The Overcoming MS Retreat - I'm Back

I'm back from my 5 day Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis retreat in the Yarra Valley and I feel like a whole new person.

I spent 5 very busy and emotional days with 34 other people learning all about MS, current medical information, and all the diet and lifestyle choices I can make to improve my quality of life.

Here's a quick summary of what I learnt.  I think most of these apply to all of us, not just the 1 in 1,000 with MS.

• Eat more fruit and vegetables.  I know, we all mean to, but they are so important to our nutrition.
• Get some vitamin D.  Get 10-15 minutes of all over sun or if it's cloudy take a vitamin D supplement.  You will start hearing a lot about how Australians have become vitamin D deficient over the next few years.
• Eat more omega 3 in place of saturated fat in your diet.  Choose fish over meat.
• Avoid highly refined vegetable oils, trans fats, and hydrogenated oils - they're not good, and they're in so many foods we buy.  Read the labels.
• Eat real food rather than processed food.  If the ingredient list has 20 items listed and many of them have numbers, give them a miss.
• Exercise.  Swim, ride a bike, do something a little more than just walking.  It's not for weight loss.  It's for your health. 
• Meditate or take some quiet 'me' time daily.  Slow your breathing down.
• Find ways to reduce or eliminate stress in your life.
• Look after your emotional, social and spiritual side - build a support network of friends & family.  Laugh often - it's good medicine!

The retreat was truly a life changing experience, and I highly recommend it to anybody with MS or there was one lady there with motor-neuron disease.  If you have MS or know somebody with MS, please email me and I'll happily tell you more about it.  You can get a free copy of the book Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis from The Gawler Foundation here.

Yesterday was day 1 of my recovery plan.  I swam 750 metres in the pool at my gym.  I made my first batch of bircher muesli.  I ate sardines on toast for lunch - not nearly as disgusting as it sounds.  My whole family had steamed snapper with Asian flavours and vegetables for dinner.  I bought a yoghurt making kit, so I can make my own soy yoghurt.  I used a meditation app to meditate for 15 minutes.  Not quite the one hour of daily meditation we did at the retreat, but it's a start.  Today is day 2.  More changes to make.

Thanks for all your lovely comments and support from my last post.  I appreciate it.