Click here to request a replay link to my Holiday Waistline Survival Call!
30 short minutes packed with information,
plus, a guide to controlling cravings – in just a few minutes!
This will NOT be the usual holiday message, yet it is inspired by someone I love dearly: my dad.
A friend once called the holidays
the Season of Eating Goo.
You know what I mean. You might go to several parties in one day and only have snacks to eat. There will be amazing, rich, yummy delights – everybody’s special recipes that look so much better than the carrots and celery on the veggie tray. All this food only comes out once a year and HOW can you resist????
All the wonderful treats, rich foods, and overeating can mean that our normal healthy diets, normal digestion, and normal pooing are well, a little off.
It’s just not polite to talk about this!
Okay, I know. Potty topics are not acceptable. You can read this and be embarrassed in the privacy of your own home. But it’s important. Because a lifetime of not talking about it gets some people into serious trouble. Like my dad.
Two years ago his goal was to make it to Christmas.
He had driven himself to the emergency room in September. After a week of intestinal drano , his small bowel was still blocked. Barely out of a lengthy surgery, he crashed, was rushed to ICU, was intubated. Then he developed a fistula, a tear, at the surgical site. His guts were like threadbare socks, his condition was iffy and all they could do was install a wound vac in his gut, feed nutrition straight into his veins and hope.
Way back in 2008 doctors at Hopkins Children’s Center were seeing signs of increasing constipation in children and were concerned enough to start a special clinic: (http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Plugged-Up-Doctors-See-Signs-of-Worsening-Constipation-in-Children.aspx. And it’s not just the kids: Alzheimer Scotland has a detailed fact sheet on the issue here http://www.alzscot.org/assets/0000/0175/constipation-and-faecal-impaction.pdf
The good news is that my dad made it. He’ll celebrate another Christmas in a few weeks. He is still struggling with poo-ing issues, because he prefers starchy foods, doesn’t get enough exercise, and won’t drink sufficient water. Recent events had me reminding him that not pooing is a serious issue and was the condition that preceded a cascade of 3 months of medical treatments, a bill of over $500,000, the a belly wound that is still a problem – 2 years later!
I don’t want to go there! And I don’t want you to either!
Click here to request a replay link to my Holiday Waistline Survival Call!
30 short minutes packed with information,
plus, a guide to controlling cravings – in just a few minutes!
So what to do at the holidays? Use common sense. Water. Fiber. Exercise. Moderation. Enjoy the treats, but remember why you are at the party – to enjoy the people. When you eat, pay attention to the food. When you talk and listen, pay attention to the person. Remember to keep up with your normal healthy eating, maintain some exercise or if you need to improve your diet or exercise, decide to start now!
And have a happier, healthier new year!