Health and Lifestyle Changes

 My Struggles

I am 3 months away from turning 46. I look forward to my birthday as I don't cringe at getting old. I embrace it. What I do cringe at is the fact that my body has decided to revolt against me. I would say it all started when I had my hysterectomy 8 years ago, but it really began when I turned 42. My metabolism sucks, I can't keep weight off like I used to and well I was just always exhausted. I was telling my story to someone the other day and it was nice to know that I am not the only one suffering.  Warning, today's post is going to be kind of long.

So what is my story: I quit smoking 21 months ago because it was killing me, I could no longer breathe without an inhaler ALL the time; I always felt fat and bloated; always tired because of the insomnia, etc. It was awful. I complained every time I went to the Dr. He tested my thyroid, my blood sugar, you name it. Other than it looking like I maybe pre-diabetic nothing could explain the weight gain or inability no matter what I did to lose weight. I would lose a few pounds and then put it back on the next week (a serious yoyo situation occurring). I was so frustrated! 

At my last wellness appointment he suggested I give up gluten for 2 weeks and then start adding it back in to my diet. If it started causing issues then we would know the possible cause of my problems. (I was also suffering from stomach issues and horrific heartburn-I ate tums like it was candy to not deal with acid reflux while I slept). 

I tried to give up the gluten I really did, but... it was more like - I tried a week here and a week there and would feel better, but then I would go out of town or something else would occur and I would resort back to the easy fix of a bowl of cereal or a sandwich when I needed a quick bite to eat. I wasn't really doing myself any favors to determine how I could fix myself.  (I should stop here and say that I am a firm believer that what we eat and what is in our gut is a cause of many of our problems, the mind just adds to it, but more on that later)

So finally 3 weeks ago I decided to follow his advice. We also discussed I needed more fiber and I needed to lower my cholesterol (my good is really good, but my bad is REALLY bad).  What better timing than when you are sick to start a new life, right? So after talking to him I started doing more research. Some I already knew and could testify to as really working, some I didn't and was happy to see all the new research available today.  I imagine Dr Atkins is in heaven looking down saying, "I told you so".  15 years ago I gave up all carbs and remember how amazing I felt, plus I lost all my post baby weight within 4 months and I was back into the clothes I work in college. (Bought a new wardrobe and 2 weeks later got pregnant with my third, lol) But because of the changes I made then I was able to drop the baby weight within 6 weeks back then. Hence my frustration that I can't do that anymore.

I was like hmmm maybe my Dr is right maybe I have an intolerance to the gluten and well I do need to reduce my sugar intake to prevent getting diabetes so lets give it a shot. I decided to do a mini detox which helped me get over the hump of no sugar then I rolled into the first week of no carbs.

The Test

Christmas morning. It was 2 weeks since I gave up carbs and I had a few pieces of the monkey bread I fixed for my kids and I felt horrible the rest of the day, I swear I went into a diabetic coma for a couple hours, no energy, sluggish, just blech. So Monday I did a mini fast and I felt so much better by Tuesday. I admit my Dr was correct and when I see him again I cannot wait to tell him, what I am hoping though is my blood work will really tell the story. (I hope he is correct)

Progress

As of today 3 weeks later, I am sleeping better than I have in years, and that is not a small feat with other stress going on in my life right now. I've lost 11 pounds, 1.5 inches in my hips, and 2 inches in my waist.  My stomach no longer protrudes like I am pregnant. The results thus far mean gluten and I are going to be on a love hate relationship from here on out.

What has worked for me will not necessarily work for everyone else, we are all different. Some need more carbs than others (there are good carbs and bad carbs, unfortunately for me the bad carbs also tend to have gluten (means no beer for me right now).

The diet changes don't replace my need to go to the gym, but I don't have to feel like I need to spend 3 hours a day in the gym (happened rarely because who has the time), but in my research I've found that if you do at least 45 minutes of cardio a day you can further hit your fat burning levels.  In addition to cardio we as women should really add free weights to our exercise routine. This helps build muscle and keep our bones strong.

To keep the post from being too long, I am ending this here and will create a new post with my first couple of weeks menu, links, and recipes.

Thanks for being curious and sharing my adventures with me.