Vacation Finally! No Crohn's Flares While Traveling

So over this past week I went on vacation (actually a family vacation-we rented a house on Long Island). The trip was very relaxing and it was nice not to have to work (even though I do like working and making a difference). I remember reading this article that traveling could lead to a Crohn's flare. It was nice that I was able to rest and take a break. Resting did seem to help my symptoms (although even though I am currently in remission). To me stress can make Crohn's worse. Stress, sleep, and eating (dark rich chocolate and anything really really greasy) for me seem to be slight triggers. My weight is still pretty good. Currently I am about 167 pounds (I ate a bunch while on vacation but also did a bunch of walking so I guess it balanced out). My game plan is to start eating a tad better (more salads and fruits and less junk food). For a while I was eating pretty healthy and felt better than usual. I know the studies have shown that diet doesn't really show an effect. However for me it does make a minor difference. Well I am heading to bed now after traveling all day. It will be nice for once to finally wake up in my own bed.

Over the weekend I felt a little tired. We got back home on Friday and I was up until about 3 A.M. and I woke up around 9 A.M. Saturday morning (I was pretty tired but no stomach pain). So on Saturday night I went to bed around 11:30 P.M. and woke up around 9:30 A.M. on Sunday morning. I felt pretty good after all that sleep but I think my body might have a slight sleep deficit. Also on Saturday night I had a bowel movement that was solid however did have some minor blood in it. I think I might be slightly anemic since small amounts of blood might be in the stool which is making me tired. I probably will get a good night rest tonight as well.

Humira and Weight Gain

So recently I have noticed that my weight seems to stay the same (despite the fact that I work out almost everyday). Usually I spend around 30-40 minutes on the elliptical and burn 300-400 calories. When I was in graduate school I was able to work out everyday and burn about 500-600 calories per day and worked out every single day. Also I was walking a mile or two every day to class so that was also working wonders probably. To me it feels like my metabolism is slowing down. For instance, if I work out and cut back what I eat it may take a couple of days for my body to adjust (similar to if I eat a bunch of stuff it takes a while for me to put on the weight). Right now I am about 168 pounds. I would like to get down to around 162 pounds or so. I think I was too skinny before I had Crohn's and enjoy being a little filled out but also like to be comfortable in my clothes. Also I am getting older as well. I turn 28 a couple of weeks ago and maybe getting older is your metabolism slowing down. My internist mentioned that he would prefer I have some extra weight in order to buffer against a flare up. Apparently I am not the only one who has gained weight while taking Humira (an anti-TNF drug) I found this article with others who have gained

Humira is obviously suppose to stop the inflammation due to Crohn's and make me want to eat which is good (at the same time it is nice to feel slim in my work pants). I can still remember when I initially had Crohn's I was down to 125 lbs and came out of the hospital all my pants were too big for me! Most of my adult life I have been probably around 148 pounds-158 pounds. I still remember when I was working out in graduate school up until a few weeks before I went to the hospital and remember getting on the scale and thinking "gee maybe this scale is broke!". Little did I know the scale was actually correct.

Update: So I was working on this blog post the past week and actually started losing a few pounds. As of September 6, 2014 I weigh about 164 pounds (down about 4 pounds or so). I really have been eating well (I feel a little better too). Mainly I have ate salads for lunch and apples after I get home from work.

P.S.-In the picture of have posted for this blog post I think Crohn's looks like the first guy and currently I looked like the second guy (even though mentally I feel like the third guy).