Food is my friend

Food is my friend, or frenemy.

Last week I had the worst intestinal problems ever. I'm going with food poisoning  from this:

and some salad dressing that didn't stay refrigerated during its whole life. Needless to say it shared the same signs as the stomach flu, but lasted three times as long. And my dad also caught it, but my mom didn't AND dad and I shared the said salad dressing. 

This post might be TMI, but intestinal issues have always been apart of my life, and I often have been embarrassed about them. However, the more I've opened up to people I realized I am not the only person I know who has a sensitive stomach. My problems generally come around when I am really stressed out or worked up over something. Because I am more high strung than others this happens more often than not. When I get sick, like this case, it takes longer for my body to bounce back. 

For a long time my mom and the GI doctor have been telling me to keep a food journal to help pin point what causes what episodes. Well I started one of those yesterday, and so far so good. 

In my food journal I won't be counting calories or anything like that but it will be as detailed as possible, including sauces and any spices I might cook with.There also is a section for my workouts, which will both help make sure I am fueling my body properly and to figure out what my stomach can handle before and after an intense work out. 

I found this article on Runner Times: Avoiding Gastric Distress During Runs and Races

It's a really good article about how your body breaks down food and what happens while you are running. The article offers suggestions for things that might be a little easier for you to digest before your runs. One of the main points here is to keep your self hydrated; this is something I am terrible with.

Gotta love those intimate details of my life!!!! ; )