Changing Directions

   My husband showed me this video in regards to my feelings to go on the diet.  I felt it was so true.  I know I have felt to go in one direction in my life only to discover that a different path was the one I should take in regards to my health.  The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways to bring us greater understanding and happiness in our lives.  I now know for sure what I need to do in regards to my health, something that has been bothering me for such a long time.  I just needed to move forward to learn.

    My pain is now starting to let up more than ever as I'm choosing small meals, less packaged foods, low fat foods (they slow digestion), less acidic  foods, and well cooked veggies.  Going on the diet was the quickest way for me to learn these things.  I have been truly blessed.  The Lord is so watchful of His children.  I know that if we rely on Him, and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost we are directed to healing, spiritual and temporal.  And I have experienced both. :)
  
   Also, important to understand is that I've been dealing with these health problems for about seven years.  It's been a long road in my mind, but to God all things are eternal.  This has been a short time in the eternal view of life.  I've also learned patience, and that all things come in His time.  And if we endure well we are blessed with greater joy than we have before known.  When a person has lived with any pain (mental, physical, or spiritual) they are filled with such joy when that pain is no longer present. I have received this feeling at different times.  And although I'm not completely pain free, I know that even if I'm not in this life I will be, in the life to come.  I will strive to endure it well.

Days 14, 15, and 16

    So, my husband doctor and I talked the other day about my diet and what I'm getting from it.  For the most part what I've learned is that I feel the best when I eat only pureed foods.  Which is telling me that for the most part my problem is most likely mechanical and not allergy.  The pain is coming mostly from my intestines trying to digest foods that are more difficult to digest.  Fiber causes a lot of pain, gassy foods cause a lot of gas that just gets stuck all the time, and meats are so bulky they push on damaged nerves that cause a lot of sharp pain.
    
     I've also discovered that when I exercise the pain worsens if I've eaten food that needs a lot of blood flow to digest (fiber, meats, gassy foods, etc...).  Blood flow is impaired to my G.I. so if I exercise it takes blood away from the G.I. causing it to cramp up and act like somewhat of an ileus. 
  
     The other problem we have been speculating about is the pelvic inflammation.  We discussed the possibility of gut permeability.  It's possible that my gut leaks microscopic food particles into my blood stream which my body calculates as foreign substances and attacks causing an autoimmune response. The last surgery, the surgeon told me the lower half of my gut was inflamed (on the outside), what I assumed was the endo, but that may have just been in the deeper pelvic cavity.

     I'm going to admit, it is a bit heart breaking.  I was hoping it was allergy, then I would just have to omit those foods and I'd be fine.  Now it looks like I will have to revamp my entire life.  I know I can make it work for me it's just going to be challenging.
 
     I'm no longer sure that staying on this diet is for me, but even if I get off it I now know that I can't go back to eating the way I was if I want to live without pain.  That's what doing this diet was all about.  But eating a strictly meat, veggie, and fruit diet is most likely not the most helpful for me.  Meat is painful for me.  Fresh veggies and some fruits are painful for me.  I'm not going to be able to get the nutrition I need if I only eat these things.
  
      I'm going to start adding some things in a little at a time now to see how my body reacts.  I think I'll start with eggs, then try some dairy, then move to potatoes and rice.

     A short note on why I had an energy boost.  I've been eating very small meals, sometimes just a sweet potato, and small amounts of meat to try and avoid pain.  Well that doesn't take much to digest so I'd end up having more energy and less pain.
   
     So the end result is I'm dealing with more than IBS, Fibro, and IC.  It's more complicated and more challenging to understand than a simple diet could ever remedy.  But I'm ready to move forward with what I've learned, one step at a time.

What I have to do now to live closer to pain free:

Add things back in slowly to see how my body reacts
Eat six small meals a day
Stay away from gassy and acidic foods
Eat small amounts of meat
Eat more of the grains my body can handle
Exercise in small amounts a few times a day
Keep practicing relaxation techniques
Eat two to three of those meals pureed

   My husband has high hopes for me, and has said that if I try to do these things my body may create more blood vessels that feed the intestines and I may end up living pain free some day.  I can hope right?  For now I will do my best with what I know.

   This diet has been great, in that it has helped me see even more, what is going on with my body.  I'm glad I've done it, but for my personal health needs it's time to cut it short, and start living what I know.

THANKS WHOLE30 YOU HAVE SERVED ME IN THE WAY I NEEDED!

 

My husband made a delicious turkey dinner for me last night because he wanted to do something nice for me.

So sweet. :)

Days 11, 12, and 13

      I almost gave into breaking the diet this week.  So many sweets coming in and out of the house made sticking to the diet really challenging.   But I did it and I'm pretty proud of myself.  I made some good recipes this week that I just need to change a little bit if I want to keep eating them.  I've been eating a lot of the same things for breakfast and lunch.  These include: chicken patties, pieces of whole chicken, salmon, a variety of fruits and vegetables, soups, sauerkraut, and coconut.   For dinners I've been branching out, eating some seasoned pork, and steaks.  I'm going to try a cod recipe this week.  I am also using a variety of seasonings to flavor my foods.  I have a lot of fresh parsley, sage, thyme, and cilantro.  These add a lot of flavor.  I cook a lot in coconut oil, coconut milk, and olive oil.  Garlic and onion always give a nice flavor but are hard for me to digest unless pureed. 

     So I'm realizing more and more since being on this diet that I have extremely slow motility.  My Chronic gastritis (which I am going to have checked for autoimmune responses) will not go down unless I eat strictly pureed foods that have little acidity to them.  I ate a little meat and a bowel of sweet potato soup and felt the best I've ever felt in a long time. 

   Joint/fibro pain has gone way down so far on this diet.  I know the diet is a huge part of the reason this has gone down.  I tried doing an exercise program without being on the diet and could only do it for a few days because the pain would get so bad.  Now I feel I have enough energy to keep going.  I've been working out every day, mostly with my kids, but doing my own toning exercises.

I'm so excited to be playing with my kids, with energy and some freedom.

I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M ILL ALL THE TIME!!!

WEIGHT:  145 POUND

I've lost three more pounds this week. :)

 

Sweet Potato soup.  I'm going to make one similar with Butternut squash.

This was good but I think I needed to cook the shrimp in olive oil instead of coconut oil..  Just for flavor purposes.