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As 2014 comes to a close, it is time to reflect on not only my health over the past month, but over the past year.
December Health Update
This month I started a metal detox. It is too early to tell how much it is helping, but I think it is. The detox is on a cycle, 4 days every 2 weeks. After the first round, I was sticking to my entire diet and protocol, and I felt really good. Since then, however, I got sucked into the holidays and the “last supper” mentality of committing to starting the GAPS diet with the new year. I have been suffering from GI trouble, acne, and fatigue. It has been a hard month and I am chomping at the bit to start over on January 3 with GAPS intro.
I struggle with how to tell people about this new healing diet. I have started and failed so many times and many of the people in my life think food restrictions are ridiculous – they don’t believe in the impact food can have. I have really come to realize that my attitude towards food is extremely unhealthy and it is something that I really hope to heal within the next year. My husband is starting GAPS with me and I truly believe that his support in public and with family is what I need to overcome this.
In the past year:
Fertility: I had a 100+ day cycle, but in the past 6 months, I have had several 34-36 day cycles that included ovulation. Unfortunately, despite this very promising upturn, my cycles have not settled down. My luteal phases are short, and my fertile phases are very long and unpredictable. But I am hopefully that as the rest of my health continues to improve, so will my cycles. I am in a much better place than when I wrote my Broken article.
Thyroid: After years of dysthymia and fatigue, I finally learned in late August that I have subclinical hypothyroidism. I began an extensive healing protocol that you can read more about in my health updates from October and November. I am slowly recovering, and when I am fully complying to my protocol I notice a huge increase in my energy. With the new year I am recommitting (see below) and am looking forward to new found health.
Fitness: In the spring I took a running and jogging class, which I loved. I felt so good running 3 times a week and I improved dramatically over the semester. I kept up my fitness with 3 weeks of backpacking in Germany – when we returned my husband and I could both do 100 squats without getting tired! We spent the rest of our summer doing a body weight fitness program, but soon we both got very sick and have not worked out beyond occasional walks since. I truly miss running and am looking forward to getting healthy enough to start again.
Food Restrictions: I tried very hard to eat well this year, but I found my self control failing. From gluten and sugar free to binge eating gluten-free cookies. From AIP to breaking my elimination diet at the State Fair. From a grain-free, gut healing diet to giving in every time I visited family. While I was eating grain- and sugar-free, I always felt significantly healthier and happier. I avoided bloating, acne, fatigue, and low self esteem.
With the new year my husband and I are starting GAPS intro, and I feel confident that doing this with his support will make it easier. I pray that sticking to such a healing diet will help me with my disordered eating.
I have learned a lot about myself in the past year, and this next year I hope to take this knowledge to finally heal my body.
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It sounds like you’ve been through so much this year Chloe, health-wise. I’ll look forward to reading more about the heavy metal detox. And I am wishing you lots of good health, exercise, and baby-making (tee hee) in 2015!
Congratulations on all of your improvements – those fertility improvements are super great!
The relationship we have to food and movement can be a double edged sword at times. Plus, as we go through seasons, either our bodies change or our environments. Two things holds true though – wellness is personal and it surely is a journey.
That’s so wonderful that you are really in tune with your body and doing what you need to do to heal. Be well.
Chole, I am so glad you are taking action to get healthier. I will be looking forward to more updates – especially about the heavy metal detox!
My husband and I were JUST discussing how we feel like we need to try the GAPS in the new year… We like to keep a continuous bone broth going most of the time (which I think may be part of the GAPS?) and he had been commenting on how much better he’d been feeling since having that as his primary source of sustenance, with added veggies and meats for various meals… Any tips on how to really get started and stick with it? I plan on purchasing the book to get a really good overview, but I have to be honest that I’m a bit overwhelmed at first glance. I know how much it will be worth it though, your health improvements are evidence of that! Thank you so much for sharing your journey 🙂
I don’t have much advice now, but I’ll be writing about this a lot as we work through the diet. I did a huge day of batch cooking to help us get started, and I think that having the support and accountability from my husband will be the major factor in helping me stick to it.
Inch by inch is what I tell myself. All of those improvements are signs of success and healing! How exciting!
Don’t let what people think about your diet affect your diet! They don’t have to live with your body – you do!
I know! I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t always make it easy.
Blessings!! We’ve been doing GAPS for four years. Please let me know if you ever have any questions or need encouragement. 🙂 It’s so great that you are getting your gut healthy before having babies!
Thank you! I love looking up recipes on your site. The hardest part of preparing is trying to find more than the 3 dishes all intro recipes are a variation of. I will definitely keep you in mind as we get started next week.
I am really curious how it helps with acne?
A grain- and sugar-free diet simply avoids the foods that give me acne. If I eat sugar, I break out like CRAZY because my body can’t process it properly. The GAPS diet heals the gut and detoxes the body. Acne is often a reaction to an imbalance in the body, a food sensitivity, or an inability to properly detox. My hope is that through healing my body, it will be strong enough to process small amounts of sugar and my hormones (which also contribute to my acne) will balance.