Christmas with Crohns

When it comes to Christmas, we are all encouraged to eat drink and be merry but for those who suffer with IBD, this can be difficult. Throughout December I have been attending Christmas lunches and outings, and here's how I've coped with Christmas and Crohns.

December was kicked off with Crohns & Colitis Awareness week! I didn't know about this before, so hadn't planned to do anything. Next year I will definitely do a cake sale at work or think of something like that to raise money for the charity. This year I just bought a charity t-shirt and wore it proudly to spread awareness.

The first rule to remember is to listen to your body. If I wasn't feeling up to going out, then I would listen to my body and stay at home. The worst thing to do is to push yourself too hard (I've learnt this the hard way!) as it only sets you back further. So when I knew I had an event coming up, I made sure I had lots of sleep beforehand and also ate well and drank lots of water. This meant I was feeling top of my game when it came to a night out. Also, I have gone back to exercising as this always makes me feel stronger. I can't run as the impact hurts too much so what I have been doing is spin classes and using the cross trainer at home. It was hard initially going back to it, but I have eased myself in. I have also been attending hot yoga classes which I find really relaxing as well as good exercise. Learning the breathing techniques has helped me to keep calm when I feel myself panicking, so it has been helpful in many aspects. Yoga has really helped with my stress management and it's important because as fun as Christmas is, it can be very stressful. I am trying to do everything to minimise stress so I did all my shopping early this year. I am normally always lastminute.com! But this year I wanted to get it sorted early. I did pretty much all of my shopping online which meant I didn't even have the stress of having to leave the house! I also wrote lists to make sure I could keep on top of things, and wrapped them as I went along. This means that there will be no mad rush for me come Christmas eve *smug face*. It is really important for me to keep on top of things and not stress myself, as I am desperate to be well for Christmas.

My morning routine has been 30 minutes on the cross trainer, then drinking a green juice. It's important to get the vitamins & nutrition you need and this is a great way to get it in. This is made with spinach, peeled cucumber, apple and water. Yum!

 

The first Christmas event I had was my work Christmas lunch. We went to Smith & Wollenskys in London and they were so helpful in catering to my needs. I had melon & Parma ham to start, turkey roast dinner for main and sorbet for dessert. This meant I didn't feel left out at all and could join in with everyone else. As well as being careful with what I eat, I have to be careful with what I drink. My favourite drink to have was Vodka, lime & soda but I now can't have that. The lime is too acidic for me, I can't have fizzy drinks and a lot of Vodka is made from wheat and I am intolerant to wheat and gluten. Never fear, there is a way around this! All I had to do was find a wheat-free Vodka and I would have happily drank that with just water & a fruit slice or cranberry juice would be a safe option. On my hunt for wheat-free vodka, all I could find was Ciroc which isn't served in all places. However, they do different flavours of Ciroc which means it can make your drink more interesting. So at my Christmas lunch, my boss was kind enough to order a bottle of Ciroc so I could get involved in the festive spirit and have a drink! I drank Vodka with water so it helped keep me hydrated, I also kept drinking glasses of water to make sure I stayed feeling well.
Since the lunch, I have discovered that Smirnoff Vodka is also Gluten/Wheat free which is amazing as they sell this pretty much everywhere.

 

 

 

The past week my friend from Dubai has been over so I have gone out a lot and wanted to enjoy myself whilst she was in the UK. This meant a lot of drinking & eating! On nights I was drinking alcohol, I took Milk Thistle tablets before the night out to help my body process the alcohol. Another little trick was to have a Berroca and pint of water before going to bed after a night out of drinking. These small things made a difference to how my body felt the next day. I also tried to stick to my daily routine as much as I could and still eat carefully while drinking lots of water throughout the day. On Saturday morning, we got up and went to a spin class which set me up for the day. Afterwards I had a nice filling, healthy lunch in Charlies Deli down Brentwood high street. The staff in there were so helpful and accommodating to my needs. When eateries are helpful I really appreciate it, as I know how difficult I can be! So I will definitely be going there more often. It might become my new Saturday routine!
On evenings out for dinner I picked nice fish options and made sure not to over fill myself by having a dessert also. When going out for dinners it made me think of all the desserts I couldn't have, and as I am going out for dinner Christmas day, it made me panic I would have to watch everyone eat dessert while I sat without one. The pub we are going to is owned by our friends, and they are always really helpful with finding things for me to eat so after discussing it with my mum, we have decided to try making a gluten & dairy free white chocolate cheesecake (my favourite!) and come up with a dessert option for me. So I think this weekend will be spent in the kitchen festive baking!

Girls night out! Didn't look like this Sunday morning!

 

After a heavy weekend I have felt tired and like everything has caught up with me. I think this week I'm going to be careful, especially in the run up to Christmas I want to be as healthy as I can be. So I'll be eating lots of greens, drinking lots of water and exercising as much as I can. Although it was amazing to feel like ME again, feeling the after affects is a reminder that I'm different. But I am ok with that. I think I have finally gotten to a stage of acceptance, and knowing that this can't rule me, makes me stronger each day.

XOXO Crohnie Girl