Successes and Challenges of Eating on the Road!

Happy Monday! I am spending a fabulous week in San Francisco with my husband for his work. While he is off for the day I am getting to work from our gorgeous hotel enjoying the views of a beautiful SF day. What a treat! I had the opportunity yesterday to attend the America's cup races and watch as we won both races. It was an incredible experience! Watching how hard those men were working was inspiring and I couldn't help but wonder what their nutrition plan is! Yep, I am that crazy.

I was lucky to find out last week that it does not appear I have Celiac which is great news! So, I just need to avoid Gluten but not go crazy. Once I removed the Gluten I discovered I was still having stomach aches/bloating/etc. I noticed it was after eating the little bit of dairy I actually ate. I decided to try removing dairy as well and it has made a huge difference! I also removed the migraine medication (with doctors approval of course!) and am trying to avoid food triggers.

Now, there would have been many times in my life that I would have read something like this and thought "this woman is crazy..what does she eat? There is no way I would take those things out of my diet. I love food too much!". I am completely aware that we are each on our own journey and have to find the balance for our individual needs and seasons of life. To get to where I am today has taken years of changes. I did not remove everything all at once and would never expect anyone to do that unless they had health issues requiring it!

So, being new to eating Gluten and Dairy Free can be challenging. I do a lot of asking questions at restaurants and checking out items at stores. It is definitely a new experience to figure out but worth it when you feel so much better!

The question I asked myself was this...how can I set myself up for success on the road when I eat every 2-3 hours and eat a high protein/veggie diet without gluten and dairy??? For those of you who eat similarly and have suggestions, please comment below with your ideas! I know we would all benefit from your research!

So far it has been interesting. I am super lucky that the hotel we are staying in actually marks each item on their menu if it is gluten free and they are able to adjust many of the other items. That is extremely helpful! However, the thought in my mind is how can I trust what they say to be true and how do I know they are not slipping ingredients in that will make me suffer? I am not sure of the answer to this, it just makes me thankful Celiac is not the issue. That would require a lot more research and preparation. I did pack my protein mix with my chia and a shaker so I can make quick shakes in the room. I also brought protein bars. So that takes care of my snacks during the day. Yesterday when we arrived I scoped out a grocery store that is close where I can grab some veggies on the go to add to those snacks. I also checked out spots to grab a lunch to meet my specific needs. I am sure the other option would be to talk to the concierge for quick ideas and answers.

Another update to share with you regarding protein shakes. Since I removed dairy from my diet I needed to change protein powder. I purchased various samples and most of the gluten and dairy free powders are horrible! My gym sells one that is ok. It is drinkable. I prefer it in the blender with some Power to the Greens but no fruit. I will add ice today at the hotel to make it cold.

Saturday was my daughter's birthday and she wanted pizza for dinner with cupcakes for dessert. We all know that there is nothing gluten or dairy free there. Lucky for me, our local cupcake shop has an all free cupcake! It was AMAZING!!! I would never have known that it was missing the dairy and gluten. Though the pizza place Grace wanted pizza from does not have gluten free, the new place across the street does so I ordered a small to try it out. That was super yummy! We have even discovered a great gluten free IPA so I was able to eat with my family and not miss out on any of the birthday treats. Of course this was one of my cheat meals for the week! The really nice thing was that even though I was full, I did not have that bloated, nasty feeling you get after a big meal of bread and pasta....or greasy pizza. Something I learned . . . you need to specify no cheese on your pizza even if the list says they are adding a different cheese. The pizza I ordered had feta (many people with dairy issues are able to drink/eat goats milk/cheese) but they still put the other cheese on.

Again, this is my journey! What is your journey? Do you need more water in your diet? Do you need to add veggies into your day? Do you need to cut out 1 negative habit in your eating that is nagging you? Just focus on making 1 healthy change for the week. If you need ideas, feel free to contact me ...I am happy to help! I love hearing about your journey so please keep in touch as we all are on our Journey to Wellness!

Protein Shakes

Many of you asked me for my recipes for protein shakes so thought I would do a quick post for you. My shakes are pretty simple. We use the protein powder from Costco, both chocolate and vanilla. The bag says Gluten Free. I will research that further but was happy to see that.

I use water as my liquid, Brad uses skim milk. 1 cup or so of liquid in the blender. 1 scoop of protein powder. I put more than half a bag of Power to the Greens from Trader Joes. I put in 1 scoop of Chia seeds. Last add 1 banana and ice OR 1 cup of frozen mixed berries OR 1 cup of frozen mixed fruit. Right now I am really enjoying the frozen fruit blend from Costco that has Strawberries, Papaya, Mango and Pineapple. One key I have found is to blend REALLY REALLY well.

Pretty basic. I would love some new ideas so those of you that have some, please share! Also, next week I will be taking my shakes on the road so this week I am going to figure out how to be in a hotel and take everything with me. If you have suggestions . . would love to hear! That will definitely be a learning experience for GF . .. 5 days in a hotel and eating out. Getting proper nutrition and remain GF. I will definitely let you all know how that goes!

To be or not to be Gluten Free??

Happy Saturday! I hope you are having as wonderful a morning as I have been blessed with. As much as I love and adore my family, I have been given a rare gift of being alone in my house. AHHHH!!! The perfect time to sit and blog, don't ya think?!  It has been a fantastic week in my Journey to Wellness and I am so excited to get it written down. First and foremost, I want to thank each and everyone of you who has reached out. I did not start blogging to get pats on the back but I have to tell you the kind words, support and stories of your own journeys, genuinely mean so much to me! Thank you so much! My goal with this blog is to work through my journey and, if it helps somebody in the process, awesome...if not, it helps me to get my thoughts in one place where I can look back at them. So, quick group hug and thanks for the love!

I started off the week talking again to my doctor who I met with last Friday. She sent me in for a bunch of lab work so I did that first thing Monday morning . .well, after a kick butt new workout of course! I am still waiting for the results of the Celiac test but got everything else back. I met with Dr Huntsman on Wednesday and the conclusion we both came to was this .. .all my anxiety started when I stopped taking the active T3 thyroid medication I had been taking for years. What my blood work showed was that my body is not converting the T4 into T3 so I have all the classic symptoms of this simply being my thyroid. Now, I say simply because the "fix" can be somewhat simple. The diagnosis can be very hard to come to. Many doctors just do not do all the right blood tests and the "normal" ranges of thyroid are huge. We could do weeks and weeks of blogs on this but you can google and get plenty of info. I am also happy to talk with you about this. So, for me it is a simple change to a thyroid medication with T3 and T4 that should hopefully eliminate the symptoms. Time will tell!

What has become 100% clear in this process is that whether or not my Celiac test comes back positive, I have a pretty strong gluten intolerance. I spent some time this week playing around with it and have been amazed at the results. Since I have cut big gluten out of my diet for the most part, I can tell when I eat it. Stomach aches, headaches, intestinal misery, etc. But, when I cut it out, none of it. So I finally decided enough was enough. If Celiac is involved, it will take it to a new level but for now I choose to eat Gluten Free.

Yesterday was the first day I ate totally Gluten Free . .well, to the best of my knowledge. Turns out the shredded cheese I added to my eggs has gluten but I will learn! It was a great day to experiment. I went on a half day hike which meant taking food. My first challenge was to figure out what convenience foods to take that fit my needs. Veggies were great, fruit, gluten free bars (I have a friend who gets them made by somebody . . super yummy!). Success! I ended up eating lunch and dinner at restaurants so I really got to test the waters! And, not only just any restaurant for dinner but ITALIAN!! Lunch went well with a yummy salad and salmon. I need to ask more questions in the future but it worked out. Dinner...I just had to ask the server what I could eat off the menu. This is such an authentic Italian restaurant that they don't have GF pasta or anything which is just fine! The server was knowledgable and awesome. When she asked about dessert she just told me what I could have. I really appreciated it. You know what else is interesting, I did not leave any of the meals with that miserable full feeling. Hmmm...

Let's talk about cocktails. Of course in all the fun and social time yesterday there were cocktails! I enjoy my cocktails (in moderation of course!) :). Now, when you are changing your eating you have to check the alcohol too. So this whole experience is crazy! Wine is gluten free so that is an option (though a migraine trigger, which means I am being very careful). That leaves Vodka and Gin. I prefer Vodka and it comes from potatoes so I am all good right...WRONG! Did you know that there are only a handful of potato or Gluten Free Vodkas? Who knew?? And, this whole time I thought I was being so good making the right choice, I was still drinking gluten. Thankfully Brad takes such good care of me and stopped at the store to make we now have Gluten Free Vodka in the house. What I was super surprised about as well was the restaurants. The servers do know if they have a potato vodka! It was so helpful!

The result . . .I felt good yesterday. I woke up today without all the fun symptoms I mentioned before plus my head feels clearer. For those who pay attention to their weight, I also found it interesting that my weight was down quite a bit today. Since gluten in an inflammatory food, I wonder how much that made a difference cutting it out. Not sure I can prove anything but thought it interesting. This Journey to Wellness is definitely an interesting one! I am learning so much and find it all so fascinating. I truly believe we are eating so many foods that are causing problems in our bodies so the more natural we can eat, the better. The rule of thumb is to shop the outside of the grocery store. It is a good rule. Now adding the GF to the mix will be a ton more learning for me . . as well as my family but it is worth it! Are any of you on the GF fence? I would love to hear what is holding you back? Feel free to share comments. Thank you for the support in my Journey to Wellness!

Fruits, Veggies and Protein...Oh My!!

Do you ever wonder what to eat, when to eat it and how much to eat? Or, are you so frustrated because you are "eating less and moving more" yet you seem to struggle with clothes fitting? I feel your pain! These issues have always been struggles for me and I have run the gamut. We have been taught our whole lives that we should eat less to lose weight so it would only make sense that you would eat even less and work out harder to lose more weight . .right? WRONG!! 

I have tried the eating whatever I want method, eating next to nothing, eating healthy but not enough, just cutting out sugar and alcohol, etc. The thing I find so interesting, with learning that I have Gluten sensitivities, it was not until I cut gluten out of my diet that I lot the weight that was hanging on. Now, eat person is different and I am happy to talk through ideas and suggestions for you. 

Brad and I have done p90x/p90x2 a few times and when we have had the best results, we have also followed the nutrition plan. I am a firm believer that nutrition is the largest percentage of success in weight loss. You can workout until you are throwing up on the side of the road and if your nutrition is not dialed in, you will not have the success you want in the weight department. Now, there are those exceptions to this rule and we will just say lucky them. For the rest of us, let's be real about what it takes.

Part of the issue is really having to switch our thinking. It is really hard to eat more food when you want to lose weight. It is completely counter intuitive. But, I promise, if you are eating the right things it will work (baring a health issue that needs addressing). I work well with numbers so the p90x2 nutrition guide puts things in a great visual for me. It breaks down my day into numbers 4 veggies, 7 proteins, etc. HOWEVER . . .veggies are huge and we have to understand what 1 veggie equals. 6 cups of raw spinach is 1 veggie vs 1 cup of raw carrots for example. So if you come to me and tell me you ate 3 salads today, you will not really have come close to your daily veggie total unless you added a lot of extra broccoli, carrots, etc. If your salad was iceberg lettuce it does not count as a veggie at all so be sure to at least use Romaine or another lettuce with nutritional value. I also get the Power to the Greens bags from Trader Joes and add that to my protein shakes everyday. I can't taste it but that is a way to get more veggies in my day. 

Another key is to eat every 2-3 hours. So I focus on 5 meals a day. One of them is my protein shake (yumm!!). When you do this, eat healthy and focus on 90% compliance, you will feel great and control your weight. 10% cheating gives you 4 meals a week that you get to totally cheat on. Skipping a meal is a cheat so do not skip! It is a waste of a cheat! I would so much rather eat a burger and fries with all the fixings than nothing, wouldn't you? 

A book that I love and highly recommend is The Female Body Breakthrough: The Revolutionary Strength-Training Plan for Losing Fat and Getting the Body You Want by Rachel Cosgrove

She too has been through the gamut and has some great thoughts and ideas. 

If you are in this situation, please do not hesitate to reach out. I would be more than happy to talk through this with you and come up with a plan that will work for you! Let's Journey to Wellness together!

The dirty details...

Before we move forward in this journey I should probably give you all the dirty details to catch you up. Migraines and low thyroid have both plagued me for many years. Imitrex works great for me so I just ignored the issues, took my meds and saw a doctor when I needed to. I worked out and ate pretty healthy so thought this was just how it was. I was busy raising kids, working and living life so I figured you just deal. I went through periods where I would deal with anxiety and the doctor would just prescribe medication for it that seemed to help and I would eventually stop taking it. 

As the years have worn on, the migraines became chronic. Thankfully the imitrex still works but I was taking it like candy. Again, I ignored this and figured it was how it was. I always told my doctors but nobody seemed concerned so I guess I didn't need to be. Fast forward to fall of 2012. I had started running when we moved to Bend 3 years ago and actually running half marathons. Never did I think this was something I would be able to do but some training with friends and I did it! Unfortunately, what appears to be abuse of imitrex caused 2 attacks of Ischemic Colitis. Now doctors started getting concerned. During this time I had slowly started gaining weight which was so frustrating! The joys of living in one of the top microbrew towns in the nation! This catches up with you over time. 

So began the journey. The neurologist put me on 2 different medications to try to stop the migraines from happening. They are not working and started causing anxiety. The anxiety got so bad I ended up on anti anxiety meds and Xanax to just calm me down to function. None of this is ok with me. During this whole process I had started eating super healthy on was on an intense workout plan. I have managed to lose all of the weight and get into great shape to be super fit but I still feel horrible. And, I have been able to start identifying foods that really bother my sleep, anxiety, migraines, etc. I have come to a few conclusions from this...

• Medication is not 100% the answer
• I want to get off of the all the medications I am taking (except thyroid of course)
• Doctors are limited to what they can help with
• Food is a huge part of the problem
• There are dots to be connected and I need help connecting them
• I need to find the right people to help me
• I have to advocate for myself!

This began my journey. My thyroid doctor finally confirmed my Hashimoto diagnosis which added an additional interesting layer. Many people have suggested acupuncture so I started that a couple of weeks ago. Not sure how much that is helping yet but I like it and I am lucky enough that my insurance covers it! So, I will keep it up to see. My acupuncturist is focusing on treating the migraines and anxiety. I will keep you posted on that! I also saw a new doctor on Friday who is an OB/GYN by specialty but focuses on thyroid and womens issues. After speaking she wants to test me for celiac disease/gluten intolerance. This would explain so much! I specifically told this doctor that I know something is not right, I need help connecting the dots and asked her if she is willing to be that person. 

So, in a nutshell you are caught up to my journey. My husband has had to put up with a lot and be very patient. It is not fun living in a house where your wife tells you she feels crazy some days and you have to step up more than normal. Thankfully, he is trying his best to help and we will get through it! Also, I have been blessed with very supportive friends who are patient and there when "I drop my basket" as one of them says! 

I hope this helps to bring you up to speed as I move forward in my Journey to Wellness. Feel free to ask questions and share your story too. I know there are so many of us out there that have awesome lives and our so blessed but something is just not right. Let's discover it together! My goal over time is to build into wellness coaching as I gain the certification to so. In the meantime, I am here for you! Let's Journey to Wellness together!

Who am I and why in the world am I blogging???

So I could sit here for an hour and figure out the perfect way to start my very first blog entry or I could just get started. Let me begin be saying I am not a writer. If you are looking for a brilliantly written blog with with fancy words and pulitzer prize winning articles, you may want to stop right now. But, if you are looking to journey with me and hear it like it is, I am your gal! Those who know me will back me up when I say this, I will be honest and not sugar coat the truth here. I am honest to a fault and you are getting it right from the start. With this honesty I promise to share my struggles and challenges as I am on my own Journey to Wellness.

Let me step back a moment and tell you a bit about me. We just finished the first week of school here in Bend and it was fantastic! My oldest son is a Freshman, my middle son is in 8th grade and our daughter is in 3rd grade. They are all amazing people who I truly enjoy spending time with. My husband was blessed with his job to be able to telecommute from Bend. We love to golf, ski, run/walk, bike, camp, enjoy everything the outdoors offers here! The added bonus has been an incredible group of friends to share these experiences with. Our lives are truly blessed and I am so thankful we have the opportunity to live here.

Now, at this point you may very well be asking yourself "Journey to Wellness? Sounds pretty crazy to me ..  looks like she is well and everything is great!". Well, I would agree with you on the outside I have no right to complain and everything appears fantastic. Unfortunately, my body has decided it does not want to buy into this wellness business. So, the more I have tried to be healthy, the more "sick" I have become.

I have struggled my entire life with my weight. I have always been on the chubby side, never "skinny". And many people have pointed it out throughout my life. It was not until I had my first child that I lost my baby fat and not until a few years ago that I really began to get a handle on healthy eating combined with fitness. It was then that I was able to get my weight under control and manage it. Don't get me wrong, I recently had to regroup again and go through the whole process over but I know how to do it which it so helpful!

I will go in depth in future blog posts what is going on and how I am moving through each step right now but the cliff note version is this...chronic migraines led to an attack of ischemic colitis which led to seeing a neurologist to try to stop taking so much medication for the migraines. Unfortunately the medication seems to be causing anxiety and irritability which I am still struggling with today. I also have a low thyroid and Hashimoto disease. Putting all these fantastic issues together I am a firm believe that medication may not be the end all solution to fixing the problem and that food may be triggering a large part of the problem.

The purpose of my blog is to help me document the steps I am taking to connect the dots for myself and also I hope to encourage others on their journey. I know that we all have a journey and struggles. This process is not easy and I know I am not the only one trying to find the answers out there. So, if you are looking for an authentic blog please join me as we Journey to Wellness!