Food

[SLE-Warrior]

My family keep asking what I have eaten today. The contast nagging in regards to what foods I have eaten is getting me down. The judgement is contast and I am aware I need to change my relationship with food. I know there could be a connection with eating more healthy and Lupus but changing my eating habits are proving to be very difficult.

[Krazykat26]

Hi

Do u want to work at changing your relationship with food?

It is true that with autoimmune disease we do have to check what we eat as 80% of our immune system is in our digestive system n they're seems to be plenty here who have gastro problems with their lupus etc..so changing diet is important but easier to do gradually rather than all at once..u could start making small changes n see if it makes a difference to how u feel x

[Roarah]

Like most women, I have an unhealthy relationship with food. I weighed 95 pounds, I am over 5' 6, most of my late teens into my 20s. Was successfully treated for my eating disorder and maintained a low but healthier weight of 128 lbs for years even after pregnancy until I turned 40 then it raised to high 150s with BMI still under 25 until I had a stroke in October.

This was a wake up call for me. I have since increased my daily fiber to 30 plus grams per day and added thirty minutes minimum exercise to my routine. In this time I have my weight down to the mid 140s, more muscle weight, and most importantly my ESR, CRP, and all antibodies have gone into normal range and I feel so good for a change.

I use hypnotic mindfulness to help control my binge impulses and it has workedwonders for me. This and the very real fear that my high inflamation numbers were potentially,sooner than later, going to kill me have gotten me back on track with keeping a healthy lifestyle again.

In the ICU after my stroke, now mind you I was still not over the warning BMI but still had high ESR and CRP inflammation markers plus other antibodies, a neurologist told me the best bit of medical advice I ever received. She said , " walk everyday as if your life depends on it for it really does depend on it."

We always think doctors suggest diet and exercise and stress reduction to those they feel are without disease as excuses for our symptoms. I believe they tell us this because they know these three lifestyle changes can prevent and even reverse the damage in our autoimmune system. My yoga class is 3/4 filled with medical doctors, coincidence maybe but I think it reflects that they take their suggestions to heart.

A few ideas to conscidered if you are interested in changing your lifestyle. Join a support group, see a nutritionist, have your family help eliminate your triggers, try hypnosis, start light exercise and gradually increase as you get stronger. Find a joyful activity to fill your biggest snack time challenge, mine was after 7pm so I now take a walk at this time instead of eating chips.

I hope you know I mean no judgement I just really understood where you are coming from when you mentioned food relationship issues and I know now that just like we can change personal relationships with people with work we can also possitively change our food relationships as well.

Hope you are enjoying a nice day.

[overnighthearingloss]

It's not nice to feel you are being nagged, but certain food choices do seem to go hand in hand with greater levels of illness/disability and shortened lifespans.

Everyone decides for themselves what foods they prefer given a whole host of factors. It wont be possible for you to make changes unless you are at a point that you really want to. That's your decision, but there are many sources of help available if you do want to make changes.