Loving With Chronic Illness

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Exclusive Interview With Jackie Warner: Bravo's Fitness Celebrity & Creator Of "Fit In Your Skin"!

Today's post is about Fit In Your Skin, a new health and fitness program designed specifically for people living with Psoriasis. This initiative provides patients with important resources to help them become more physically active and improve or maintain their overall health. Click here to read a press release about Fit in your Skin which was created by Jackie Warner, celebrity fitness expert, trainer, and author of This Is Why You're Fat (And How to Get Thin Forever). I recently had the exciting opportunity to interview Jackie about her new program, so please check out the Q&A below!

Maya: How did you go about developing the appropriate program and how does it differ from a “normal” workout routine?

Jackie Warner: Last year, I teamed up with the National Psoriasis Foundation and Dr. Paul Yamauchi to create an educational campaign called Fit in Your Skin (http://www.fitinyourskin.com/ ™), which is the first-ever health and wellness program designed specifically for people living with psoriasis. People living with a chronic health illness, such as psoriasis, often experience challenges when trying to exercise due to symptoms of their disease, which may include skin plaques, inflammation and scaling. The Fit in Your Skin workout video includes modifications for certain exercises, taking into account these specific challenges, so people with psoriasis can still get a great workout!

It’s important to note that the program itself is based on extensive research that indicates people with psoriasis are at a higher risk than the general population for other diseases like heart disease, obesity and depression. Just this year, a recent study published in The Archives of Dermatology found a link between people living with psoriasis and metabolic syndrome, particularly those with abdominal obesity. So this reinforces the importance of a program like Fit in Your Skin in helping people with psoriasis to adopt or maintain a well-balanced and healthier lifestyle while managing their disease.

Maya: What advice would you give to patients with Psoriasis or other chronic illnesses who are just starting to work out? Do you have any tips to get motivated?

Jackie Warner: Before starting a workout routine, it’s very important to consult with your physician to determine if Fit in Your Skin or another program is appropriate for you. With regards to motivating tips that will get you started, a positive mindset with dedication to getting (and staying) active are key elements in achieving your fitness goals. For those afraid to exercise due to symptoms from psoriasis, or other chronic illness, here are some other suggestions:

1. Declare that it’s time to get fit and healthy – try putting a note on your refrigerator or in a journal that reminds you of this promise to yourself.

2. Start out small and work your way up. When it comes to working out, it’s not how long, but how strong. So pop in your Fit in Your Skin DVD and make a commitment to work out just 30 minutes at a time a few days a week to start.

3. Be good to yourself. If you miss a day of activity, don’t beat yourself up. Just start again the next day. Take it slow and steady and eventually fitness will become part of your routine where you will want to do it more often.

4. As you increase your fitness level and interests, continue dialogue with your physician to update your exercises based on your symptoms and condition.

5. Find a music playlist that keeps you energized and excited – you can check out some of my favorite tunes on the Fit in Your Skin http://www.fitinyourskin.com/fitness/workout-playlist website.

6. Recruit a family member, friend or colleague to join you on the journey.Together, you can stay focused and inspired while on the road to adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Maya: As someone living with a severe form of arthritis, I avoid exercise mainly because I fear overextending my body, hurting myself or promoting a flare-up. Is there anything you might advise a patient with chronic illness to avoid doing?

Jackie Warner: For those with chronic illness, I can’t emphasize enough how important

it is to have open and ongoing conversations with your physician to discuss your exercise goals and potential limitations. By working closely with your doctor, you can establish a plan that is customized for your health needs, and he/she may suggest working with a fitness trainer or physical therapist that specializes in chronic illness to help prevent potential injuries to your body. Also, ease into physical activities slowly and maintain a training log. You can download the free fitness log available at Fit in Your Skin™ to track and monitor your activities.

Maya: How would one differentiate the pain of illness from the normal and good "pain" of working out? What is the best way to identify our limitations and/or signs that we might be "over-doing it"?

Jackie Warner: You know your body best, so as you begin to exercise and experience pain that you are unfamiliar with or continues for several days, tell your doctor immediately. Also be sure to start out slow, follow proper form and gradually progress the difficulty of your workout. Through all modes of exercise, even stretching, pay close attention to how your body reacts to specific exercises. Because disease symptoms vary between individuals living with psoriasis or a chronic illness disease, I encourage that you continue to modify the exercises so that they address your fitness needs without causing injury or discomfort. For example, an individual experiencing a severe flare-up should modify their exercise routine and be very cognizant of how they’re feeling in order to best convey the type of pain to his/her doctor.

Maya: Research has shown that exercise can help with symptoms of fatigue - a common issue for people living with chronic illness. Can you please discuss how this works?

Jackie Warner: There is much research under way to help show that regular exercise can increase energy levels of people suffering from chronic health illnesses, and food impacts energy levels as well. This is of deep interest to me since I’ve worked closely with the psoriasis community through Fit in Your Skin, and many of my clients have autoimmune disorders, so we measure energy levels regularly. In terms of exercise, people often think that working out makes you tired, or fatigued; however, working out for even a few minutes per day, low to moderate intensity, actually helps boost energy levels, which help your body become a fat-burning machine rather than a fat-storing machine. I always recommend taking small steps, and also following a healthy diet filled with omega-3 fatty acids, like avocado or walnuts. For people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS); typically, you feel inexplicably run down and un-refreshed by sleep, possibly not having the energy for exercise, and will want to eat more. Sugar throws off your immune system and can make you feel tired, so I suggest eliminating it as often as you can and track your energy levels to test this theory.

Jackie: It was an honor to write this piece. Your passion is clear and I thank you for all of your thoughtful words. Thank you also for recognizing a need for this program and working to improve the lives of chronically ill individuals. You are truly an inspiration to all of us.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

In The Company Of Music

My recent engagement has really tapped into my romantic side; a side that's never too far under the surface with me. And what helps dreamers drift further into their own thoughts? Music. No matter what mood we're in or what we're going through, there will always be a song to match it. By definition, then, we are never really alone and that's a pretty comforting thought. So while everything is wonderful for me right now, that wasn't always the case. Anyone who has been reading this blog for more than a few months knows that.

Living with chronic illness means living with a certain level of uncertainty. I know as well as anyone that, no matter how things might be today, there will be hard days ahead. I'm lucky to have found a medical regimen that works for me. I'm lucky to have more "good days" than "bad days." And, while I'd love to think it will continue like this forever, it might not.

But there is always music. When things were at their worst last fall, I listened to Ingrid Michaelson on repeat. While some of her songs lifted me up, others just allowed me to be right where I was. On some of my worst days, I even attended two of her concerts in New York City (which was the best medicine possible). There's just something about her voice and her lyrics that makes me feel understood. During that time, I played "Keep Breathing" more times than I could count. I thought I'd share it today; not only because it's one of my favorite songs, but because someone out there might need to hear these words today. Sometimes all we can do is just keep breathing...and, really, that's just fine.

Please feel free to comment on this post and share the songs, singers or bands that have accompanied you on your journey. I'd love to hear from all of you!

(Double click on the video below to get a full-screen)

Love,

Maya

Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Story Of Our Engagement...

Hi my wonderful readers!

John and I are home from our perfect vacation, settling into our new apartment together, and basking in the glow of being newly engaged. We might be back to reality, but the excitement remains. I thought I'd share some more details, since you've all been so awesome and supportive about this step in our lives.

Although John and I discussed getting engaged by the end of 2011, I can honestly say his proposal took me by surprise. For the first time in over a year, he had a week off from his medical school responsibilities and I was thrilled to be taking a mini vacation to East Hampton, Long Island. My parents have a teeny beach house on Gardiner's Bay and, since we've had some wonderful times there over the years, it seemed like the ideal getaway for 4 days and 4 nights. We arrived on Wednesday night and planned to have my brother Josh and sister-in- law Erica join us on Friday for the holiday weekend.

On our first morning, we were determined to catch the sunrise from start to finish - an experience I can now check off my annual bucket list! There's nothing like it, really. As the first light peaks through, the still water is illuminated. Suddenly you're just part of the morning scene: the gulls swooping down for their breakfast, the grazing deer and her fawns among the dunes. I'm infinitely inspired by the wild beauty out there and our deck is one of my favorite places in the world (something that John knew, so being engaged there was even more special).

Since we finally had time to breathe, I felt closer to John than usual. We were laughing more than usual and, throughout the day, he was saying the sweetest things. We even took a long mid-day nap together, simply because we could. As I rested my head on his chest, I remembered thinking things don't get much better than this. I would soon be proved wrong. When we woke up, we set our sights on dinner. My mom had been kind enough to make some great reservations for us (something you must do on July 4th weekend), but John suggested we try getting into Dave's Grill, one of the most popular restaurants in Montauk. Anytime we'd tried dining there, they've been booked for months. However, on that evening there was somehow a recent cancellation. We were all set for 8pm!

At that point we hadn't yet walked on the beach, so I suggested taking a stroll together. We got dressed, I grabbed my red pail (to collect beach treasures, of course), and we were off. That beach is hard to describe - it's wild and rocky and, as you're walking along the shoreline, you get the sense that you're the only people in the world. It's also deemed one of the most important ecological locations on Long Island, as it's home to unique and endangered wildlife. In retrospect, I was being such a kid that day...running from pretty shell to pretty shell and skipping stones on the bay. During that walk, John found a gorgeous white stone that the sea had tumbled to perfection; a memento that I would soon write the date upon in order to symbolize the best day of my life. As we reached the water, John took my hand and started saying all kinds of beautiful things. We held each other closely and kept walking, but I started sensing that he was nervous about something. For a split second, I honestly wondered if he might propose, but I quickly pushed that thought from my head. After all, it was too early.

And then came the bugs! Swarms of horseflies arrived and interrupted our romantic moments (bugs are definitely the biggest downside to living in such a wild area). We were slapping them off of ourselves every few seconds and decided to return to the house. On our way back, we skipped some stones and John amazed me with his skills. Eventually we made our way through the tall grasses and back onto the porch, where I displayed my shells on the railing. The sun was beginning to set on our first day and, as I turned toward John, I saw him kneeling over something. He said, "Hey Maya, come look at another shell I found!" As I approached, I saw something shining and, as cliche as this may sound, the world actually seemed to stop in that moment. Already on his knee, John looked up at me with a huge smile on his face and simply asked, "Will you marry me Maya?" I'm sure I don't need to tell you what I said.

Like many girls, I've dreamt of that moment for most of my life, but when it's actually upon you, it's inexplicable. For three and a half years, I've known that John was the one I wanted to spend my life with, but now we were truly looking toward our futures...together. Once I calmed down and stopped shaking, I took a good look at my gorgeous new ring - a treasure that once belonged to John's great grandmother. She was engaged in 1926 (the same year the ring was purchased) and all I could think of was the history that I now had on my finger. I was honored to have become part of a beautiful family tradition. I couldn't love it more. We proceeded to excitedly call our family and closest friends, which is when I first realized that our parents were in on the secret. My sneaky fiance had driven down to Long Island the week before and asked both of my parents for my hand in marriage. I absolutely love that he did this and it meant so much to my family.

As we recounted the events of the day, we laughed as John explained how his various plans were foiled. Initially he was planning on proposing as we reached the water, but the horseflies kind of ruined the moment. We were annoyed and distracted by those little buggers, so he decided to press on. While I was skipping a stone on our way back, John's "Plan B" was to be kneeling as I turned back around. At that same moment, I exclaimed, "Ew! Gross! There's a tampon applicator in the sand." I'm not sure I've ever found a piece of trash on that beach, but naturally it would be in the same spot where John had begun kneeling (haha). He quickly stood back up, realizing that another moment had been killed. As we retell this story, this element just makes us laugh and laugh.

Our engagement dinner was incredible. As I looked across the table at my future husband, my heart swelled. I've written before about our story (like in this April, 2010 post entitled "A Keeper"), but sometimes it still feels like a dream. There I was, engaged to my best friend and the same man whom I've held on a pedestal since I was 16. Although the rest of the photos from this weekend are stuck on Erica's camera (she's working on it), here are a couple from John's phone. It was truly the best day of our lives.

Knowing how important my family is to me, John thought that Thursday was the perfect time to pop the question. That way we could have some time alone, but also celebrate with Josh and Erica the following night. Having people I love there to hug and toast with made the weekend that much more special. On Saturday night my amazing parents also surprised us! They drove all all the way to East Hampton just for dinner and we were thrilled to see them there, hiding behind their menus. And just like that, we had a little engagement party! We dined at East Hampton Point, an incredible restaurant with one of the most amazing views imaginable. My mom even joked that they had ordered the sunset just for us. We laughed and reminisced and even caught some fireworks across the harbor.

More pictures to come soon, including one of my gorgeous ring. Thank you all for sharing in this special time in my life! I couldn't ask for more.

Love,

Maya

Friday, July 1, 2011

The Best Day Of My Life

Today the name of this blog takes on a whole new meaning, as I'm most certainly loving with chronic illness.

Guess what!

Did you guess?

I'm ENGAGED!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was officially the greatest day of my entire life. It's 6:45 am right now and I've been wide awake for 2 hours. I just saw an incredible sunrise over Gardiner's Bay and now all I can do is stare at my gorgeous ring; a treasure that first belonged to John's great grandmother. Naturally I'll be writing a more detailed post when we get back from our getaway, but for now I'm going to cherish these moments...with my FIANCE. I love the sound of that. I feel extraordinarily blessed that the best man and friend I've ever known wants to share his life with me.

Love,

Maya

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Exclusive Interview With Jackie Warner: Bravo's Fitness Celebrity & Creator Of "Fit In Your Skin"!