Fibro Active – ActiveAte Project
By Julie Barker: Fibro Active Chairperson
In this article we will be launching our new and exciting 2021 project: ActiveAte, an exciting nutrition intervention project.
Happy New Year to you all and I hope everyone had a peaceful Christmas. It’s a time for renewed hope in that we are one step closer to a cure and judging by reports on the TV today a vaccine for Covid19 too. In the mean time we must strive to be the best we can be.
At Fibro Active we continuously strive to improve our symptoms and ensure that we deliver a bespoke, holistic programme to our members. This year we have been blessed with two fresh, energetic and understanding ladies, who have given us a once in a life time opportunity to help us with our nutrition and lifestyle. Sophie Lester is a Nutritionist and Rachel Lebon is a trainee Dietician and they are volunteering their time for a whole year to support up to 50 sufferers with their dietary needs.
Your body is a temple
Many specialists believe it all starts in the gut and it does make sense. What you feed your gut is what you are using to power your body physically and mentally. They were right in the 60’s and 70’s when they stated ‘your body is a temple.’ We aim to give our members an understanding of how our bodies’ work, right down to the mitochondria, our energy cells. Having a better understanding will enable everyone to make more informed choices when choosing what to eat.
The cons of cooking
Due to our limitations we frequently hit the ready meals rather than prepare a healthy meal from scratch. Chopping veg and standing for too long is painful and exhausting. Moreover, we get the added bonus of Vertigo when we look in the lower cupboards and fridge. I personally stopped using pans on the hob about four years ago because I can’t lift the pans safely anymore.
Many of us live alone and to buy in fresh all the time can cause a lot of food waste so we either eat the same food to reduce the waste, or we buy in ready prepped, which increases the food bill.
We crave sugar and carbs all the time and when we have satisfied our craving, we hate ourselves for eating them, so then we eat some more! Then we blame the meds for putting on weight!
The chain of symptoms
It has been found that Fibromyalgia sufferer’s gut flora changes and this leads to exacerbated gastro conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and food intolerances. IBS is also linked with prolonged stress and anxiety. Anxiety has also been linked to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). MCS is one of the primary co-conditions to fibromyalgia. Our bodies have a more difficult time neutralising and detoxing chemicals and other toxins from the body. The toxins exacerbate the fatigue and fibro fog. So, we are stuck in a stress cycle, we want to get off, we hate being like this, but we haven’t got the energy to help ourselves.
We can reduce all our symptoms by looking at what we eat and by making our home and work environments safer by using natural beauty and cleaning products. However, it is so easy to fall off the healthy eating wagon, especially if you are an emotional eater like me who hits the naughty cupboard to relieve stress, but also celebrates with cake! So, I know first hand I am going to need a lot of support here and I’ve got the added pressure that I need to lead by example. Although this is not a weight loss programme, I really would like to be a couple of dress sizes smaller to go to the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace!
How can the ActiveAte project help us?
ActiveAte is a fun, interactive, and educational nutrition programme; it has been developed by two friendly and professional nutritionists (Sophie and Rachel).
Most importantly, the program has been created with you in mind.
The programme aims to empower and support those living with Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME and other related health conditions, to achieve healthier food habits and ultimately improve life quality.
The programme will involve a number of interactive educational sessions, workshops, and the opportunity to have up to 3 x 1:1 coaching sessions.
We are also producing a recipe book, built by members, for members. The package also includes:
Free health assessment
· Set personal goals
· Receive support reaching goals
· Assess progress throughout
Regular educational sessions, including:
· Quick and easy cooking skills
· Gut health and IBS
· Improve nutritional knowledge
· Make confident food choices
· Mediterranean and anti-inflammatory diets
· Rely less on processed foods
· Guest speakers such as psychology and food
To sustain the project after the initial year, two of our members are attending a nutrition course to be able to continue giving support.
The course will be classroom and zoom based, core classes will be recorded and put on YouTube for future reference. We also have a dedicated Facebook page for the attendees of this project to access for peer support and support from the programme leaders. Here are their credentials:
Programme Leaders
Sophie
Registered AfN nutritionist (ANutr), Food and Human Nutrition (BSc)
Sophie has been working with members of Fibro Active for around a year before setting up the programme ActiveAte. She wanted to offer members a structured and comprehensive programme, which was especially tailored to meet the needs of those with Fibromyalgia. Alongside her PhD research in Food Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Nottingham, Sophie has worked with various charities and organisations and is committed to supporting the public to improve their health. She is passionate about providing evidence-based information and believes that with the appropriate support and resources members can increase their confidence and reach their goals.
Rachel
Food and Human Nutrition (BSc), BDA Dietitian in training
Rachel studied nutrition alongside Sophie at university, and they have remained friends ever since! Since graduating in from her first degree, Rachel has spent the past three years pursuing her career in dietetics. Dietetics is a branch of nutritional science, which enables the health care professional to support and treat individuals with a broad range of complex health problems, ranging from diabetes to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). She is passionate about assessing individuals’ holistic needs including everything from mental health to sleep, all of which are important in developing healthy relationships with food. Rachel believes that even small changes can have a dramatic influence on the wellbeing of the individual – all progress should be celebrated!
Together Sophie and Rachel make the perfect team to support you through the ActiveAte programme
What about the Recipe Book?
Furthermore, we are writing a recipe book by sufferers for sufferers. We invite anyone to submit their favourite recipes and the top 50 will be published in the book. We are looking for easy to prepare, healthy dishes that will inspire members to cook from scratch again and not hit the ready meals. The book will be available in electronic form from our website later this year. We are also aiming to video some of the meals being prepared so that you can click on the recipe code and have someone on YouTube to cook along with. How good it that!
The jigsaw is coming together
I am so excited about this project. It almost completes the main components of our programme. We have got the activity right with the tai chi, keeping the muscles healthy and flexible, we have our workshops right - improving knowledge of our symptoms, giving emotional support and gaining coping skills; now we have what I think is the final piece of the jigsaw - our nutrition intervention project! However, this has opened another door to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, so, we will soon be exploring further about MCS and what we can do to help reduce the toxins in our environment.
A hundred years ago there wasn’t anywhere near the amount of chemical substances which we now use in every day life; there was also less pollution and low-level radiation and hardly any additives in food. Although there were cases of Fibro and CFS back then, albeit there was no name for the conditions, but it will be interesting to research how we can improve our symptoms, just by making a few conscious changes to see if we benefit from the difference.