Marya

Figuring. Completing. Boring. Cuddling.

August 25, 2018 by Marya 3 Comments

This week’s been weird. No sooner do I have a routine that I think I can stick with then life throws a curve ball at me.

I woke up with a minor cold on Monday but when you live with ulcerative colitis and dystonia, nothing’s minor. I started bleeding a bit and a quick check in with my UC groups confirmed that this is something I can expect going forward.

Luckily it seemed to pass quickly but then the end of the week got messed up by a couple of consecutive nights of bad insomnia, probably menopause induced. So by Friday I couldn’t really think straight and today (Saturday) I realized there was a kids’ party that I forgot to enter into the calendar and I realized it at 10:50–the party started at 11:00 about 25 miles away. The Cuban is not too happy with me right now.

And needless to say, my blogging schedule get messed up.

Anyway, this month I’m participating with the August Link Up Party for people with chronic illness. Go check it out and read some of the great posts from other chronic illness bloggers!

Figuring.

This is wildly appropriate for this month because that’s pretty much all I do is figure things out. Here’s just a few of them.

Ketogenic Gaps
My Fitness Pal
How to navigate my daughter’s transitional years after high school
Training my dog
Getting my son with Down syndrome ready for the new school year and trying to figure out why the hell he’s been so difficult lately.
What tattoo I really want to get.

BTW, I just figured out that I already used my carb allotment for the day and it’s only 12:00 as I write this.

Completing.

I wouldn’t know. I have yet to complete a household chore. Luckily my family pitches in. Taking my own advice about boosting my mental health with hobbies, I got my lettering stuff together and am trying to spend a few minutes every day working on hand lettering. It’s a perfect way to detach from digital everything and is reminiscent of what I used to enjoy doing before life took over.

Boring.

I sure wish things could be boring. There’s nothing I like more than just being home. But the reality of having two kids with special needs is that Mom and Dad have to be available for Uber duties. It’s exhausting and I really appreciate the days that I can just stay home.

Cuddle.

I’m notoriously standoffish about hugging ANYONE. But I always have lots of love for my dogs. I like to call them my little antidepressants.

Here they are!

Lilly the Jack Russell

A post shared by Marya (@chronicmomlife) on Aug 24, 2018 at 9:54am PDT

Belle the Aussie

A post shared by Marya (@chronicmomlife) on Aug 9, 2018 at 12:21pm PDT

New Arrival Gordita the Bulldog (aka Deeta)

A post shared by Marya (@chronicmomlife) on Jul 14, 2018 at 7:24am PDT

The Ultimate Guide to Planners for Health and Wellness

August 16, 2018 by Marya 18 Comments

Using a paper planner may seem old school to some, but there’s so many benefits to using a paper planner, namely helping you to intentionally plan the life you want! The benefits of using a daily planner include being more organized in your personal and professional life and helping you keeping track of important events. Using planners for health and wellness will help you to stay on track with all the complexities of managing your health needs.

Mental Health Daily Planners

Good health hygiene is far more than physical health, but also takes into account mental and emotional health as well. Planners offer lots of mental health benefits, from reducing stress to helping with anxiety. This is largely because as you become more organized and have a place for important information that you can easily reference, you’ll find more inner peace. Everything is scheduled and planned out, and you can have more time for a little selfcare.

How to Create A Planner for Health and Wellness

If you live with a chronic illness, you know that there’s never ending information to keep track of…including keeping track of your medications, symptoms appointments, and insurance calls. You might also need to track your symptoms and food intake. Using planners for health and wellness will help you to stay on track with all the complexities of managing your health needs.A planner is a great way to stay organized when life gets overwhelming, and is a safe place to look things up when brain fog is a problem.

Track Your Fitness Goals and Progress

Fitness and physical activity are essential for everyone. It’s so important to fit some intentional movement into your lifestyle, even on the bad days. Using a planner is a great tool for this, as you can track workouts in the calendar section and list your individual fitness goals and progress.

Keep Track of Weight and Measurements

For women who are trying to lose weight or even maintain current weight, a planner is a good tool for keeping track of weight and measurements. Of course it’s easy enough to find digital apps, but many find it helpful to have everything in one place, and being able to enter weight or measurements on a calendar. There’s power in putting pen to paper!

Planning Meals for the Week

You probably have some intentional health goals, like reducing sugar and caffeine, getting enough water in or eating more plant based foods. A planner can offer you the option to track what you eat, set nutrition goals, and even do some meal planning.

Use a Planner to Start a Daily Routine

Use your planner to check in each day, write down your to-do lists and check in on upcoming events and tasks. As you learn to use it to its full advantage, and you will be amazed by how much better you feel.

5 Different Types of Planners You Can Create

In the world of planners (this is actually a thing!) there seems to be an endless amount of information and tips. There’s lots of ways to pretty up your planner and it’s easy to get bogged down with this instead of actually using it for planner. Before you buy anything, set an intention for what you actually want to do with your planner! Having things in order will provide a big mental health boost and give you some peace of mind.

Traditional Daily Planner

The first type of planner is traditional, which is one that is for all your daily planning needs, with emphasis on personal. Most people use their daily planner for everything, including work and other areas of their life. Having one main planner keeps you from having planners all over the place, potentially causing even more disorganization. But you know yourself best. Determine what you need to track and you may find out that you do need more than one.

Home and Family Planner

If you’d rather use different planners, you might want a separate one just for home and planning family activities. This is good for keeping track of doctor and dentist appointments, scheduling important dates for the kids, planning date nights with your spouse, andeven doing some meal planning. With a busy home life, you can definitely fill up an
entire planner just for this purpose.

Finance and Budget Planner

For people who are working on saving money for a major purpose, trying to save for retirement, or just want better control of their finances, it’s a great idea to have a planner devoted to finances. Here’s some things you might want to track in a finance and budget planner:

*Money coming in and going out
*Bills and debt
*Regular expenses
*Savings for specific goals
*General savings
*Building your investment portfolio
*Setting a budget

The Bullet Journal

Bullet journals are hot and can certainly be used as planners. With a bullet journal, you are in full control of each page, whether you set it up yourself with pen and ruler, or you can get printable pages to add to a binder that is being used as your bullet journal.

Work Projects

If you’re a blogger or an entrepreneur, you might be in need of a planner to keep track of everything. This keeps everything organized and in one place, so that you don’t have computer files, notebooks, and journals everywhere that is filled with random notes.

How to Choose the Right Planner for You

Before you buy anything, consider what your needs and purpose are. Do you want to carry it with you or use it at home?

What’s the Best Planner Size?

Think about what you are going to use it for. This might be for your daily life and schedules, work and projects, home life, personal or a combination of all of these. This determines everything from the size to the type of pages included in your planner. It will also help you figure out if a store-bought planner works, or if you will get a binder and just use printable planner pages.

Also consider where you will be using the planner. There’s small, medium and large sizes to choose from. Consider where you’ll be using it. The larger ones are better for your desktop and you might want to have a smaller one to keep in your bag or car.

Planner Layout Considerations

I can’t emphasize this one strongly enough. I’ve had to get rid of a couple of planners because I didn’t think my daily needs through. Take a good long look at the layouts of the pages the planner it comes with and if you think you can live with it for the year. Consider what you’ll be tracking, if you need extra space for tracking and brain dumps or adding any other custom information.

And as you’re considering page layouts, look at the different types of pages as well. Some planners keep it very basic where it is primarily the monthly and weekly calendar pages, while others fit in a lot of extras, such as blank pages for journaling, to-do lists, ask lists, and much more.

How to Add Your Planner to Your Daily Routine

Now that you’ve purchased your planner, you need to set aside some time to actually use it. A daily routine is a great way to focus your mind on one thing, get more day, and set yourself up for a productive day.

Begin by figuring out your daily routine and how to add using your planner to that routine. Do you find that you sit at your kitchen table in the morning with a cup of coffee, and have a few minutes of quiet time? If so, this is a great time to start a daily routine where you write in the planner, and maybe your journal as well. For others, it might be
during their lunch break at work, or maybe in the evening before bed to mentally prepare for the next day. Some like to use Sunday evening to enter in goals and activities for the week.

Above all, make it a habit. This is why creating a daily routine with your planner is so vital. Just think of it like any other part of your routine, like taking a shower or cooking a meal. Write in your planner around the same time every day, and it will soon become a daily routine.

Keep Your Planner Simple

As I mentioned earlier, don’t let your planner become an expensive rabbit hole. Instagram and Pinterest can be a great source of ideas but if you find yourself getting overwhelmed, then say away until you feel more confident. Have 5-10 pages to start with, then when those pages fill up or you get new ideas, gradually add in more to your planner.

10 Planners for Health and Wellness Tracking

Happy Planner

After several years of planner mayhem, this is the one I finally settled with. I’m constantly forgetting when I took meds or when I had my last well woman visit! The vertical boxes work for me and I can keep it as simple as I want or if I’m feeling motivated enough, I’ll add some washi tape and stickers. You can also get refill pages, both lined and graph so that you can create your own bullet journal spreads as needed. At the moment I have two going – one for tracking health and wellness, and another for everything else.

Self Journal

With spaces for reflection, room for gratitude, and many other self-motivating habits, you
can make space for your entire life (not just work). Used by many top performers to keep all of their goals working in tandem, it’s an organizer in journal form. (Amazon Link)

Passion Planner

I used this one for a bit and while I didn’t stick with it, it is a great planner. It’s one place for your thoughts and a tool to help you break down your goals into manageable chunks. It also provides room to reflect on the past and consider where you’re going. And it’s fun to pretty up with colored pencils, stickers and washi tape if you’re so inclined. The site offers free downloadable PDFs so you can try before you buy!

Erin Condren

Erin Condren planners are hugely popular and have a bit of a cult following. Like the Happy Planners, they have vertical boxes which are a great help to organizing your to-do lists while keeping your planner pretty. They also offer planner accessories, notebooks, stationary and just about everything that an office supplies junkie might wish for.

Panda Planner

The Panda planner can definitely be used a journal, but it’s so much more than that. With the Panda planner, it begins with sections to use as a planner. There are spaces for your daily, weekly, and monthly calendars, allowing you to keep track of everything from daily appointments to weekly goals and monthly calendars.

You can easily track all your goals and to-do lists for the week or the month, and use the blank pages included in the Panda planner as your journal. There is a section that allows you to write what you are grateful for, which is really important for mental health and to help you relieve your stress.

Leuchtturm

The original journal for bullet journals, a Leuchtturm planner is a blank slate. You can design this one completely around your lifestyle and individual needs while letting your creativity flow.

Planners can be key to organizational peace for as well as a simple creative outlet that isn’t too taxing for moms with chronic illness.

Do you use a paper planner? What’s your favorite?

5 Intriguing Health Benefits of Kombucha

August 10, 2018 by Marya 4 Comments

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that’s historically been used as a health drink, originating in Japan about about 415 AD. Variations of Kombucha are used regularly in China, Japan, Russia, and Eastern Europe. The name Kombucha (roughly translated) means, “The Tea of Immortality.” If you’re interested in improving your overall health, read on to learn about some intriguing health benefits of kombucha.

Kombucha Aids Digestion

Fermented foods of any type, including kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt with active cultures, and Korean pickled vegetables (kimchi) are probiotic in nature. Consuming foods of this type can help to balance the healthy bacteria in your digestive tract.

Your body contains both helpful and harmful bacteria. However, if you’ve taken a lot of antibiotics or spend decades consuming a diet of processed foods, there’s probably been extensive damage to the gut flora that enables your digestive system to break down the food you eat into the useful nutrients that keep the body healthy and immune system functioning as it should.

Studies have shown that a single course of antibiotics for 1 week can still have an impact on the level of healthy gut flora more than 2 years after the pills were taken.

As this information as become more widespread, many people have become more interested in adding probiotics to their diet to restore the balance of their gut flora and improve digestion and nutrition.

Kombucha Can Help Prevent and Heal Leaky Gut

Kombucha has been shown to be helpful in the prevention and healing of leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut happens when some medications, and foods, such as gluten in grains like wheat and rye, affect the permeability of the small intestine. The small intestine is where 90% of your digestion takes place, with the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients being removed from your food and then transported to all the parts of the body that need those nutrients.

But when the small intestine becomes more permeable (think holes!), it can leak, meaning small particles of food can get into your abdominal cavity and the nutrients won’t be transported where they’re supposed to go.

Leaky gut has been linked with a host of autoimmune disorders, in which the body starts to attack itself. Inflammatory Bowel Disease, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and various thyroid conditions are just a few of the autoimmune disorders that many people suffer from, with no cure at present.

Kombucha has been linked to improved intestinal permeability, and thus less gut leakage and improved overall health.

Kombucha May Heal Stomach Ulcers

Kombucha is mild and soothing, so may reduce stomach inflammation that can result in ulcers, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), in which the stomach acid churns so much, it may double back on itself and up going into the esophagus.

Kombucha May Help With Arthritis

Because kombucha helps reduce inflammation in the body, it may also relieve arthritis pain as part of what an anti-inflammatory diet. Kombucha contains glucosamine, which has been used for centuries to improve bone and joint health, helping with hyaluronic acid production, which keeps your joints lubricated and working smoothly. It also boosts collagen, which is the building block of tendons and even your skin, keeping it firm, supple and strong.

Kombucha May Boost Mental Health

Many people who struggle with mental health issues such as depression can benefit from improving their gut health. Consuming more probiotics including kombucha can be an important part of a natural treatment plan for depression.

There are many more health claims in relation to kombucha, but these are the main ones that have been supported by modern research.

How to Make Your Own Homemade Kombucha

If you’re considering trying some kombucha out for yourself bottled kombucha is available in many supermarkets now. However, these come with a big price. It’s so much more economical to do it yourself at home. The reason it is so expensive is not the actual ingredients, but the fermentation process that results in a healthful drink rich in useful bacteria known as probiotics.

Another thing to think about is if you follow the Gaps or SCD protocols, commercial kombucha contains more sugar than the DIY version. If you’ve heard about the health benefits of kombucha and have been looking at bottled kombucha tea in the health food stores or supermarkets, you’ve probably been put off by the high price per bottle.

Why not go ahead and just make some kombucha yourself for a fraction of the cost of buying it already prepared and know what you’re getting in it?

Here are some simple instructions to make your own kombucha at home.

Kombucha requires a bacterial starter in the same way that yogurt does if you are going to make it at home. It’s commonly called a scoby. Do your research, it’s very important to get a high quality brand because contaminated starters can cause illness (yikes!)

The Kombucha Growing Kit and The Kombucha Starter Kit both cost less than $50 online and are organic as well. You might also be able to find a starter locally.

The starter kits typically are combination of bacteria and yeast. The yeast is necessary for fermentation. Having the yeast already in it takes the guesswork out of the kombucha-making process.

The Equipment

To make 1 quart, you will need:

A large glass jar such as a mason jar
An unbleached coffee filter for the mouth of the jar
A rubber band or canning ring to hold the coffee filter over the mouth of the jar to avoid any contaminants getting in
2 to 3 cups of filtered water (not tap water) distilled water will also work well
1/4 cup sugar
1½ teaspoon loose tea leaves, green or black
A metal tea ball for placing the leaves in
Your kombucha starter
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
A wooden spoon for stirring

A Basic Kombucha Recipe

Start with water hot enough to steep the tea. Add it to the jar. Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Note that the bacteria and yeast will feed on the sugar, so add the full amount, this is one time you don’t have to worry about sugar content.

Add the tea ball to the hot water. Steep until desired darkness. The longer the tea sits, the stronger the flavor will be.

Allow the tea to cool to around 68F to 85F. It needs to be warm, but not too hot, in order to start off the fermentation process. Water that’s too hot wil kill off the bacteria and yeast, so beware.

Add the starter according to the package instructions. If you are beginning with a dehydrated starter, follow the instructions for activating it first, then add it to your kombucha recipe. Make sure you have already removed the metal tea ball from the water so it does not come into contact with the starter.

Add the vinegar and stir well.

Cover the mouth of the jar with the filter and secure it with the rubber band or the ball jar ring.

Store it in a cool, dark place ranging in temperature from 68F to 85F for 7 to 10 days. Note that the longer the tea ferments, the less sweet and more vinegar-like it will taste. It will develop a “bloom” that looks like a mushroom. Use this for your next starter.

Can You Get Drunk on Kombucha?

I’ve been living alcohol free for decades and this was an area of concern for me. Our local health food store was kind enough to explain the kombucha products to me and which ones were labeled for legal drinking age.

To be considered a soft drink, kombucha must contain less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. While companies test every batch of kombucha before they’re shipped, the alcohol content may increase if the kombucha isn’t refrigerated.

So should you drink kombucha if you’re sober? I’ve had some commercial kombucha myself and never felt triggered to go back and get more, or make a habit out of it in the house. But that’s just my experience. As always, to thine own self be true. The general consensus seems to be that you’re not going to drink bottles and bottles of it. It would be like trying to over indulge in vinegar.

Kombucha does contain a little caffeine, so you might feel something akin to consuming too much a venti sized drink.

If you’re making your own kombucha at home, you can shorten the brew cycle which will reduce the intensity or mix it with some water to further dilute it. Alternatively, you might want to try water kefir for the probiotic benefits.

There are many potential health benefits of kombucha. However, it is important to remember that research is ongoing and not all benefits have been proven in studies with human participants.

Disclaimer: This blog post should not be construed as medical advice. I’m not a doctor, counselor, coach, aromatherapy professional, or a yoga teacher. I’m just a sober mom who graduated from the School of Hard Knocks and has suffered with the debilitating neurological condition dystonia since 2010 and ulcerative colitis since 2018 and am sharing what I’ve learned on my healing journey.

Dreamer Life Planner: A Self Care Journal Review

August 2, 2018 by Marya Leave a Comment

My self care practice is in a constant state of evolution. I’ve been very committed to my yoga practice for about five years now and it’s played an integral role in my rehabilitation from my diagnosis of cervical dystonia. It’s also given me unexpected mental and spiritual clarity as well. And slowly, I’m rediscovering the girl who was before life’s craziness and responsibilities took over.

As a writer, I’ve always loved anything to do with journaling but for decades now (gulp!) I couldn’t find the motivation to do it. I have several partially finished journals and even tried to do it digitally, but I couldn’t sustain a regular journaling habit.

However for the past few months I’ve begun to make some intentional time to write in a physical journal. I’m keeping it really simple for now. Many days it just looks like some scripture writing and washi tape. Sometimes I’ll journal a bit.

Dreamer Life Planner

I was recently given a copy of Dreamer Life Planner to review. The creator, Kimberly Simmons, is a busy entrepreneur who juggles a full plate of business, homeschooling, married life and caregiving responsibilities.

As I read through the introduction, I was struck by how much we had in common. We both think out of the box, are frequently overwhelmed with life and it’s entirely too easy to forget who we really are.

She remembered who she was & changed the game.

“The idea behind this planner-journal is to make you think about YOU and remember who you are and what you need. Its purpose is to make you tap into the part of you that is only for you and find a way tobring her to the surface. Love her, fall in love with her, love on her… respect her, praise her, appreciate her… show her the time of her life and never let her forget that she is awesome, she is dynamic, she is perfectly imperfect, and she is always enough! She is the best thing that ever happened to you (and the people in her life) and she will always be your best friend, she will always have your back, and she will never leave your side.

Find her again, give her the desires of her heart, make her dreams come true, and love on her in the ways only you know how.”

The planner begins with a self care assessment. You’re going to begin to remember who you really are and what you love. This is going to take some time so don’t rush through it. For once, this is going to be about you!

This is followed by a self care strategy which shows you how to begin to implement this into your life and a calendar. You’ll want to keep this calendar only for you. No family obligations!

Entrepreneurs who are struggling with vision and focus will appreciate the self assessment section. Even if you think you already know what you’re good at, go ahead and do this anyway. Don’t put limits on yourself about what you can’t do.

The Dreamer Life Planner helps you to put your dreams into actionable tasks that are right for you and your unique schedule.

I’m a big fan of journaling my brain dumps but my pages are inevitably a mess. The Dreamer Life plan has some pages to help put some structure to your brain dump chaos and will help you to move forward with some effective action, confronting your fears and stumbling blocks along the way.

I think the Dreamer Life Planner is a great resource for any woman who’s become bogged down with life’s responsibilities and who needs to discover who she is once again.

Go check it out here! <<Dreamer Life Planner>>

How to Get Started With Yoga for Chronic Pain

July 26, 2018 by Marya 6 Comments

Yoga is the oldest existing physical culture system in the world. Not only is it a systematic and scientifically proven path to attaining physical fitness, it can also delay aging, rejuvenate your mind and spirit, improve your appearance, maintain joint fluidity and can increase overall vitality and creativity. Not only that, yoga can also help to relieve chronic pain.

When I got diagnosed with cervical dystonia in 2010, I quickly became disabled with horrible chronic pain in my neck and upper back. I spent close to a year on the couch much of the time. Even simple tasks like making breakfast became overwhelming.

After awhile I began practicing chair yoga, moved on to neck and yoga postures, and as I improved, on to whole body yoga. Am I cured of dystonia? No. It’s one day at a time but yoga has greatly reduce the need for pain management medications.

Yoga for Stress Relief

I don’t have to tell you how fast-paced and easily distracted our world is. When not in the car, people are sitting behind their desks all day, whether at home or in the office. They’re hunched over their phones. Many come home and crash in front of the computer. It seems easier to sustain an unhealthy lifestyle with processed food and inadequate movement than to put the effort into healthier lifestyle habits.

When we don’t put healthy habits first, we can become more susceptible to chronic pain and chronic illness. I’m convinced this is part of what happened to me. When the day finally came that I was really struggling, I started looking for answers and became willing to change.

The Benefits of Yoga For Chronic Pain

Like me, many people are looking for natural health alternatives for chronic pain. Traditional pain medications and muscle relaxers, while necessary for some, have side effects and run the risk of addiction. Yoga is an ancient practice combining meditation and exercise which have a deep and long lasting effect on the mind and body. Yoga regulates breathing and increases metabolism, aids in weight loss, relieves stress and reduces depression and can also help in pain relief and management.

The best thing about yoga is that it can be practiced anywhere and anytime. And remember, it doesn’t even have to be a full practice. Think about taking short movement breaks. You can do some of them in bed, your home office or even in your cramped workspace if you know the right exercises.

Christians and Yoga

The Christian viewpoint of yoga I’ve always heard was that if you open your mind to clearer thinking and inner vision, you’re opening the spirit to demonic possession. It’s often taught that yoga practices borders on occultism, and that opening your mind and spirit to the health benefits of yoga is dangerous and against everything Christianity preaches.

My personal conviction is that Romans 14 addresses this argument.

^13-14Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. I’m convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.

For me, yoga is primarily healthy movement. It benefits me spiritually by calming down the noise in my head and reducing anxiety so that I can actually focus on prayer and meditation.

I’m familiar with the argument “just stretch on your own.” This doesn’t really work for me as I’m just not creative enough to come up with my own beneficial stretches to benefit my physical challenges.

As with anything else, to thine own self be true. If there’s any compelling reason that you need to stay away from yoga, then do so.

How to Get Started With Yoga for Chronic Pain Management

In yoga you can find a huge variety of practices and teaching styles. If you don’t care for mysticism, be assured that most of what is taught in a typical gym setting is going to be more health oriented. Or you can always look around on YouTube to get started with an at home practice. My top two YouTube recommendations are Yoga With Adriene and Sleepy Santosha.

When getting started, just begin with a simple intention, meditation or spiritual prose. Find something to focus on and begin to practice some simple breath work. This will ease your mind and body and prepare it for the exercises ahead. Remember to be slow and steady with your movements.

If you’re checking out a yoga studio, look at their social media accounts to get a feel for where they’re coming from. Power yoga is very popular but can be too rough for people with chronic illness or chronic pain conditions. No matter which you choose, it’s really important to get proper cuing, guidance and adaptive assistance as you move through asanas.

Remember you must know your own body and its limitations. If you have back problems, you will want to check what’s safe for your condition with your doctor or do some online research about your condition.

This blog post should not be construed as medical advice. I’m not a doctor or a yoga teacher, just a yoga enthusiast who has suffered with the debilitating neurological condition dystonia since 2010. Yoga for natural chronic pain management has worked for me not as a cure, but as a tool to help manage the complexities of my condition.

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How to Set Realistic Weight Loss Goals

July 23, 2018 by Marya Leave a Comment

Losing that extra weight isn’t easy, is it? Many of us have spent years trying the latest and greatest diet or nutritional plan only to fail miserably. The reality is that no matter how seductive the hype might be for that hot new diet book, it’s still going to be hard work. You may not see results immediately and you’ll have to persevere through the good and bad days.

If that sounds discouraging to you, read on. The most effective tool that many people have found to successfully lose weight and maintain it is to set smart weight loss goals. What makes a goal a smart one?

How To Lose Weight With Chronic Pain

Losing unwanted weight when you live with chronic pain is difficult, but not impossible. There’s no one “right” way for anyone. You must consider your unique nutritional needs & capacity to exercise.

The most important thing is to find what works for you. For me, I experienced a lot of success following lower carb diets and lost 40 lbs even though menopause was at the door.

As an endorphin junkie, I’m very guilty of overdoing the workouts on days when I shouldn’t. This often results in upper respiratory symptoms.

What’s working for me right now is to start the day off with yoga and a Leslie Sansone video. If I’m not feeling great, I’ll just stick with low key yoga. I’m also following the SCD protocol.

Is the weight falling off? No, but it’s steadily going downward. How close to goal I’ll get, I can’t say right now. It feels like it’s taking forever.

However you do it, celebrate your small successes one day at a time.

Stay Focused

I struggle with the limitations of a movement disorder. Others might be struggling with insulin resistance, hormonal fluctuation and a flagging metabolism from years of yo-yo dieting and other bad habits. It’s easy to become discouraged when the scale stalls.

And no matter which nutritional plan you choose, there’s no getting around the fact that you’re going to have to develop better eating habits and making an effort to move more than you have been. These are big lifestyle changes and it’s going to take awhile before they become ingrained habits.

As you get started, you’ll need to focus on practicing your new habits daily while focusing on your goal at the same time. If you have a big picture of the reasons why you want to lose weight, you’ll find it easier to keep that focus.

Here are a few questions to think about. Do you want to live a long, healthy life? Do you want to set a good example for your kids and be there for them as long as you can? Will you have a better quality of life if you make these changes? Find that focus and use it to reach your goals before this new lean lifestyle becomes a habit.

Be Specific

Just saying that you really need to lose weight isn’t enough. You’re going to have to take specific action. Begin by setting a realistic weight loss goal (realistic means you probably won’t be able to go back to your high school weight.)

Consider your age and overall lifestyle. Look at a good ideal height and weight chart to help set a reasonable starting goal, and you’ll know how many pounds you need to lose.

It’s important to track inches too. Sometimes when the scale stalls it can be encouraging to see an improvement on the tape measure. The only way you’ll know when you’ve reached your goal (or at least are well on your way) is to have a set number in mind to reach. Otherwise, while you might make progress, you’ll never reach your goal.

Set A Deadline

Have you ever heard the saying that goals without deadlines are just dreams? Without a deadline, you have nothing to shoot for. If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.

Even if you have a specific weight loss goal, like 25 pounds, if you don’t set your course it could take years…or never. Smart goals have realistic deadlines. Losing 25 pounds in the next 6 months is a smart goal with a deadline.

However, give yourself some grace and flexibility as some people are just slow losers for a variety of reasons. If it’s just a couple of pounds a month that you’re losing, rejoice in that success.

Celebrate Your Victories

Changing your eating habits and getting your body moving isn’t easy, especially if you’ve been inactive for a long time. Stay motivated by breaking your big goal into smaller mini-goals and celebrate your victories along the way.

If your end goal is to lose 25 pounds in 6 months, break it down into 5 pound increments. When you meet that mini-goal, do something nice or fun to celebrate it. (Just try not to use food as a reward.)

Get Real

Don’t set crazy, unrealistic goals. You’ll get discouraged and possibly quit if you don’t meet them. Losing 100 pounds in 3 months won’t happen no matter how fast your metabolism is. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Instead, set yourself up for success with goals that you know you can reach with a bit of a stretch.

And if you cave into temptation? Don’t get discouraged about it. The folks at Trim Healthy Mama say that your next healthy meal is just three hours away. Isn’t that better than the all-or-nothing thinking so many of us struggle with?

Life is going to happen and sometimes there’s no way to say no to that slice of pizza (or in my case, two or three). The important thing is to pick yourself right back up and keep working towards your goals.

Stay Accountable

Find someone to have your back. In this day and age, it’s easy enough to find community and accountability on social media. Form a group with some of your friends who share your weight loss goal, or go find an existing one. It’s really encouraging that I can get on there at any time and get an instant boost.

How are your health goals going? What is your biggest struggle?

The Pain Companion {Book Review}

July 18, 2018 by Marya 5 Comments

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of The Pain Companion to review. The opinions below are completely my own. I am not being paid for writing this review.

If you live with chronic pain from injury, autoimmune disorders or any type of chronic illness, you understand that the challenges are far more than physical. Not only are the physical aspects challenging, but the mental and emotional struggles are very real as well.

As a chronic illness blogger, I received a copy of The Pain Companion to review. I took it along with me when I was on vacation at the beach which helped to really focus and meditate on it.

This is one of the most important books I’ve read since I began my chronic illness journey. It will occupy a place on my nightstand because I know I’m going to refer back to it again and again as I navigate the complexities of living with two major chronic illness conditions.

Review of The Pain Companion

“In the twenty-first century, one might wish that pain were an easily treatable nonissue. It is not. Millions of doctor and emergency room visits stem from pain, and addiction to pain medications, rampant in the United States, often takes root in an attempt to manage unremitting discomfort.

In The Pain Companion: Everyday Wisdom for Living With and Moving Beyond Chronic Pain (New World Library, June 12, 2018), author Sarah Anne Shockley, who has personally lived with chronic pain since 2007, offers fellow pain sufferers a compassionate and supportive guide for living with pain that can be used alongside their ongoing medical or therapeutic healing programs”

“I cannot know your personal suffering, of course; only you can,” writes Sarah. “But I do understand the experience of being in significant and relentless pain for long periods of time, and I understand the fear, sadness, and frustration associated with long-term physical debilitation. So I can say that this book has been written from inside of pain, a perspective on the experience and the healing of pain that we are seldom offered.”

Part 1: Pain Moves In. I can totally identify with the feelings of chronic pain being an unwanted visitor that moved in unannounced!

Part 2: The Emotional Life of Chronic Pain. The Pain Companion addresses the complex emotions that we face as learn to adjust to our new and unwanted normal. It gives a voice to thoughts and feelings that we may not realized that we even had! Naming and understand these emotions has been an essential part of the coping process for me.

Part 3: Meditative Approaches to Physical Pain. I can’t overstate the importance of meditation practices to people living with chronic pain and illness. There are about 15 different meditation techniques here that you can incorporate into your day. I like to think on them slowly. Don’t rush through this section!

Part 4. When Pain is the Teacher. Chronic pain and illness has been a journey that I never asked for but I work hard to remain teachable even as I feel powerless over my symptoms at times. One of the most important lessons that I’ve personally learned is having compassion for myself. As a woman in recovery I’ve always pushed too hard and been too hard on myself, even when my mind and body were telling me otherwise. Living with two debilitating chronic pain conditions has taught me to be kind to myself.

Living Better While Living With Chronic Pain

I had so much identification with Ms. Shockley. While I’m not a single mom with chronic pain as she is, I am a special needs mom and can completely identify with the overwhelm of being a caregiver while having physical struggles and limitations of your own.

She speaks of a different approach to chronic pain – one of not running away from it or resisting it. She also talks about writing as a way of processing everything and again, I was able to identify with it because that’s what drives my own writing and blog.

Do give this a listen!

The Pain Companion is an excellent book for both the newly diagnosed chronic pain patient and for those who’ve been on the journey for a long time. There are so many nuggets of wisdom and insight that you’ll want to refer back to it over and over again.

This blog uses Amazon Affiliate links.

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Small Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Health

July 15, 2018 by Marya 8 Comments

Small lifestyle changes can add up to improve your health. Much of what we talked about in this 30 Day Self Care Challenge, and especially the quick stress busting tips might seem kind of small. And when you’re feeling very stressed out and overwhelmed, they may seem like a small drop in the budget. Doing something more radical might be tempting so that you can see faster results.

While doing something as drastic as selling your house, quitting your job, and moving across the country could certainly be an option, it’s not your only one.

All the small changes and tweaks we’ve talked about throughout this self care challenge can add up to improved health and reduced stress. They may seem small but as you become more intentional about them, your efforts will multiply to bring about real changes to your overall health.

The key is to intentionally implement them one at a time and be patient. You’ll get a little bit of stress relief every time you try something new. Even if all you can do right now is getting an extra 20 minutes of sleep per night or starting to doodle when you feel stressed out.

That small beginning will help you to start to feel better right away. And the next small change will move you yet another step in the right direction.

And before you know it, you’ve made great strides towards a more less stress and a more fulfilled life.

The first part is always the toughest. It would be lovely to simply push a button that could make our stress and worries vanish, but that’s not reality!

But you do have the capability and power in you to change your life for the better, just one step at a time. And in the end, that’s much more valuable than a quick fix.

You’ll feel so accomplished with what you’ve done! You’ll be able to enjoy the fun and relaxing lifestyle you’ve created for yourself and your family.

So go ahead start making some small lifestyle changes TODAY. Go back to that list of things you made that stress you out.

Keep working through them. As you declutter your schedule and time goes by you’ll start to see more and more opportunities to for little tweaks and changes that will improve your quality of life. You just have to be mindful of them and then implement them.

As you do this, it won’t take long before you see some positive results. It might also help to remember that you’re not only changing your own life and how you’re feeling, but also the lives of your loved ones. A more relaxed and less stressed partner, parent, and friend is a much more fun to be around than a woman who’s constantly stressed out and snapping at everyone.

5 Small Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Health TODAY

If you’re in a bad place as you’re reading this, here’s a few quick stress busting tips that you can implement right now.

Unplug. Like, right now. Anne Lamotte famously said that “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Take 20 minutes to try something new. It could be reading a new book, meditation, doodling or just going outside for a run or walk.

Drink more water. This can’t be overstated. Many of us are chronically dehydrated and fill up on water and soda. Adequate hydration affects everything from your overall health to your moods.

Just say no. This isn’t always easy or even possible, but carefully evaluate your time commitments and your energy level before you say yes to the next thing. It’s perfectly acceptable to say no when you need to.

Practice gratitude. No matter what’s going on, there’s always something to be grateful for. It can be as simple as telling a family member that you love them and finding something beautiful in nature.

Reflect on how far you’ve come

I have one thing to ask you. Compared to where you were at the beginning of the self care challenge, how much more relaxed are you feeling as you’ve made your way through the challenge?

If you’ve been applying even just some of what I shared with you throughout, you should start to feel less stress and have a calmer, more balanced life.

What has had the biggest impact on you? What tips and ideas have you found the most helpful? Those are the posts that you want to come back to again and again.

Take a few minutes today to reflect on not only how far you’ve come, but more importantly how this simple self care challenge has influenced you to take positive steps to improve your health.

I’d love to hear what positive experiences you’ve had as a result of spending the month working on relaxing more and stressing less?

How to Cope with a Chronic Pain Flare Up

July 13, 2018 by Marya Leave a Comment

If you live with chronic pain, you’re probably all too familiar with chronic pain flare up days – when the pain that you already live with on a daily basis intensifies and completely levels you. In order to help minimize bad chronic pain flares, it’s helpful to know what triggers your physical symptoms and that can help you to cope with a chronic pain flare up.

How Does Weather Affect Pain?

When the weather changes to an extreme, whether from atmospheric changes or temperature fluctuations, it can affect certain types of chronic pain. This is especially true when your pain is related to your joints, such as with arthritis or fibromyalgia. If you start to keep a pain journal and record everything that occurred on the days when you had a flare-up, you might notice that your neck or knees hurt a lot worse when it rains or gets extremely cold. For others, extreme heat can trigger symptoms. Journaling can help you see what weather changes might be triggering you and help you to prepare for them in the future.

The Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Stress

Everyone experiences stress. Some women are living with chronic illness, multiple caregiving responsibilities, work demands and more. It’s overwhelming for sure but we’ve got to learn how to manage it. No matter what chronic illness you’re living with, stress will probably impact your pain levels and cause flare-ups. But be assured that while we can’t eliminate stress completely, effective stress relief methods can help to reduce chronic pain.

Hormones and Chronic Pain

For women, a big flare trigger for chronic pain might be as a result of fluctuating hormonal levels throughout the month. This might be related to PMS, where your pain is worse when you are about to start your period, or you might be experiencing more pain as you head toward menopause. This is yet another reason to keep a pain journal, since it helps you to notice these patterns. The more you know, the more prepared you’ll be for these potential triggers.

Nutrition and Chronic Pain

Eating inflammatory foods such as refined carbs, and sugar can increase symptoms for many people. Others might need to eliminate dairy and gluten. They key is to know yourself and track your symptoms. Again, a journal is going to be helpful here to track your symptoms.

How to Cope With a Chronic Pain Flare Up

Despite your best intentions, chronic pain flare ups can happen at any time. If you’re having a bad day, week or month…just step back and regroup. Think about what absolutely has to get done and let the rest go for now. If you need to spend a few days in bed, that’s perfectly fine. There are things you can do every day that help you cope with your chronic pain. Some things you might already be doing, while others are good to start getting into the normal practice of. It is important that you keep trying to make changes in your life for proper chronic pain management and mental health.

Take Intentional Action to Reduce Stress

Stress has such a large impact on nearly every facet of your life, including your chronic pain. No matter where your pain comes from, stress is likely to trigger chronic pain flare ups and make everything worse. The best thing you can do is figure out what is causing your stress and work to reduce it. Limiting time with toxic people, not taking on extra tasks at work, reducing unnecessary spending and just living a more organized life are a few ways to begin to reduce stress.

Get Those Endorphins Going to Ease Chronic Pain

You may not love exercise, but exercise definitely loves you! We all know it’s great for weight management, but it can also help to promote blood flow that helps to reduce your risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. Working out also helps to release endorphins, the happy chemicals in your brain. When this happens, you not only reduce stress, but your mood will improve and you’ll probably find that you can handle your chronic pain much better. And some types of chronic pain are reduced when you are moving your body more often, like mild forms of arthritis. (This has definitely been true for me in managing the pain from cervical dystonia.)

The Danger of Using Alcohol for Pain Relief

Drinking alcohol may temporarily reduce your pain, but it is only hurting you in the long run. Not only is there a risk of addiction, but alcohol can get in the way of your sleep. Sleeping is extremely important when you are trying to cope with chronic pain, so you don’twant to get into the habit of putting a Band-aid on the pain with alcohol every day. Plus, alcohol is a depressant, so it can make your mood highs and lows a lot worse. And don’t forget how miserable a hangover can be! Finally, mixing alcohol with other meds is extremely dangerous and can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Join a Support Group for Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is serious business. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by it and let it ruin your life. Unfortunately, even those who love you might not understand what it’s like. Finding a chronic pain support group might be one of the best things that you can do for yourself, whether online or local. You’ll feel less alone and much more empowered.

The Effects of Chronic Pain on Family

Chronic pain can cause a lot of family stress including social isolation, marital conflict, and feelings of anger and resentment. Be patient with each other. Let your family know where you’re struggling and ask for help with what you need. Let them know that you appreciate their support. Keep meals and expectations simple. Don’t take on any additional responsibilities. Finally, when you’re feeling awful…just do whatever nourishes your soul. Binge on Netflix, journal, listen to music that you love, take a long bath or spend some time outside. How do you like to regroup during a chronic pain flare up? SaveSave

The Power of Doodling for Mental Health

July 12, 2018 by Marya Leave a Comment

We’re almost at the end of our 30 Day Self Care Challenge! It’s time for one last stress reducing tip to add to your self care arsenal. This one’s kind of fun…doodling for mental health.

I hope you’ve given all the quick stress buster tips I’ve shared with you so far a try and have found a few that you want to deploy regularly. Don’t forget to do the same with today’s tip!

Doodling Your Way to Better Mental Health

Doodling is a simple way to reconnect with your long lost creative side. It’s fun, easy and very accessible. You can do it anywhere, even if all you have is a pen and scratch paper.

While it can help you get in touch with your inner artist, doodling is also a great way to improve mental health. Not only that but doodling can also improve memory and make it easier for you to focus. And best of all, it can leave you feeling relaxed and revitalized.

To get started with doodling, you can grab a sheet of paper and begin right away . But it can also be helpful to use doodling books. These are books filled with designs and doodles that will inspire you to get started.

You can learn how to mix and match different patterns to create stunning images. Begin with a book like Joy of Zentangle or Zendoodle: Meditative Drawing to Calm Your Inner Self. If you’d like to commit to doodling daily, then you might like One Zentangle a Day.

Once you’ve spent some time learning about the art of creative doodling, you can branch out a bit. Check out a few doodle prompt books. The ideas on these pages will get your hand moving but are simple enough that you can enjoy a quiet conversation or listen to your kids playing in the background while working.

A good one to start with is Draw, Doodle, Design by Parragon Books. It contains hundreds of prompts and the high-quality pages are perfect for markers, pencils, crayons, and more. Another beloved title is Creative Doodling & Beyond You can practice your doodles inside the book, making it easy to implement each prompt.

Whether you choose to fidget or doodle, go ahead and have some fun with it!

How Fidget Spinners Help With Anxiety

Fidget spinners and cubes have become a very popular way to keep your hands busy and reduce stress at the same time. But if you think about it, it’s really nothing new. Many of us already do it. We might fidget with pens, buttons, keys, and anything else we can find. When we’re not fidgeting with our pens and pencils, we’re using them to doodle. I’m sure you’ve found yourself doing this during a meeting, a class, or a phone conversation at one time in your life!

Fidgeting helps us focus and it is a great stress reliever. If you’re not in the habit of fidgeting or give it a try. The rhythmic motion of playing with any type of doodle device tends to slow down your heart rate and might even help to lower your blood pressure… all great signs signs that fidgeting helps you to relax.

Getting started is easy enough. Just look around your house to see what kinds of fidgeting devices you already have on hand or carry with you. Make a small pile of everything that looks like it could be a good fidgeting device and give it a try while you’re sitting around having conversations, watching TV, or even just resting for a few minutes.

With time, you’ll figure out what works well for you. Some fidget spinners will work great for you and feel like lots of fun, while others may frustrate you to no end. Make a short list of the fun and relaxing ones.

Then simply make sure you have your fidget spinners easily accessible wherever you may need them. You can also check out of the inexpensive devices made specifically for fidgeting. Fidget spinners are the hot new trend right now, but they might be bit annoying and distracting to others.

Fidget cubes may be a better alternative. Trial and error will show you what works the best for you. Then simply get in the habit of using them as reduce stress and help you to relax.

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