One for the Road: The Best IBD Advice I Ever Gave
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This day has been a long time coming.
It’s me pressing pause on The Cheeky Podcast. Today I’m telling you why I’ve made this hard decision to put the show on pause for a little while, what’s coming up next that I’m excited about (that I hope you’ll be excited about), and my final words of wisdom.
After 35 + years with Crohn’s, it’s 13 Things I know for sure about healing your IBD in my heart and in my soul. This one is going to be a little emotional for me, fair warning.
I hope you’ll join me in support today so have to go through this one alone.
Three Things You’ll Learn in This Episode
🌿 3 reasons why now is the time to hit pause on the podcast
🌿 Living in the uncomfortable reality of practicing what you preach
🌿 13 Things I know for sure about healing your IBD
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Episode Transcript:
One for the Road: The Best IBD Advice I Ever Gave You
This day has been a long time coming. It’s me pressing pause on The Cheeky Podcast. Today I’m telling you why I’ve made this hard decision to put the show on pause for a little while, what’s coming up next that I’m excited about (that I hope you’ll be excited about), and my final words of wisdom. After 35 + years with Crohn’s, it’s 13 Things I know for sure about IBD in my heart and in my soul. This one is going to be a little emotional for me, fair warning. I hope you’ll join me in support today so have to go through this one alone.
[MUSIC]
Hey, hey my loyal friend, my fellow IBD mama. It’s great to connect with you on this gorgeous day. And yep, you heard it right at the top of the show. The Cheeky Podcast for Moms with IBD is going on pause for a little while. This is a decision I didn’t make lightly, it’s a decision that frankly I’m not all that happy about, but sometimes in order to grow, we need to take a step back to take stock, to make changes so that we can move forward even stronger, even better than before. My hope is that by taking a break from the show, I can do just that.
You know I fancy myself Wonder Woman, able to do it all, lasso and invisible jet on hand, but lately I’ve felt like maybe at this time in my life I can’t do it all. I know I preach this to you all the time and it’s time that I listened to my own advice.
I don’t want to go out without an explanation though. And there isn’t just one explanation because life never happens in a bubble, there’s always multiple factors at play. And it’s this confluence of factors that has led me to make this decision from my head and also from my heart.
THERE’S 3 REASONS WHY:
#1- If you listened to the whole episode last week, the one where my hubby and I talk about being an IBD couple and what our life journey has been like, if you listened to the end (and I know it was a long one), you heard me open up about some health struggles I’ve been having lately. I’ve tried, since January of this year to do it all—keep up with my health, my job, my kids, helping to take care of my elderly dad… and because I wasn’t focused enough on all the balls in the air, I found that most of the time the ball that was dropping was my health.
You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything—your health is the most important thing in this world so it’s time to practice what I preach. It’s time to put my health first again. You also might remember me sharing that back in 2008, when I finally decided I was the one in charge of my health, I declared it the year of ME. One year focused on doing everything I could to make me as healthy as possible, inside and out. I’m about to do that again. Thankfully this time, I don’t think it will take a year, but I do need to put in some focus time on me and so that is what I am going to do.
#2- With the health challenges that have creeped up for me lately, it’s really inspired me to continue my health and nutrition education so I’m about to go back to school to get my Master’s Degree in Nutrition. First up, are classes like Anatomy and Physiology and Organic Chemistry—classes I really need to give my all to. So this break from the podcast will also allow me the opportunity to learn more about the nutritional approach to healing IBD and I can’t wait to share all the knowledge I gain with you.
#3- Lately there’s been this nagging feeling in me, that I’ve been playing too small when it comes to helping people with their Crohn’s and colitis. That there are so many more people out there that I want to share this empowering message with. So part of this break from the podcast, I’ll also be oiling the hinges of my message and how I serve you, with the intention of figuring out how to make an even bigger impact in the world of Crohn’s and colitis. I’m really excited about this last piece and I don’t exactly know what The Cheeky Podcast 2.0 will look like but I know it will have interviews with cutting edge IBD providers and I know I’ll be sharing more of your inspiring stories, and I know there will be a book in there as well. I want to shout IBD so loud that everyone in the universe hears us, takes freakin’ notice, and it moves them to finally get off their assess and develops a cure. That’s my goal for the future of IBD.
So with all of those life factors and goals in mind, spending some time focused on my health, going back to school, and thinking about how we can make a bigger IBD impact, I’m going to take some time to do just that with the goal of bringing The Cheeky Podcast back in a bigger and bolder way to support you on your gut healing journey.
DON’T WORRY, I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
But of course, I don’t want to leave you hanging. I will never leave you hanging and I want you to keep moving forward on your personal healing journey. My passion and my mission in life is to serve those with IBD, and I’m not abandoning that mission. During this podcase hiatus, it might be a great time to go back and catch up on some of our past 100 episodes, all dedicated to livin’ your best IBD mom life. From crazy healing modalities you may never have heard of to eating for your own gut health needs, to IBD supplements, colonoscopies, interviews with experts and IBD gals, there’s too many topics for me to mention. It’s basically a A to Z of all thing C + C related and there’s lots of uncharted territory to discover. Go back and take a listen to some of the oldies but goodies on our play list. I’ll be sending out a list of the most popular, most commented on Cheeky Podcast Episodes to our Gut Love Community members so you can check out what you might have missed, so stay tuned for that.
THE GUT LOVE COMMUNITY IS WAITING FOR YOU.
And speaking of our free and fabulous Gut Love Community, the place to be for all things IBD healing and motherhood related, we’ll still be rockin’ over there during this podcast break and I’ll still be in touch with you in the community with how to’s, recipes, my take on the latest research studies, I’ve got some brand new hot off the press gut healing protocols to share, a couple of surprise challenges we’ll be taking on together in the community, and so much more. I’m super excited about that.
There’s never been a more important time to join the Gut Love Community if you haven’t already. Join us at karynhaley.com/community. It’s our free and fabulous community of IBD mamas all with the same goal of finding our way to health and happiness, while we raise our kids. If you are already with us in the GLC, hang tight, I’ll be in touch soon. If you haven’t join yet, here is your engraved invitation. Join us in the GLC to keep up with your gut healing while the podcast takes this much needed pause. Karynhaley.com/community
OK, my friend, that’s it in a gut shell. That’s the haps on why it’s time for me to take a pause on the podcast and for this episode today, this last episode for a while, I want to leave you with
13 Things I Know for Sure About IBD in My Heart and in My Soul.
Keep this list with you in your heart, save/bookmark it on your computer. It’s at karynhaley.com/101 Re-read it, re-listen to it every time you need a reminder of why you are working so hard to achieve your IBD goals. This is why. This is your motivation to keep going.
So, let’s end today right with my best advice. A culmination of what I’ve learned in 35 +years with Crohn’s. Here we go with 13 Things I Know for Sure About IBD in My Heart and in My Soul.
#1 I know that there is no one-size-fits-all diet for IBD, but there is a diet for you, and it’s not the diet for everyone. It’s the diet for you. It’s the Karyn diet. It’s in the Stephanie diet, it’s the Jessica diet, it’s the Giovanna diet. There is an eating plan that works best for your sensitive belly. Finding out what that food is takes time, but it is the best investment you’ll ever make.
#2 I know that your doctor matters. Keep doctor shopping until you find a doctor you connect with and can be open and honest with, a doctor who sees you as an equal on your healing journey. Your doctor can have a profound positive influence or they can suck you into a vortex you never get out of. Choose a doc who know about root cause medicine, not the one who wants to suppress your symptoms and your spirit.
#3 I know that it’s never selfish to carve out YOU time. It’s imperative for your health, your healing and your well-being. Mom guilt is powerful, but just remember how much love and energy and fun you can give your kids when you have filled your cup first. I give you permission, get rid of the mom guilt. It doesn’t serve you or your Crohn’s or colitis.
#4 I know that you should never lose your faith or you will lose your way. Believe in the power of you and in the power of healing. There is no greater strength than this. Keep telling yourself: this may be my now, but this is not my forever.
#5 I know that healing isn’t just about finding the right eating plan. If you ignore the stress in your life or your terrible chronic sleep patterns you have or other lifestyle factors like anxiety and depression, you will never get all the way to health. There will always be something standing in your way.
#6 I know that if you want healing that lasts, you need to believe in the power of your mind. The gut brain connection is real and it’s profound and it can have an impact in both positive and negative ways. To help your gut and brain communicate more effectively, stimulate your vagus nerve—that neural pathway between your gut and your brain. It’s one of the most important links in your body.
#7 I know that you can’t go through Crohn’s and colitis alone. Find your support and support doesn’t always mean family. Find your IBD tribe of mamas and be vulnerable and real with them. Let them help you when you are in need and help them when they are down. There’s no greater sisterhood than an IBD sisterhood.
#8 I know that we need to stop apologizing, whispering I have Crohn’s or I have colitis, stop feeling embarrassed because your disease takes you to the bathroom. Shout IBD from the rooftops. It’s the path to how we will eventually find a cure.
#9 I know that you can’t give IBD so much power in your life that dictates your mood. You are more than your physical body. You are more than your body.
#10 I know that eating out, going to friends’ houses, parties, and traveling does have your name on it. It may take a little bit more effort and you may need to curtail some of your activities, but never let IBD take away your life, your freedom, or the happiness you experience by being with others.
#11 I know that when it’s time to decide on a particular medication, a diet, lifestyle factors or supplements, and mindset approaches, the most important decision maker is you. You have intuition and wisdom greater than you know. Listen to your inner wisdom, it will always lead you in the right direction.
#12 I know that you absolutely, positively need to cultivate your wheel of wellness. All the healing modalities at your disposal, the ones that improve the quality of your life. Healing is never about one thing and no one is going to cultivate your wheel of wellness for you. It is up to you to figure out the doctor, the movement practice, the food, the spiritual journey, the therapy, mind-body medicine approach, the supplements etc, etc, etc… your wheel of wellness is just as unique as you are. Build it slowly and assess its strength often. When it’s built solid, your wheel of wellness will stay with you forever.
#13 Lastly, I know that you need to find something to be grateful for every day, even if all you can come up with in the beginning is “I’m grateful that the day is over.” Gratitude begets gratitude, begets gratitude, and gratitude is a healer.
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU.
I am grateful for you dear one. You are the reason I do what I do. You are the reason I keep fighting for and educating and empowering because together we are the difference makers. No one cares more about eradicating Crohn’s and colitis than us. I’m grateful for you, that you have taken up this cause for your own body. Keep fighting for you, keep fighting for health. You will get there, this I know to be true.
Don’t forget, if you want to continue this IBD conversation while the podcast is on hold, take this time to re-listen or listen for the first time to some of the 100 episodes in our Cheeky Podcast feed and join us in the gut love community where you’ll be supported, heard, and embraced as I take the time to heal, to learn, and to reimagine what’s possible to serve you even better.
I say this every time I sign off from the podcast, but today it certainly has more meaning than ever before. Until we meet again, and I know we’ll meet again, I’m wishing you a cheeky and healthy gut healing journey.
Chat soon!