It's a rollercoaster of a ride

Confession:  My eating habits have been WAY OFF for the better part of the last 3 weeks!  I was in Nashville, TN for Coach Summit, July 15-19.  I had my Shakeology EVERY DAY.  However, we did lots of meals at restaurants, and I did splurge...a little.  Overall, I made healthier choices.  I participated in large group workouts, and I walked about 8 or so miles each day! 

I arrived back home on the evening of the 19th....just in time to close on our house, the morning of the 20th.  We spent all of last week moving.  Yes, we did most of it ourselves.  We hired movers for the heavy furniture, but the bulk of the moving (of the possessions of a family of 6) was done by myself and my hubby.  Our kids were a big help!  I am pretty impressed by my 11 and 13 year old, and their willingness to step up and carry stuff...even the heavy stuff.  Our parents also offered quite a bit of help, although, we tried very hard NOT to let them lift the heavy stuff.  Apparently, I have impressed my father in law, with my ability to carry heavy things.  Thank you Body Beast and 21 Day Fix Extreme, for the muscle training ;).  Needless to say, I was getting in tons of exercise with this move.  According to my Fitbit, I was getting in 15000-20000 steps a day.   As you may have guessed, we did a lot of fast food runs for meals.  I have had my fair share of pizza, tacos, fried chicken, and cheeseburgers this past week and a half.  I did opt for a few salads along the way, but honestly, when you are moving that much stuff, you NEED the calories from something other than veggies.  The good news is that I have finally unpacked my kitchen.  I can now start cooking again!!!  I have a 3 Day Refresh sitting on my counter, just waiting to be opened, to help me get back on track.  My plan if to jump on that, starting August 12 - we have some other things planned that will not allow a refresh to work well with my schedule before then.  I will keep you posted!!

Quick check in

How is it Friday already?  The past 2 weeks have been kind of a blur.  I was at Coach Summit last week, and this week we have been moving.  We should be completely moved by Monday, so things should start to feel like normal again (except for the unpacking).  Confession...I have been eating like CRAP this week.  We have had more fast food this week, than I have had in the past year.  Today's mission is to find and unpack the pots and pans so I can start cooking in my own house! 

My success this week:  I am having a record breaking week with my Fitbit!  I have hit 80,000 steps, and I still have today to go...and that is JUST for the week.  What is your success this week?

Soy. Paleo. EBV

Finally the last allergen has been tested, and it turns out that I am not sensitive to soy.  YAY!!!  Finally something that does not bother my system.  Funny though....soy is not a part of Paleo eating.

This allergy elimination has been the best thing that I have done to see what I am able to eat, and what I should stay away from.  Because I forced my body to stay away from dairy, gluten, corn, and soy for 3 weeks, I was easily able to pick out which of those items was causing which digestive symptoms that I was experiencing.   I HIGHLY recommended that everyone give this a try to see what foods you may be sensitive to, and not even know it.  The process is not too hard.  It does require reading food labels, and thinking outside of the box, when it comes to your regular eating plan. It is only 3 weeks of completely avoiding those foods, and it is so worth the knowledge that you gain from it.  As a bonus, I was able to lose a solid 9 pounds over the past 5 weeks.  Obviously, my gut is feeling better and my body is running more efficiently.    If you need some direction or want to know how to do an Allergy Elimination diet, message me and I can help you out.

So now what?

Now that I have diagnosed that I am NOT very gluten or corn tolerant, and that I have a sensitivity to dairy, I need to avoid those things.  I still feel that going with a Paleo eating plan is the way to go, for me.  As I mentioned in previous posts, I am going to try and go about 80% Paleo.  I am allowing myself to be forgiving, so that I may enjoy an occasional slice of pizza, or treats at a party or gathering.  I will still make smarter choices because I KNOW how my body reacts to certain foods, but I can't live in a bubble.  Circumstances happen that will cause me to have to live in the real world, and not have ideal food options available to me, and I need to be prepared for those situations.  

So what is Paleo?  Essentially, Paleo eating is the idea that humans should go back to eating real, whole, unprocessed foods.  So that seems pretty simple, right?  Well, it is a little more complicated than that.  With Paleo, you are focusing on foods that were eaten by cavemen (during the paleolithic era).  So, foods that you might find while hunting and gathering.  There was very little farming, so things like grains were not really consumed.  Dairy appears to be a gray area with Paleo.  Milk from animals would have been available back then, but it was not utilized (time was not taken for milking animals).  However, milk (specifically breast milk) was essential in feeding and nourishing babies.  From what I have read, and in my opinion, I believe that dairy that has been minimally processed would fit very well with a Paleo eating plan.  That being said, I am also finding tons of recipes for cheese that is made from almond or coconut milk, both of which are non-dairy.  

If you are curious about Paleo, here is a nuts and bolts description of what is involved.  Keep following my story for how I am making it work for me.

Oh gluten, why don't you like me?

I just finished up my 2 days of gluten testing on this allergy elimination diet.  I have happy/sad news about gluten.  On the happy side, I didn't have the typical digestive issues that one has when your body doesn't agree with something.  The sad news, I had some serious bloating when I added gluten to my diet.  The fact is, I probably have intestinal swelling, which looks a lot like belly bloat. It's kind of like having hives on your skin, but it all happens inside your body :(

The book that started me on this allergy elimination diet suggested that gluten plays a huge role in preventing the body from being able to keep an autoimmune disease at bay.  I have actually been contemplating going gluten free for quite some time.  About 18 months ago, we went gluten free for my youngest son.  He was having awful issues with cavities, and his behavior was off the wall.  If you follow my blog, you know that I do my research.  I discovered that removing gluten from a diet can help heal cavities, AND it is also been very helpful in helping kids with ADD (which my son does NOT have) to be more focused.  We took out gluten for several months, and can I just say his behavior improved SO MUCH!!!  The cavities did not get any worse either. For me, I had more energy, and just felt better.

I truly believe that proper nutrition is the KEY to good health.   I HATE using medication.  I am all for changing your diet first, and then seeking medical help later.  Of course, if you are having an emergency situation, get to the hospital!!!  A heart attack will not heal itself with diet that quickly.  However, if the doctor says that you have heart disease, or high cholesterol, then do your research, and CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE!!  What is more important, eating the foods that you have grown to love, or having a body that functions properly, and allows you to be around and enjoy time with the important people in your life?  In my opinion, it's ALL ABOUT QUALITY.  Don't let the idea of changing your lifestyle make you feel deprived.  Let it EMPOWER you.  You are taking control of YOUR life, and of YOUR health.  Now, I will step off my soapbox.

I have been toying with the idea of going gluten free for awhile now.  I don't eat a lot of carbs that contain gluten.  However, I probably do eat more than my fair share of gluten containing items.  If you have never researched gluten, you probably don't know that gluten isn't just in bread, but it can be found in nearly any processed food.  Many condiments contain small amounts of gluten.  It is one of those things that just has a way of sneaking into your diet whether you want it to or not.  Anyway, while going through the process of adding these allergy triggers back into my diet, I have made a decision to start going Paleo.  I think for my overall health, Paleo is what my body needs.  While I am going to embrace the Paleo experience, I am also going to follow an 80/20 plan with it.  I still want to have the occasional slice of pizza.  I want to add cheese to my taco salads, and I wand to enjoy the occasional treat while I am at a party, or gathering.   I know deep down that my body NEEDS this sort of eating plan to keep my Epstein-Barr in check.  I am a little scared of making such a change in my life, but I also know that I DESERVE this.  I DESERVE to be healthy.  I DESERVE to have energy to play with my kids.  I DESERVE to feel good and be happy.  So after I finish my allergy elimination over the weekend, I am going to start implementing a Paleo lifestyle.  Don't worry, if you have no idea what I am talking about, I will be sharing more about Paleo in an upcoming blog post :)

Corn :(

I can't tell you how challenging it was to add corn products back into my diet WITHOUT adding in soy, gluten, or dairy....aside for straight up corn (on or off the cob).  I know from past experience that my body does not digest raw or cooked corn well.  I didn't think I had an issue with popcorn.  Ummm, I think I was wrong.  On day one of my corn test, I had corn tortillas, which I toasted, broke into pieces and ate with salsa for an afternoon snack.  YUM!  I also had some air popped popcorn drizzled with coconut oil as an evening snack....BIG MISTAKE.  At the risk of TMI, the popcorn went right through me.  I had awful stomach cramping and gurgling.  It was so bad that on day 2, I limited myself to only the corn tortillas with salsa, and a tsp of cornstarch straight up (I know, not a fun way to eat it, but I couldn't figure out another way to test cornstarch, without my other allergens sneaking in).  My tummy was still rumbly, but much better than the day before.  I was completely back to normal on day 3, when I did not add in and corn products.

What does this mean from now on?  Well, I really need to limit my corn intake.  Once I get past the rest of my allergy elimination, I will test processed corn within products.  I am pretty sure cornstarch is OK for my system (especially in baked goods), but I won't know for sure until I try adding it back in as part of a product.  

Dairy...DONE

So I have completed my sensitivity test for Dairy.  I was actually surprised by the results.  I already knew that I have digestive issues when it comes to cheese in larger quantities.  My 2 day test indicated that I have issues with yogurt.  This was a BIG shocker!!!  I have been eating yogurt almost daily since last summer, and after this test I was able to put together the correlation between yogurt and constant nausea that I have had over the past year.  Here is a breakdown of my results:

Day 1

• Natural Bliss coffee creamer (just cream and sugar) in my am coffee
• 1 oz cheese with lunch
• French Vanilla Coffee from Speedway in pm (it has been a MONTH, since I have been able to enjoy my fancy coffee).  French Vanilla was the only flavor that does not also contain soy.
• 1 oz cheese with my taco salad for dinner
• plain Greek yogurt as an evening snack.

I may have gone a little bit overboard with the dairy, so that could be a source of my issues, but I has severe nausea at bedtime.  It was so bad that I couldn't sleep. My nasal congestion was also much worse that usual. 

Day 2

• 
  French Vanilla Coffee from Speedway
• 1 oz cheese with lunch
• Gluten free cheese pizza for dinner  (it was so nice to have pizza!!)

 

 My nasal congestion was better, only slight nausea, and I felt a little bloated, and had some mild constipation.

Results - I am slightly sensitive to dairy.  I do not seem to have any issues with dairy that is a small part of a recipe, but dairy in larger quantities, and possibly yogurt by itself give me nausea.  For the remainder of my allergy testing, I will not be having dairy.  However, I plan to add it back into my eating plan (in small quantities) after I finish my allergy elimination.

Cheese...FINALLY

I finally completed my 3 weeks of being gluten free, dairy free, soy free and corn free.  Overall, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  You do really notice those few foods that ARE important in your life.  For me, it was cheese.  Not that I eat much cheese, but I really missed not having it sprinkled on my taco salad.  Now that I have abstained from gluten, dairy, soy and corn for 3 weeks, I get to slowly add those things back into my diet, one thing at a time.  For the next 2 days, I am adding dairy back in to my eating plan.  I am going to take careful notes of how I feel.  Do I notice bloating, digestive cramping, constipation, headaches, nasal congestion (more than usual...I have terrible seasonal allergies), or any other unusual symptoms.  Then I will not have any dairy on day 3.  If I have no symptoms, I will continue on to another food, repeating the same 2 days on, 1 day off process.  If I have any unusual symptoms from adding dairy back into my diet, I will have to wait until those symptoms subside before I start the next potential allergen test. 

I have carefully selected the dairy items that I get to add back in.  I had to be careful to avoid soy, gluten, and corn IN those items.  On a side note...Do you have any idea how much these things are added into MANY of the foods out there?!?!?  This is why I always promote clean eating.  Most American foods are just so processed that you can't find too many items that are 'natural'.  It is kind of depressing.  As I was double checking my food labels, I noticed that my shredded taco cheese has cornstarch in it.  That's is out for now :(.  Since I don't drink cow's milk, I had to find some dairy items that fit my criteria.  I decided to go with Plain greek yogurt, hot pepper cheese (got to have my cheese), and  Natural Bliss coffee creamer.   If you LOVE coffee creamer, but want to avoid all the junk in typical creamer, then give this stuff a try.  It is simply cream and sugar!  I am picky about my coffee creamers (I just can't do straight up almond milk), but THIS, I like.  Over the past few weeks, I have been using So Delicious coconut milk coffee creamer, and it is also outstanding (a little out of my typical budget though).

**I haven't taken my measurements this week, but I have dropped a total of 7 pounds over the past 3 weeks.  I have also noticed a huge increase in energy, and I am sleeping better. I am hopeful that this allergy elimination will be the answer to some of my biggest weight loss obstacles.