Thanksgiving update

I have been incredibly unmotivated to update my blog mainly because I am not sure a single day has gone by that I have followed my new diet perfectly. Ugh. There are just too many wonderful things to eat in the world. Thanksgiving was especially hard...

So. The update. I am normally really good about food for every meal, but I seem to break and splurge once a day. Since I go most of the day eating well, I have noticed which splurges hurt the worst. I think I have identified gluten as a HUUUUUGE no-no. I have been getting not just an upset stomach but actual sharp pains in my abdomen after eating gluten. Too much dairy makes me nauseous, and chocolate makes me tired. I really cannot handle more than one cup of caffeinated beverage a day, and probably should not even do that, but at the same time I get headaches in the afternoon if I dont have some sort of sugar or caffeine.

I am still not feeling well. I get daily headaches and just feel tired and worn down... so, with 3 weeks until christmas, here are the things I am going to try to do to fix how I am feeling.

1. Keep working at finding a balance in my elimination diet
2. Journal what I eat every day and write down how I felt during the day
3. Yoga 2 times a week (gotta start somewhere... my body has not seen an ounce of exercise since last year!)
4. Keep working on rest and relaxation techniques.... and not bringing work home... which is getting harder the farther we get into the school year.


The one thing I have done really well is not working outside of work and RESTING! As a teacher it is hard to drop all the grading and planning and just leave school at the end of the day, but I am doing to keep trying!! I feel like my whole life I have had my priorities all mixed up. I over worked at school and work in order to find my worth in my job and yet in the long run my job is just a job (even though I love it) but sacrificing relationships, family, and healthy living in order to have every assignment perfectly graded and every lesson plan written out is not worth it. I sacrificed so much living because I was being an overworking zombie. Lesson of the day: dont be a workaholic zombie. Family deserves more than just your burnt out leftovers.

and with that, I am off to bed! Thanksgiving break was WAY too short if you ask me!

PCOS

*Content Advisory: Issues discussed may contain feminine material. Male viewers be cautious*

I have learned a few very important lessons:

• Elimination diets are easier when mom is cooking and shopping
• Never start an elimination the day before your period starts. You will not succeed.
• Go grocery shopping before you start eliminating foods, and get rid of all foods that you do not want to eat.
• The snack box at work is a dangerous thing. I think I owe the box about $5 just from the last 2 days. 

PCOS facts:

PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a condition where you pretty much just have aweful periods due to hormone imbalances. It amazingly enough is related to something called insulin resistance. From what I understand your insulin does not enter into your cells as easily as it would in someone without insulin resistance, so you have all this extra insulin in your blood stream which then hangs out and messes up your hormones. Insulin thus needs to be regulated by eating very low carb. I have definitely realized a correlation between how I eat throughout the month and all those lovely girl symptoms. I think my husband has noticed too, he just might not realize why things are so much worse lately. I almost stayed home today sick in bed due to cramps. I have also had a horrible month charting my basel body temps. More nerd stuff: your body temp should stay low for the first half of the month, then jump up about 2 degrees during the second half of the month when your progesterone spikes and you ovulate. When you are ready to restart your cycle, your body temp drops back down and you start your period. Fascinating, right!? I think so. BUT I have noticed: the worse I eat and the busier I get, the more  irregular my temps are. My chart looked more like a heartbeat monitor than a thermal shift this month (I was also sick most of the month which can mess with temps too). The more abnormal my chart looks, the worse my period is. Coincidence? I think not! If you find this as fascinating as I do, I suggest the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" whether or not you want to take the time to chart, the info in it is suuuuuuper cool for nerd-ettes like me. 

Food can really effect your body if you are someone who is highly sensitive. Eating food your body does not like causes your gut to inflame which then kicks your body into "lets fix it" overdrive. Stimulants like coffee, alcohol, and sugars cause your body to crash because it cannot handle the stimulants. Carbs cause insulin issues (which then cause hormone issues), while the lack of protein can cause hypoglycemic symptoms- not pre-diabetic- it is just the unwellness (is that a word) of your body not being able to handle all the junk you are throwing at it. It turns out my whole life I would get treated for PCOS, IBS, hypoglycemia, and fatigue when really all I had to do was cut out food! 

SO. I have been doing okay at this elimination thing... but not great. I had really bad muscle shakes and fatigue again today, and my stomach is still upset, but at the moment I am just trying to end the week strong at work when all I really want to do is curl up with a heating pad strapped around my mid-section. Or rip out my overies. That would work too... but I kinda need those at some point to have kiddos. 

Over and out. Hope I didnt scar you too bad with all that info.

The Diet

So after bingeing on mac and cheese and every food i was giving up today, I have developed my elimination diet!

Last year this time I went on the full comprehensive elimination diet that excluded:

• Oranges and all citrus 
• all dairy, goats milk, whey, casein, butter
• pork, beef, veal, sausage, cold cuts, canned meat, hot dogs, and shell fish
• Gluten, wheat, barley, spelt, kamut, and rye- this also includes caramel color and modified food starch
• All soy products- tofu included
• Peanuts and Peanut butter
• Corn 
• processed oils, olive oil, canola and vegetable oil
• eggs, mayonnaise 
• Alcohol
• Chocoalte
• Caffeine
• All sugars- natural or processed, honey, syrups,- limited to 1 piece of food a day
• Night shades- potato, tomato, eggplant, paprika, peppers
• Squashes

So what did I eat? Well chicken, rice, and most veggies... 

This time around I am doing a slightly modified version. 

Avoid completely:

• Gluten and all those grains
• Dairy
• Soy 
• Eggs, mayo
• Chocolate (sigh*)
• Caffeine
• Alcohol 
• Corn

Once a week:

• One sugar a week.. but try to use agave and honey or fruits 
• Night shades- only one meal a week will have night shades in it
• Squash
• Once a week I will eat one of the meats on the list

What can I eat?

• rice milk, almond milk
• rice and quinoa
• chicken, fish, lamb, duck, turkey
• cook with olive oil and grape seed oil
• agave in moderation
• veggies veggies veggies!

Sooo... every day or so I will be typing up the progress- what I am eating, how i am feeling, recipes and tips that I find helpful. It is really hard to eat enough calories when cutting out so many meats and carbs,  so I will be working on finding snacks that keep my blood sugar up. 

Tip of today: Did you know night shade vegetables cause arthritic pain in some people? If you are feeling really achy night shades are the first food group that should go!

So, goodbye yummy foods... hello happy body! Now all that is left is finding the self control and will power to actually do this! 

A thimble?

Parasites, IBS, Food Allergies, PCOS, Food intolerances, Fatigue, Stress Hives... does anyone else feel as though every time you go to the doctor you get a new name for the fact that you are tired all the time, cant hold food down, and just cant seem to function like everybody else? 

Let me give you a quick medical recap:

I got parasites in Peru which tore up my insides pretty good, then went and finished my math degree in a year and a half, taught at an at risk school for my first 2 years of teaching while working on my masters degree in a year and wound up.... well, almost hospitalized. I could not keep food in side of me, I would wake up shaking in the morning so badly I could not drive, and I had to take a 2-3 hour nap every time I ate food. I had what seemed to be every test known to man done, which showed no reason for the extreme fatigue and periods of major stomach issues. I had a naturopathic test for food intolerances and found if I just stayed away from 80 foods I would feel healthy again. I recently was tested for Adrenal Fatigue, a newer diagnosis that not every doctor identifies... apparently only ones who have studied "functional medicine" diagnose it. It is a precursor to Addison's Disease, which from what I understand is just when your Adrenal gland says "peace out." So, after more elimination of foods and the addition of Hydrocortisone (which if you have been diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue you HAVE to look into taking. It changed my world) I finally started feeling better. Then the reintroduction diet happened. I was feeling great so I kept adding more foods in... like Pizza, and Ice Cream, and Mac and Cheese... and then as any smart person would have guessed I got sick again. So sick that I was bedridden on my honeymoon and had stress hives covering 80% of my body for the first month of marriage!

My symptoms: 

muscle shakes, fatigue, irregular periods, headaches, all sorts of stomach problems, sporadic weight gain or loss, crashing after meal time, hives on stressful days, low immune system, and just feeling all around flu-ish every single day. Turns out they all have something in common: inflammation. Your Adrenal gland produces a hormone called cortisol that acts as an energy regulator and an anti inflammatory. 

Why I am writing this blog: 

I have really been feeling fatigued again, and I hate to admit it, but I think that food has a lot to do with that, so before going back on any medication I have decided to eliminate all foods then do a more thorough reintroduction. I am writing this blog mostly as a journal for me, but I know that others are out there feeling the same way I do and completely lost or needing encouragement. I figure that if I am going to journal my progress, I might as well do it in a way that others might benefit from it. I hope that others can read this blog and gain insight into how to feel normal again. I will be blogging about stress management, my ultra strict dietary regimen, how my symptoms change, and what seems to trigger that change. This blog will hopefully represent my journey to get well... and stay that way!

Why the thimble?

My doctor described that most people are given a gallon jug that they can fill with stress and food before they get ill. People with Adrenal Fatigue are given a thimble. I get a thimble's worth.. which means my body cannot handle the caffeine of a pumpkin spice latte, so instead I drink my white tea and wish it was pumpkin spice. 

The one resounding thing I have learned through this time of illness is that our bodies are quite amazing. It all ties together, so as I used to go to chiropractor for headaches, then had a doctor for my stomach, then went over to the girl doctor for girl problems, and just drank a crap ton of caffeine to counter the fatigue- instead there really was an underlying problem that explained it all! As I go through this there are 2 major books I am reading for 2 different reasons that have a connection. I will be referencing Dr. James Wilson's book "Adrenal Fatigue" and I highly recommend reading it if you are having health issues that are similar to what I have described. I am also reading and will reference less often "Taking Charge of Your Fertility." I think every woman should at least read that last one even if you are just going to take the pill... it is fascinating! Part of Adrenal Fatigue can be hormone imbalances that can prevent pregnancy.... not that my husband and I are trying yet but we want it to be an option when we decide to start trying. 

So there you have it. Probably not the most interesting blog of all times, but I am excited anyways. Tomorrow the elimination diet gets finalized so I will post those details soon!