The Boundary Waters

As mentioned, Dana and I took a trip up to the Boundary Waters with my brother Scott, his girlfriend Nicole, and Scott’s dog Tuner. The photos are not the highest quality because they were taken from a disposable camera, but they’re not terrible!

Here is our trip in a nutshell for you all.

Friday morning we are all packed up and about to hit the road towards the Boundary Waters.

To get to our campsite, we did quite a bit of portaging. Unfortunately for Dana, I wasn’t quite strong enough to carry the canoe so he got stuck with it every time.  I was however, able to help carry our packs!

Throughout the weekend we canoed approximately 30 miles and enjoyed the most beautiful scenery and the freshest air. The air was so pure I just wanted to bottle it up and take it home. Below is a photo of Scott, Nicole, and Tuner canoeing alongside of us. They led the way as they are seasoned BW travelers.

We finally made it to our first campsite after finding that most of the sites were full. It was a pretty small site, but we were ecstatic to find a site in general. So we set up shop, while battling the gnats and flies.

We ate SO well this weekend thanks to wonderful planning by Nicole. She made batches of dehydrated fruits including apples, bananas, peaches, and pineapples, and brought along other snacks like granola, beef jerky, raisins, nuts, seeds, etc. Dinners were seriously awesome. The first night we ate tacos, second night we ate chili, and third night we ate asparagus soup. Nicole should seriously win an award for best camp cook. Lunches consisted of summer sausage, cheese, pita bread, peanut butter, tuna, crackers, and snackies. Breakfasts were oatmeal and granola with nuts and seeds, and the first morning we had hashbrowns, bacon, and eggs. Talk about a feast.

Scotty is quite the novice camper as well. Here is using a wooden paddle as a cutting board to cut up tomatoes for salsa. Who knew a paddle could be so multi-functional?

Evenings were spent relaxing and enjoying the breathtaking views.

Day two, we packed up our stuff and headed to a campsite across the way that had recently become vacant. This one was amazing. It was huge.

We “bathed” in the water behind Dana in this photo below. The water was pretty darn cold. Doesn’t Dana look so manly? Like he could go catch a fish with his bare hands?

Day three was rainy, so we slept in and eventually Dana and I crawled out to go start a fire. We all hung out for a while, and as the rain started to let up, we decided that we would get bundled up and head out on a day canoe trip. We paddled into Canada. My first ever visit to Canada. We ate lunch on an island rock called Warrior Hill, then headed a little further to view the Lac La Croix Pictographs. The pictographs consisted of handprints, Moose, figurines of men smoking a pipe, and the letter L, among others. Very cool!

Back home, we bundled up and huddled around the campfire. It turned out to be a clear night so we could see the stars. They were so bright and beautiful and nothing like we see here in the cities.

Last morning and we are all packed up again ready to head for home. Yes, my pants are tucked into my socks. The bugs LOVE me so I like to cover as much skin as possible and stay protected.

We left for landing/where our car was parked, at 9 am from our campsite, and didn’t get there until 2 pm, so it was a long day of portaging and canoeing and we were all exhausted.

Our final photo of the journey was taken once we had made it to our final destination, the car. The last leg of the portage was a long one and it was uphill. I was carrying my pack on my back as well as the food pack on my front. All I could think about was making it to the top and not stopping until I got there (hey, that was good training for the half marathon, huh?). Also, I felt like a contestant on the Biggest Loser. You know, after they have been on the show for a while and have lost a lot of weight, they give the contestants a task of strapping on all of the weight they have lost and make them do a crazy trail trek? That’s what I felt like.

I learned this weekend that I am capable of so much more than I realize. This weekend was very challenging for me physically, but I survived. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go up north to the Boundary Waters. Thank you Scotty for pushing me to go  and for having faith in me that I was strong enough to handle it! I will recover from the bug bites soon. 🙂 P.S. I love my bed, I am fortunate for electricity, running water, food from the fridge, shelter of my home…

Happy Saturday! It’s running day for me. Catch up with you later.

Continue Reading The Boundary Waters

Now, U.C. More About Me

Yesterday I had the day off of work to unwind from the weekend getaway (details to come), and to get myself together before heading back to work today. My morning yesterday started off with a quick 3-mile loop around the neighborhood. I still cannot believe I am running a half marathon in less than two weeks. I didn’t run at all last week being I was not feeling very well due to the intestinal issues I’ve been experiencing lately, and I feel slightly behind in the training. But I will be fine.

Speaking of intestinal issues, after the run I showered up and headed to the doctor to finally get some medical help in combatting my current colon issues. It’s time for me to put it all out there and fill you in on my “issues.” Well, one of my issues. 😉 I’ve mentioned before that I get a little embarrassed talking about my health issues, and growing up and even into my early twenties, I was really shy about sharing this information with anyone, even my closest friends. I have accepted that it is a part of who I am now, and that in learning to deal with my health problems, I can in turn help others who may be experiencing the same thing, or knows someone who is.

I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (U.C.) when I was 12 years old. It is an inflammatory bowel disease and U.C. means I have ulcers in my colon. Some of the symptoms I experience include bloating, gas, and far from normal and frequent trips to the bathroom. I won’t get into the nitty gritty details because it’s not pretty, but that gives you some idea. I experience a lot of fatigue and feel uncomfortable a good majority of the time. I am always living with colitis, however there are times when I am symptom free, and I was actually symptom-free for more than two years. When symptoms are present, it is called a “flare-up” or “flare.”

Researchers aren’t 100% sure what causes colitis flares, but many believe it is brought on by stress, diet, or the body fighting some type of infection or other illness. Anyway, I am not quite sure what caused this particular flare as I don’t feel very stressed, but I was thinking back to about a month ago when I came down with a little bug. I was sick for about a week. After that, we were in the Dominican Republic where I was eating foods that are out of my norm. I came home and ate a semi-normal diet for about a week. Then we headed to the boundary waters where again, I didn’t eat foods that I should be eating with my current conditions. All of these factors may have played a part in my current situation, but then again, who really knows.

I started medications yesterday, and besides those, I will be doing my best to eat a low-residue, low-fiber diet, and analyzing the stressors in my life, and make adjustments as needed.

This is a topic that I was unsure of sharing because it is so personal, but have decided I want you all to know because as I have mentioned before, my diet will change slightly compared to how I am used to eating, and also I want to be able to share with you what seems to be working/not working in terms of diet and U.C. There are so many people out there living with U.C. and although each person reacts differently to diet and medications, I want to share my story and hopefully help others out there. Once I get this under control, my diet will go back to loads of greens!

Getting back on track…after my appointment, I met the hubs out for lunch at Cafe Latte in St.Paul. It is located off of Grand Avenue and I absolutely adore that area. We rarely go there and I don’t know why because it is awesome. Great people watching, food, and shops.

Now that I am working towards this low-fiber, low residue diet, I struggled a bit with what to order for lunch. I figured soup would be a safe bet (as long as I didn’t get a bean loaded chili) especially considering the veggies involved were very well cooked, not to mention it was freezing inside the restaurant so a warm bowl of soup sounded perfect. I ordered the split pea soup and an Asiago focaccia roll. Both were great. I loved that the soup wasn’t super salty, just fresh and tasty.

I was definitely in the mood for dessert after having to be poked and prodded at the doc, and there just so happened to be a little frozen yogurt shop that had recently opened down the street from Cafe Latte. How convenient.

I could eat Frozen Yogurt every single day. I love it. I tried not to go overly scoop crazy today. I started with a small base of red velvet and cake batter froyo, then topped it with Reese’s pb cup, brownie, M & M’s, cookie dough, marshmallows, and sprinkles. At this point I was okay with the potential stomach feelings to come, because it was so gosh darn delicious and actually, I felt fine afterwards.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking, doing laundry, getting the car washed, buying pet food, developing boundary water pictures, and grocery shopping. This shopping trip was a food-for-Melanie shopping trip. I made sure to buy foods that would be easy for me to digest, low-fiber, and low residue. Here are some of my purchases.

Cream of Wheat, Rice Chex, White Rice, White Pita Pockets, bananas, canned green beans, canned pears, sweet potatoes (will eat without skin), apples (again, without skin), melon, applesauce, mushrooms (cooked), and creamy peanut butter (limited to 2 Tbsp daily). The pantry is also stocked with tuna, and the freezer full of other lean meats like chicken, tilapia, ground turkey, etc. If I have to switch up my diet, I’m at least going to make sure I am eating well and eating foods I enjoy.

Once we got home from errands, we fired up the grill and threw on lean turkey burgers, mushrooms, and canned green beans for me.

I love grilling. It was the perfect grilling weather too; warm with a slight breeze.

Sorry for such a lengthy post. I have so much I want to share yet I don’t ever want to bore you all with this, and I am not going to let it take over my life. I am maintaining a positive attitude which I do believe will help me heal faster as well. Thanks for letting me share with you another part of who I am. This part is not easy for me to share, so this is a vulnerable post for me, but I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Have a great day my friends. Can’t wait to catch you up on my recent trip.

(Btw, Dana helped me with the creative post title.)

Continue Reading Now, U.C. More About Me

I’m Still Delicate

It’s someone’s big day…

Our funny, sometimes annoying, very entertaining doggie, Moose turns 4 today. Also known as Mooser, Moosebear, Big Bear, Booboo. He has big plans to lay around the house and dream of chasing squirrels and eating flies. Who knows he may even get to go running with his uncle Kevin. My brother Kevin is going to be staying with the big bear this weekend because Dana and I are heading up north to the Boundary Waters. We are meeting up with one of my other brothers, Scott, and his girlfriend Nicole for an adventurous weekend full of backpacking, canoeing, portaging, camping, fresh air, and wildlife.

I will be learning a lot this weekend. I am not the most “outdoorsy” person. I have always been what my family calls a delicate doily. I have always liked wearing dresses and jewelry. I hate killing bugs. I cried all the time in basketball. I cried all the time in general when my feelings were hurt. I was delicate then…

And delicate now…I can handle a lot more now than I used to though. I am realizing I am capable of a lot more than I ever thought I could be. I never in a million years would have thought I would be signed up for a half marathon that is now two and a half weeks away, but I am. This weekend will be very good for me. I am truly looking forward to it.

***********

Tuesday’s Breakfast

Gluten free english muffin with grape jelly on one half, and peach preserves on the other half. I ate one bite off one, then the next bite off the other (I ended on a peach bite).

Lunch

A half of a large precooked sweet potato with a sprinkle of cinnamon, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Please make this! I am contemplating eating this for breakfast even. It is SO good. Either bake or microwave your washed sweet potato, mash it, microwave it, sprinkle with the condiments listed above, and devour. Melty peanut butter would probably be really good on this too. Yum.

Dinner from last night is almost too embarrassing to post. I didn’t snap any photos of it because it was truly nothing to be proud of. In fact, I am a little ashamed considering I am a healthy living blogger. We all know, no one is perfect. I just have to say that given my current health status, junky foods have the tendency to sit better in my system lately. This is no excuse for what I ate for dinner. Okay so I bought a medium bag of pretzel M & m’s at the grocery store today, and half the bag is gone. Foods that are made with enriched white flour like pretzels and Cheez-its are very tolerable for me right now too, and some of those were consumed as well. Yup, that’s just peachy.

Anyway. Guess what? Remember that dress I mentioned a few days ago that I bought at Target for $7.00? Well, it fits! I wore it to work yesterday.

Such a completely awkward loner photo but I had to show you. That photo actually really reminded me of the first day of school photos that mom and dad would take.

Sporting the jean skirt with the lace trim, ruffle socks, and purple and pink backpack (my favorite colors of course). I was all set for preschool and 21 some years of school after that. He he.

Alright, I am off to the North Country. I plan to capture some moments on camera and cannot wait to share my experiences with you when I get back. Don’t miss me too much while I am gone. 🙂

Continue Reading I’m Still Delicate

Keep it in Perspective

After yesterday’s post about low-residue diet, limiting the “roughage,” etc., I thought I might dive a little further into the subject. I personally needed to brush up on it as it’s been a little while since I learned about it in school, and I thought some of you all might be interested in learning about it too.

What Is a Low-Residue Diet?

According to WebMD, “A low-residue diet is a diet in which fiber and other foods that are harder for your body to digest are restricted. Fiber is made up of plant material that cannot be completely digested by the body. High-fiber foods include whole-grain breads and cereals, nuts, seeds, and raw or dried fruits.

 Residue refers to undigested foods, including fiber, that make up stool. If intestinal walls are inflamed or damaged, digestion and absorption of nutrients and water may be impaired, depending on the location of disease activity.”

source

What can you eat while on a low-residue diet?

Grains:

  • Cold cereals that aren’t high fiber (Corn Flakes, Chex, etc.)
  • Enriched white bread
  • Cream of Wheat, grits, and I seem to tolerate oatmeal well
  • White rice, pasta

Veggies:

  • Cooked veggies such as mushrooms, green beans, carrots
  • Potatoes (no skin)
  • Canned vegetables
  • =(

Fruits:

  • Bananas
  • Melon
  • Canned fruit
  • Cooked fruit
  • Avocado

Dairy:

  • Dependent on the person and their lactose tolerance.
    • I don’t handle lactose well, so I avoid it even when I am fully well. I usually drink almond milk or soy milk instead. Small amounts of this kind of milk doesn’t seem to bother me much.
    • This goes for cheeses and yogurt as well. It is very dependent on the person and varies case by case.

Protein/Meat:

  • Most meat is fine to eat as long as it’s fairly lean.
  • Eggs are fine

Snacks and Sweets:

  • Cookies
  • Pretzels
  • Rice crackers
  • Pudding

To Avoid:

  • Nuts, seeds, peanut butter (this one I may not completely follow)
  • Dried fruits
  • Raw vegetables
  • Whole grains
  • Certain cooked vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.)
  • Beans, lentils
  • Popcorn
  • Caffeine

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you will notice that the foods listed in the “To Avoid” column, are the ones that I eat most regularly.

I have not completely handed over my diet to low-residue, but I am going to follow a majority of it for now, reminding myself that this is only temporary. I have been dealing with Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) since I was 12. The symptoms come and go, and now that I am older and know my body well, I am hoping that I can fight this current bout quickly. Staying positive will help me to feel better sooner too! I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to be as healthy as I am, and that there are a lot of people out there who are faced with more serious health problems than mine. That being said, I will be fine. This too shall pass. I will continue to keep it all in perspective.

This subject matter isn’t necessarily the easiest thing for me to talk about. It’s a little embarrassing, but I figure if I can help even one person out there who might be dealing with the same issues, it is worth it to share. So, here I am! An open book.

My food photos will look a little different for the time being, but I promise to return to the veggie packed diet that I love so much before too long.

On a more fun note, mom and dad brought Abbie over last night and the two dogs ran around in the yard. I snapped some pretty cute photos.

That last one is my favorite. Needless to say, Abbie is a little nervous around Moose who outweighs her by approximately 80 lbs. Who can blame her. Someday they will be best friends.

Happy Wednesday!

Continue Reading Keep it in Perspective

I Know My ABC’s

I got this idea from my gal pal Kalkal and thought it would be a good time. I changed it up a tad and came up with this! Have fun.

A is for Age: 26

B is for favorite Breakfast currently: Overnight Chia Seed Yogurt Bowl

C is for frequent Cravings: peanut butter and chocolate

D is for Date night: I love quiet date nights where we make a nice dinner together, play games and go out for ice cream.

E is for favorite kind of exercise: Man, I love it all. I really enjoy Zumba and am learning to love running.

F is for irrational Fear: big spiders

G is for Gross food: slimy, chewy fishy tasting seafood (I like non slimy, chewy, or fishy tasting seafood though)

H is for Happy thoughts: vacation, family, babies, puppies, ice cream

I is for something Important: family, friends and happiness

J is for current Jam: Welch’s Grape Natural Spread. Oh, you mean jam like music? Probably a song too embarrassing to mention.

K is for Kids: No kids for me yet but in the future, yes. I love kids.

L is for favorite Lunch: PB banana wrap with cinnamon

M is for most recent way you spent your Money: Underwater camera for our trip

N is for something you Need: full body massage (I still have a massage gift card from the wedding but want to use it post half-marathon!)

O is for Occupation: Registered Dietitian

P is for Pet Peeve: I feel bad when I think about this question because I have a lot of pet peeves. The worst though…when people are late.

Q is for a Quote:

R is for something Random about you: I have to make sure all of the wrinkles are out of my pillow case before I go to sleep

S is for favorite healthy Snack: peanut butter and banana or trail mix

T is for favorite Treat: ice cream (is that my third time mentioning ice cream?)

U is for something that makes you Unique: I was hospitalized with a kidney stone when I was 16 years old

V is for favorite Vegetable: sugar snap peas

W is for my Worst hairdo: in 5th and 6th grade I would sport the princess leia buns…you know, like these. Except, not so large and not covering my ears. Little bun buns.

X is for X-rays you’ve had: dentist, wisdom teeth removal, and when I cut my arm on a broken wine glass.

Y is for favorite movie from Youth: Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka

Z is for your time Zone: central

There you have it. The ABC’s of Melanie.

Continue Reading I Know My ABC’s

Enjoy Life While Training Plan

Dinner last night was healthy and delicious, and the company was even better. I went to mom and dad’s and my brother, Kevin was there as well. We ate, laughed, chatted, and relaxed.

Dad’s a little goofy if you haven’t noticed by now! I love them all so much. It was a perfect way to spend Friday night.

We spent some time watching YouTube videos of Sophia Grace and Rosie who are two adorable little girls who have been frequent guests on the Ellen show. Sophia Grace is an 8-year-old “rapper” and her side-kick Rosie dances and lip-syncs by Sophia’s side. It is the CUTEST thing. If you haven’t seen them yet, check them out here on YouTube. They will make your day.

**********

Half Marathon Training Plan Decisions

A few days ago, I discussed my contemplation between half marathon training plans. I mentioned that Dana was leaning towards one plan, and I was leaning toward the other, and trying to decide if we should go separate routes with training for our first half marathon in June. I was hoping for some tips and advice from runners out there and I was fortunate to get some that really helped shape my decision.

The comment that struck me was one from a reader named Lisa. She is an avid runner, running about 3-4 full marathons annually among other races as well. Here was her advice:

“For my very first marathon, I followed a training plan and I found that when someone else was telling me when to run and how far to go, it became work and I dreaded it. Since then, I have just run to run and not worried about how far I was going. Two years ago I ran my first sub-four hour marathon and couldn’t have been happier. Now, this is not to say that training plans don’t work, but I found that I resented mine. Like I said, I listen to my body, run longer runs when I feel like it (or have the time- usually on the weekends) and give myself rest when I need it.”

Lisa completely shook some sense into me. I guess I was just so used to reading about training plans and talking to people who had used them, that I didn’t really think about the other options.

With that comment, my decision has been made. I will train on my own schedule. Most likely I will stick to running 2-3 short runs during the week, and one longer run on the weekend, as this is typically when I have the most time. However, I do have certain days off in the week so I may find myself doing my longer runs on those days. I love having the freedom to do what I want.

Just as my reader mentioned, I don’t want running to become a chore. If I don’t feel like running one day, that’s okay, I will cross-train instead, or maybe take a rest day if I feel that’s what my body needs. I am learning to listen to my body. I am one of those people who have a hard time taking a total “rest” day. I love to be active and to keep moving, but I also know how important it is to give my body a break.

I am very excited to see how this, “Enjoy Life while Training Plan” goes. My plan is to run on my own terms, to run when I feel like running, and not beat myself up for shortening or lengthening a run on any particular day. I will increase my mileage on long runs gradually and safely and continue to put it an appropriate amount of miles weekly. With the beautiful weather in our midst, and many fun spring and summer plans scheduled, this will be the perfect way to accommodate training in my life.

My goal is to make sure running does not become a chore, and to continue to learn how to enjoy running. I don’t always love running, but I am definitely learning to like it.

I have never regretted a run.

Thanks for your advice and comments. All of you runners out there are so motivating to me. I have a long way to go, but I am getting there. Now I suppose I better get out there and move it or lose it!

What are you doing to stay active today?

Continue Reading Enjoy Life While Training Plan
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