I freaking love taco bell

Haha, well you can all guess what I had for dinner tonight! It was good. I have no regrets. Yet.


Today was actually a pretty good day up until dinner!

Breakfast: protein smoothie with probiotics. I also remembered to take my 10,000 IU's of Vitamin D! I have been getting super hungry by 10 am, so this helped take care of my hunger until lunch. I use a special enzyme protein powder, but there is an excellent rice powder one you can find at King Soopers.  I mixed a scoop of powder, rice milk, blackberries and 1/4 teaspoon of my special and powerful probiotics. Okay, my amazing husband made this for me, I was lucky to walk out of the house with both my shoes on this morning. The probiotics have already begun working and I feel sooooo much better.

I have discovered an amazing way to do lunches! Especially if you have a fridge at work. Each week I buy a good salad mix that will last me all week, lunch meat, and other toppings (this week is olives, garbanzo beans, and italian dressing) and eat that for the week! I don't have to remember to grab lunch every day! Its healthy and since Dan and I work together he brings bread and avocado to make a sandwich with the same ingredients. Brilliant! Because it is all healthy food, I am not sure it is actually saving us money yet or not... but I feel great!

Then dinner. Dinner I ate two amazing supreme beef chalupas with hot and fire sauce and a Dorrito loco supreme taco. I also had a strawberry cream frutista. So freaking good.

For Dessert? a cup of emergen-C and gluten free, vegan chocolate chip cookies I made using the Baby Cakes recipe. They don't look great, but they taste really good!

With that, I am off to bed and hoping for a better morning tomorrow morning!

Random Fact of the Day: did you know peppermint is known to increase your heart rate, so pregnant women should not use peppermint bubble bath or bath crystals? I read that on my new bottle of candy cane bath crystals. Peppermint is also known to relieve indigestion and upset stomach. I read that on my box of peppermint tea!

New Years Resolutions... 27 days late

So, as you guys might have noticed... I stopped blogging after 4 posts. The main reason? The holidays. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, work lunches, and a trip to South Carolina to visit the grandparents and cousins.... I completely blew my dietary restrictions every day. With that came weight gain (duh), stomach issues, exhaustion, and a false positive pregnancy test (carbs messing with my hormones I guess). With all of that holiday binge eating going on, I think you might be able to see why I was unmotivated to blog about my failing experiment!

So then January happened. January 2013 marks the start of my 26th year. As I was having a slight personal crisis, listing every possible way I wanted to change myself in 2013, I noticed there was a common factor: self control. I have no self control in my life whatsoever. I start things I never finish, I rarely keep things clean, I eat whatever is in sight, I will sit and play 8 hours of video games or watch a whole season of LOST and then claim I have no time for God, and working out is as much of a far fetched fairy tale as sparkly vampires. As I sat and pondered these things I was really convicted of my lack of self control. I can plan and prepare to do things differently all day, yet if I do not have the will power to follow through with any of my plans, nothing will ever change!

So I started January setting daily goals first: today I am going to read my Bible. Today I am going to do yoga when I get home from work. Then as the day to day stuff worked out I realized that I had been gluten free for a week! What!? I had also worked out 3 times that week, and read my Bible more than I have since school started getting busy. I was really good about being low gluten, dairy and soy for the first 2 weeks of January, then the flu hit. Not me, but Dan. Most of you know Dan was hospitalized for pneumonia and the flu. During this time I ate chicken noodle soup because it was the only thing he could handle the smell of, was too exhausted from working full time and taking care of an out of commission husband to do anything. I don't know how working moms survive. Mad props. OH! But exciting: I didn't get sick!!! My immune system actually did something productive! IMPROVEMENT!!!!!!!

Life has settled down again in the Yoder house and the return of normalcy in our house also has also brought the return of working on my self control. I am no longer buying anything that contains gluten, dairy, or soy, and buying good substitutes for the few items Dan will not go without :-) And... ta-da- I have not had gluten in a whole week! Not even a little!!!! Amazing. Because I am eating what I should, I have energy again!! Our apartment is relatively clean... relatively... and my life doesn't feel like it is slowly unraveling :-) Yay! I find the more I work on self control, the more I have to rely on God to teach me grace. I cant beat myself up every time I mess up, but I also cant take messing up my diet as a reason to binge for the rest of the day.


Okay, enough ramblings from my very tired and head-ached ridden brain, on to food.

I have found a few things really helpful for my food allergies.
1. I am finding comfort food that I can eat. Starving myself of every good food was not working... I know, shocking! I have been eating Udi and Ruby's brand baked goods to help my cravings.

2. Finding good substitutes. If you have a soy allergy you MUST try Coconut Amino soy sauce substitute. The only place I can find it is Vitamin Cottage, but it is AMAZING! I cook with it, dip sushi in it, and would probably bathe in it if people bathed in soy sauce... but that would be weird. Tinkyada rice pasta is my fav and I have been using it to add a carb side to my evening meals.

3. Sir-fry dinners are my best friend. As Dan is still healing he is super tired in the evenings which leaves me to all the cooking. A bag of frozen veggies, meat and spices make such a quick and easy dinner. Add rice pasta tossed in olive oil and garlic on the side, and you pretty much have perfection in food form. My 2 favorite spice mixes from the week were: 1. ginger garlic soy sauce and white pepper with a chicken stir-fry, and 2. cumin, lime, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, and ginger on a steak stir-fry. Try them!

The only thing is.... with all this good and healthy eating going on... I have never been gassier. Its gross. Aweful. I don't know if my body is just readjusting or if I am still allowing too much stuff to sneak in (I have not been as good with dairy as I have with gluten and soy)... or if there is something I have not identified as an issue... or if I am just fighting off trace symptoms of the flu... or if it is stress related (it has been a particularly stressful month at work and personally)... but its bad. TMI, I know, but something has got to change.. for Dan's sake.

With that I wish you goodnight.

Jessica

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!