Category: Health and Wellness

Why hello there,

I said in Friday’s blog (posted at the bottom for your viewing pleasure )  it’s totally okay to admit when you’re riding the Struggle Bus because we, at one point or another, have all been there. There is no shame in the struggle game…however, there is shame in knowing your reaching your breaking point and not doing anything about it.

I’m pointing a big, swollen, rash covered finger at myself.

Here is the deal… Im in a lupus flare. I have been saying the words, drinking green smoothies, eating 85% clean but it wasn’t // isn’t enough. A few weeks ago I called my doctor and asked for meds after three years of taking nothing… admitting I needed them was a MAJOR step for me. Admitting now, weeks later, that they aren’t enough was more of a challange. Joint pain, extreme fatigue, rashes and systemic body aches aren’t okay or normal so after spending Saturday morning in tears, I decided to get myself some steroids (even though I’m allergic).

Why don’t I want to take anything? Honestly, I’m scared. Medication hasn’t always been my bestie and I don’t believe that pills can solve more health issues than a good diet and healing exercise (Pilates and yoga). That being said, I know that (for right now) meds are necessary.

Lupus is a tricky thing and I’m still not sure what it looks like in my body…All I know is Lucy Lupus has taken over and she is NOT staying. I know what arthritis looks and feels like and I became an expert at hiding when I wasn’t feeling well. Lupus on the other hand is so obvious… I mean it is hard to miss a big rash on my face. It’s impossible to ignore the sudden onset of swelling in my cheeks, feet and belly. Plus those naps I need every. single. day…. the list goes on and on. The other factor with lupus that is so much different from my experience with RA is the organ involvement. Ignoring a lupus flare has a much greater impact on the body so I need to get with the program.

Now that I have fully admitted Im not okay and Im taking some of the meds I need to function ( I still need talk to my Doc about one or two more ) I need to adjust my lifestyle to a more extreme version of what I am currently doing. I’m talking taking my 85% clean diet back up to 99.25% — nothing proceeded and all organic.

When I first came home from the Mayo Clinic my diet was perfect for my body. Everything I consumed was pure and of the highest quality. Three years later I have gotten a little lazy about my neurotic ways… but not anymore.

My body needs the OCD, ultra strict lifestyle right now…diet being the priority. Weekly massages, acupuncture, and a TON of Pilates // Yoga are also at the tippy top of my to-do list.

I have started working on my next BIG post and I am VERY excited about it. Im giving you a blueprint to my Anti-Inflammatory Detox Diet for FREE. This is the exact diet that put my Arthritis and lupus into remission for three years. There will be a PDF with my Goddess Grocery Guide, a full day of eating vlog, and new recipes ALL for you on WEDNESDAY.

The Grocery Guide will give you all the ingredients to make any recipe you can find here on TPB. The video will give you an idea how I time, prep and cook my meals. The blog post will provide guidance for how to make this lifestyle work for YOU.

Let’s turn this negative situation into a positive shall we? If you want to detox your bod, and feel refreshed and energized with amazingly healthy, and delicious, foods be sure to check out TPB on Wednesday morning!!

xoxo,

K

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Happy Friday!! I hope you’re having a good week…. mine has been overwhelming in the craziest of ways. The last two weeks I have been getting signs from God or the universe or whoever is running the show.

These signs have been the kind of BIG in-your-face, impossible to ignore kind of signs.

I started sharing ‘My Story’ when I launched TPB and I have gotten away from it. Why? One, I don’t feel like I know the person I used to be. I find it hard to connect with her because she was so…lifeless. The person I used to be didn’t know how to hold a conversation with peers and she faded into the background. She was unnoticeable and unremarkable. She lacked passion whether it was obvious to others or not. She was the type of girl who let things happen to her instead of taking control. I don’t know her anymore.

The other reason I stopped sharing my story is because it’s hard. Going back and reliving it is just plain hard. I have always been an optimistic person. Even at my lowest points I saw the silver lining…but writing about ten years of sickness is just too negative for the place I am in my life. I am just too fulfilled to get back into that mindset. I cannot connect with her.

In the last two weeks I have reconnected with and/or met half a dozen people that have a direct correlation with the old me. In the last fourteen days I have connected with six people… I cannot believe that it is just a coincidence.

These new friendships and reconnecting with old ones has allowed me to share the happiest part of my journey. So today we are going to skip ahead seven years and get right to the good part.

Buckle up babes… it’s about to get CRAZYYYYYY. It’s also super long but trust me it is worth it.

I was 19, blind in my left eye, forgetful, weak, achy and dull. I had different diagnosis from anxiety to Multiple Scleroses to early onset Alzheimer’s all in addition to my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I quit my job, dropped my classes and spent my life in bed. I was so forgetful I would drop words from conversation. One day I forgot how to turn on the car.

My parents couldn’t take the ambiguity and lack of urgency with some of my doctors so they called the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. After being accepted as a patient Mom and I flew half way across the country for answers. I packed enough clothes for two weeks because we didn’t know how long we would be there.

Mom and I arrived at the teeny tiny town the day before my first appointments. We drove around to find Target, the laundromat, and most importantly the hospital. The Mayo Clinic is a city… the hospital itself is like a city… it is the most spectacular thing I have ever seen. You have three or four appointments a day with different specialties. The doctors work together to piece the mystery together. Everything works lightening fast. After having blood drawn the results come through on their app as you walk to your next appointment. I’m talking results in seven minutes. It is truly incredible.

After three days we learned that I wouldn’t need to be placed in a group home (as one doctor from home had suggested). I was simply allergic to a medication I was receiving for my arthritis. That’s it. Months of thinking my world would forever be confined to the walls of my home and the halls of the hospital I was told I was going to be fine.

Momma and I took a trip to the Mall of America (duh) after we found out I was a-okay

I don’t think anything lights a bigger fire in your soul than a second chance. I was stuck in the fog of this medication but I needed to get it out of my body and fast. I was determined to detox as fast as humanly possible. I literally had poison in my veins pumping through me, reaching every part of me. I felt like a caged animal.

During my time as a Stay-at-Home-Daughter. My only job was to heal myself. Not many get the luxury to press pause on life and work on themselves which is why I need to share my story.

I knew that as each day passed more of the medication metabolized  and I was becoming healthier. I spent all my energy researching. I read medical journals for information and foods with anti-inflammatory properties. I researched cleanses. I researched every ingredient in my food. When I was too exhausted to read I would watch documentaries.

Soon I was driving daily to Whole Foods and Wegman’s to try new organic veggies or grab the ingredients for a new recipe I found. My entire life was pursuing ‘healthy’. Months later I was talking Pilates classes daily. I became so full of energy and life. Every experience was amazing because I had earned this new outlook of my body. Not one that was superficial in nature, I truly learned to love my body because of how I felt inside it. I felt healthy, vibrant and alive.

I spent seven years on strong medications… five of those years I had chemo weekly until it started to damage my liver. None of those medications ever allowed me to go into remission. Switching to a almost chemical-free lifestyle saved my life.

If I knew at 12 what I learned at 20, I would have traded the Oreos for kale in a second. I learned the hard way that everything you eat helps or hurts your body. Living a healthy lifestyle is so much more than calories in and calories out. It’s about listening to your body and  getting in as much nutrients as possible.

Feed you body the things it needs and you will be repaid tenfold.

I don’t think there is a bigger or better message. The secret to your best life isn’t being at your pre-college or pre-baby weight. It doesn’t come from counting calories and punishing yourself at the gym for having a donut. It comes you body working at its best because you are treating it as it deserves.

Don’t get me wrong… I have my bad body days, we all do. Lately it has been abundantly clear that I need share what I have learned so others don’t have to go through years of pain and living a subpar life.

Just so you know this is my favorite part of my journey…it’s the one that made me who I am and allowed me to live my best life. I have been goal setting so hard these past two weeks and I think Im going to share them with you. I look at my goals and they excite me. They also terrify me. When I read them I get butterflies in my stomach. I am so excited for what has to come. Stay tuned!!

xoxo,

K

Hey Babes!

Long time no talk. I never anticipated taking a two-week break from blogging but life got in the way and I needed to take care of myself. Before I get into todays update//blog post I just wanted to say how much I missed you! Ugh I feel so lost when I am not emailing readers and replying to comments. Also… My comment section is VERY full right now. I am going to get back to all of you. Promise. Let’s get into it shall we?

I used to be a professional at listening to my body. I took the time to check in every day or so to acknowledge aches and pains. I would make sure I had exactly eight hours of sleep. I would meditate and block out at least an hour for pilates at least 6 if not 7 days a week. My food was always organic and freshly cooked.

Two years later my life style has the same themes however I am not nearly as rigid about it. Being in nursing school, running a blog and life took over those ‘check ins’ with myself. I eat left overs and take most of my meals to go. My schedule is different EVERY SINGLE DAY. It isn’t rare for me to be eating a cold chicken breast in my car or snacking on a protein cookie in class. It’s life…you get it.

I started noticing I was needing more caffeine to get through the day. I was drinking pouches of energy powder that I know contains splenda (something I NEVER put in my body) to have the energy to drive home from school.

My hair started falling out in handfuls, which had to be because I was too rough when I was brushing it. The red lacy rash that appeared every time my skin met with warm water must have been because I made the water too hot. All of a sudden I went from wearing zero face makeup to using color correcting sticks and full coverage foundation to hide a strange rash on my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. I haven’t done any of these things in years years. I knew what was happening but I also knew I could hide it. I just wasn’t ready to be the sick girl again.

About six months ago I started getting extremely sick with any alcohol consumption. Two glasses of wine or a mixed drink left me vomiting for hours…again I just thought it was odd. Maybe my tolerance was low because I wasn’t drinking with the guys every weekend. Maybe my body had one too many Raspberry Vodka and Sprites when I living at school. The most recent time it happened, my parents witnessed just how intense it really was…I will spare you the details (your’e welcome) but I will say it wasn’t normal by any means. My solution was simple, no more drinking.

I was more tired, achey and irritable.

Then, two weeks ago, I had a headache I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to be left alone so I went to sleep in the basement bed room. It hurt to move my head and nothing helped take it away. Mom took me to the ER for a migraine cocktail…which did NOTHING but they sent me home anyway.

Two days later, my head felt so full I couldn’t move my eyes. Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. I called my doctors office sobbing and cursing. I was five days deep in this headache and I couldn’t take it for another second. I couldn’t eat, drink or sleep.

Momma took me to the hospital for a second time and this time I was taken much more seriously. The ER doc called my Rheumatologist (who is the smartest person I have ever met) and the two decided to run a bunch of labs and give me fluids because I was severally dehydrated. The doctors suspected I was having a lupus headache and decided to give me IV steroids, even though I am allergic. Because we knew I was going to have a reaction, I was also given IV Benadryl. Twenty minutes after the steroid my head was SO much better.

The rest of the week I spent Benadryl drunk with an itchy rash covering my entire body but I was loving life again because that headache was gone. The following Monday I saw my Rheumatologist who went over my labs which confirmed I was having a flare.

So what did I learn from this whole experience? Not to be a moron and to listen to the signs my body sending me. Pain and rashes and headaches and extreme fatigue are NOT normal and shouldn’t be ignored.

No one knows your body better than you. If something feels ‘off’ you need to explore it. No, you don’t need to call the doctor or go to the ER with every ache or pain, but you should take care of yourself..if  you don’t address it early you could end up in bed for a week. Trust me.

It’s okay to skip the gym to take a bubble bath. It’s fine to eat an early dinner and go straight to bed after a busy day. You don’t have to do it all every single day. Take time for yourself okay?

How do you ‘check in’ with yourself? I’m dying to know!

PS the top and bottom picture are only a few days apart… the bottom shows how well my butterfly rash is covered with color correcting sticks and my foundation. Do you want a How-To post on reducing redness and dark circles?

xoxo,

K