Studio Glo. Personal Training, fitness training, fat loss, lifestyle. Ringwood.

I would like to introduce you to Anna. I met Anna over 8 years ago when she was slightly overweight and quite unhealthy. She worked long hours, had high stress levels, was always tired and was sick quite often. In my opinion she needed to totally change her eating habits and learn how to rest more. This was such a hard thing for her considering her Hungarian / Serbian background and her busy social life. But to Anna's credit she gave it a shot. She then began suffering from an illness. Anna was always quite focused on getting into shape but now her priority and focus quickly changed to feeling and functioning better in everyday life. I’ll let Anna tell you her story from here:

Anna Chatfield

Is it actually possible for a disease to make your life better? For me the answer is yes. The disease I suffer from is called Ulcerative Colitis. The symptoms of Colitis vary in intensity and frequency but basically, as the name suggests, it means that your colon becomes inflamed and gets covered in ulcers, causing the lining of the bowel to be stripped resulting in frequent, bloody diarrhea, or loose and watery stools. When the disease is at its most active you can find yourself going to the toilet 6-10 times a day, losing a lot of blood in the process which can result in anemia. Also, going to the toilet so often means that your body never has a chance to absorb any nutrients so while the weight seems to just be coming of you (great, no exercise!!) your body is suffering in the process because it is getting weaker and weaker making it even harder for the body to recover. The only way to get rid of the disease is to have the ulcerated section of your colon removed but it is only done if there is no other way of managing it.

I was diagnosed with Colitis about four years ago although I probably had it for a lot longer. In the past I would get symptoms, but not very severely and they would usually occur during stressful times and then go away after about two weeks. Because it would never last long it was all put down to stress and that was that. Crunch time came when I started to get some symptoms of what I thought was irritable bowel in around January of 2002 which continued for the next few months. Of course, I didn't do anything about it partly because I didn’t really want to face it and hoped it would go away but also because I just didn't have time to be sick! But it got worse and worse. I was going to the toilet about every two hours, day and night. No matter what I put in my mouth, or didn't, I would be running to the toilet. In March I just felt horrible and had to take a week off work, eventually going to a doctor who sent me home to rest thinking it was some virus or food poisoning. When I went back to him looking very white and with my symptoms getting worse he sent me to hospital where I had some eye watering examinations (lets not go there!) and was finally diagnosed. I was put on a drip because I was severely dehydrated and pumped full of steroids to reduce the inflammation. I spent two days in hospital and a further two months off work to let the drugs do their stuff, which they did. However, the drugs can only last for so long and since the medical profession can't work out what causes this disease they can't stop it from recurring meaning their only advice to you is to get lots of rest, eat well (and to them that can mean many different things) and basically hope for the best. Oh, and if I got a flare-up, I was to call my specialist who would send me a prescription for more steroids. Great!

So the flare-ups came and I did take steroids and then the colitis went away. For a while. Then it came back. More steroids… went away… back again but this time the dosage had to be increased because my body had adapted and needed more and more of the hard stuff to beat the colitis back into submission. I was thinking, surely this couldn’t be good for me in the long term! My specialist was adamant that diet had no connection to the recurrence of the disease. But then how come when I ate lots of crap the symptoms got worse and when I ate well the symptoms got better? Hmmm, pure coincidence? I think not.

They say everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that this disease has probably been one of the best things that have happened to me. I know that sounds like a ridiculous thing to say but it forced me to take stock of my life, how I was living it and how I wanted to live it. If I was going to have any quality of life I had to start treating my body with the respect it deserved. I had to learn how my body worked and how to get it working efficiently. I was already seeing Kylie but it was not enough just to turn up once a week, work really hard but then ruin it all in the following days by not doing any other exercise and eating badly. I was lucky to find a doctor who embraces pretty much every form of treatment, conventional and alternative and who is interested in my opinions and works with me. But it has taken more than luck to keep this disease at bay. I have had to be proactive in my recovery by taking back responsibility for my health. It isn’t up to my doctor or my personal trainer or anyone else. It is up to me. They give me the information and direction towards better health but I’m the one who has to follow it through. It is up to me to eat well by cutting out processed foods and eating fresh and organic as much as possible. It is up to me to exercise regularly and to push myself to the next level, even if it means getting up early or missing out on my favorite TV show in the evening.

What this disease also did was to set me on a new path. It helped me to define what I wanted to do with my life. Once I started researching this disease I realised how little information there was for people like me so, I have started a Bachelor of Health Science in Nutritional Medicine so that I can teach people about how to make themselves well just by putting the right things in their mouth – who knew! I’ve also realised how much satisfaction I have gained from working with Kylie and seeing the difference that exercise can make so I have started a personal trainer’s course which I’m hoping to finish this year (fingers crossed).

I would be lying if I said that I have found all the answers and I am now symptom free. I’m definitely not perfect and I still have times when I don’t eat well, I don’t exercise and I don’t rest. I have to always be on my guard and not let myself slip back into bad habits. But I don’t see that as a bad thing. It keeps me focused and gives me a reason to not give up.

As they say, "the best part of a journey is not the destination but it’s the way you get there"

Try to change your focus, like Anna has. Instead of thinking about weight loss strive for a healthier lifestyle. Eat foods that are good for you and actually nourish your body. Even if you have medical problems, much can be done to turn your health around. Looking after yourself now will make your later years more enjoyable and, reduce the need for medication and surgery.

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