My DietMinder showed up today. It’s really laid out very well. Thank you, Darcy for recommending it.
I really hate looking at calories, grams, fats, this and that, but I am realizing that unless I’m aware of what I eat, I haven’t got much chance in changing bad habits. I suppose, in one way, I’m looking at the silver lining in this peptic ulcer. The food changes aren’t as severe as you might think. A ton of research online has shown me that the so-called “white and bland” diet once prescribed for ulcer patients, is actually one of the worst things to be done to your ulcer.
Some foods do irritate (tomatoes, chocolate and caffeine) and having tried them, I can definately attest to the negative side effects. Fat isn’t great, but you need a certain amount of good fats in your diet and I’m learning to recognize which of those are which. You really don’t want to sit down to a greasy burger with a stack of onion rings and a coke. Bad. BAD. OW!
One of my worst failings in any diet, or endeavor is setting a goal and maintaining the discipline to keep at it. I don’t set goals. I don’t have discipline. So, I’m working on baby steps. Especially in the area of exercise. When I have a good day of walking, I’ll give myself kudos. When I don’t, I am not going to sit around bemoaning the fact. There are going to be days when I just cannot exercise either because of my joints or some other health thing and I’ll just deal.
I’ll be following up with my regular doctor on the 30th. According to the ER doc I’ll now have to add a gastroenterologist to the list of specialists referrals my doctor is working on.
- Neurologist – for the migraines
- Psychiatrist – for the depression
- Rheumatologist – for the Lupus
- Cardiologist – for my heart
- Gastroenterologist – for my digestive tract
-Ist, -ist, -ist! Is it any wonder some days are hard for me to get out of bed?
The health stuff aside, I’m going to make some changes around the blog. More behind the scenes stuff. I may be moving to another server, or I may stay put. I haven’t decided.
A friend, who has been MIA in WOW emerged and she and I talked today about writing. We may run off to a corner by ourselves with the characters in our heads (and one locked in a box wrapped in chains) and just write and goof off. She and I have both been exhausted by the demands of running a writing site. Although, in the back of my mind, I may try my hand at another writing site project. I may go back to my roots, and place once known as “The Maus”. We’ll see what the new year brings.
Anyway, thanks to everyone that’s been sending me support and kind words. I really appreciate it.
Baby Steps is the key! I may have commented here, but a small journal of my daily activities, eats and short goals really helps. Sure, I miss a day or two – but it is soon becoming a habit. Looking back on some I can now start to see patterns of good days vs. bad. In health and in spirit. It helps you to get to know the you that you cannot see. =O)
Yay! I’m glad the DietMinder looks like it will work for you. And you’re exactly right on giving yourself kudos for the days you do well, but not beating yourself up for the days when you don’t. One of the big things my trainer/dietician/counselor/doctor (I had all four for my program) kept telling me is never get down on myself for screwing up. Just set it aside and move on.
Whilst I am fortunate not to suffer from digestive complaints myself, I do live with people who do. Not ulcers admittedly, but long-term, chronic conditions where they need to think sensibly about their food. We have found that it’s often just about employing a little commonsense.
For example, one is fine provided he eats at a reasonable time. The later his evening meal is, the more likely he is to suffer for it afterwards. He also loves whiskey, but it sets him off every time and he’s just had to accept that if he wants a drink that he’s better off with something like vodka instead.
We have a friend who’s still being stubborn about that kind of thing, albeit for a different reason and it seems to us to be slightly silly. No matter how much you might love a certain type of food or drink, if it’s going to make you feel lousy for days afterwards then it’s just not worth it.