My family spent the weekend in Portland visiting my adorable 90 year old Grandma! What a blessing and special time to be with her. She is the most amazing person and we love every minute with her! We stayed at a hotel and had to eat out. Always interesting for someone eating Autoimmune Paleo but that is not my point. It is a great opportunity to talk about food with my kids. My middle guy is taking AP Human Geography this year and they just watched an awesome video about GMO corn which most corn is. It was so interesting to see what he is learning about it in his class. Making him think twice about the corn products he eats. This conversation was started because we were looking at the labels on the jam that was at the table (you know, the gross jam in the little packets that is oh so good!). One of the ingredients is Modified Corn Starch. So he talked about where that corn came from and the chemicals involved in creating it. The most interesting thing to me is the "All Natural" label. It contacting floors me the number of people who see something that says all natural and truly believe it is a clean, healthy product. How often do you read the labels on the food you buy?
As we talked about last time, the best bet is to buy food without label but every so often we are all going to eat something with a label. How often do you stop to read them? To compare the ingredients for different brands of the same products? I do not think I have ever found a product that claims to be all natural that actually is all natural. I don't know the laws on this so need to research some more but I don't buy it! I hear all the time . . isn't it great? Its all natural. Then you read the label and it has junk in it. Unfortunately we are at a day in age that we have to be our own advocates in our healthcare and our nutrition. We have to take the time to read the labels on the food we eat and really assess the value.
As you are shopping, just turn the product over and check out the label. Does it contain ingredients you are willing to put in your body? Your kids body? This is a process. Please know, we have goldfish in our house and kraft mac and cheese. We are slowly changing and transitioning. Though I do not eat any of this, my kids are learning. The easter bunny brought baskets full of snacks and candy. We allow them to eat these things. We talk about them, we discuss the pros and cons, and we let them make some choices about food. I want to be very careful to educate in a healthy way where they feel like they make good choices for themselves vs being that dictator parent and they go crazy when not at home. Now that we have a driver (and almost a 2nd driver!) they like to drive through Dairy Queen and get a treat once in awhile. It's ok! The interesting thing to me is that they start to relate food they eat with how they feel. The hard part for me is I need to let them learn from those tough moments. But, I would so rather they learn now then head to college with no skills and knowledge.
So, what do you take from this? Start slowly, educate yourself to know what you are buying. It takes time and that is ok. The more you know, the more you will be excited to eliminate toxins and chemicals from your foods. Maybe print the dirty dozen list and make sure those things you purchase organic. You don't have to eat everything organic, some things are much more important than others. You will be super frustrated if you try to change everything all at once. One thing at a time will make you feel better and will not overwhelm you. I can't wait to hear what you decide to tackle! Everyone has a different journey and I love that we can share how we each consider our journey to wellness. Cheers to a healthy and fit week!
Monday, April 6, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The rabbit hole....
So, yes, the rabbit hole. We are going to start our trek down the nutrition rabbit hole. And a rabbit hole it is. What do you choose to do? How do you decide which nutrition program to jump on? What foods do you avoid because they are bad for you? Or their company is corrupt? Or ???? The list goes on and on and on. Nutrition can be so overwhelming at times that I completely understand why some people just give up and drive through McDonalds! But, GROSS! There is a happy medium and I hope to help find it with you. There are so many options but what makes the most sense? I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of this so am willing to go further down the rabbit hole than most.
Let's go back a few years though. To get to the point I currently live has been a LONG progression. So, meet yourself where you are and make changes that make you uncomfortable, not completely freak you out. I think back to when I first got married and had my first baby. I remember making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch everyday while taking care of my baby. I don't really remember cooking dinner. I think we did really basic things . .. chicken, pasta, salad. This was also during the low fat/non fat time. When fat was bad! I remember in college eating pasta and nonfat snack well cookies. Go take a look at some of that food, could it be worse for you? The amount of sugar I was consuming was horrific! No wonder I struggled with my weight. So then what?
Slowly, over time, I learned to cook. Thankfully I met a dear friend who was a few years ahead of me with the kids, mommy, wife roles and was a great role model for learning all these things. As the years went on, I cooked more and more. I learned what flavors worked together. Brad learned to become an amazing BBQ king so we did a lot of bbqing with salads and rice.
3 kids and a few years later, we wanted to lose a few pounds so started doing P90X. We followed the nutrition program strictly and both lost almost 20 pounds. We felt good and learned more about better eating. Of course, the past few years there has been so much research and understanding about nutrition. Since I love researching it, I keep learning more and more about it.
We live in the most obese society now. Our children are beyond overweight . . .they actually are considered obese. Jamie Oliver has an incredible Ted talk on this. We cannot blame many of their parents because they were raised in this low fat/high sugar generation and were never taught how to cook nutrition food. Something has to change. Our healthcare system will soon be bankrupt trying to care for all of the obese and overweight people who have many diseases stemming from their weight and less than healthy eating. We need to teach our children how to eat and how to cook.
The question now is what do you do? Well, what are you currently doing? A general rule of thumb .. .shop the outside of the grocery store. You will notice that most of the store around the outside contains foods without labels. Those are the foods we need to eat. Look back a few generation....people ate bacon and eggs, steak and potatoes, veggies, and fruit. They grew their food, worked hard, ate healthy fat. This food was not genetically modified, it was not fed hormones and it was organic. The diseases many of us are battling today were just not prevalent back then. Of course we could debate about the details in this until we are all blue in the face but the basics are true. People were healthier when the food was basic.
Today we have aisles and aisles of convenience foods. How often do you read the labels? We have been reading more and more labels in our house and I am disgusted. My daughter read labels to me the other day and could barely sound out many of the words. She determined on her own that it was a food she was not interested in eating again. Many of these convenience foods are really easy to make from scratch and avoid the chemicals. Pancakes for example...they are so easy to make from scratch but so many people use mixes. Read the ingredients. We use the better crocker recipe. It takes less than 5 minutes and uses 6 ingredients. Then there is the syrup . . .Mrs Butterworts and others. Have you read those? The first ingredient is generally high fructose corn syrup. The only syrup in these is corn syrup. Costco carries real maple syrup for reasonable prices. This meal is a treat for my kids when Brad is traveling. Not the healthiest but at least it is chemical free. In many cases, it is less expensive or similar price to make from scratch and make healthier.
What to buy organic? Look up the dirty dozen list and start there. We do our best to buy meat and chicken that is organic and hormone free but are not totally there yet. But fish that is wild vs farm raised. Just some simple things to pay attention to. We are very lucky that places like Costco carry so many of these foods now at much better prices.
The simplest and healthiest approach . . .. shop the outside of the store, eat foods without labels, avoid refined sugar and white flour. You will be shocked how amazing you feel just following these steps! As we continue down this rabbit hole, we will address more specific topics. Choose what you want to do . . .remember, it is a journey and it is your journey! Each step is part of your journey to wellness. Please throw out questions you have so we can address them! Have a wonderful week and happy shopping!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Trophies and keeping score!
Finally . .. Get to sit down and write. Ahhh....my teenagers are upstairs doing homework and my precious, adorable 9 year old daughter is reading over my shoulder. She said, "Mom, do you just have to blog about food?? Can't you talk about your amazing family? You can talk about how pretty and awesome I am and how I just got grounded from watching a show.". Well, Grace, sure . .. I can talk about that too! You all know my eating blog is still coming. Nobody will get off the hook that easy. But, after just enjoying my Dark Chocolate (organic and no soy :) ), maybe I best keep my mouth shut . . .or you all know the truth which is Dark Chocolate is my vice. In the midst of this insane, incredibly healthy, strict eating, chocolate is my thing.
Back to my people . .. for those of you who do not know her, my daughter is confident. Boy do I envy that girl. She has the most sensitive and caring heart while not remotely caring what other people think of her. If we can figure out a way to keep her on this path, we will have succeeded. I'll get back to you during the middle school years. What I found really interesting was that she wanted me to share about her getting grounded. Sure, there were tears when it happened but she has moved on. If you cannot get your work done in our house, you lose privileges. No need to get our panties in a twist . .. you know the rule, you broke it so you suffer the consequences. Off to drawing and reading she goes. For me, this shows that confident side. She is willing to share the good, the bad and the ugly. Isn't that how we all want to be and aren't those the kinds of friends we want? Sister, I love that authentic and genuine person you are! Now I should probably take a quick break to make sure she is not sneaking one of those shows!
Not sure my boys would be quite as excited for me to talk about them! The past couple of weeks have been a little stressful in our house. High school golf team tryouts. . . oh my! Both boys started the tryouts and 1 made the team . . .after 11 straight days not including the weekends. So, the mom that is supposed to be keeping as low a stress level as possible...FAIL! Why in the world do we get so stressed out about these things? Of course I adore my babies and do not want them to miss out on the things in life that they really want and I hate to see them sad. But, it does built character .. .supposedly! For my son who came to the course ready to play every one of those days, we really got to see an incredible progression. He became calmer and more focused. Of course, he was nervous and really anxious but he channeled that into focus. As much as I hated how much the whole process dragged on, I do think a lot of good came out of it for him.
For me, I get an F with how I handled it. Well, maybe not an F but I certainly do not deserve a pat on the back. I get to the point where I rationally know everything is out of my control and that I just need chill out. But, emotionally . .. that is an entirely different story! How do you keep those emotions in check when it comes to your kiddos? There is that fine line of helping them grow and helping them grow from failing. I am a firm believer that we need to help our kids learn to fail...so that brings me to the trophies...Seriously . .. trophies for participation? What in the world are we doing with this? What are we possibly teaching our children? Then we could throw in the sports games not keeping score. Are you serious? Like our middle schoolers do not know how to count. And if they don't we have bigger issues. What have we taught our kids when they don't get the opportunity to learn how to lose, to fail, to not get what they want. You know those trophies? The 100's of dollars we have spent on the participation trophies . . .they are boxed up. My boys could care less about them. What they care about are the trophies that they EARNED. Those are on the shelf in their room. Don't we feel the same way as adults? We are proud and excited about those things we earned. Think about that first paycheck . . . you know how excited you were. You worked, you got paid and it felt good! Why do we rob our children of these experiences just because we don't want them to feel bad. I am thankful that we learned some of this early on. It has made the teenage years so enjoyable. The issues just get bigger and the consequences get more painful so fail young!
Anyway . . .rather random blog tonight! Do we all just care so much about our precious little people that we can't control our emotions when it concerns them? Or am I weird like that? Part of me wishes I could just enjoy the ride . .. good or bad. Then part of me feels like being invested in them is good. It is so hard to know the perfect behavior! I guess that is the journey . . .some days it works and some days it doesn't. Either way, we learn and grow and our kids do too. I am so thankful for the direction God has taken each of our kids. They are people I really enjoy. I love that my boys will come curl up with me in the evenings before bed and chat with me about their lives. It may get late and I know we all have to be up early but those are precious moments. I respect their thoughts and opinions. It is really incredible to me to get to the point where I want their advice in certain situations because they have great thoughts that I really respect. My heart is going to break when they leave for college though I will be so happy for what they have done to EARN that opportunity. Rational vs emotional. I don't know about you but do you ever feel like you have multiple personalities with the rational/emotional battle? Good grief!
OK . time to hang out with my middle guy....the handsome golf team member! Time to talk about the fun classes he is going to add to his schedule next year. Work hard and EARN the fun class! What a journey. I guess this is all part of my journey to wellness....my people are a huge part of it. They keep me grounded and crazy all at the same time. I would love to hear how you deal with the rational vs emotional struggle! I am sure many of us can relate. Thank you for letting me ramble. I know Grace was excited to pick my blog topic. Whatever the topic, I am grateful for each one of you on this Journey to Wellness. Enjoy your week!
Back to my people . .. for those of you who do not know her, my daughter is confident. Boy do I envy that girl. She has the most sensitive and caring heart while not remotely caring what other people think of her. If we can figure out a way to keep her on this path, we will have succeeded. I'll get back to you during the middle school years. What I found really interesting was that she wanted me to share about her getting grounded. Sure, there were tears when it happened but she has moved on. If you cannot get your work done in our house, you lose privileges. No need to get our panties in a twist . .. you know the rule, you broke it so you suffer the consequences. Off to drawing and reading she goes. For me, this shows that confident side. She is willing to share the good, the bad and the ugly. Isn't that how we all want to be and aren't those the kinds of friends we want? Sister, I love that authentic and genuine person you are! Now I should probably take a quick break to make sure she is not sneaking one of those shows!
Not sure my boys would be quite as excited for me to talk about them! The past couple of weeks have been a little stressful in our house. High school golf team tryouts. . . oh my! Both boys started the tryouts and 1 made the team . . .after 11 straight days not including the weekends. So, the mom that is supposed to be keeping as low a stress level as possible...FAIL! Why in the world do we get so stressed out about these things? Of course I adore my babies and do not want them to miss out on the things in life that they really want and I hate to see them sad. But, it does built character .. .supposedly! For my son who came to the course ready to play every one of those days, we really got to see an incredible progression. He became calmer and more focused. Of course, he was nervous and really anxious but he channeled that into focus. As much as I hated how much the whole process dragged on, I do think a lot of good came out of it for him.
For me, I get an F with how I handled it. Well, maybe not an F but I certainly do not deserve a pat on the back. I get to the point where I rationally know everything is out of my control and that I just need chill out. But, emotionally . .. that is an entirely different story! How do you keep those emotions in check when it comes to your kiddos? There is that fine line of helping them grow and helping them grow from failing. I am a firm believer that we need to help our kids learn to fail...so that brings me to the trophies...Seriously . .. trophies for participation? What in the world are we doing with this? What are we possibly teaching our children? Then we could throw in the sports games not keeping score. Are you serious? Like our middle schoolers do not know how to count. And if they don't we have bigger issues. What have we taught our kids when they don't get the opportunity to learn how to lose, to fail, to not get what they want. You know those trophies? The 100's of dollars we have spent on the participation trophies . . .they are boxed up. My boys could care less about them. What they care about are the trophies that they EARNED. Those are on the shelf in their room. Don't we feel the same way as adults? We are proud and excited about those things we earned. Think about that first paycheck . . . you know how excited you were. You worked, you got paid and it felt good! Why do we rob our children of these experiences just because we don't want them to feel bad. I am thankful that we learned some of this early on. It has made the teenage years so enjoyable. The issues just get bigger and the consequences get more painful so fail young!
Anyway . . .rather random blog tonight! Do we all just care so much about our precious little people that we can't control our emotions when it concerns them? Or am I weird like that? Part of me wishes I could just enjoy the ride . .. good or bad. Then part of me feels like being invested in them is good. It is so hard to know the perfect behavior! I guess that is the journey . . .some days it works and some days it doesn't. Either way, we learn and grow and our kids do too. I am so thankful for the direction God has taken each of our kids. They are people I really enjoy. I love that my boys will come curl up with me in the evenings before bed and chat with me about their lives. It may get late and I know we all have to be up early but those are precious moments. I respect their thoughts and opinions. It is really incredible to me to get to the point where I want their advice in certain situations because they have great thoughts that I really respect. My heart is going to break when they leave for college though I will be so happy for what they have done to EARN that opportunity. Rational vs emotional. I don't know about you but do you ever feel like you have multiple personalities with the rational/emotional battle? Good grief!
OK . time to hang out with my middle guy....the handsome golf team member! Time to talk about the fun classes he is going to add to his schedule next year. Work hard and EARN the fun class! What a journey. I guess this is all part of my journey to wellness....my people are a huge part of it. They keep me grounded and crazy all at the same time. I would love to hear how you deal with the rational vs emotional struggle! I am sure many of us can relate. Thank you for letting me ramble. I know Grace was excited to pick my blog topic. Whatever the topic, I am grateful for each one of you on this Journey to Wellness. Enjoy your week!
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Hormones ... the crazy, crazier and craziest!
Happy Tuesday! Somehow I just ended up alone in my house for an hour. I am so excited to be able to sit in a quiet house and write! I have so many different things I have been wanting to talk about so will see what comes out today. Quick update....I am feeling better, slowly but surely. I got the results from the GI Effects test and much of it points to Celiac (rats!). Thankfully I was already gluten free but now it could be a new story. We will see.
I know some of you saw my Facebook post speaking to hormones in IUDs and birth control pills. I love the honest, real conversation that was shared. Thank you! I was completely blessed by your willingness to be so vulnerable in such a public way. I very much want to speak to eating for healing and health but I also need to process some of this hormone business so I think tonight we will go there. Stay tuned for the eating for healing blog...it is coming folks!
So the back history. . .. birth control pills made me crazy (first sign that hormones are not a solid option for my body). After having 2 precious babies in 3 years of marriage and being 27, I was not remotely interested in adding any other pleasant surprises to our lives. My doctor suggested an IUD so I went with the copper one. ..no hormones. All was well then we decided that sweet Grace needed to join our family so out with the IUD. After she was born I got another IUD until snip snip was completed. I asked all the questions about the Mirena. Would the hormones be a problem? Affect my migraines? I was assured that the amount of hormone was so small it would not be a problem. I read all the paperwork. Nothing about autoimmune diseases, etc. After 5 years I had it replaced and now, at the almost 10 year mark (2 different Mirena IUDs), I could not get that thing out fast enough. The more I learn, the scarier it is becoming.
I am making a very bold statement and I may or may not be correct but here goes . . . I believe that the Mirena IUD has caused the majority of my health issues. Synthetic hormones are horrible for our bodies and can cause a host of problems . .some of which are autoimmune diseases such as Hashimotos and Celiac. Not to mention mental struggles and migraines.
A blaring sign for me started 1 week after removing my IUD. The migraines started. Almost every single day, all day for 2 1/2 weeks. They got worse by the day and then finally started getting better. I am now on day 3 migraine free. That is what triggered more of my research. There is actually a published book called the Mirena Detox Diet. Seriously?! So, a hormone that is so minimal it should not affect me sent me into a hormone induced crazy world for more than 2 weeks. If removing it causes my hormones to be that out of whack, what in the world was it doing to them all these years? My belief? Wreaking havoc. When you end up with a testosterone level of 18 (this is really really low!), adrenals crashed and thyroid disease flared, you know something is up. Everything points to the synthetic hormones being used. Thankfully, I feel like I am on the right track now.
I know this is a lot of information and probably a bit too much but I really want to get the point across to everyone . . .get rid of those hormones! To be honest, I am not sure what I would do if I was back in my early years between kids and not ready for more yet. I would have to do quite a bit of research. What I do know is that the long term affects are not worth it. I will live with Hashimotos and Celiac (if that is the case) for the rest of my life. Yes, they can be managed with diet (see . . .you knew I would bring that up!) and the right natural supplements. But, they will be there and they will flare from time to time and that stinks. Plus . .. I live in a beer town with amazing beers and I cannot ever have one again. Yes, I know....things could be worse, just saying.
More than anything I am angry that a company (Bayer) has employees that sleep at night knowing what their products are doing to consumers. It is scary. So, my focus is to share and help others avoid this mess. I will keep researching and learning about this and many things in the health industry. The world has changed drastically in the past few decades. Some of it for the better and some of it for the worse.
We need to take things into our own hands. This applies in so many areas of our lives. We must be an advocate for ourselves. We must teach our children how to be advocates as well! It is our job to know the information. Know what you are putting into your body. If you are constantly putting chemicals in and you end up sick with disease, why in the world do you think adding more chemicals will rid your body of disease? Don't get my wrong . .. I believe there is a time and place for medication. If I had cancer, I would have a very hard time not trying everything to get rid of it. So, please do not think I am anti-medication. Sometimes we need something to help us get to a place to be able to tackle whatever the issue is more naturally.
So then the topic of hormones and menopause comes up....I have no clue. Not there yet and have not done the research. But, I can promise you, I am starting to gather data and thinking about hormone management. I am going to throw this out and maybe it will stick . . .eating to manage hormones. I believe there are foods that will help and those that will hinder. Something I will pursue more as the time comes. And this puts us on our path for the next blog! In the meantime, please look into what you are putting into your body. Be responsible for your own self and be healthy. So many of you have reached out and shared your journey with me. THANK YOU! I truly feel honored that you would trust me with your "Stuff". I appreciate each of you and look forward to hearing from more of you as we Journey to Wellness together!
I know some of you saw my Facebook post speaking to hormones in IUDs and birth control pills. I love the honest, real conversation that was shared. Thank you! I was completely blessed by your willingness to be so vulnerable in such a public way. I very much want to speak to eating for healing and health but I also need to process some of this hormone business so I think tonight we will go there. Stay tuned for the eating for healing blog...it is coming folks!
So the back history. . .. birth control pills made me crazy (first sign that hormones are not a solid option for my body). After having 2 precious babies in 3 years of marriage and being 27, I was not remotely interested in adding any other pleasant surprises to our lives. My doctor suggested an IUD so I went with the copper one. ..no hormones. All was well then we decided that sweet Grace needed to join our family so out with the IUD. After she was born I got another IUD until snip snip was completed. I asked all the questions about the Mirena. Would the hormones be a problem? Affect my migraines? I was assured that the amount of hormone was so small it would not be a problem. I read all the paperwork. Nothing about autoimmune diseases, etc. After 5 years I had it replaced and now, at the almost 10 year mark (2 different Mirena IUDs), I could not get that thing out fast enough. The more I learn, the scarier it is becoming.
I am making a very bold statement and I may or may not be correct but here goes . . . I believe that the Mirena IUD has caused the majority of my health issues. Synthetic hormones are horrible for our bodies and can cause a host of problems . .some of which are autoimmune diseases such as Hashimotos and Celiac. Not to mention mental struggles and migraines.
A blaring sign for me started 1 week after removing my IUD. The migraines started. Almost every single day, all day for 2 1/2 weeks. They got worse by the day and then finally started getting better. I am now on day 3 migraine free. That is what triggered more of my research. There is actually a published book called the Mirena Detox Diet. Seriously?! So, a hormone that is so minimal it should not affect me sent me into a hormone induced crazy world for more than 2 weeks. If removing it causes my hormones to be that out of whack, what in the world was it doing to them all these years? My belief? Wreaking havoc. When you end up with a testosterone level of 18 (this is really really low!), adrenals crashed and thyroid disease flared, you know something is up. Everything points to the synthetic hormones being used. Thankfully, I feel like I am on the right track now.
I know this is a lot of information and probably a bit too much but I really want to get the point across to everyone . . .get rid of those hormones! To be honest, I am not sure what I would do if I was back in my early years between kids and not ready for more yet. I would have to do quite a bit of research. What I do know is that the long term affects are not worth it. I will live with Hashimotos and Celiac (if that is the case) for the rest of my life. Yes, they can be managed with diet (see . . .you knew I would bring that up!) and the right natural supplements. But, they will be there and they will flare from time to time and that stinks. Plus . .. I live in a beer town with amazing beers and I cannot ever have one again. Yes, I know....things could be worse, just saying.
More than anything I am angry that a company (Bayer) has employees that sleep at night knowing what their products are doing to consumers. It is scary. So, my focus is to share and help others avoid this mess. I will keep researching and learning about this and many things in the health industry. The world has changed drastically in the past few decades. Some of it for the better and some of it for the worse.
We need to take things into our own hands. This applies in so many areas of our lives. We must be an advocate for ourselves. We must teach our children how to be advocates as well! It is our job to know the information. Know what you are putting into your body. If you are constantly putting chemicals in and you end up sick with disease, why in the world do you think adding more chemicals will rid your body of disease? Don't get my wrong . .. I believe there is a time and place for medication. If I had cancer, I would have a very hard time not trying everything to get rid of it. So, please do not think I am anti-medication. Sometimes we need something to help us get to a place to be able to tackle whatever the issue is more naturally.
So then the topic of hormones and menopause comes up....I have no clue. Not there yet and have not done the research. But, I can promise you, I am starting to gather data and thinking about hormone management. I am going to throw this out and maybe it will stick . . .eating to manage hormones. I believe there are foods that will help and those that will hinder. Something I will pursue more as the time comes. And this puts us on our path for the next blog! In the meantime, please look into what you are putting into your body. Be responsible for your own self and be healthy. So many of you have reached out and shared your journey with me. THANK YOU! I truly feel honored that you would trust me with your "Stuff". I appreciate each of you and look forward to hearing from more of you as we Journey to Wellness together!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Journeying....
Well, it has been almost exactly 1 year since I blogged. What a crazy, great, challenging, enlightening year! I have run into so many people lately who have asked me if I am still blogging. Then, I had another group of people reach out to me after a couple of Facebook posts. So, the blog is reborn...at least for this post!
One year later where am I? Still on the journey. I guess that was part of the reason I stopped blogging. Everything I was doing stopped working for awhile with my health so I became completely frustrated. The more I researched, the more overwhelmed I got, the more frustrated I became and the more my body got cranky! Fast forward a few months and a couple of very upsetting experiences put me over the edge. Enough was enough. I was keeping my anxiety at a tolerable level but not good. I had randomly gained 10 pounds in 1 week that could not be explained as more than inflammation. BUT WHY???? I kept trying to find the person that could help me figure it out. My diet was sound, how in the world does a person just puff up? And, without knowing the reason, it took away my knowledge of how to get rid of it. Don't even get me started on GI unhappiness. So, I decided to try a different approach. But first, let me warn you...the ugly truth is coming so be kind.
The time leading up to this we got hit with one financial stress after another. If it wasn't braces, it was the car, or the garage door, or ....you name it and we probably had to cough up the coin to pay for it. We had to laugh but deep down this was very stressful on both Brad and I. Throw money stress on top of challenging experiences on top of health issues and you get one really ugly recipe for disaster. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some blessings that came from this. One thing that was a big blessing was that Brad and I ended up on the same page with so many things. We partnered together in the stress instead of dividing. Side note....we both listen to KLOVE all the time and it is a huge source of comfort for us both. It is also a great connection Brad and I have throughout the day. I know he is hearing some of the same things that I am and we can talk about it. Anyway . .. just a little nugget in the journey!
As many of you know, I was already going to acupuncture so I continued that fairly regularly. Of course I worked hard at the gym and focused on my diet. Once I hit the "enough is enough" moment, I found a counselor. It was time to talk through some of this craziness and put it in a nice neat package. She has been a huge benefit to me. Though I believe my boundaries as a parent are strong, my personal boundaries were not. So we did a lot of work on boundaries. Figuring out what is and is not ok in my life. It has been so helpful in our house to have more clarity with this. It has also been very helpful to have an unbiased party to either call me on the carpet or help me understand why I do not have to be tolerant of certain behaviors from others and how to handle it. Huge blessing for sure!
My doctor had thrown out adrenal fatigue as a contributing factor to what I was dealing with but that was all she did. Just mentioned it and did not go father with a plan to heal it. So I researched on my own and started tackling some of the things suggested. One huge one is to eliminate stressors in life. Are you kidding me? How does a mom with 2 jobs, 3 kids, a husband and friends as well as activities eliminate stressors?? As much as I love my life, it is crazy and stressful! So, I started chipping away slowly. I took a hiatus from book club (not back yet but hopefully someday!), we cut down on social engagements, we eliminated activities on weeknights beyond those the kids are involved in, we planned many more family nights, Brad and I talked more about who does what in the house, etc. I had to really look at the things I wanted to do vs the things I felt I had to do. Golf . . . my family loves to golf. I suck at it. I started looking at the time it would take for me to become decent and it became a stress. I really had to work through it and realize that it is ok for me to put it aside for now. I can still walk with my family while they play and right now I prefer that! I approached a few things this way. It has been liberating to remove the guilt and just accept where I am. It has also helped me be less resentful of the things I have to do.
Anxiety was still on my radar and wreaking havoc on my body. Finally I gave in and started taking medication for it. After all of the natural approaches and work I had been doing, here I had to add a chemical. UGH! But, I have to say, getting the anxiety under wraps is HUGE. I don't feel like I am sitting on the edge of an active volcano at every moment. Big big big relief.
With all of this I still continued to believe everything was tied together . .. .thyroid, hormones, adrenals, migraines, anxiety. I 100% believe there is a connect but what is it? I finally was so fed up with the whole thing I just ignored it all. I kept up my healthy eating, exercising, calmer schedule, etc but I really tried to stop obsessing about it all.
As we moved into fall I was starting to hit a wall. I kept pushing through it but it got harder and harder. My workouts became really challenging, my back started acting up again, my migraines started picking up, I was exhausted all the time, and on and on. It just continued to get worse. By December my doctor ordered blood work to check my thyroid and so begins my current installment of the journey. I don't share all of this to complain and gripe about my issues. If anything that is what has kept me from sharing all this time. Who wants to listen to this? What I do know and others have encouraged, it that many of us are on this or similar journeys. If my struggles, research and learning can help somebody else, it truly is worth it to me. Sometimes it is just nice to know that you are not alone!
Back to December....old doctor retired so met with the gal that took over for her to go over my blood work and the doctor is floored. My T4 is in the tank, my reverse T3 is bad, my testosterone is almost non existent, vitamin D scary low, etc. Nothing we were doing was working. My body simply was not absorbing anything. Hashimoto's was fighting back with a vengeance. So we switched my thyroid meds to see if that would help, we revisited supplements and my diet. Then she had me do a SIBO test. That came back negative. The next test is a GI effects test. Let me back up for just a minute. One very crucial element is Gut Health. I am a firm believer the the gut is our second brain. Thankfully my doctor is a believer as well. So the SIBO test looks at the upper intestines and the GI effects looks at the lower. I will have those results in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, she took me off everything and we are starting from scratch. At the same time she tested my adrenal glands. The results were full blown crashed adrenals. Severe adrenal fatigue. FINALLY something to explain all of this. Completely makes sense so how do we fix it? Well . . .there is the challenge. It is a long road to recovery.
So here is where I am today.... 3 weeks ago I started eating a very strict diet of Meat, Veggies (minus night shades) and fruit. Grapefruit is my best friend right now. You can see the list of ok foods but looking up www.whole30.com and click on the shopping lists. I am following the autoimmune shopping list. I can honestly say that those people who try to tell you that 21 days is enough to get over a sugar addiction are smoking crack! I want chocolate so badly right now...grrr. But, I am sticking to it. I drink a glass of salt water every morning to support my adrenals, have liquid licorice also for adrenal support, vitamin d in liquid form, testosterone, DHEA and added apple cider vinegar yesterday. That, along with my thyroid meds is it. I also have added chiropractor and massage. I am only allowed to walk and stretch, no other exercise. And I am supposed to rest as much as possible. Her comment to me was that my body is very sick and I need to treat it as such. So, we are. We are spending a lot of time as a family. We have really quiet weekends (this is nice!). I take naps when I can. Brad is a rock star and stepping up even more than normal. Do I feel good? No. Am I feeling better than a month ago? Yes. Do I have a long way to go . . .yup. But, I feel like I am on the right track. One perk .. .I lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks. Obviously some food was part of the issue with the inflammation. Sugar, alcohol and other allergens are huge stressors to the adrenals. It is interesting and I am learning a lot. A couple of great books that I have read are The Root Cause of Hashimotos and The Adrenal Fatigue Reset Diet.
I know so many of you are trying to put your puzzle together as well. It is hard! Stick with it and find the right support. I have been so blessed by some good friends and family support. I can't wait to be on the other side of this to know what is really going to work. But, for now, I have to have faith that I am doing the right things. Wow . . cliff notes for the year! I could go on and on but this is enough for now. Not very exciting and not incredibly articulate ....we will blame brain fog. But, hopefully you get the basics. For those who have reached out, I am truly honored that you want to share in my research. I am so glad it is going to good use! Cheers to each of you as we journey to wellness together!
One year later where am I? Still on the journey. I guess that was part of the reason I stopped blogging. Everything I was doing stopped working for awhile with my health so I became completely frustrated. The more I researched, the more overwhelmed I got, the more frustrated I became and the more my body got cranky! Fast forward a few months and a couple of very upsetting experiences put me over the edge. Enough was enough. I was keeping my anxiety at a tolerable level but not good. I had randomly gained 10 pounds in 1 week that could not be explained as more than inflammation. BUT WHY???? I kept trying to find the person that could help me figure it out. My diet was sound, how in the world does a person just puff up? And, without knowing the reason, it took away my knowledge of how to get rid of it. Don't even get me started on GI unhappiness. So, I decided to try a different approach. But first, let me warn you...the ugly truth is coming so be kind.
The time leading up to this we got hit with one financial stress after another. If it wasn't braces, it was the car, or the garage door, or ....you name it and we probably had to cough up the coin to pay for it. We had to laugh but deep down this was very stressful on both Brad and I. Throw money stress on top of challenging experiences on top of health issues and you get one really ugly recipe for disaster. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some blessings that came from this. One thing that was a big blessing was that Brad and I ended up on the same page with so many things. We partnered together in the stress instead of dividing. Side note....we both listen to KLOVE all the time and it is a huge source of comfort for us both. It is also a great connection Brad and I have throughout the day. I know he is hearing some of the same things that I am and we can talk about it. Anyway . .. just a little nugget in the journey!
As many of you know, I was already going to acupuncture so I continued that fairly regularly. Of course I worked hard at the gym and focused on my diet. Once I hit the "enough is enough" moment, I found a counselor. It was time to talk through some of this craziness and put it in a nice neat package. She has been a huge benefit to me. Though I believe my boundaries as a parent are strong, my personal boundaries were not. So we did a lot of work on boundaries. Figuring out what is and is not ok in my life. It has been so helpful in our house to have more clarity with this. It has also been very helpful to have an unbiased party to either call me on the carpet or help me understand why I do not have to be tolerant of certain behaviors from others and how to handle it. Huge blessing for sure!
My doctor had thrown out adrenal fatigue as a contributing factor to what I was dealing with but that was all she did. Just mentioned it and did not go father with a plan to heal it. So I researched on my own and started tackling some of the things suggested. One huge one is to eliminate stressors in life. Are you kidding me? How does a mom with 2 jobs, 3 kids, a husband and friends as well as activities eliminate stressors?? As much as I love my life, it is crazy and stressful! So, I started chipping away slowly. I took a hiatus from book club (not back yet but hopefully someday!), we cut down on social engagements, we eliminated activities on weeknights beyond those the kids are involved in, we planned many more family nights, Brad and I talked more about who does what in the house, etc. I had to really look at the things I wanted to do vs the things I felt I had to do. Golf . . . my family loves to golf. I suck at it. I started looking at the time it would take for me to become decent and it became a stress. I really had to work through it and realize that it is ok for me to put it aside for now. I can still walk with my family while they play and right now I prefer that! I approached a few things this way. It has been liberating to remove the guilt and just accept where I am. It has also helped me be less resentful of the things I have to do.
Anxiety was still on my radar and wreaking havoc on my body. Finally I gave in and started taking medication for it. After all of the natural approaches and work I had been doing, here I had to add a chemical. UGH! But, I have to say, getting the anxiety under wraps is HUGE. I don't feel like I am sitting on the edge of an active volcano at every moment. Big big big relief.
With all of this I still continued to believe everything was tied together . .. .thyroid, hormones, adrenals, migraines, anxiety. I 100% believe there is a connect but what is it? I finally was so fed up with the whole thing I just ignored it all. I kept up my healthy eating, exercising, calmer schedule, etc but I really tried to stop obsessing about it all.
As we moved into fall I was starting to hit a wall. I kept pushing through it but it got harder and harder. My workouts became really challenging, my back started acting up again, my migraines started picking up, I was exhausted all the time, and on and on. It just continued to get worse. By December my doctor ordered blood work to check my thyroid and so begins my current installment of the journey. I don't share all of this to complain and gripe about my issues. If anything that is what has kept me from sharing all this time. Who wants to listen to this? What I do know and others have encouraged, it that many of us are on this or similar journeys. If my struggles, research and learning can help somebody else, it truly is worth it to me. Sometimes it is just nice to know that you are not alone!
Back to December....old doctor retired so met with the gal that took over for her to go over my blood work and the doctor is floored. My T4 is in the tank, my reverse T3 is bad, my testosterone is almost non existent, vitamin D scary low, etc. Nothing we were doing was working. My body simply was not absorbing anything. Hashimoto's was fighting back with a vengeance. So we switched my thyroid meds to see if that would help, we revisited supplements and my diet. Then she had me do a SIBO test. That came back negative. The next test is a GI effects test. Let me back up for just a minute. One very crucial element is Gut Health. I am a firm believer the the gut is our second brain. Thankfully my doctor is a believer as well. So the SIBO test looks at the upper intestines and the GI effects looks at the lower. I will have those results in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, she took me off everything and we are starting from scratch. At the same time she tested my adrenal glands. The results were full blown crashed adrenals. Severe adrenal fatigue. FINALLY something to explain all of this. Completely makes sense so how do we fix it? Well . . .there is the challenge. It is a long road to recovery.
So here is where I am today.... 3 weeks ago I started eating a very strict diet of Meat, Veggies (minus night shades) and fruit. Grapefruit is my best friend right now. You can see the list of ok foods but looking up www.whole30.com and click on the shopping lists. I am following the autoimmune shopping list. I can honestly say that those people who try to tell you that 21 days is enough to get over a sugar addiction are smoking crack! I want chocolate so badly right now...grrr. But, I am sticking to it. I drink a glass of salt water every morning to support my adrenals, have liquid licorice also for adrenal support, vitamin d in liquid form, testosterone, DHEA and added apple cider vinegar yesterday. That, along with my thyroid meds is it. I also have added chiropractor and massage. I am only allowed to walk and stretch, no other exercise. And I am supposed to rest as much as possible. Her comment to me was that my body is very sick and I need to treat it as such. So, we are. We are spending a lot of time as a family. We have really quiet weekends (this is nice!). I take naps when I can. Brad is a rock star and stepping up even more than normal. Do I feel good? No. Am I feeling better than a month ago? Yes. Do I have a long way to go . . .yup. But, I feel like I am on the right track. One perk .. .I lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks. Obviously some food was part of the issue with the inflammation. Sugar, alcohol and other allergens are huge stressors to the adrenals. It is interesting and I am learning a lot. A couple of great books that I have read are The Root Cause of Hashimotos and The Adrenal Fatigue Reset Diet.
I know so many of you are trying to put your puzzle together as well. It is hard! Stick with it and find the right support. I have been so blessed by some good friends and family support. I can't wait to be on the other side of this to know what is really going to work. But, for now, I have to have faith that I am doing the right things. Wow . . cliff notes for the year! I could go on and on but this is enough for now. Not very exciting and not incredibly articulate ....we will blame brain fog. But, hopefully you get the basics. For those who have reached out, I am truly honored that you want to share in my research. I am so glad it is going to good use! Cheers to each of you as we journey to wellness together!
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