I've been doing cleanses ever since I learned about them in the early 2000's. The first was the lemonade cleanse that was essentially me drinking nothing but maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, and cayenne by the jug load. There's a religious piece to it that I wasn't terribly interested in - you do the cleanse for a minimum of 10 days and the timeframe ties back in to Jesus and the time he fasted or something of that nature. I did it specifically to lose weight quickly. I lost between 15 and 20 pounds with most weight being slowly regained, but I noticed my skin looked better, I had more energy, and it was a great jumping off point for me to stick to a healthier diet. Lots of people still do this cleanse and have similar results, but anything so drastic doesn't really support long term efforts on getting healthier if you're not willing to adhere the additional suggestions provided in most of the literature.
Showing such extreme results a number of coworkers, desperate to lose weight, were quick to take the recipe and pretty much start it the same day. One of the women, I later learned, was diabetic and this is the type of diet that diabetics typically have to consult with a doctor to ensure it doesn't lead to complications like making them faint from the spike in sugar and having to get rushed to the hospital.
I did the cleanse several other times with similar, but less pronounced results, and I never felt the same kind of rush and dedication that came with the first go round. More research and living a more stagnant lifestyle - I was living in NYC the first time and I think the walking and exercise helped keep my hunger at bay - the results were just not as easily repeated and when I didn't get the same quick turnaround on weight I quickly lost steam and interest in essentially starving myself.
Fast forward to 2018 and having gone through a really successful rotation diet that was full of flavor and healthy foods, then giving up on the rotation diet and gaining weight, getting the bloat and inflamation back in my system, I came upon a course offered by DailyOm. It's a cleanse that can be done using one of 2 tracts - the easier is simply feasting on a raw diet for 7 days. The other, more challenging tract is eating raw dishes for 2 days, juice fasting for 3 days, and then finishing off with 2 more days of raw dishes.
The weight loss was a great benefit, but I had to find a way to reset my system primarily to improve my health. I watched as my hair was going grey, my skin looked terrible, and allergic reactions were just getting out of control. It's an emotional journey through our relationship with food and the journaling is really the best way to get to some intense truths and realities. It's hard, but if you're looking for a way back to the healthy mindset this is a jumpstart that my just serve you as well as it served me.
The first go round I decided to follow the recipes exactly - even if some of the foods were one that, in the past, have caused either allergic reactions or some pronounced reactions because I'm still sensitive to them. Wanting to determine if the reactions were still active I went all in and kind of hoped that it would be smooth sailing. It was a quick reintroduction to the fact that despite avoiding certain foods for years, I had not lost the sensitivities and for some foods the reactions had grown even stronger. I adjusted at the time, but forgot to write down some of the information which meant when I did this a 2nd time I made some of the same mistakes.
If you decide to try the cleanse there are a few suggestions and tips I'd like to offer straight off the bat... I've only done the juice fast cleanse tract so not all of these will apply if you choose the other.
1. take their advice about cutting out foods slowly from your diet. Take a few days to do this and read ahead so you're fully prepared.
2. Enemas should start on day 1. There is A LOT of great information provided but some of it can be both overwhelming and confusing. Enemas are best in the morning - I tried do the enemas before bed and then took a 30 minute detox bath. For some reason doing them in the morning was more helpful to me and the evening just didn't provide the same results as the morning. They recommend holding in the 2nd round of enema for 15 to 20 minutes, but I realized my colon is still incredibly sensitive and it was just not comfortable or possible for me for that length of time.
3. Good, masticating juicers are expensive as hell. But you need one and the better it is the easier your life is while going thru the process on days when you feel particularly despondent. I found one on FB marketplace, but craigslist has them too. It's really what you can afford.
4. I do the juice fasting because I like the extreme route - it's challenging and it is incredibly gratifying to close out day 3 of the fast.
5. If you do the fasting route I highly suggest you make triple or quadruple the broth recipe. You will drink a lot of it and the more you have on hand - or the less you have to make repeated trips to the store to make more and more batches - the easier it is to get thru the tougher moments.
6. Determine necessary substitutions before you test out possible food allergies - dealing with a headache, sinus pain, stomach cramping from a food allergy absolutely compounds the already challenging cleanse. Be dilligent and do some extra research.
7. Here are my substitutions:
lemon - i only used lime
celery - I used fennel root instead
apples - I used either jicama or papaya
grapes - I used either strawberrys or kiwi
kale - depending on what is available at your store look for other similar greens
oranges - strawberries or kiwi
8. I suggest investing in the food containers that give additional life to your food. It will help save you a lot on food going bad.
9. I found out that I do not like raw parsley and if you're like me either leave it out or look for an alternative.
10. Do not use old seeds or nuts that have been sitting in the back of your pantry for years. The fresher and better preserved the better.
11. Aldi and vitacost are a great place to start for preparing your food.
12. Work on cutting out as much lotion and other things you put on your body. I didn't wash my hair for 4 days other than the detox baths that had some apple cider vinegar. By the time I did wash my hair it felt better than it has in years.
13. If you are feeling like giving up because it just seems too overwhelming I highly suggest going outside and doing some light gardening with your shoes off. It's an easy way to reground yourself and get some vitamin D in your system.
If you're a competitive person just look at this as a big challenge. My 2nd time around I had some setbacks that made it impossible to get thru the last day. The hunger hit me much worse this time and after going back thru food logs I realized some of my mistakes - changing the enema schedule, staying up really late, doing a lot of exercise, not using the proscribed salt, and not listening to my body when it became clear some of the foods I was including in my day to day recipes were taxing my system.
I'm in the elimination part of the cleanse and tomorrow no meat or carbs. Wednesday no meat, carbs, or cheese, and thursday no meat, carbs, cheese, or caffeine. This time I'm adding water kefir and doing all necessary substitutions to start. If you're needing more information or inspiration I'd love to help out! It's a hard, but satisfying challenge that anyone can do. Good luck!!
Monday, May 6, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
Shirataki and tuna recipe then some updates
I use lots of recipes from blogs, but I loathe the paragraphs that I have to sift thru to get to the recipe. I'm a single mom now and, let's be honest, ain't noboby got time for the deep thoughts and social diaries. So, I'm revising my own blog to reflect my own preferences. Feel free to keep reading if interested, otherwise enjoy this super simple and tasty recipe that's dairy and gluten free.
Easy shirataki and tuna toss (2 servings)
Ingredients
1 can tuna, drained (break it up before putting in the pan)
1 package shirataki noodles (drained and rinsed 3 times)
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp rice vinegar - I actually just eyeball it and add to taste
salt and pepper
Heat up the olive oil in a pan and add garlic when the oil is hot. Cook the garlic for 30-45 seconds on medium heat. Add tuna, noodles, and lime juice to the garlic. Toss and then add the vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.
I found a similar recipe online that included spaghetti noodles, parsley, and lemon juice. Despite the fact that I don't fully follow my allergy diet restrictions, this was a recipe I ate and it didn't give me a stomach ache afterwards and the ingredients are all fairly healthy.
I started to go vegetarian again, and even tried an Impossible burger. I love the idea of eating a plant based diet, but I'm finding lots of challenges in finding foods that don't have wheat or soy. I decided to try the Impossible burger and see if I felt any reaction to it - sometimes my sensitivity is off the chart, other times the reactions aren't noticeable. I pushed my luck with this one - my sensitivities have heightened lately for other environment allergies, though, so now I know when to avoid taking chances. I got a massive sinus headache, my stomach was cramping, and my mood took a major turn for the worse.
Eating a vinegar dish the day after probably wasn't the best idea - the vinegar feeds the sugars in my system and that feeds the inflammation and that inflammation feeds my anxiety. My sister is a doctor and while she was always eyes-rolling-all-the-way-to-the-back-of-her head skeptical, when I follow certain rules and avoid certain foods and even food combinations I feel and look better.
After gaining pregnancy and post partum weight, I didn't have the energy to do the shopping and cooking necessary to stay on my allergy diet. So, I found a doctor with a weight loss program. Being allergic to most every ingredient in the "food" patients are supposed to buy for the diet, they ultimately put me on a low fat, mostly protein diet. I lost a lot of weight, but I discovered such a strict diet is not easily maintained when I had a growing child who's own food needs were changing and our schedules were growing busier every month. My father died while I was in the process of the protein diet and I simply lost the last few ounces of self discipline I'd been using to stick to the diet in those last few months.
So, I'm now trying to find something that's completely in the grey. Heavily vegetarian, but will allow for meat on occasions. More than anything, though, the best I've ever felt the least limited in terms of flavorful foods was when I adhered to a few simple rules - eat plenty of healthy fats, stick to 5 ingredient or less foods, eat mostly fresh or nearly fresh foods, and try to break bread as much as possible with others who share a daring palette and an appreciation for a simpler dining experience.
Easy shirataki and tuna toss (2 servings)
Ingredients
1 can tuna, drained (break it up before putting in the pan)
1 package shirataki noodles (drained and rinsed 3 times)
2 tsp lime juice
2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp rice vinegar - I actually just eyeball it and add to taste
salt and pepper
Heat up the olive oil in a pan and add garlic when the oil is hot. Cook the garlic for 30-45 seconds on medium heat. Add tuna, noodles, and lime juice to the garlic. Toss and then add the vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.
I found a similar recipe online that included spaghetti noodles, parsley, and lemon juice. Despite the fact that I don't fully follow my allergy diet restrictions, this was a recipe I ate and it didn't give me a stomach ache afterwards and the ingredients are all fairly healthy.
I started to go vegetarian again, and even tried an Impossible burger. I love the idea of eating a plant based diet, but I'm finding lots of challenges in finding foods that don't have wheat or soy. I decided to try the Impossible burger and see if I felt any reaction to it - sometimes my sensitivity is off the chart, other times the reactions aren't noticeable. I pushed my luck with this one - my sensitivities have heightened lately for other environment allergies, though, so now I know when to avoid taking chances. I got a massive sinus headache, my stomach was cramping, and my mood took a major turn for the worse.
Eating a vinegar dish the day after probably wasn't the best idea - the vinegar feeds the sugars in my system and that feeds the inflammation and that inflammation feeds my anxiety. My sister is a doctor and while she was always eyes-rolling-all-the-way-to-the-back-of-her head skeptical, when I follow certain rules and avoid certain foods and even food combinations I feel and look better.
After gaining pregnancy and post partum weight, I didn't have the energy to do the shopping and cooking necessary to stay on my allergy diet. So, I found a doctor with a weight loss program. Being allergic to most every ingredient in the "food" patients are supposed to buy for the diet, they ultimately put me on a low fat, mostly protein diet. I lost a lot of weight, but I discovered such a strict diet is not easily maintained when I had a growing child who's own food needs were changing and our schedules were growing busier every month. My father died while I was in the process of the protein diet and I simply lost the last few ounces of self discipline I'd been using to stick to the diet in those last few months.
So, I'm now trying to find something that's completely in the grey. Heavily vegetarian, but will allow for meat on occasions. More than anything, though, the best I've ever felt the least limited in terms of flavorful foods was when I adhered to a few simple rules - eat plenty of healthy fats, stick to 5 ingredient or less foods, eat mostly fresh or nearly fresh foods, and try to break bread as much as possible with others who share a daring palette and an appreciation for a simpler dining experience.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Third time's the charm...
It's been well over a year since I was successfully plugging away on my rotation. My body was slimming down, my health was improving, I had lots of energy, and then the big surprise came along. It was around the 1st of August that I took a pregnancy test and found out I was expecting.
The first few months I was able to stay on my rotation, but then everything that was safe for me like fish and salads literally made me sick to my stomach. Despite the rashes and reactions, the bad food still tasted better and had less of a nauseating effect on me and so I cheated for the majority of my pregnancy. Because I was so sick all the time I also fell off with exercising. Despite the lack of exercise and horrible diet I managed to gain only about 20 lbs. The last few weeks of my pregnancy, though, I gained about 8 pounds and began swelling up like a balloon. It turns out I had choleostasis and ended up having to do an emergency c-section because of problems with my son's vitals.
Once I was cut open it became clear that the vitals being so wacky was due to his over 100 cm long umbilical cord being wrapped around his head 4 times. The kid apparently got bored. After he was born he had a number of issues with his breathing and heart rate so he was taken away to be put in the NICU for a little over a week. I spent most of my time visiting him and pumping to keep my milk supply up. What I was finding, though, was that I was running myself down and getting more depressed with every day he was in the NICU. I felt helpless.
We finally got him home, but he wouldn't breastfeed. It was a huge dissapointment to not be able to breast feed, but in the long run I'm just glad to know my son is healthy and home with me. He's over 3 months old and I'm finding myself in a really good place jobwise, love the MA program I'm in, and am ready to get back to where I was heading last year with my diet and exercise. Tomorrow is my first day in a new workout group that will take place for 8 weeks doing a program called PiYo. It seemed like doing the program and also getting back on rotation were 2 activities that go hand in hand.
I'll start posting recipes again and update with any extras I find out about as I get back on the diet. I feel determined to help get myself back to pre-pregnancy health for both myself and my son. He's totally worth me being at my best and, well, so am I. Tomorrow is day 1 - chicken, beans, quinoa, carrots, spinach, etc... Tomorrow night I'm having chicken with green beans and a dairy free peppercorn sauce - I'll post the recipe tomorrow- and day 2 I'm making Thai Cream of Leeks Soup from a recipe I found on Yummly - of course mine will use lime instead of lemon and no ginger.
The first few months I was able to stay on my rotation, but then everything that was safe for me like fish and salads literally made me sick to my stomach. Despite the rashes and reactions, the bad food still tasted better and had less of a nauseating effect on me and so I cheated for the majority of my pregnancy. Because I was so sick all the time I also fell off with exercising. Despite the lack of exercise and horrible diet I managed to gain only about 20 lbs. The last few weeks of my pregnancy, though, I gained about 8 pounds and began swelling up like a balloon. It turns out I had choleostasis and ended up having to do an emergency c-section because of problems with my son's vitals.
Once I was cut open it became clear that the vitals being so wacky was due to his over 100 cm long umbilical cord being wrapped around his head 4 times. The kid apparently got bored. After he was born he had a number of issues with his breathing and heart rate so he was taken away to be put in the NICU for a little over a week. I spent most of my time visiting him and pumping to keep my milk supply up. What I was finding, though, was that I was running myself down and getting more depressed with every day he was in the NICU. I felt helpless.
We finally got him home, but he wouldn't breastfeed. It was a huge dissapointment to not be able to breast feed, but in the long run I'm just glad to know my son is healthy and home with me. He's over 3 months old and I'm finding myself in a really good place jobwise, love the MA program I'm in, and am ready to get back to where I was heading last year with my diet and exercise. Tomorrow is my first day in a new workout group that will take place for 8 weeks doing a program called PiYo. It seemed like doing the program and also getting back on rotation were 2 activities that go hand in hand.
I'll start posting recipes again and update with any extras I find out about as I get back on the diet. I feel determined to help get myself back to pre-pregnancy health for both myself and my son. He's totally worth me being at my best and, well, so am I. Tomorrow is day 1 - chicken, beans, quinoa, carrots, spinach, etc... Tomorrow night I'm having chicken with green beans and a dairy free peppercorn sauce - I'll post the recipe tomorrow- and day 2 I'm making Thai Cream of Leeks Soup from a recipe I found on Yummly - of course mine will use lime instead of lemon and no ginger.
Monday, April 29, 2013
The proof is in the dairy free pudding...
Today I had a follow up appointment with my doctor to check weight, liver function, blood pressure, and a variety of other issues he was concerned with. I stepped on the scale and after figuring the difference from my last weigh in he nearly passed out. I think what was most shocking was that the loss came after several months of very little physical activity because of the cast and I didn't reduce my caloric intake very much, either.
For me, the weight loss wasn't a surprise. The first time I did the rotation I lost a ton of weight and had the energy to do a lot of physical activitieso which made even more weight come off. This time, though, I just had my rotation diet to work with. For my doctor it just didn't make sense, but he was happy nonetheless. Then we pulled out my bloodwork and the entire panel was back to normal levels. A bitter sweet appointment - my rotation is obviously working and for that I owe it to myself to stay the course.
There are days when I'm ready to throw in the towel. I mean, I DREAM about eating pizza and Italian food - I feel a little guilty in my dreams, but ultimately I indulge and say screw the rotation. In those dreams I'm OK with my body fighting allergens, making me feel terrible internally, and making me look bloated and red externally. Then I wake up and I have to remind myself that for all that I'm doing right now, my future self will thank me. This is all about planning for the future, even if the future is just as soon as my next meal.
It's strange to see familiar curves that are almost like a long lost love. Fitting into pants that didn't fit a year ago is a giant accomplishment, yet, there is still a great deal of apprehension. I got used to living in a certain shell and that shell is now changing in leaps and bounds. Thankfully, all signs point to a healthier body and while the process is slow it gives me a chance to get used to it. And this is also a real testament to the power of the rotation diet and working with my allergist on a holistic approach to healing the damage done to my body by the allergens and other toxic stuff I've ingested. There were lots of doubters who laughed when I told them the hoops I had to jump through to stay true to the rotation, but looking at how everything is working together even those with doubts can't deny it's really working.
When I get my results I'll post the before and after results.
For me, the weight loss wasn't a surprise. The first time I did the rotation I lost a ton of weight and had the energy to do a lot of physical activitieso which made even more weight come off. This time, though, I just had my rotation diet to work with. For my doctor it just didn't make sense, but he was happy nonetheless. Then we pulled out my bloodwork and the entire panel was back to normal levels. A bitter sweet appointment - my rotation is obviously working and for that I owe it to myself to stay the course.
There are days when I'm ready to throw in the towel. I mean, I DREAM about eating pizza and Italian food - I feel a little guilty in my dreams, but ultimately I indulge and say screw the rotation. In those dreams I'm OK with my body fighting allergens, making me feel terrible internally, and making me look bloated and red externally. Then I wake up and I have to remind myself that for all that I'm doing right now, my future self will thank me. This is all about planning for the future, even if the future is just as soon as my next meal.
It's strange to see familiar curves that are almost like a long lost love. Fitting into pants that didn't fit a year ago is a giant accomplishment, yet, there is still a great deal of apprehension. I got used to living in a certain shell and that shell is now changing in leaps and bounds. Thankfully, all signs point to a healthier body and while the process is slow it gives me a chance to get used to it. And this is also a real testament to the power of the rotation diet and working with my allergist on a holistic approach to healing the damage done to my body by the allergens and other toxic stuff I've ingested. There were lots of doubters who laughed when I told them the hoops I had to jump through to stay true to the rotation, but looking at how everything is working together even those with doubts can't deny it's really working.
When I get my results I'll post the before and after results.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Food, laundry, and a recipe.
A week after foot surgery and I'm going nuts. It's not just boredom, but I HATE depending on other people. At one point in my life I did everything I could to not have to rely on people because I was paranoid they couldn't do it the way I wanted it or they couldn't do as good of a job as I did. I eventually got over that, until now. But now with all of my allergies I have become one persnickety bitch and there's not a lot I can do about it. And most of my asshole behavior or responses are either outright or veiled and they're towards my mom most commonly. Am I ashamed? Pretty much. I know better and my mom is technically my care worker - now I know why most of those people don't stay in those jobs very long.
There are very specific ways that I make a lot of my food. It took me nearly 2 f'ing years to get my mom to fully understand how my rotation works. For a while I thought she just wasn't listening since I went over the caveats near, at least, a gazillion times with her. Once I put it on paper for her to reference my rotation days, I realized that I was correct in my original assumption - she wasn't listening to begin with, but I really can't blame her. At this point I just consider that and so much else simply water under my vagina - my first Girls reference!!! So as my careworker, I've relinquished control of cooking my meals to her. For a long time I thought it would be awesome to have a personal chef who could make all of my meals because the preparation, cooking and cleaning up takes an exorbitant amount of time. Be careful what you wish for, Andreana. There's a lot of knowledge in my head that I rely on to cook the way I want my food to taste. Considering I cook less from a recipe card and more from guesstimating and just throwing leftovers in it definitely is cause for problems when someone else takes over and they are giant fans of the recipe cards and cooking precision.
The other morning my mom came to help me prepare my breakfast - a smoothie and a bowl of popcorn for a snack. I got the smoothie going and asked her to pop my popcorn while I was in the shower. I got out of the shower and immediately knew something went wrong when I was hit with this overwhelming smell of an appliance burning. I had apparently not been specific enough when I said to fill up the top cup with kernels and toss it in. From this my mom heard fill the entire area where the corn pops. I wasn't pissed, but I definitely was dissapointed not to have a snack for the morning.
It's not just the cooking that I have unspoken rules for. Laundry is apparently another area of my life that has become a test for what I'm allergic to. I can now officially say that my skin can tell when I come into contact with seemingly innocuous chemicals. For example, my mom washed a bunch of my clothes at her house because the washer and dryer in my house pretty much suck. I ended up sleeping in a pair of pajamas she washed and found myself not only turning bright red everywhere the fabric touched but spent the majority of the night scratching ALL over even after I stripped off pajamas AND undies that she had washed. I tried to laugh it off in the morning telling my mom I must have eaten something the night before, but she eventually proposed that it was possibly due to the fabric softener bar in her washing machine. The last time I used store bought products like that was a long time ago and clearly my body is a fan of the less complicated, homemade products.
My routine for washing clothes is not terribly interesting, but it might be helpful to those of you who find store detergents and fabric softeners are irritating to the skin or even if you're looking for a cheaper alternative.
For whites, 1 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda and 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide dumped over the clothes - this is the equivalent to Oxyclean. I also shake in some Borax for good measure. For the softener I use vinegar and a few drops of pure lavender oil. For the detergent, I use my own laundry soap:
4 cups of hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (sold at Walmart)
1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to a saucepan with the water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Then fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir until the powder is dissolved. Fill the buck to the top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. It gets really thick and is almost gel like. When adding to your own container, first stir the mixture then fill up your soap container halfway and then fill the rest with water. Shake before each use. You can also add a few drops of an essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. This makes roughly 10 gallons of soap for under $10.
For colors I typically leave out the washing soda/hydrogen peroxide mix and just use everything else. For the dryer I'm using a pair of cut up cotton pants that have essential lavender oil sprinkled all over them and throw them in as a dryer sheet. It takes a little more work than just going to the store, but what I'm realizing is that my body is the expert that I need to be listening to and the extra work is worth it. For now the extra work is being done by my mom and she is an absolute rockstar for willingly coming into my world. She keeps me well.
There are very specific ways that I make a lot of my food. It took me nearly 2 f'ing years to get my mom to fully understand how my rotation works. For a while I thought she just wasn't listening since I went over the caveats near, at least, a gazillion times with her. Once I put it on paper for her to reference my rotation days, I realized that I was correct in my original assumption - she wasn't listening to begin with, but I really can't blame her. At this point I just consider that and so much else simply water under my vagina - my first Girls reference!!! So as my careworker, I've relinquished control of cooking my meals to her. For a long time I thought it would be awesome to have a personal chef who could make all of my meals because the preparation, cooking and cleaning up takes an exorbitant amount of time. Be careful what you wish for, Andreana. There's a lot of knowledge in my head that I rely on to cook the way I want my food to taste. Considering I cook less from a recipe card and more from guesstimating and just throwing leftovers in it definitely is cause for problems when someone else takes over and they are giant fans of the recipe cards and cooking precision.
The other morning my mom came to help me prepare my breakfast - a smoothie and a bowl of popcorn for a snack. I got the smoothie going and asked her to pop my popcorn while I was in the shower. I got out of the shower and immediately knew something went wrong when I was hit with this overwhelming smell of an appliance burning. I had apparently not been specific enough when I said to fill up the top cup with kernels and toss it in. From this my mom heard fill the entire area where the corn pops. I wasn't pissed, but I definitely was dissapointed not to have a snack for the morning.
It's not just the cooking that I have unspoken rules for. Laundry is apparently another area of my life that has become a test for what I'm allergic to. I can now officially say that my skin can tell when I come into contact with seemingly innocuous chemicals. For example, my mom washed a bunch of my clothes at her house because the washer and dryer in my house pretty much suck. I ended up sleeping in a pair of pajamas she washed and found myself not only turning bright red everywhere the fabric touched but spent the majority of the night scratching ALL over even after I stripped off pajamas AND undies that she had washed. I tried to laugh it off in the morning telling my mom I must have eaten something the night before, but she eventually proposed that it was possibly due to the fabric softener bar in her washing machine. The last time I used store bought products like that was a long time ago and clearly my body is a fan of the less complicated, homemade products.
My routine for washing clothes is not terribly interesting, but it might be helpful to those of you who find store detergents and fabric softeners are irritating to the skin or even if you're looking for a cheaper alternative.
For whites, 1 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda and 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide dumped over the clothes - this is the equivalent to Oxyclean. I also shake in some Borax for good measure. For the softener I use vinegar and a few drops of pure lavender oil. For the detergent, I use my own laundry soap:
4 cups of hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar (sold at Walmart)
1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
Grate bar of soap and add to a saucepan with the water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Then fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir until the powder is dissolved. Fill the buck to the top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. It gets really thick and is almost gel like. When adding to your own container, first stir the mixture then fill up your soap container halfway and then fill the rest with water. Shake before each use. You can also add a few drops of an essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. This makes roughly 10 gallons of soap for under $10.
For colors I typically leave out the washing soda/hydrogen peroxide mix and just use everything else. For the dryer I'm using a pair of cut up cotton pants that have essential lavender oil sprinkled all over them and throw them in as a dryer sheet. It takes a little more work than just going to the store, but what I'm realizing is that my body is the expert that I need to be listening to and the extra work is worth it. For now the extra work is being done by my mom and she is an absolute rockstar for willingly coming into my world. She keeps me well.
Well, hello there histamine intolerance!!
I'll start this one giving myself kudos. I'm well into my 2nd month and I’ve been sticking to
my diet pretty closely – if I slip it’s typically me eating rice flour on day 2
or eating some tortilla chips on day 4- and yet I’m still finding that when I look
in the mirror there remains this puffy face looking back at me. It’s frustrating because with my first go
around with this diet I not only lost inches, but I woke up in the morning to a
much thinner face and extremities that weren’t bloated and swollen
looking. Why can’t I beat this
inflammation?
The foods I’m eating
shouldn’t be causing the swelling so the next culprit to check out would be my
vitamins. I already know that some of my
vitamins contain allergens like gelatin.
In the past the gelatin hasn’t seemed to affect me this much,
though. So have I become more sensitive
to the gelatin or is there something else that’s causing the inflammation?
This scenario took on another life and took me to another
level of this allergy world. In fact, if
I see an ingredient that I don’t recognize on the vitamin labels – good example is "vegetable glaze" – I’ve started
emailing the companies to find out exactly what generic terms like "vegetable" really means. What is Country Life using to
glaze these pills? Luckily it turns out
the glaze comes from the palm plant and I can rule out the glaze now. Beeswax?
I’m allergic to honey and the pollen so am I also allergic to anything
that bees produce? According to the nutritionist
at the company who did my rotation diet (Alletess) beeswax is OK for me to use or
eat. So it’s not the beeswax. Damn. There are no easy answers in this new world I'm inhabiting.
Next level down - While Googling the beeswax issue I came upon
a really great blog (beeswax allergies) about beeswax allergies and that led to a pret-ty big
discovery - yes, that is an emphatic statement. Embedded in this particular article was a link to a whole new layer of elimination diets. And, well, hello there histamine allergies!
Indeed our bodies produce histamines when an allergen is
introduced into our bodies, but histamine allergies refer to being sensitive to
additional histamines that come from our diet.
Histamine intolerance can bring on BLOATING, diarrhea, stomach
discomfort, hives, itching, etc… Check, check and check!!! All of the above! Well, most of the above no longer applies, but for some reason this bloating is kicking my ass. I’ve cut out a lot of those foods that contain high levels of histamines
– alcohol (for the most part), yeast, fermented foods (well, anything fermented
with yeast), cheese – but I’m still eating quite a few things that have
histamines and the idea of cutting them out of my diet is daunting. This daunting list includes fish, chicken,
and some fruits and vegetables.
Unlike the rotation diet that is intended to “cure” the
body’s overreaction to the foods, the histamine elimination diet is a “for the
rest of your life” diet. The idea of
limiting my diet that much more is painful and angering. In order to feel better I have to restrict
myself and that, to me, is an idea in total opposition to itself. I guess that’s pretty telling about me and
how I define feeling good. Jesus, is
this one of those epiphanies we have in our 30’s about life? The level of freedom I had with my body in my
younger years is no longer and probably due to some of those activities I
freely took part in. This is not how I
wanted to be educated about my self, soul, internal compass.
At this point I feel it’s important to repeat to myself that
while these food restrictions are painful and expensive and complicated, my future
me is going to appreciate and respect the amount of hoops I forced myself
thru in order to get to a healthier body. For some reason I get a little bit distracted at this point and can hear my sister right now, doubting the validity of my doctor’s
diet theories, poo pooing that my allergies are real, and pretty much shitting
on the idea that what I’m dedicating myself to for 2 years is a dumb idea. I’m kind of the antithesis to her black and
white world of medicine, and I feel like it infuriates her that I’m not
adhering to her type of medicine. Maybe
it infuriates some of my friends that I’m doing something so extreme. I kind of like this extreme though – I
officially have license to complain ALL THE TIME!! I’m hoping after the first 6 months this will
all become old hat and the complaining will lessen. I’m in deep enough that even my sister’s
doubts or anyone else’s will be mitigated once they see the final results which
will ultimately be a healthier, happier me.
At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
A few hours later and I may have a better grasp on the inflammation In talking through the bloating with my therapist, it
occurred to me that the facial bloating might be due to the cast and water
retention. When my face began to slim
down I was swimming a lot and I was way more active than I am now. I’m hoping that once this cast comes off and
I can return to running around and the swelling will dissipate, too. It’s all a waiting game for now.
As for the histamine elimination idea, I'm still on the fence. The more I read about histamines the more intimidating the whole thing becomes. Well, intimidating or foolish. After my initial panic I read somewhere that there are histamines in virtually EVERY food. When does this madness end?????????? For now I'm gonna stay put, but be ever more vigilant about how foods make me feel - some days I know that I'm looking past a feeling of discomfort simply because I don't want to have to give up another food. I'm at the mercy of my body for the next few years and I'm getting the feeling what it's telling me is way more reliable than what I'm reading on the internet.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The official Rotation Diet (still being written)
Here is what I eat. This is why when someone asks me on Day 3 if I want to get shrimp I can't do it. The idea of the diet is that I never eat the same food more than once in a 4 day rotation. The foods are specific to each day. There are some ingredients that I'll add to another day, but I try to keep this to a minimum. My allergist wants me to increase my Omega 9 fatty acids and prescribed more "cold" olive oil on veggies, salads, etc... While olive oil is technically only listed on Day 2 I'll still add some extra olive oil if it works with a particular dish on a different day.
Day one is easy enough, but it gets boring. In trying to find an alternative or addition to eggs for breakfast I happened upon Applegate Farms and their amazing chicken breakfast sausages in maple and sage. Just recently I've added the smoothie with Sunflower Dream milk so I have even more options for breakfast.
Day 2 - When I first started the rotation I swear it was the day that I lost the most weight on. Finding stuff to eat felt like a challenge I didn't have the energy to overcome. Then I started using hemp milk and hemp flour and started trying out different fish on the list. And then it's like the heavens opened up in the middle of the freezer isle at Whole Foods and I discovered Hemp & Sage burgers. I managed to get the Merc in Lawrence to start carrying them, too.
Day 3
Day 4
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