#LifestyleFriday - Why You Need To Take Time For Yourself

This week on #LifestyleFriday we talk all about why you need to take time off once in a while or even every day, in order to be healthy and balanced. We live in a fast-paced society that drains our energy and makes us give a 120% of our time just to serve other people’s purposes and needs. Taking time off to recharge is the most logical thing to do. Do we do it? Not all the time. Here’s why you should make it a habit instead of an exception.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RELAXATION AND DETENSIONING

Each day we deal with so many tasks, so many responsabilities. We solve problems, turn in projects at the assigned deadline, we take a frugal lunch (or not take one at all), and then we crash on the couch at home. But only for a few minutes, because other tasks need to get done.

How long does it take for you to get burned out ? Exhaustion makes you more irritable, more anxious and prone to make mistakes while doing something. The body and mind need rest and relaxation. Done properly, taking time to unwind does wonders to your overall wellbeing and mood.

FINDING EASE AND PLEASURE IN YOUR ACTIVITIES

Just stop for a moment and breathe deeply. Pay close attention to the task at hand and concentrate on doing only that. It can be challenging, as we are faced with multitasking on a daily basis. The best way to get things done efficiently is by doing them one at a time, and do each one at the best of your capabilities.

Plan ahead, make lists, prioritize things and set yourself up for succeeding in whatever you are trying to accomplish. Rushing into any project comes with stress and skipping important details, setting you up for mistakes, more work and frustration.

Concentrate on what you have to do and then get on to the next thing on your list. Focus on working at a constant pace for about 20-25 minutes, and then take short brakes. Just 5-10 minutes of cooling off, drinking some water or stretching your body, does wonders on your productivity.

This works for every tipe of challenge: working out, recovery, projects with a tight deadline, writing a thesis or doing laundry and preparing dinner. Plan, customize and implement. Then rest.

BE GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR

Every challenge makes you grow. You develop as an individual and your set of skills becomes more complex with each task. Be grateful for what you have in your life and for the things you can do. Constantly develop new abilities, work with yourself in braking new boundaries and discovering a new capability. You’ll be surprised at how much more you can achieve if you only put your mind to it.

This was all for this week’s #LifestyleFriday! Thank you for reading! I am curious, how do you relax after a long day? Leave me your answers in the comment box below.

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Have a most wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Alexandra

How Can You Beat Fatigue While Staying on Schedule?

When you don’t get enough sleep because you pulled an all-nighter it’s called that you are tired. When you end up dragging your thoughts, words and probably your feet out of the morning shower and you are already exhausted although you had a full-night’s sleep it’s called fatigue. As an MS-er you are mostly already familiar with the topic. So, let’s get started!

What Is Fatigue and What Does It Want?

But what IS fatigue? Let’s look at some cold facts. First of all, having fatigue does not make you a lazy person. It can fluctuate from hour to hour or from day to day. It’s that feeling of overwhelming tiredness or feeling of exhaustion you tend to feel even in the early morning.

Do you know the Duracell Bunny featured in the Duracell Batteries commercial? The one that looses energy as he goes around doing certain activities? It’s feeling like you are out of batteries, literally!

The particular stuff about fatigue is that it can come suddenly, take you off-guard and be totally out of proportion to any activity you might be doing.

Fatigue: Shapes and Sizes

This is the case of primary fatigue, also called lassitude. Another subtype is a kind of “short-circuiting fatigue”, meaning that your muscles get confused and stop responding as they should when doing repetitive movements (i.e. walking gets your legs feeling tired, your hand gets tired writing or chopping vegetables, etc).

These is a second type called secondary fatigue, which is the consequence of lack of sleep, heat sensitivity, stress, infections, relapses, low mood, unhealthy diet, lack of pshysical exercise, meds for other symptoms or conditions that you might have.

Beat Fatigue to the Curve!

How can you beat fatigue while staying true to your daily schedule and to-do list? How can you feel less like moving in slow motion and tripping all over the place? It all starts the day before.

You are the key element in managing your fatigue. You are the only one who can ensure the best levels of energy through enough sleep, relaxtion techniques, a regular exercising routine and a healthy diet.

That’s why you should establish a daily routine that will maximize your energy supply and make you use it in the most efficient way possible to your daily context.

• Wake up and go to sleep at the same hours everyday. The body and the brain will start to get used to your rhythm and adjust the internal clock accordingly, making you less tired and prone to waking up feeling groggy. Plus, doing the same things at the same hours gets rid of stress, as you don’t have to think it through everytime you do it.

• Don’t sleep to much. Oversleeping increases fatigue. Keep the bed only for sleeping (an for other pleasurable activities) and do the rest of them in another part of the house. Read on the couch, have some tea on the porch (or again on the couch if you like it so much). The point is to have a fixed place for resting. So, if you want to nap during the day, where do you go? To your bed, that’s right! Then after napping, get up and resume your daily activities.

• Stay physically active. It will considerably improve your sleep. Try to adapt your exercising routine to your level of energy. It is preferable to exercise in the morning, like I myself choose to do, but it depends on how tired you feel Don’t overdo it by pushing to hard. Keep it light and efficient, just enough to get your blood flowing and muscles stretched. It will alow you to reduce stress, impove your mood and help you with weightoss. I personally enjoy yoga, stretching and deep breathing right after I wake up (and after I have a glass of lemon water to clense my body from all those toxins it released during the night).

• Having a poor diet exhausts your body. Your eating habits play an important role in managing fatigue. Eating foods that are high in nutrients will boost your energy levels and nourish your body, making it more resillient and ready to face the daily MS challenges. Having your meals at the same times everyday, keeps your body knowing when it will receive a new recharge and makes it less prone to headaches or tension. Size DOES matter in this case! Large meals make you feel tired afterwards. Try eating frequent, lighter meals. For example, try eating three main meals and two snacks throughout the day (no, I don’t mean Oreos!). And don’t miss that breakfast! It gives you a fabulous kickstart (or a kick in the behind if you skip it!).

• Having your kitchen organized and cool at all times makes it easier for you to cook, eat and enjoy your meals, without the burdain of fatigue lingering by. Choose to cook in bulk / batches, and store the food into the freezer so it will be ready some other day you need it. A personal tip that I can give you is to gather all of your ingredients and utensils in advance and line them on the table in front of you. Even lining them in the order you have to mix them in is helpful. I have been doing this even before I was diagnosed with MS. Try it and tell me how was it.

• Also, try to maintain a healthy weight. It boosts your energy levels sky-high and it will also help with your self-esteem issues. I messed up this part, as I gained weight after receiving my diagnosis after eating a whole lot of junk just to keep my emotions in place. Big fail! Eat healthy and get rid of bottled juices, pizza, chocolate (I know, I’m evil! But I also have a delicious coconut chocolate recipe that I will soon share with you, in a future post). You get it! Eliminate all that your grandma wouldn’t see as food and you’ll start feeling better (plus the scale will drop a few pounds… just sayin’).

• Drink enough water to keep you hydrated and to flush those toxins out! Dehydration causes tiredness and makes you feel slugghish (like I’m feeling right now… let me grab some water!). But careful with the salt intake! You don’t want to become bloated, as that will mke you feel shitty as well. Drink as much as one liter and a half - two liters, but don’t overdo it (you remember those frequent trips to the bathroom, right? That’s what I thought!).

Fatigued All Day, Can’t Sleep at Night?

And what about that insomnia that kicks in right after you get into bed feeling exhausted?! Kick it to the curve by following a sleeping routine.

• Try not getting overtired during the day, rest and mind your energy levels.
• Eat a light meal, and do not drink coffee or any tea that contains caffeine.
• Ditch TV, smartphone, tablet, laptop… you name it. If it has a blueish screen and it’s glowing right before your tired eyes, it’s gotta go. Period!
• Go take a shower and then do some light stretches. It helps you relax and feel at ease. Plus it helps with some of your digestion.
• Make to-do lists for all your tasks for the following day, getting them off your mind when it’s time to go to sleep.
• If sleep won’t come, don’t stay in bed. Focus on something else. Read a book, go take another warm shower, pour yourself a nice cup of herbal tea (no caffeine!) or do some light stretches. Distract your mind from trying to force yourself to sleep. Keep a notebook on your nightstand, as to be able to free your mind of any ideas, concerns or plans that might come up and keep you awake.

This is it, my dears! I hope you’ve enjoy this article and you find it useful in your daily life. I have personally tried most of the techniques presented here and I would love to hear what your experiences are like.

Untill the next article, have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Alexandra

How To Silence Your Ego & Get Your Joy Of Living Back

Remember the moment the doctor told you that you have multiple sclerosis. Your entire world collapsed, right? You thought that your life was over then and there and that nothing else mattered. Probably the voice inside your head still shuts you down from the world outside, keeping you away from new experiences and positive emotions. That’s just your Ego telling you to survive. Let’s see how you can tame it and get your joy of living back.

What Is The Ego And What Does It Want From You?

The Ego is that part of your psyche that thinks about itself to be all-powerfull. You are probably thinking “what is she talking about? what is this woo-woo things she writes?”. But the Ego is just that: the conscious feeling you have of being alive and of being yourself. The Ego is just all your knowledge, your lessons learned, all the things that people told you from an early age untill now. It is how you see yourself in the mirror when you wake up. It sums up what you think about yourself to be true, and what you learned along the way.

A chronic illness diagnosis is a new and scary thing to live with. We are all scared of what we don’t know and we react to that with fear and anxiety. No matter how we try to rethink it, our Ego steps in the way and pulls the alarm system: “you need to survive this!”.

Think of the Ego as the little voice you hear in your head throughout the day. It’s that voice telling you that you’d better stay indoors today, as your energy is low and you can’t do much. It tries to trick you into staying into the comfort zone.

Lifestyle Shift

Change has never been easy or quick. Adapting to life’s new challenges takes time and practice. By not doing something to regain control, your mind will always be slowly whispering “you need to survive this!”, keeping you in a state of anxiety, fear and anger. There are so many ways these three things are damaging for you. To summarize it, I need to say that in order to survive this, you need to shake them off.

How do you do this? With patience and repetition. You challenge yourself daily. You set goals for yourself. You express a purpose to motivate you in living the life you need to live in order to survive. Let’s make peace with your Ego. I’ll help you with this, I’ve been there!

The “real you” is beyond the Ego. It’s that strenght you find when you think none is left. It’s that gut feeling you experience just before you take a decision. It’s that part of you that feels good when receiving a hug. The real you commands your Ego. It all begins with quieting the mind. It begins with standing still and allowing yourself to JUST BE. Breathe and explore how it feels to be in your body, how do you feel, how do you think, etc. Every day.

Educate Yourself

First things first: educate yourself on your condition. Find out what your symptoms are and what triggers them. Then start to minimize as much as possible the situations that get you in those states. Knowledge is indeed power, and as long as you are informed, you’ll gain power over your MS and considerably reduce the fear of the unknown.

Relax & Take It Slow

Second thing is to take it slow. Life can be hectic nowadays. We are all busy, we all want fast ways or tricks to deal with different situations. Well, I have news for you: MS doesn’t like being hurried. It feeds on stress, on exhaustion and overdrive. Learn how and what to do to relax.

This might be different from person to person. I personally learned yoga, meditation and daily journaling help me deal with my daily challenges. For you it might be speding a relaxing evening with your family or talking slow walks before dinner, maybe listening to your favourite songs. We are all different and different things work better for each and every one of us. Just try whatever fits your lifestyle and be persistent.

Have An Active Lifestyle

Third thing is to stay active. It’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do for your body and your health.

What happens in MS? Your body gets disconnected from your brain, making you unable to use movement. Why are you trying to help MS get it’s way?

Get up off the couch/chair/bed and MOVE! Even if you are bound to a wheelchair you CAN move. Do whatever you can in order to be active every day. A little goes a long way. Through daily repetitions and exercise, your body will slowly regain strenght, as your brain might begin to establish new or alternative connections to help you execute the things you want to do with your body.

I myself have days when I feel so fatigued that I don’t have the mood or energy for doing any of this. But I still make myself get up, stretch, breathe deeply and use my body in one way or another. There is a saying: “use it or lose it!”. Scary, but true! So go an move. Get up and walk, run if you can. Do whatever you can, but DON’T STOP MO-VING!

Have A Healthy Diet

The fourth thing and the second most important one in your daily lifestyle is nutrition. What you eat is fundamentally important when facing a chronic illness, especially MS! Choose healthy and foods, cook meals that keep the ingredients as close to their natural state as possible. Avoid toxins, packaged snacks and sweets. Avoid all that can damage your body chemistry.

Again, how does MS work? It attacks your myelin thinking it is a foreign body. Myelin is a type of fatty protein that insulates your axons. The food you eat can be natural, helping your body have all the nutrients that make it work better, or… It can be sugary, processed and inflammatory, confusing your body into not knowing which protein is good or not anymore… what is natural and what is not, what needs to be accepted and what needs to be destroyed… And so your MS attacks once more, making your immune system destroy myelin.

A confused body makes chronic illnesses worse. We eat food to fuel our actions and grow a healthy body. We should not eat food just because it’s more available and because we got used to it.

The lifestyle you led up to this point made your body feel bad. Why continue doing the same things, hoping you’ll get different results? That’s insane!

I personally cut out all white flours (wheat, rye, oats, etc), all dairy, all refined sugars, all packaged foods (processed, canned). It’s not easy, I know, but your body will thank you for it. Trust me!

Rest & Let Your Body Recover

The fifth but not the least important is SLEEP! Leting your body rest is vital to your wellbeing. During the time you are sleeping, you heal. Information accumulated throughout the day is fixated in your long term memory, hormones are balanced, organs get toxins flushed out and most of all YOUR BRAIN TAKES A REST!

Taking care of your brain is essential in MS. Sleeping is for relaxing it as cross-word puzzles  and reading are for exercising it. From my experience, I recommend 7-9 hours of sleep per night. I know our lives can be busy and things need to get done. But without rest and keeping your energy levels up high the next day, we won’t be able to do much and will probably find ourselves in a viscious circle of fatigue and frustration.

I found that the better and longer I sleep, the more focused and energetic I am throughout the day. Feeling tired midday? NAP or rest for 5-10 minutes with your eyes closed (maybe during your lunch hour at work).

Wrapping Things Up!

Do whatever things are necessary in order to get back control over your life. In order to get the joy of living back. Your Ego is going to continue telling you that you need to survive, I’m not telling you that is gonna go away, but it’s going to do that less and less each day.

You are going to grow strong and feel more and more empowered by your new lifestyle. Your body will be healthier with each good and nutritious meal, with every workout, with every good rest it takes.

Untill the next post, keep making SMart Choices for your lifestyle with MS!

Yours truly,

Alexandra

P.S. Please let me know if you did any of these changes and how did they work for you and your condition. Share your answers on Facebook, Twitter (hashtag: #SMartMS) or write me an email at smartchoice.lifestylewithms@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!

Life With Multiple Sclerosis, A Full Weekend & Preparing To Renovate The House. How To Knock Yourself Out Into Fatigue And Arm Pain

Did you ever had an “I told you!” moment with yourself? Waking up to having a splendid arm pain and some delicious fatigue is all that I could wish for this morning. Especially when I knew this would be happening. So much for wishful thinking! Long title, short story. Read on!

How It All Began

This past weekend had all the ingredients of being a wonderful one. And indeed it was. Finished all my tasks on Friday by the end of working hours, prepared dinner and spent a relaxing evening at home.

Saturday we had a birthday party to go to, at my boyfriend’s parents house. It was an outside barbecue, and they sayed it was going to be one of the hottest days of the month. We had lots of fun, had great conversation and called it a day in the early evening. Came home and rested.

On Sunday, we went shopping for the house renovation up ahead. Went through three stores full of tiles, wood floors and the usual stuff you’ll need. Came back home and called it a day.

Yesterday I planned to put everything from our living room away into boxes, seal them so that we can store them untill we finish renovating. Done deal! Published an article, sorted piles of folders and books and all sorts of things, checked social media, set up the table for dinner and cleaned up.

And then crashed!

I felt so tired that my arms and legs were “buzzing” inside. My body felt a bit wobbly and I could not concentrate properly. My brain was urging me to sit down already, which I did, after taking a quick shower. As I layed in bed, relaxation kicked in and did its job, and my brain could not been any happier!

Feeling a little better, I got up and stretched for a few minutes, did some relaxing yoga moves and took some deep breaths. That sure helped a great deal. My arms and legs felt more relaxed. I could feel the muscles stretch and the sensation was incredible. Imagine being tense and then muscles letting go. Fabulous!

Then we prepared for sleep. Dimmed the lights, made turmeric tea for both of us and regular tea for me, as I needed more relaxation. Meditated for 10-15 minutes, just to calm my mind, brushed teeth, had a shower and finally off to bed.

After an hour or so, a pile of boxes fell down making a very loud noise that woke us both up. Went to fix that and put the boxes back up. Off to bed again, this time for good.

Today Was One Joyfull Morning... Not!

All four days had heat code “yellow”, meaning the temperatures above 33 degrees C. Did I mention we disabled the air conditioner and the only thing keeping me cool was (and still is) a large fan? (We actually bought another one, slightly smaller, but together they do their job well.) Given the heat, the effort and the lack of proper rest, it’s no wonder my brain protested, throwing me a little surprise waking up party this morning!

Arm pain.. well, forearm pain actually and fatigue. Brilliant! What could you ask for more?

Once more I turned to meditation and yoga. Imagine trying to stand still, calm your breath and silence your mind with your arm hurting like you had a knife going through it! But believe it or not, it gradually subsided.

The yoga moves I chose were ones that did not put strain on my forearm. So, no arm balance, inversions or similar stuff for me today! Only strong, grounding poses, and ones that relaxed my arms and getting my blood flowing and muscles relaxing. Felt very good and further calmed my pain.

The Things I Do To Relax

I like mixing praying, silence and meditation into a 15 minute routine that gets me up and running each day. Then I do a 30 minute freestyle yoga routine, finding what feels good for my body that day, and maybe throwing in a few pose practices if I want to do something extra. After that is shower, breakfast and getting to work!

A Few Conclusions

As I’m finishing this article just now, my arm is still hurting, but the pain is under control. Will do a few stretches after lunch and further give some TLC to my body.

Long story short, if you ever feel like you have too much energy in blazing heat, and it’s too good to be true… it probably is!

So, when faced with summer heat, renovations and busy days, spend your energy gradually and try not to overwork it. Slower is better in this case.

Rest, drink plenty of water and stretch. And then relax and sleep well!

Sincerely,

Alexandra

P.S. Did you ever had a similar experience? How is your MS reacting when mixing high temperatures with a full to-do list? Share your answers on Facebook or Twitter. I would love to hear your story!

Making The SMart Choice & Why Should You Care About It

What happens when you get diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis? Your mind begins to shift. Either you make a turn for the better or one for the worse, you are never the same person. You just had a life altering experience. And you are faced with a lot of responsibility and choices or with denial and continuing as before.

How It All Started

Last year I had a head full of questions regarding the lifestyle choices I needed to make. Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis shifts your point of view more than a little. It was clear to me that spending my life the way I was spending it before, was no longer an option.

New choices were needed. New ways of living so that my body and mind would be in their best shape and health possible, and as free of inflammation as I possibly could.

And so began a long process of educating and changing myself on the topic. I have always felt empowered by information and knowledge. I began searching infomation on MS, nutrition, exercise, diagnosis tools, lifestyle hacks and so, so much more. It was and still is the one thing I do on a daily basis: staying on top of it all and taking charge of my life. I consider it to be mandatory. Only then we have the right to complain.

You Have To Help Yourself

I know I might sound ruthless to some people, but that’s how life works: you have to be assertive and fight for yourself. Nobody else cares. You have to take charge, make changes and help yourself first. 

People tend to pay attention more to people who fight against the odds, and for a better life. If you stay there and do nothing but complain, get angry at the world and expect others to cater for your needs, you are in for a big dissapointment.

Nobody is gonna save you. Nobody but yourself!

Life is rarely fair. Life is rarely easy. Things don’t just happen as money does not grow on trees (except it has fallen off from a helicopter right onto one, but that’s just Sci-Fi stuff :)) ). We all have struggles in this world. We all fight battles that nobody else knows about.

We might seem as picture-perfect and as happy as can be when we are out in public. But late at night, when we lay our heads on the pillow, we all have dreams, pains, wishes and hurts. We all feel, suffer, and have our own issues. So don’t judge a person. You don’t know what it takes for that smile you see or for the words you read.

If today I have the SMart Choice blog and you read all these stories full of metaphors and positivity, know that it has been a long way to get here. The journey is still going.

Behind all of this there are endless hours of research, endless planning and ideas, ongoing drafting and organizing. 

There are countless moments when I feel fear for my future, when I felt out of place, when I felt this blog had no purpose and then found it again. There are moments when I struggle to get in front of you and deliver the best article I can, to deliver positivity and encouragements. There are moments when I struggle through cog-fog and fatigue. There are moments when I panic as numbness suddenly starts or my eye getts blurry.

It's All About The Mindshift

But you know what? I breathe in and out profoundly, and repeat to myself that this too shall pass, and I get strong again. I push through, I get up and brush the dust off, and I move on with my day.

SMart Choice is one of my purposes in life. It is my way of lending a helping hand and making my mind heard and my ideas encourage someone. 

If only just one person feels better after reading SMart Choice, my day is a success. The aim is to make people face the truth: yes, life is hard. 

Life with MS is harder still. But what do you do? Give up or fight?

It’s not easy, it’s not pretty, it doesn’t matter if you have treatment or not. It’s all in the mindset. In the way you push through each and every day to move onwards, always onwards.

You have been given a life. Make smart choices. Make the choices good for you, the ones that suit your life. Design your own lifestyle around MS. Keep it boxed in or it will box you in.

Designing A Diet

I began eliminating all harmful items. I gave up smoking ever since I had the first neurological consult, as I did not feel up to it any more. I felt that I should not do it until my situation was clear. That day, when I came back from the clinic, I had my last ciggarette. I’ve never touched them since.

The next rational choice was giving up coffee, coke and all the sodas I had been drinking so far. Water and tea became my new best friends.

Gluten came next. All white flours: bread, pasta, pizzas… they were all gone from my diet. I made the choice to be healthy, and not to feel bloated.

Sugar and dairy were a bit more difficult to let go. Bread and carbs were never my favourite things to eat, so the choice was easy. Chocolate and yoghurt were a different issue. They’ve been on and off my diet untill about 2 months ago. I let them go for good. I made the choice to get rid of all possible inflammation in my body.

My diet is made up out of simple foods. Food that is as close to its natural form as possible. No frying, just baking, grilling and steaming. Chicken, turkey, beef, fish and seafood. Organ meats, seeds and nuts. Fresh fruit and vegetables. Limitting the starches to only two servings per week, if any (potatoes, rice).

No refined or hydrogenated oils/fats like sunflower oil or margarine. Only avocados, olives, olive oil and coconut oil. Of course, consumed in moderation, as they are still fats.

The only sugar I consume is raw honey. I found a beekeeper and I buy locally, not from the supermarket. Mix three tablespoons of raw honey and coconut oil with six tablespoons of raw cocoa, add a few drops of your favourite aroma (vanilla, rum), a pinck of salt and maybe a few pistachios, and you have the best sugar free and safe home-made chocolate!

Designing An Exercise Routine

After constant trying and testing, I found that my body thrives on gentle movements and cardio. Every morning I get up and exercise my strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. Every day! 

Every day I get up on my stationary bike and pedal as much as my body allows me. I do 30 to 60 minutes of yoga to stretch and flex my muscles and joints. I work with my dumbells and raise my body’s resistance. 

It’s an ongoing process. I do as much as my body allows me but I show up every single day. I choose this lifestyle. 

I prepare for war. If my MS wakes up someday, I will be here to face it, as strong as I can be.

Designing Peace of Mind & Relaxation

Don’t forget your mind. If left alone, it can become your worst enemy. Fear, anger and depression could creep up any time. 

Take time to relax, unwind and just be still. For 10-15 minutes stop whatever you’re doing and just stand still and do nothing. Think nothing. Pay attention to your breath. Pay attention to what’s going on inside your body.

I found journaling helps. Five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening are enough to write down what are you grateful for this day, what your mindset it and how are you feeling overall. Make up your own main points you’ll want to write about. Personalize it.

This too is an ongoing process. It takes practice and determination. I can tell you from my own experience: it is hard to do this! The mind is a crazy monkey! But with time and practice, it does shut up. Trust me! 

Take time to rest. Nap when possible. Do some stretches throughout the day. Take it easy. Work hard, at your job and at your life. 

It is not given to you. You must work for it. Little by little. Day by day.

SMart Purpose

This blog is where I talk about my struggles. It’s where I give advice, it’s where I share knowledge and keep you accountable for designing your healthy new lifestyle. 

You have to make choices. You have to make smart choices that help you on your MS journey. Living with MS is not easy, but with the right mindset, it can be done.

Sincerely,

Alexandra

P.S.: If you want to know more about the SMart Choice journey, send me your questions via message over the Contact page or via email smartchoice.livingwithms@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you. Meanwhile, join the SMart community on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for the visit!