day 3

Essential Green
Watermelon Lime
Essential Green
Young Coconut Water
Essential Red
Almond Nut Milk

You can find the ingredients for each juice on the Cooler Cleanse website.

The two questions you’re probably wondering are (1) How did it taste? and (2) Did it make you feel better?

(1) To be honest, I did not love the Essential Greens the way I did last time I wrote my review. I know I liked the type of green juice better when I tried the Healing Cooler, but I wonder if the recipe for Essential Greens was changed at all since my last experience. I still find this green juice far more palatable than Blueprint Cleanse’s. I loved all the fruit juices, especially the Pineapple Ginger. I think the Watermelon Lime would have been better without the lime.

Essential Green

I absolutely loved the Young Coconut Water — which, like the other juices, is not pasteurized, which means you are getting the real, true benefits of it. The studies done recently were on pasteurized brands, which is totally different than pure coconut water.

Cooler Cleanse Young Coconut Water - Dori's Shiny Blog

I also didn’t care much for the Essential Red, but I adored the Brazil Nut Milk. I enjoyed the Almond Milk as well. Both nut milks are very heavy and very filling, so keep that in mind and drink them slowly.

While I still missed eating and longed to just chew something, the three days went by quickly. Overall, I enjoyed the majority of the juices in Cooler Cleanse.

(2) This part gets tricky. On the first day of the cleanse, I felt so full from each juice (because of my ongoing GI issues) that I actually only got through four of the six. Not good. I did a little better the second and third day, but there was unfortunately not a single day where I was able to get through every juice. The purpose of this cleanse is to pump your body full of nutrients and I was not able to get them all. I was hoping to immediately feel pain- and nausea-free as soon as I stopped eating and started drinking only, but that was not the case. But the day after the cleanse, I actually did feel much better and ate some solid food without feeling many symptoms. And while I did not feel 100% better after, and I am not doing amazingly well now, I am feeling far better than I was before the Cooler Cleanse.  I do believe surviving on healthy liquids and not giving my body trouble with eating for three days played some part in that.

Would I recommend Cooler Cleanse? Absolutely.

Cooler Cleanse is offering an exclusive discount to Dori’s Shiny Blog readers! Enter DORI2011 for 15% off your Cooler Cleanse order! (Update: This code has now expired)

[I received the 3-Day Cooler Cleanse at no charge. My review is my honest opinion. All photos taken from CoolerCleanse.com.]

And finally, check out my latest NBC New York: GO Healthy NY post – Dori’s Quest: Core Fusion Yoga – Even Non-Yogis Will Love This

 

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