The other day Diana from My Marble Rye sent me a tweet:

I responded and explained that I’m not comfortable sharing my typical day of eating because I am so limited by my GI illness that I don’t eat in a way that others should emulate. Sometimes I get incredible emails from readers telling me I inspired them to work out, to join Core Fusion, to start running. The last thing I want to do is inspire people to eat the way I do.   I can’t eat fruits or vegetables for the most part, as well as most whole grains.

I eat to try and keep my pain and symptoms at bay. I don’t eat to live the healthiest possible life. I don’t want anyone to choose to eat the way I do. For me, it is not a choice.

I couldn’t agree more. And I am happy to tell anyone and everyone who will listen to me to eat real food!  Lots of vegetables, fruit, sprouted grains/whole grains, nuts. To avoid meat and dairy when possible, but when you do eat it, try your best to make sure the animal was not part of a factory farm, was not given antibiotics and growth hormones, was not treated horribly. If an ingredient list has words on it you can’t understand, don’t eat it. Stick to actual, real food (that your body recognizes as FOOD) and you will have more energy,  feel satisfied longer, have more energy. Then, along with your workouts that include regular strength training, you can get that “toned bod” Diana mentioned.

I do the best I can given the fact that I can’t eat the foods considered healthiest.

And even when I avoid everything I think bothers me, I still don’t always feel well. Right now I am starting another 3-Day Cooler Cleanse because I have spent the last four days in pain and I have no idea why. On Sunday night I strongly considered going to the ER because I was in the worst pain of my life; the only other time I remember hurting so badly was the last time I went to the ER. I didn’t go for a number of reasons, the biggest being that I know the source of the pain — trapped air in one particular spot right in between where the two sides of my ribcage meet. Even if the ER doctors believed me (which is doubtful) there is nothing they could do about this other than give me painkillers, muscle relaxers or anti-spasmodics. I have all those things at home. And considering I couldn’t even sit up or roll over in my own bed, the thought of sitting for who knows how long in a waiting room, filling out forms, was more than I could bear.

I stuck it out and on Monday felt well enough to go to work, although I was still hurting. I don’t do juice fasts often because not eating is hard. I love food and I always wonder, during the cleanse, why I am doing this. But I keep thinking back to that one juice fast in December, 2009. After that I felt great for 10 months. And I think about how much it hurts right now to eat anything; that same spot spasms after each bite. And I think about the fact that if I can’t eat, I’m not getting nutrients. These next three days will provide me with much-needed nourishment.

I haven’t exercised since Saturday, when I tried to run through the pain (bad idea). I canceled Refine on Sunday (not that it was much of a choice, I could barely stand) and after being up nauseous during the night last night, I purposely slept through my run today. Marathon training will still be here next week. I hope. Right now I am focusing on getting better. I don’t know why my stomach decided to do this now. I haven’t been sick like this in a couple of years. I do think that after this Cooler Cleanse, as I clean up my eating as best I can, I will be much better. And if I am not, it might be time to try to find a  doctor again, one who actually understands. A very difficult undertaking.

So if any of you were also curious about what I eat to get a sense of my whole “healthy lifestyle,” I hope you can understand why I am unable to do that. Maybe one day. But not now.

—

Check out my latest NBC New York GO Healthy NY posts:

Dori’s Quest: Indoor Cycling at SoulCycle 

Dori’s Quest: TRX Suspension

Last year, my Tuesday Blags post was a bulleted recap of my Memorial Day weekend. I thought it would be fun (for me more than you, but this is my blog, so I win) to see what was similar or different between this year and last — and then see which year wins.

I really, really love long weekends. Especially summery ones.

Because I did not include Friday last year, I will have to leave out my friend Emily’s awesome birthday party at the Frying Pan — which is a bar on a BOAT — from this past Friday night:

Exercise

Last Year: Core Fusion Cardio, Walk from SoHo to Upper East Side, Walk from East Side to West Side to East Side

This Year: Core Fusion Cardio, Core Fusion Yoga, 6.75 mile (pain free!) run to and from SoHo, Walk from East Side to West Side to East Side

Winner: This year. That run was magnificent, the classes were intense. I loved every second of it.

Friends

Last year: I saw a boy, and I saw my friend Emily for her birthday — where she did some handstands.

This year: I saw a (different) boy [I'm the whore of Memorial Day], I saw my friend Emily for her birthday (no handstands) along with our friend Rae (both my friends since first grade), my friend Missy and our friend Kristine

Winner: This year. Many more friends!

Central Park Visits

Last Year: Two days spent in Central Park; one included a nap.

This Year: Two days spent in Central Park; one included a nap, the other a BluePrint Cleanse Pineapple, Apple, Mint sangria with blueberries:

Winner: This year. Due to wine consumption.

Outdoor Meals

Last year: Three meals eaten outdoors

This year: One meal eaten outdoors

Winner: Last year. Clearly.

Alcohol

Last Year: Margaritas, Bubblegum Vodka, Lychee Martini, Other mixed drink

This Year: Lychee Martini, Strawberry fancy drink thing at Apotheke (the bartenders wear lab coats), BluePrint Cleanse Sangria

Winner: This year. It was a very close call, but the BPC Sangria was just brilliant. Healthiest Sangria ever!

Work

Last Year: 2-hour conference call on the holiday Sunday night with Asia, where there is no Memorial Day

This Year: Took a holiday from my weekly NBC New York GO Healthy NY – Dori’s Quest post. Did not work at all.

Winner: This year

Shopping

Last year: Purchased a real, used Prada bag for $10 at street fair.

This year: Purchased sunblock; forgot to use it and fell asleep on my stomach at the park. Awoke to burns behind my legs.

Winner: Last year

[Photo: Saks Fifth Avenue]

Post-Weekend

Last year: Back to a full week of work

This year: Off to Atlantic City for a cheesy fun night thanks to Living Social Escapes

Winner: Do you really need to ask?

Overall

And the winner is. . .

While both last year and this year’s holiday weekends included staying in the city (which I LOVE), exercise, Central Park time, drinking and relaxing . . . I would say this year’s was even better than last due to a number of reasons, some not even stated above. While last year’s $10 Prada bag purchase made the competition close, I hereby declare this year’s Memorial Day the winner.

[Photo: Missy Maintains. Our view in Central Park on Memorial Day]

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend like I did! Check back later this week for my information on the FREE IntenSati class in Central Park that Missy and I are hosting on Saturday, June 11 at 10:30 AM with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for their launch week of BeFitNYC.org.

I am not a fan of New Years Eve. I find it unnecessarily stressful. In fact, a running joke between me and my best friend is “What are we doing for New Years?” because this has been a recurring dilemma over the last 10 years, starting as early as the summer some years. The stress of this holiday is not worth it. I would much rather just stay home with some friends and booze.

This year, Missy and I decided to spend the holiday together. She lives far away in Queens and my apartment does not fit two people, so we had to figure out where to go. After some anxiety over our initial options, we decided to go to a local bar in my neighborhood. Only a $10 cover, low key, no pressure.

We were totally content with our plan. Then, on December 31, Jocelyn from Enthusiastic Runner tweeted me about my What I’m Doing Wrong post, saying that she wants to hang out with me. I knew she just meant one day in general, but since she is in NYC I figured I might as well see what she was up to for New Years.

I asked Jocelyn what her plans were for the night and she invited Missy and me to dinner with her and her friend, and then a party after with her high school friends. And just like that, Missy and I had both a blogger blind date AND New Years plans.

Don’t want to bore you with the details so instead I will bore you with the photos:

Strawberry Caipiroska – vodka, strawberries, lime juice and brown sugar at the world’s first certified USDA organic bar:

This is why it is good to crash another healthy living blogger’s New Years dinner.

Organic Vegetable Pizza: zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash, tomato sauce & olive oil, and Organic Veggie Burger: lentil, eggplant patty, homemade bun w/side salad & baked sweet potato fries.

The bun was the best part.

Two enthusiastic runners:

My love affair with a pup:

This is what we call “multitasking.”

However, I don’t believe the jello shot was organic.

Friends for three and a half years:

Mid-air ball:

Mozzarella sticks, cheesy goodness:

New Years train crazies:

A fun night. So fun, in fact, that I had to postpone my planned Saturday Core Fusion Cardio class to Sunday instead. But well worth it for a great night with my friend and a new blogger friend.

. . . and her friends.

Happy New Year to all the amazingly supportive readers of my blog! You made me tear up many times with your comments, tweets and emails about my 2010 Year in Review. You guys! Now I’m crying again. What I am trying to say here is: thank you.

While I have goals for 2011, such as workout 4-6 times a week and eat as cleanly as I can, those are my everyday goals anyway. And run the NYC Marathon of course. But I actually have just one new main goal, which is to work harder on writing this crazy website. I might as well put it out there: I want a career where I am writing and doing social media related to health & fitness. I tend to wait for things to just come to me; that is silly. I won’t get what I really want unless I work for it. This year, I will work for what I want and for what I know will keep me happy.

Happy 2011!