I’m Back

I’m not sure where to even start. My blogging has been inconsistent at best. Same goes for my nutrition and health. We had an extremely busy summer-traveling for a month, moving to a new state, my husband starting a new job- and my health took a backseat to everything.

I’ve become a human yo-yo. Really good week or two with nutrition, something comes up, and here comes unhealthy habits again.

It took awhile but my symptoms started coming back. I’m having flares of fatigue more often than I had before. My anxiety is crazy high, like pounding heart in my chest just thinking about my schedule the next day, crazy. My weight is up and down. My joints are swollen and painful. My skin is dry and I have eczema patches on my arms and chin.

I’m mad that I have allowed myself to get back to this place again. I’m frustrated at myself because I know what to do but I was too lazy to do it. I know what it feels like to be healthy and I can’t wait to get back to feeling amazing.

So…That is where I’m at right now. Instead of waiting until January to get back to focusing on my diet, I started a 3 day cleanse yesterday to get the Thanksgiving junk out of my body and then I’m back to my Paleo lifestyle on Thursday. I will be doing the Whole30 in January so that I can really reset my body and health. I’m hoping that by sharing everything about my journey, the good and bad, I will provide info for others and hope for those who are currently struggling like I was/and am.

 

New Year, New Results

I’ve been away from the blogging world for NINE months now! So much has changed yet so much is still the same (if that makes any sense!).

When I first started this blog, it was to share my experience with the Autoimmune Paleo Diet (AIP). When I first decided to do the AIP diet, I really didn’t have any preconceived notions about what my results would be but the further I got into it, the more I realized how much nutrition plays a part in how I feel everyday.

In the last nine months, I have changed my diet around a lot to get rid of inflammation and I’m happy to report that I have began experiencing healing of my AI symptoms. In the last nine months I have done the Wole30, removed specific foods that caused inflammatory reactions (tomatoes, alcohol, and salt specifically), I have switched to a primarily Paleo diet.

I still struggle indulging in unhealthy foods and when do I indulge too much, my body quickly responds negatively and I’m reminded that I need to be eating for nutrition, not just taste. But by staying consistent with eating clean, Paleo foods,  I am off all my thyroid meds (while be monitored by a physician), I don’t struggle with fatigue everyday, I’m not experiencing chronic migraines or stomach aches anymore, I don’t wake up with painful, swollen joints, and I have hair growing back all over!

So, with all of that being said, my blog is going to be transition from sharing my experience through AIP to now sharing my journey to healing my body using nutrition. I’ll be sharing tips, recipes, information, and my results.

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine OR the slowest form of poison.” Ann Wigmore

Day 2, well really Day 1, Check-in

Today is day 2 of Paleo and really it’s only day 1. Yesterday I ended up having some organic popcorn which is NOT grain free and I also had cheese which is also not Paleo. I was definitely feeling it this morning. I had stiff joints this morning and was painfully bloated and I had a headache last night 😦

Today I have stuck to my meal plan 100% and I haven’t had a headache at all, my joints are swollen, and I’m not bloated after every meal. My biggest struggle today was not reaching for slices of cheese when I want a snack or having it on my tacos or chili. I absolutely LOVE cheese! It’s my go-to snack and I use it as a topping every chance I get. I had justified putting it on my tacos for lunch. I stopped myself because I really want to give this a try (even though I messed up yesterday). I want to be able to say I did this 100% and here are my results.

So I had my favorite meal for lunch today. This meal was something I threw together and it ended up being delicious! I could eat this everyday. I browned grass-fed ground beef, topped it with homemade taco seasoning, and then put it on top of a sweet potato. OMG….DELICIOUS!!

If day 2 is any indicator of how well I’m going to feel in 30 days then I’m pretty excited!

{Recipe Below}

. 

Ingredients:

1 lb grass-fed ground beef

2-4 sweet potatoes

1 TBSP chili powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef over medium-high heat
2. Add seasonings and water to ground beef and simmer until water is gone
3. Wash and poke holes into sweet potatoes and microwave for 5 minutes or until soft
4. Half sweet potato and top with taco meat
5. Top with additional taco toppings such as tomatoes, avocado, lettuce
6. ENJOY!

New Chapter

I’ve been away for awhile! After following AIP for a full 4 weeks, I did a reintroduction too quickly. I got discouraged plus I was traveling and had visitors so I threw in the towel.

After a full summer of a very lax diet, I am ready for a change. My body is screaming at me. I’m bloated all the time. I have headaches daily. I wake up with swollen and painful joints. My stomach is letting me know it’s not happy with me. It’s time. It’s time to start taking care of my body.

I won’t be jumping into full AIP this time around though. For the next 30 days (starting tomorrow) I will be following a Paleo Diet. Eventually I would like to do another round of full AIP but realistically right now I don’t have time to really meal prep the way I need to for full AIP.

So here’s to the next 30 days! Wish me luck!