Going Out in Style

For years, I have been a bit half hearted with eating healthy foods. I KNOW what I should be eating, but it’s a matter of making my health a priority. After I turned 43 in May, I made the decision that I have spent too many years not being healthy and it was time to make a positive change. A friend of mine introduced me to a holistic practitioner as part of my journey. She had been consulting with her for about a year and I was amazed at her transformation. I was ready to make a change.

 

As part of my initial consultation, we discussed my current pressing health issues: chronic allergies and recurrent sinus infections, migraines, lack of energy, tummy troubles, inability to lose weight, food cravings, general body aches. Basically, I felt like crud a lot of the time. My first task was to keep track of what I ate, and how I felt afterwards to track if there were any triggers. She also did blood work, to check for inflammation. I thought it was weird when she asked if I had any issues with bleeding gums, which has been the bane of my dentist’s existence. I’ve actually had to have periodontal services, which never seem to fix the problem. Apparently, bleeding gums are a symptom of chronic inflammation.

 

I am not a big fan of food journals, so I will admit that I was a bit half hearted in keeping it. I wasn’t convinced that it was all my diet’s fault in terms of the allergies and migraines. Of course, if I am eating junk I am not going to lose weight. I completely got that. I also knew that my workouts weren’t happening like they should for me to lose weight or at least prevent weight gain. I was being both lazy and in denial.

 

At our second meeting, I presented my lackluster food journal. We talked about my emotional health, what I did for stress relief, how I slept. None of these seemed relevant to why I wasn’t feeling as energetic as I could be. I got my blood test results, and apparently I am one sad ball of inflammation. One of the reasons I feel so awful is because I have increased sensitivities to gluten, casein and lactose. That means good bye to wheat products, cheese, ice cream and dairy. I already knew about lactose intolerance-I’ve dealt with it for most of my adult life. It’s the other ones that I am struggling with. For example, if I eat a cheeseburger or a slice of pizza, my whole immune systems mounts a response and goes haywire. I was stunned because I live off carbs, including some really good for me ones like oatmeal. I now have to rethink my whole diet and can’t just hit the drive thru when I am out running errands. I will have to read labels and be creative with my snacking. I also have to reconfigure some of my meat replacements, since seitan is also known as wheat meat. Bummer.

 

In addition to reconfiguring my diet, I also have to work on stress relief. Although I regularly practice yoga, I am not as diligent about my meditation practice. I really struggle with making the time on a consistent basis. Apparently, this is a problem. My stress levels have been off the charts for the last near decade, which plays into chronic inflammation.  I need to focus on making myself well, and this is part of the treatment plan. I need to also exercise much more consistently. Besides feeling good (the quintessential runner’s high), exercise helps move toxins out of your tissues for your body to excrete through sweat, urine and other unmentionables. Also, by exercising, your are rewiring your muscles and building strength and endurance, which in the long run will make you healthier. Another recommendation was to use a foam roller every day to work on stretching out my tissues and help prevent future tightness. Apparently you roll over it, and it works your fascia, much like yin yoga. I remember doing something similar in PT when I tore my knee ligaments. In my case, much of the aches I have in my upper back may be due to adhesions and not anything more serious. (at one point, I had a doctor suggest that I had fibromyalgia due to that pain) Another suggestion was to sit with a tennis ball between my back and a chair. I’ve only been doing that for a few days and I can already feel a difference.

 

I am strongly encouraged to drink half my body weight in water (not other beverages) each day. It will help move those very toxins I am exercising out of my tissues completely out of my body. The reason apparently that I need to drink that much is because I have been chronically dehydrated for so long, my cells hang onto whatever liquid appears and doesn’t let go. That in turn helps keep me on the chunkier side.

 

This all sounded great on paper, until I realized what I was giving up…and that’s when panic set in.

 

No more bakery goodies.

No more fast food.

No more bagels.

What on earth was I going to eat???

 

Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find literally hundreds of gluten free, dairy free recipes that actually sounded edible. (Check out my board: http://www.pinterest.com/mommydom/gluten-free-living/)

 

What truly surprised me was being told that I needed to go on a binge before I changed my eating habits. Seriously? You want me to binge? I so can do that! It was recommended that I eat everything that I think I am going to miss, so I can put it all behind me. Its like a farewell feast. I can handle that, so I am going to spend the next few days going out in style before going gluten and dairy free.