Success!!

Hand before becoming vegan an gluten free and cutting out caffeine and most processed sugar :)

(note: i can't straighten my hand)





Hand a WEEK AND A HALF into my new lifestyle :)




I can wear all my rings again!!
Guess this is a GOOD change that must be sustained forever!!

This morning I woke up without my feet hurting... I was actually able to RUN on the treadmill and not walk/limp! This is just so exciting.. Gives me hope for Jax and my ultra marathon (Oriflamme 50k) in march. She turns 28 and I wanted to do an ultra the year I turned 30...however, life had other plans (arthritis diagnosis 2 months before!!) so I'll settle for an ultra before I turn 31!

Tonight is bed date night at Jax. Once a week, when Mike is away, I spend a night over there. When Jason is away (as he is right now), the kids come with. We cook something yummy (last week it was vegan, gluten free "tuna" melts with vegan, gluten free ice cream sandwiches) and tonight it is coconut curry with tempeh, veggies and rice. For dessert, we will use Zoe's new hello kitty cupcake machine to make gf/vegan chocolate cupcakes.

We usually put the kids to bed and then watch a movie or a show.... And go to bed really early. Definitely a fun tradition to make the weeks pass by faster.





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wow, surprising results

One week update….

Amazingly, my inflammation in my hands has almost completely disappeared… my elbows aren’t in screaming pain… my knees feel pretty good, as do my feet.

Guess I’m doing SOMETHING right.

I’ve cut out:

Gluten
Dairy
Eggs
Meat/poultry/fish/gelatin/animal byproducts (with the exception of honey)
Caffeine
Most candy/processed sugar


Wow, that sounds like a lot…but the results are alarmingly good!!

Eclipse

Not a great photo but...




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Gluten free Vegan fun

So I've found the easiest thing to do is make bento boxes for breakfast and lunch. Now, not a traditional breakfast person... As can be seen here... (yes, one is breakfast)

Breakfast... Sweet potato, lima beans...fake chicken




Lunches







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Race

So proud of my sister... She finished in 2:43! I ran the entire thing with her and she didn't wak once!





We had a blast... So fortunate to have gotten to have that experience with her.

And.... I felt great. We ran at a steady pace and my joints fared well. I was a bit sore in the knees in the morning but... Overall felt amazing!

Jax and I plan to run that ultra in 2012 and I think I'm up for it. We start training soon and as of Monday, I'll be gluten free, vegan and processed sugar free. The goal is to try and suppress my
RA with diet and exercise... Not medicine!

So this blog is going to turn info a training, food and life blog.

And a few photos from vegas:
























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Vegas 2011

Here in vegas for the half marathon....my first race since new Orleans and my first race once my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis.

I'm not here to PR. I'm here to show myself that I CAN do this.

It's a bit cold here... So we shall see how it does on my joints!


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Life

Life has taken some unexpected turns for the better. In spite of the fact that my arthritis had me knocked down for a bit, i think I'm ready to get back on that proverbial horse and get myself back into racing shape...

Maybe.

I lost my spark. My desire, my competitive edge.:: ok, that's crap because I never really was much competition for anyone.. But I lost my desire to race right now. I'm hoping that I find it eventually...


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30 day challenge!!

My friend, Brigham, posted an article about trying something new for 30 days. Well, while I've posted in my blog before and it's not something entirely "new" - I've been seriously slacking with updates and life thoughts, so I'm going to be better at it.

This is kind of a pathetic excuse for a blog post, but I turn 30 tomorrow and am heading out to a midnight showing of a friend's play tonight... but before that, it's Mary Poppins time with my kids and husband.

Neglectful

I've been so bad about updating... And for no good reason. I'm not currently training right now for anything really and the reason for it sucks... I was officially handed a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis... And have spent the last couple months dealing with it.

I'm doing ok... And should be back in full swing eventually.

I walked 11.5 miles yesterday and 4 this morning and am paying for it tonight... But it was totally worth it!

More later!


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arthritis?

So I've been having various medical "issues" over the last 6 months that I've been ignoring due to training and what not. It started as stiffness/pain in a finger and has now moved to my ankles, feet, 4 fingers, jaw, knees.. I went to the doctor to have my blood tested, and my rheumatoid factor is elevated. That coupled with just feeling like overall crap, having a hard time walking, having a ridiculously annoying stiffness/soreness that last most of the day... well, all signs are point towards Rheumatoid Arthritis...

Anyone have any experience dealing with this?

Of course I'm devastated at the thought, right now.