Firstly, I’m writing this post mainly for me, in hopes that I’ll take my own advice and get back on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet Wagon.
“I‘ve been on every diet imaginable...”
I’ve been on every ‘diet’ imaginable while trying to get well. I water fasted for autophagy in hopes to kill off sick cells a few years back, which did help a lot temporarily. I went years completely cutting out gluten, refined and natural sugars and grains, dairy, legumes, alcohol, fermented foods and more in order to tame inflammation and kill off excess yeast overgrowth which was contributing to many awful symptoms including brain fog, aches and pains and mood issues.
More recently I managed to rid my body of a good load of parasites (yes, parasites. Most of us have them). Since doing that, it seems I can tolerate more foods which has naturally led me to want to re-explore nummy foods I was deprived of for years.
The problem with this is that in addition to really loving food, I love to use it to self sooth and to celebrate, when I’m bored, and well, you name it- I just love to eat!
Clearly this is a common phenomenon and I suppose some people can get away with it without ill effects but for most of us, especially as we age, food sensitivities become common and our bodies accumulate excess yeast and bacteria and soon our guts are leaky and we’re walking around with auto-immune disorders and ahhh! It’s just a hot mess.
“...my body isn’t in a constant state of stress anymore...”
My thing is that I’m finding now that I’ve healed so much of that stressful deep rooted trauma and my body isn’t in a constant state of stress anymore, I can sleep better and tolerate more foods without acute obvious problems.
I had lost a lot of weight when my body was especially stressed out and combined with the necessary dietary restrictions, I became emaciated for a spell. It wasn’t pretty!
(Resting my bony bod on an airport bench on the way home from yet another medical center a couple years back)
Fast forward a year after really digging into the trauma healing and coming out the other side stronger than ever and able to tolerate more foods, and my appetite is off the chizzy chain!
“... I was able to stay in mild ketosis and keep inflammation at bay..”
At first I stuck to allowed things, but ate a lot of them. So I was able to stay in mild ketosis and keep inflammation at bay, but still gain weight.
Fast-forward again a few months and suddenly I’d discovered that the occasional bowl of ice cream wasn’t having any noticeably ill effects and so I began to indulge for ‘special occasions’ which led to every day because, really, having a good poo counts as a special occasion, surely! 🤷♀️ As does my kid’s birthday and her friend’s birthday and I mean, it would be rude to decline that piece of homemade cheesecake my neighbor’s friend’s daughter made, right?!?
It became clear finally that I’d gotten out of hand again as the easy joint injuries were creeping in again. I opted to go all-in and try out the Carnivore way of eating, where you primarily chow on animal products, including grass fed meats, eggs, fish and some dairy.
This way of eating was actually pretty fab at banishing inflammation and cravings alike, and I was feeling good on it until I somehow talked myself into thinking it was ‘unhealthy’ and somehow not only the occasional avocado started sneaking in, but fruits and all the nut butters and why not the kitchen sink, while I’m at it? 🤷♀️
Trying to get pregnant was another excuse to include more variety and hey, as long as I eat all the healthy fats and Omega 3s, I can obviously balance it out with the occasional or frequent tasty treat? I mean, being happy is as important as diet when trying to conceive. 🤦🏼♀️😂
You name it and I made it an excuse to overindulge and so here we are, shortly thereafter and although it’s a bit of a blur now, I must have ignored that little bit of background achiness which led to that lotta bit of pain and regular trips to the chiropractor again.
“Fact: when I avoid inflammatory foods like sugar, grains, and dairy, I have almost no pain, ever.”
Fact: when I avoid inflammatory foods like sugar, grains, and dairy, I have almost no pain, ever. Once they start to sneak back in my diet, so do the aches and pains and lo and behold, here I am at one of the world’s largest indoor waterparks with my kid and her friend, enjoying only the tub ‘ride’ tonight- in our hotel room- you know, to ease the horrid groin and hip pain radiating down my leg and up to my eyeballs.
I have been telling myself that because my brain isn’t foggy and I’m mainly sleeping okay etc, that I can eat whatever I want, but inflammation comes in many shapes and sizes and aches and pains are some of the more glaringly obvious symptoms.
Still I wanted to ignore it, but weekly trips to the chiropractor, smelly cream rubs and whining aren‘t cutting it anymore. It’s time to pull my big girl panties back on, one leg at a time (very carefully so’s not to further injure my groin), and CLEAN UP my EFFING DIET!!!!!!!
“...diet is almost always the first and most helpful, not to mention longest lasting solution to many or most health problems..”
For real: diet is almost always the first and most helpful, not to mention longest-lasting solution to many or most health problems, because clean diet means low inflammation and inflammation is the precursor to most diseases. Same with mood: too much sugar causes yeast overgrowth throughout the body, messes with hormones, and your emotions. Big time.
In addition to avoiding the obvious offenders, incorporating healthy fats like olive oil and avocado, heart and brain healthy Omega-3s with their anti-inflammatory properties, and supplements like Curcumin for reducing inflammation are helpful. Also don‘t forget to move your body and stay hydrated!
Phew! I needed that reminder and I AM going to get me arse in gear tomorrow! 💥
As for tonight, it’s time to crawl my way out this tub and hang with my kiddo and her BFF before heading home from our Waterpark adventure tomorrow.
I hope you can learn something from my mistakes- I know I have: Dammit, diet really does matter.
Happy hobbling... err.. Happy healing! 😘🙌🏼
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