30 days AIP

Well, I meant to write in here more often, but life got pretty crazy for a while so I thought I would go ahead and get back in here for a follow up! Tomorrow will mark 30 days of eating AIP.  I am not going to lie and say I have been perfect but man have I done well! Over the last 30 days, I did make a few mistakes in eating ( I still remained gluten free)  and even when trying to eat AIP when eating out it can be hard and some lessons have been learned in that area too. I have really been on quite an adventure over the last 30 days. I am really breaking ground on my relationship with food. I am learning that food is healing and how important preparation and food diversity really is to my body.  Most importantly, I am learning SO much about my body! Most days, it is overwhelming as I am constantly reading and searching out a new supplement, a new study, so-and-so said this helps with____ and off I go to google! I cannot even remember half of what I have read however, little by little I am learning pieces of the puzzle to MY health. This part is important.  People I encounter at the grocery stores, and some people I know  do not seem to understand this journey is for ME. This is for MY health. This is NOT just some “fad” diet, no I am not just eating gluten free. I am in the search of the perfect diet for ME and MY body.  My body has been through a lot; it has been beaten down and tore up. I have on a journey to healing and I know that this journey is “weird” to some but I am so excited to reach a point that I know that if I eat something it will not cause me physical harm. So the only way i can possible figure that out upon eliminations and countless re-introductions.  So stick with me, cheer me on , support me, because I will get there.

On another note, I also decided that traditional medicine doctors have failed me now for many years so I made the decision to go see a Functional Medicine Dr. Brian Lum. I will just take a brief pause right here because many people keep asking me “What is that?” “what do they do different?”  Okay so here is the deal, when we are sick, we go to the doctor in hopes that they will find out what’s wrong with us and fix it right? Well that is exactly what they do.  I know, I know, I have already probably ticked some people off but guess what? I have been sick for YEARS and no one has delved INTO the problems. Figured out WHAT was making me sick and treat me for what is really going on. Example, by the grace of God, A wonderful nurse practitioner found my Autoimmune Hashimoto’s  however, several doctors I have seen since can still not manage my numbers or my symptoms. Here’s a prescription, come back in a few weeks we will draw some more blood from you.Then repeat.  If you would like to read more not in my workings, go check out his site Here  and read some more for yourself. Or free free to google. I am not going to open a can of worms because medicine is great, and traditional medicine is wonderful for emergencies and routine care etc. but there are so many ways to  learn to heal yourself beyond just take this medicine or treatment.

Okay moving on… so after my consultation with Dr. Lum I was an emotional mess ( I promised I wouldn’t cry in the appt. so I waited till after lol) I know this won’t make sense to many of you but I had just spent 2 1/2 hours talking about myself, how much I have been sick, going over labs I have had and realizing I never even understood the numbers. More importantly, I have a REAL conversation with a REAL doctor that understood me, that LISTENED to me, asked me questions, knew things about me and things that happened to me without me telling him. I was super skeptical but amazed when he would ask me about side effects, or symptoms, or illnesses I have had that he knew just from listening to what I had been through.  He explained all my lab numbers to me (crazy enough no one else had) and helped me to understand what they meant. this was both refreshing and terrifying.  I left that appointment with a PLAN and a promise that he was going to help me–and I believe him.I really believe God places this man in my path at just the right time in my life and I am so thankful for that.   So I am already on a full NATURAL supplement regimen and have additional lab work coming up soon to dig deeper into what is going on inside my body.  I started m,y regimen on Saturday 2/13/15 so I am really excited to track my progress and see these changes!

Since I got off track a bit. back to 30 days being AIP. I am not going to lie and say I’m healed and feel so amazing and all my problems have gone away, because they have not BUT I can tell you I can FEEL the difference.  I have some good days and bad, some days where part of it is good, etc. But I know that one day I ate some things inadvertently that I shouldn’t have (eating out) and I was so inflamed and in so much pain for several days. Just shows me what those foods were doing to me that I was eating on a DAILY basis, sometimes even multiple times a day! How could my body ever have kept up with that? It couldn’t. SO, in a nutshell, I am more determined than ever to finally help myself (with the help of , and help my body so that it can functions the way that God created it to function.

What does Hashimoto’s feel like to me?

If you did not already know this about me, I have Hashimoto’s also known as an autoimmune thyroid disease. Hashimoto’s is an actual disease while hypothyroidism is a condition. Hashimoto’s is a disease in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck below your Adam’s apple. This is irreversible, so in short means that meds will be required for the rest of my life. I am just an average person, I am in no way affiliated with an health field and I am not a Dr. What I know I have researched through reading or been told by my Dr. That being said, when I found out I had Hashimoto’s (which I will call Hashi’s for short) during the Summer of 2015, I really did not think it was a big deal. I thought (and was told by several friends) that I was “lucky” because it is treatable with medication. What I did not know is how quickly my life as I knew it would be taken from me. I don’t think many understand that even with medication I barely function. The human body is very complex, and it is very difficult to find the exact right doctor that will even listen to you without assuming you are a Hypochondriac (a person who is abnormally anxious about their health.) or suffers from depression or blames EVERY symptom you may have on being overweight.

At 30, I feel OLD… But I am NOT old. I am tired of having digestive issues, tired of feeling run down with ABSOLUTELY no energy, tired of being overweight, tired of being depressed with no reason, tired of being moody and irritable (I am sure friends and family are too), I am tired of forgetting everything and having brain fog so bad but there is nothing I can do to control it, I am tired of the increase in female problems, I am tired of watching my hair rinse down the drain in clumps, I am tired of my joints hurting so much I can barely walk up the stairs, I am tired of my weight gain spiraling out of control right before my very eyes, mainly I am EXHAUSTED of feeling like I have NO control over my own mind and body. And these are just SOME of the things that I experience on a daily basis.

Here is the good news –I swallowed my tears and fears and accepted the fact it was time to take back MY life. God used many flags and people in my life to point me into the right direction of change. The FIRST thing that I found out is that I need to drastically change my diet. I am not just talking about any fad diet, REAL nutrition and finding a real lifestyle consisting of foods that do not MAKE me sick. Following the advice of a dear friend. I ran across information about Autoimmune Protocol or AIP . After a couple weeks of thinking about this and praying to God to speak with me, he sure did- loud and clear. I am on day 2 of starting AIP and I cannot tell you exactly how it is helping just yet but that will be a big part of my journey!

In conversations lately I am getting asked A LOT of questions. What can I eat? Why can’t you eat that? Why not ____ food, that is a healthy food? So I thought I would start with what I am CHOOSING to eat and what not to eat and then if you have more questions, feel free to read the links about more in depth actual science related to what these food can potentially do and cause to folk like me with autoimmune disorders.

 

What I should not eat if at all possible:

•     All Grains, whole, refined, or processed (including corn)
•    Industrial seed oils (soy, peanut, canola, vegetable, etc.)
•    Legumes, especially soy and peanut
•    Fresh legumes (green peas and green beans)
•    Eggs
•    Ghee or Butter
•    Seed-based spices (black pepper, mustard, as well as many others)
•    Nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, eggplants, and many spices derived from such like cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes )
•    Seeds and nuts
•    Dairy

What I should eat:

•     Best quality meats possible (grass-fed, pastured if possible) and animal products (muscle meats, organs, bones/tendons for broths, fats for cooking, etc.), preferentially fatty and varied (beef, poultry, pork, game, seafood)
•    Starchy vegetables/fruits (like plantains and root vegetables)
•    Most other vegetables, especially leafy greens
•    Fruits, preferentially berries
•    Non-animal fats like coconut, avocado, and olive

 

Foods list adapted from mainly reading Paleo Mom and Rachael Bryant’s (founder of Meatified) book I purchased Nourish

Also know that after eliminating these and being able to see how foods could be affecting me, eventually, I can start slowly reintroducing foods back in one at a time to see if how my body handles them. So some of these foods might not be forever, but I am excited to feel better either way! So now that we understand what I can eat and why (if you read into it more) now I hope that you understand WHY I am doing this. Your support in this endeavor means to much to me. Please feel free to ask me questions, and please do not be offended if I join you for a meal and I ask way too many questions about what’s being served, and what is in the food! Until next time! Thanks for sharing this journey with me! I will try to update regularly what recipes I am loving or trying, how I am feeling, videos, and pictures!