The other day Diana from My Marble Rye sent me a tweet:
I responded and explained that I’m not comfortable sharing my typical day of eating because I am so limited by my GI illness that I don’t eat in a way that others should emulate. Sometimes I get incredible emails from readers telling me I inspired them to work out, to join Core Fusion, to start running. The last thing I want to do is inspire people to eat the way I do.  I can’t eat fruits or vegetables for the most part, as well as most whole grains.
I eat to try and keep my pain and symptoms at bay. I don’t eat to live the healthiest possible life. I don’t want anyone to choose to eat the way I do. For me, it is not a choice.
I couldn’t agree more. And I am happy to tell anyone and everyone who will listen to me to eat real food! Lots of vegetables, fruit, sprouted grains/whole grains, nuts. To avoid meat and dairy when possible, but when you do eat it, try your best to make sure the animal was not part of a factory farm, was not given antibiotics and growth hormones, was not treated horribly. If an ingredient list has words on it you can’t understand, don’t eat it. Stick to actual, real food (that your body recognizes as FOOD) and you will have more energy, feel satisfied longer, have more energy. Then, along with your workouts that include regular strength training, you can get that “toned bod” Diana mentioned.
I do the best I can given the fact that I can’t eat the foods considered healthiest.
And even when I avoid everything I think bothers me, I still don’t always feel well. Right now I am starting another 3-Day Cooler Cleanse because I have spent the last four days in pain and I have no idea why. On Sunday night I strongly considered going to the ER because I was in the worst pain of my life; the only other time I remember hurting so badly was the last time I went to the ER. I didn’t go for a number of reasons, the biggest being that I know the source of the pain — trapped air in one particular spot right in between where the two sides of my ribcage meet. Even if the ER doctors believed me (which is doubtful) there is nothing they could do about this other than give me painkillers, muscle relaxers or anti-spasmodics. I have all those things at home. And considering I couldn’t even sit up or roll over in my own bed, the thought of sitting for who knows how long in a waiting room, filling out forms, was more than I could bear.
I stuck it out and on Monday felt well enough to go to work, although I was still hurting. I don’t do juice fasts often because not eating is hard. I love food and I always wonder, during the cleanse, why I am doing this. But I keep thinking back to that one juice fast in December, 2009. After that I felt great for 10 months. And I think about how much it hurts right now to eat anything; that same spot spasms after each bite. And I think about the fact that if I can’t eat, I’m not getting nutrients. These next three days will provide me with much-needed nourishment.
I haven’t exercised since Saturday, when I tried to run through the pain (bad idea). I canceled Refine on Sunday (not that it was much of a choice, I could barely stand) and after being up nauseous during the night last night, I purposely slept through my run today. Marathon training will still be here next week. I hope. Right now I am focusing on getting better. I don’t know why my stomach decided to do this now. I haven’t been sick like this in a couple of years. I do think that after this Cooler Cleanse, as I clean up my eating as best I can, I will be much better. And if I am not, it might be time to try to find a doctor again, one who actually understands. A very difficult undertaking.
So if any of you were also curious about what I eat to get a sense of my whole “healthy lifestyle,” I hope you can understand why I am unable to do that. Maybe one day. But not now.
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