Crohn’s Fitness Food

In this episode, my husband, Jeff Gish, shares his perspective of Crohn’s Disease as an IBD spouse. He shares his view of what it’s like to live with someone who has IBD and answers my questions about what are some of the things that maybe I should have told him in the beginning or what I could have done (and maybe still do) to help him understand this disease and the roller coaster that comes along with it.

While Jeff wasn’t with me during my first truly debilitating flare in 2006, he has been with me since 2015 and through a number of smaller flare ups. He’s watched me go off medications, back on medications, back off again, and supported me through all my wild hair-brained ideas and diets. From fermenting raw milk to carnivore, he’s even traveled with me and an ice chest full of food so that I didn’t have to eat anything I didn’t prepare myself while on vacation.

We’ve had many Crohn’s-related adventures that we talk about in this podcast and he gives wonderful insight and advice from being on the spouse-side of things, giving us patients a different understanding of our own disease. It has been truly wonderful to have Jeff by my side, knowing he’ll always be there to back me up. He seeks out places he knows I’ll be able to eat when we go out with friends, doesn’t get angry with me when I have my mood swings because symptoms have come back, and has been an incredible rock and pillar of support that I couldn’t be more grateful to have :)

Other than being my husband, Jeff is a forensic engineer (which is like CSI, but for buildings), he’s the reason for my continual escalation of wine snobbery, and probably the most down-to-earth, happy-go-lucky, and easy-going person I’ve ever met, with a sense of humor that keeps me laughing every day...and you’ll definitely get a glimpse of that in this episode!

Enjoy this interview with Steve Carver, an IBD warrior, a personal trainer with over 30 years of experience, and the business and product development director at JumpSport. He shares his journey with colitis and dives deep into one of my favorite topics and activities: rebounding!

Summary

Steve Carver shares his journey with colitis and how he found recovery through a holistic approach. He discusses the benefits of rebounding and how it has helped him maintain his health. Steve also provides advice on getting started with rebounding and emphasizes the importance of consistency and discipline in managing IBD. In this conversation, Steve discusses the benefits of rebounding. He shares options for trying rebounding, including gyms and online platforms. Steve emphasizes the fun and versatility of rebounding, highlighting that it is not a boring workout! Steve encourages listeners to put in the work to overcome health challenges and live a peaceful lifestyle. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and learning from setbacks. Steve provides information about JumpSport and invites listeners to reach out with any questions.

Takeaways:

• Rebounding on a trampoline can provide numerous health benefits, including increased lymphatic flow, improved mental health, and enhanced balance and stability.
• Getting started with rebounding can be as simple as purchasing a personal fitness trampoline or finding a gym that offers rebounding classes. You can use the JumpSport club finder to find a gym near you with classes: www.jumpsport.com/jumpsport-club-studio-locator/
• Rebounding is a fun and versatile workout.
• Consistency and discipline are keys in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
• Putting in the work and having a positive attitude can help overcome health challenges.

Topics covered in the interview:

• Steve Carver's Journey
• Holistic Approach to Treatment
• Transition to Rebounding
• Health Benefits of Rebounding
• Time Spent on the Trampoline
• Getting Started with Rebounding
• Options for Trying Rebounding
• The Fun and Versatility of Rebounding
• Accessing Rebounding Programming
• Maintaining a Positive Attitude
• Finding Information about JumpSport
• Additional Questions and Contact Information

From the show:

Stephanie: What are some of the things that you have found to help control stress levels?

Steve Carver: Here's the thing about stress, I think it's really important that you have other tools at your disposal to help you de-stress yourself. Whenever a stress happens in your life...there’s about a 90 second chemical reaction that happens in your brain. So it's okay to be angry, it's okay to be sad, it's okay to be upset, scared, whatever caused the stress in the first place. That chemical reaction lasts about 90 seconds. Anything longer than that is you staying on the hamster wheel and continuing to perpetuate those feelings.

So how do I stop that? So some people say, well, I can't get off the hamster wheel. So I need to distract my mind. For me, I'll do 10 deep breaths. And the first five, I'm like, doesn't seem to be doing anything, right? And then I get deeper and I exhale more and by number 10, I'm thinking only about breathing. And then I realized that I'm not as at DEFCON 5 anymore. I'm still trying to deal with whatever it was that caused me to be stressed, but now I have a clearer mind to come up with a solution that's going to be beneficial to solve the problem or if it's something that I just can't control and there's nothing I can do about it at this moment, me being worked up about it is not helping the problem. So find a way that works for you to distract your mind from the thing that caused you to be stressed in the moment.

I know that there are some monumental things that happen in life and in the moment it's very upsetting. But I always take a moment and think, okay, what can I do about it right here, right now in this moment? And too many of us regress to some other trauma in our life where we were a child and we didn't really have good coping skills; so we have a very childlike reaction to that stress. Whereas if we can understand that that's what we're doing and we're no longer there, then we can replace those reactions or those coping mechanisms with something that's more beneficial to you — and again, this takes a little bit of work and it doesn't happen overnight.

One of the coping mechanisms I have is a JumpSport trampoline. When I'm at work and something frustrates me or maybe I didn't get good sleep, I go down the trampoline and I run as fast as I can or I put on my headphones and I listen to really loud music and I bounce for about three to five minutes and sure enough, all of a ...

In today’s episode, Tara Kruck shares her 20-year journey with Crohn’s Disease. Like many IBD Warriors, in the beginning, she first noticed significant weight loss along with increasing abdominal bloating and eventually severe pain. She ignored the symptoms for more than a year and simply attributed them to the stress of being a senior in college and starting the process of looking for a job after graduation.

Her first doctor dismissed her symptoms and it wasn’t until after graduation, and finding a new doctor who referred her to a gastroenterologist, that she found out she was suffering from Crohn’s Disease. It was the early 2000s and the first medications she took never helped completely. Her doctor then was also limited in recommendations for lifestyle changes or other ways to help fight IBD.

During the early years of her diagnosis, it was Tara’s mom who encouraged her to start changing her diet and try different things to help improve her symptoms. But, it wasn’t until she found her third gastroenterologist around 2010 that she was able to bring all the pieces of medication, diet, and fitness together to finally find relief and a path to feel her best. Her new doctor was able to guide her in identifying foods that were her specific triggers and showed her how to navigate the process of reintroducing foods she had eliminated back into her diet. He also stressed the importance of physical fitness and switched her medications, getting her to a point where should could finally put on the healthy weight she’d been struggling to gain for so long.

Tara also opened up and talked about the emotional and mental toll that Crohn’s takes, in addition to its physical symptoms. She’s learned over the years that stress is a major trigger and shared how she’s been able to bring more things into her life that help to manage stress–from surrounding herself with positive people and pets to enjoying concerts and learning to not sweat the small stuff.

In addition to finding the right mix of medication, diet, fitness, and lifestyle habits, Tara also became involved with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and joined a support group in her area. Finding a group of people who were going through the same thing gave her both a sense of community with IBD as well as ideas and strategies for managing her own disease. Support groups are a great resource for patients to share tips on how to prepare or navigate social situations revolving around food to just being able to talk about everyday things and how IBD impacts life.

Tara now lives in Huntsville, Alabama, and is working with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation to start a local support group in the Huntsville area. If you are interested in being part of the group, please reach to Tara and let her know you’d like to be involved!

If you’d like to keep up with Tara’s journey, follow her on Instagram: @tarak.99

Describing her Instagram as “a young gal’s adventures with Crohn’s Disease & other chronic illnesses,” Renee Taylor continues her IBD advocacy on today’s podcast where she shares her Crohn’s journey and how she’s seeking to find the balance between western and holistic medicine.

Diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease while a junior in college, Renee shares her many ups and downs over the past two years. Renee was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis as a child, so she’s no stranger to battling chronic illness. But, since being diagnosed with IBD, she’s faced some of her biggest challenges yet, including flare-ups and erythema nodosum episodes that are so severe that she can’t walk.

Renee talks about her medication history, from her first few (and only) days on prednisone to finding immediate relief with Remicade. But relief was short lived as she failed out after a few months and then switched to Humira. Once again, however, she started to reject Humira and it was then, around July 2019, that she decided to get serious about her lifestyle and began focusing on changing her diet and reducing her stress levels to help manage Crohn’s.

While fitness has always been a part of Renee’s life, she stresses the importance of re-evaluating what fitness looks like after being diagnosed with IBD. As she describes in the interview, sometimes fitness must be put on hold during intense flares. She talks about how she’s learned to celebrate the small daily victories and reminds herself that the flares are temporary. Overall, she feels better when she gives her body the chance to sweat and move and fitness gives a much-needed routine and structure to life with a chronic illness.

During flares, she tries to hold on to a sense of normalcy, even if it’s just reading a book or connecting with a friend. She’s learned to adapt her diet to include foods she tolerates and avoid common inflammatory foods like corn, soy, and gluten. Renee has also found the power of investing in her interests and not being afraid to follow her passions, one of which is advocating for IBD patients.

Through her advocacy, she has found a sense of normalcy and connection to those fighting the same battles. This month, she’s starting a collaboration with Avery Rosenbloom from @talktummytome on Instagram called “What the F Wednesdays.” They’ll be diving into the abyss that is early adulthood in a series of Instagram live videos. The first episode just launched yesterday, January 5th, on her Instagram (@killinitwithcrohns) and future episodes will be recorded every Wednesday evening.

Follow Renee on Instagram: @killinitwithcrohns
https://www.instagram.com/killinitwithcrohns/

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Today’s guest is Katie Vyn, who was diagnosed in her early 20s with Ulcerative Colitis. Only one year after her diagnosis in 2000, a blood clot in her leg was the driving force that took her to the hospital where her colon ruptured and she underwent an emergency colectomy. Since then, she’s been growing stronger, living life, sharing her story, raising awareness for IBD, and advocating for fellow ostomates.

We talk about food and fitness and how both affect her mental and physical well being. Active since a young child, Katie talks about how fitness is central to her life–practicing discipline, improving her energy and mindset, and providing a community of support and love. She also shares how she focuses on eating a clean, vegan diet that allows her to feel her best.

Over the past year, Katie has quickly grown her voice as an IBD advocate. After starting her Instagram, @mygrandcanyon, to begin sharing positivity and support for fellow ostomates and chronic-illness fighters, she now advocates on YouTube, Twitter, and is finishing her training to serve as a Patient Coach for 11 Health.

Her YouTube channel serves as a place to “encourage young artists and athletes, raise awareness for invisible illnesses and disabilities, and share inspiration to keep living our dreams,” focusing on messages of resiliency and hope.

Through our conversation, you’ll hear for yourself how Katie’s love, positivity, and inspiration shines through in everything she does–life is a beautiful journey.

Follow Katie:
https://www.instagram.com/mygrandcanyon/
https://www.youtube.com/katievyn
https://twitter.com/mygrandcanyon00

Learn more about 11 Health:
http://www.11health.com/

Read Katie’s article on Medium:
“The Choiceless Choice: Near-Death Experiences Taught Me To Live”
https://medium.com/@katievyn/does-food-matter-or-does-it-not-7679933537ae