{"id":1270,"date":"2014-07-20T20:10:25","date_gmt":"2014-07-20T20:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1270"},"modified":"2014-07-12T20:25:05","modified_gmt":"2014-07-12T20:25:05","slug":"chronic-illness-managing-the-munchies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/07\/chronic-illness-managing-the-munchies.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Illness: Managing the Munchies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of voraorn\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I really, really, really like chocolate. Chocolate and almonds. Or, just chocolate.<\/p>\n

And yet, I know how bad it can be if I over-indulge. Extra weight on lupus-arthritic joints can add pain on top of pain. So, I try to manage…well…try<\/em> is the operative word, here.<\/p>\n

The same reasons we like to munch on goodies in health can be the same reasons we munch when we’re fighting chronic illness and pain. The sheer pleasure of it, of course, but also for other reasons. For example, perhaps you’ve sailed through a milestone in treatment. Does “celebrate” equal “munch away!”?<\/p>\n

Or, you’re in the midst of a terrible flare, and nothing seems to be going right. Does “I’m so hurting…” equal “munch to medicate the sadness?”<\/p>\n

Just as we manage other aspects of our lives, managing the munchies is really important. Almost as if we have to be our own “coach,” we can dole out goodies in a healthful way – and run all dietary items by our doctors first – and still placate the little nibbler in all of us.<\/p>\n

We can substitute food items for other fun things – a day out, a good book, a trinket, or time with friends.<\/p>\n

We can turn our thinking to “only the best for the best,” that is, as beloved children of God, who wants only the best for us, we can commit to\u00a0good<\/em> actions and healthful food items as a way of living out our Christian walk.<\/p>\n

After speaking with our medical team and verifying what’s okay and what’s not with them, we can find we need not completely deprive ourselves of what we crave. Only, we might have to manage better \u00a0– and thus reap the benefits not and moving forward!<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I really, really, really like chocolate. Chocolate and almonds. Or, just chocolate. And yet, I know how bad it can be if I over-indulge. Extra weight on lupus-arthritic joints can add pain on top of pain. So, I try to manage…well…try is the operative word, here. The same reasons we like to munch on goodies…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,43,4,383,379],"tags":[1142,536,29,11,1143,1140,1141,1144],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-heart-health","category-lupus-2","tag-celebrating","tag-chocolate","tag-chronic-illness","tag-food","tag-food-and-celebrating","tag-munchies","tag-rewarding","tag-weight-management"],"yoast_head":"\nChronic Illness: Managing the Munchies - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/07\/chronic-illness-managing-the-munchies.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chronic Illness: Managing the Munchies - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I really, really, really like chocolate. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1272,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions\/1272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}