Welcome to Crohn’s Girl, Fitness, Foodie – a blog and online place for all things nutrition, health, fitness, wellness, travel and Crohn’s disease related!
My name is Anna and I am a recent graduate of the University of Guelph – majoring in Applied Human Nutrition and minoring in Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences. I have always been passionate about nutrition, fitness, and wellness, and love all things to do with travel, hiking, running, the outdoors, plants, puppies, wandering grocery stores, socializing (& Caesar’s). I created this page to share my love of nutrition, cooking, and exercise.
I believe in holistic nutrition – emphasizing eating natural, locally grown, whole foods, that are minimally processed. I trust that food and exercise are one of the best forms of medicine – in that they both provide numerous health and medicinal benefits, while aiding in disease prevention and management, enhancing athletic performance, and improving ones overall health and well-being. I have no doubt that food has the power to aid in the natural healing process.
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, in September 2016, after being misdiagnosed for a number of years. I was quickly prescribed with steroids, and immunosuppressants to reduce inflammation and lessen my symptoms and side effects. I became very frustrated with consistent weight gain, and the inability to lose it, no matter how well I ate, or how much I exercised. I quickly found a balance, and understood that restricting all the foods that I loved eating in order to lose weight, was not only unsustainable, but also not very enjoyable. I discovered that restrictive eating patterns often lead to both unhealthy eating patterns and a unhealthy relationship with food. I now realize the importance of moderation, and a healthy, balanced lifestyle- it is okay to eat a Mars bar (or three) every once and a while. For me, a “diet” will forever be something that is not sustainable and definitely not very enjoyable either. I learned to replace the word “diet” for “healthy lifestyle” – an eating pattern that you find most pleasurable, and one that is sustainable and unrestrictive, while still nourishing your body and meeting your body’s individualized demands.
I quickly realized that my diet played a HUGE role on my mood, symptoms, and side effects. It was challenging finding foods that I enjoyed eating – which also fit the criteria of my sweet tooth, while also giving me minimal GI symptoms.
I’ve had fun creating recipes that make me feel good, and taste even better, and I am excited to share them with you. Stay tuned for weekly recipes, biweekly articles, and monthly challenges.
I hope that you enjoy reading this page as much as I did creating it!
Anna x
Although I am graduate in Human Nutrition and Nutritional and Nutraceutical Sciences from the University of Guelph, the information posted on my site, is not meant to substitute a health professional.
Crohn's Girl Fitness Foodie 