“Don’t let having an Ostomy stop you from living your life and THRIVING!” -Ryan Van Voorhis

In today’s podcast, I got to sit down with @rvanvoorhis who is a Chron’s survivor and has had his Ostomy for just over 20 years!

He is also the owner of @nudedudefood and he is doing what he loves and what inspires him! (you have to check him out, the food on his page…. I get hungry every time he posts something new!)

Ryan didn’t want his Ostomy to define him. He wanted to continue to live his life, find his passions and help others as much as he can!

Whether it's cooking & feeding people good, healthy, and local food out in Chicago, or helping others in our Ostomy community, Ryan is doing what lights his soul on fire!

Take a listen to today’s podcast! We dive into food and eating with an Ostomy, fitness, and some tips Ryan has for staying hydrated all day!

“The biggest thing is to have a positive and supportive community of family, friends, and other people in an ostomy. This is the number 1 thing to help you succeed in life and thrive with an Ostomy. Always know that you are not alone in this!”

To celebrate World Ostomy Day on October 2nd, I have a very special guest panel of some pretty amazing ladies on today's podcast!

Jearlean Taylor episode #27, Stephanie Bension episode #16, & Krista Nickerson episode #6 are on The Beautiful Bag and I am sooo excited for this chat!

Today we talk about, what World Ostomy Day means to each of us and as a whole, confidence in front of people, the top 3 tips for taking care of your skin, dressing for success, and our go-to outfits.

Plus we are going to talk about what questions we are asked the most and how we answer them!

Follow them on social media! They are so inspiring and really helping others!

Hollister Virtual Panel - link.hollister.com/panel

Working out & yoga, women empowerment, health & nutrition, getting your mind right, and Intuitive eating! All things we talk about in today’s podcast with the amazing Nina Hayes!

If you have ever wondered or worried about the quiet yoga studio and your ostomy acting up, or learning more about proper nutrition, or even traveling with an ostomy, you will want to take a listen. We cover so much and I had such a wonderful time learning more from her in this episode!

Check her out on Instagram on both of her accounts, @ninahayesmission, and @blossomostomy give her a follow! She even has a free guide to intuitive eating that you can grab right on her IG account as well!

World Ostomy Hollister Panel discussion link.hollister.com/panel

Stoma Sticker - link.hollister.com/stomasticker

Kya’s story started as a teenager and was definitely a wild ride for a few years!

She went from having an Ostomy to a j-pouch, then while she was pregnant with her first child, had surgery for an Ostomy.

She is such an inspiration and has so much courage speaking on this and helping others so that they are not afraid to ask questions and talk about their ostomy.

"In hindsight, everything definitely looks better. At the moment we tend to sit there and forget that we are ok. You are sitting there and you are going to be okay.

Have confidence with it all and ask questions. There is never a stupid question. There is never an awkward question. Message me with something weird if you have it! I have heard it all!

Just embrace it. It is you and you are not alone at all. There are so many people that have Ostomy's. We just don't like to talk about it. I want to be the person who talks about now because I was the person who didn't for years.

Embrace your situation and look around for ways you can help other people." - Kya

Find Kya on Instagram @itskyajeub

Angie is a special guest because she is actually our first guest that was pregnant when she had her early stages of Ulcer Colitis!

And shortly after giving birth to her son, she had to have a life-saving surgery which resulted in having an Ostomy and she has had one for 39 years!

Angie also plays a huge part in our Ostomy community, just being there to support people and uplift them. She truly is an amazing person and I am so grateful that I know her and we got to speak on this podcast.

"You can find true love. You can find someone that will accept you and love you for who you are, not is what is wrong with your physical body. You can have a normal life and have a successful carrier."

Definitely take some time today and listen to her story. She is so inspiring and has to most amazing advice for anyone going through this!

Hollister Secure Start Services eNewsletter - link.hollister.com/beautifulnews

I sat down with Meghan this week to answer some questions many of you may have or have been wondering.

Can I really work out!? The answer my friends is YESS!!

The number one reason I think why you need to work out with or without an Ostomy is so that YOU CAN FEEL GOOD!!!

Moving your body feels so good, and you will feel so much better mentally and physically!

And I think Elle Woods said it best... "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't shoot their husbands. They just don't."

Don't be afraid to move your body, whether it is a little every day or in the gym with a trainer.

There are sooo many reasons why you should work out. 

From super healthy, to waking up with intense pain from a kidney stone, to finding cancer within such a short period of time at the beginning of 2020.

Tom’s life changed dramatically with 1 visit to the ER.

He had stage 3 cancer that required him to get a Urostomy and a Colostomy, completely changing his life. But with the support of his wife and community, he was able to come out on the other side with a new outlook.

Tom and his wife came out of this experience just wanting to help people who are going through this and have gone through this in any way that they can! That is their goal to help as many people as possible!

Did you know that someone with an Ostomy has to stay more hydrated than someone without one?

This is because our intestines pull out water from our food to keep us hydrated. But with an Ostomy. the food skips this step.

This means, our body is not pulling the same amount of water from the food.

This is why it is so important for someone with an Ostomy to get in more fluid than the average person.

The average person should be drinking half their body weight in ounces of liquid per day. Someone with an Ostomy should have even more than this.

But guess what, drinking water all day isn't the only way to get more water into your system. You can get more hydration from fruits and vegetables!

Check out today's podcast to learn what fruits and veggies help you get more water into your body and be sure to grab a pen and paper so you can take notes!!

Do you have questions about living in an Ostomy?

I did a Facebook live the other day and tons of questions came up that I hadn’t even thought about!

So this podcast is full of questions and answers that I got and wanted to dive deeper into!

And when I say deep, friends we go in!

I always get asked, aren't you afraid of a hernia, aren't you afraid of something happening in your ostomy? When it comes to working out with an Ostomy.

And to be honest.. I have never been worried about!! I just don't think about it!

Before I ran, weight trained did HIIT workouts and after I had my Ostomy, I have slowly been getting back into all of it!

Heck, I even took part in an HYROX competition with the girls almost 2 years ago!

You can workout after, but talk to your doctor first, start slow, pay attention to how you are feeling, how your body is feeling and how you are moving!

And if you are worried, do your research and find a really great trainer who can work with you when you start off to make sure you are moving right and all of that!

But when in doubt, just get up and get moving, go for a brisk walk or a nice 5 miler.

Whatever it is, just keep active because you will truly feel so much better!