Mmmmmm...brown rice tortillas!!

Oh yum…I mean who wouldn’t want a brown rice flour tortilla with p-butter in exchange for a piece of toast or a bagel with the same? Pure crunchy, tasteless, goodness….strangely satisfying might I add.

Ok, ok, I have not flown off the rocker, I just went to a nutritionist..One of the BEST may I add. Ever since I was an undergraduate student I have been “diagnosed” with IBS (and for those of you who are not comfortable with GI related stories, stop reading now). I have only completed one race (1/2 Ironman in TX) without having to make “frequent” stops during the run. There are a number of “issues” that I have that are not normal..Which, the doctor will clump into a big generalization of “your have irritable bowel syndrome!” or in other words “learn to live with it and get over it.”

I met Megan Forbes (nutritionist) a month before Ironman Wisconsin through my husband. Gregory had seen Megan at a BTC meeting and thought she would be a great addition to our health and wellness website (www.pyrasports.com) so he connected with her and started collaborating. At this time, I was getting my “feet wet” with the whole aspect of the business, website design and marketing, so we set up a meeting for all three of us to meet together. Once topic of discussion lead to another, and then another, eventually we were talking about fruit, and I piped up “An apple goes through me like a freight train!!” …and then the silence…and THEN Megan pipes up…”do you have problems with fruits??” Which of course I always have but thought it was normal. To make a long story short, this is how my relationship with Megan started…she listened and picked up on the “key” items of the conversation, like the fact that I cannot absorb fructose!!(Megan is a smart cookie). So within a 3 week period, I revamped my diet and took a flying leap a faith on race day nutrition and it worked!! What a change..it was like a miracle to me!

I am seeing Megan “professionally” as my nutritionist now and we both realize that there is a lot going on with my digestion/absorption….I think IBS is a legit medical condition, but there is SOOO much else that can be going on and I don’t think I have IBS, but rather a few things that need to be worked out in my diet for me to absorb nutrients and keep the gut healthy (long stuff, but not blog material:)

So, for the next little while I am on a pretty restricted diet, but I am very excited for the outcome. My biggest hurdle has been to absorb “enough” calories…and for those of you who have large workout loads, you know how hard it is to “fuel “ yourself…I have felt weak, tired and downright exhausted at times although it “seems” I am getting enough calories on paper. But, the amount of calories you put in does not always equal what you get- if your gut does not absorb, you don’t get the energy-which is what Megan and I are trying to figure out.
Anyhow, the purpose of this post is to promote Megan. She is an awesome nutritionist, and will make a program work for “you” depending on your lifestyle and workload. For instance, I like a glass of red wine, however now it does not work well for me at the moment, so instead of cutting it all out, she will suggest something else (hmmm, let’s say vodka:) Even though I might not take that route, I love that there are options and alternatives…also the recipes she supplies!
So if you are in a rough spot and feel you may need a little push in the right direction or a whole diet overhaul, then keep Megan in mind.

Her business is:

Forbes Nutrition Consulting and you can email her at: meg@forbesnutritionalconsulting.com