I have stopped and started this post a couple of times now. First it was going to be just a Happy New Year post. Then it was going to be a post reflecting on the passage of time. But what I REALLY want to talk about is food.
And a little about Resolutions.
I usually don't make "New Year's Resolutions". I figure if I can't make a change in June I'm not going to make it in January either. I'm either committed to making a change or I am not. I either have a compelling reason to make a change or I do not. Just knowing that making the change (whatever it might be) is or would be good for me doesn't convince me to follow through with it. I have to have decided deep down in my mind and will that it needs to be made.
I think I'm there.
I have a lot of things not functioning properly in my body and for the first time I'm going to get really specific right here in writing.
#1 - I have recently come to understand that the chronic condition I have struggled with since I was 8 years old is an auto-immune disease. That is psoriasis. NO ONE, EVER, suggested that diet could help. NO.ONE. In my recent reading I have learned that people with auto-immune conditions should avoid nuts, nightshades, eggs and dairy.
Huh.
Have I ever mentioned my favorite sandwich is fresh tomato and cheese slathered with mayonnaise?
#2 - and on that note...about a year ago I learned that I have non-celiac gluten intolerance.
Yeah.
Scratch the favorite sandwich off the list.
#3 - Since last December, when I had surgery on my nose, I have been struggling mightily with fatigue issues. It was finally determined that due to the anesthesia and subsequent use of pain killers that my adrenal function was...well...not functioning. In other words I simply do not produce an adequate amount of cortisol to function optimally.
#4 - I also, while technically in the "normal" range on lab tests, have a low functioning thyroid.
Yeah...that will make you tired too...and fat.
#5 - and let's just top it all off with a little IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).
I take vitamin B supplements, probiotics, natural thyroid medication, vitamin D, 5-HTP, Milk Thistle, iron and Beta-Carotene. I've known for awhile that what I really need to address is my diet. And so I have been reading and implementing little changes here and there.
I've read about the GAPS diet.
Very briefly it is very restrictive but has been shown to be a way of healing the gut.
I'm just not mentally ready to go there...or I'm not quite desperate enough yet. Though I probably should be.
I've done the "Candida Diet" in the past. Because that is something I struggle with too.
I just bought The 21 Day Sugar Detox book and recipe book.
This is definitely a direction I want to head but I'm not ready yet.
So.
So what is it I am going to do?
Yep that's the question I have been asking myself.
Because I'm not the only one in the family that needs to address gut and dietary issues.
Well, at this point, a Paleo path looks do-able. I can eliminate most of the foods I need to and still eat tasty, healthy food in satisfying quantities. And I can prepare food the rest of my family will enjoy.
Because if there is one thing I have learned in the past it is that cooking two separate ways for every meal is daunting and discouraging.
And then there is coffee.
I love the comfort of it in the morning. I love sharing it with a friend or loved one.
I love to think of it as my treat and the end of a big grocery shopping trip.
But.
But I also like to load it with creamy sweetness.
So it ends up being two drugs rolled into one....sugar and caffeine.
Two drugs I need to get out of my life.
So pray for me if you think of it. This is a struggle that I am going to be working on this year to not be struggling with.
My "resolution" is to get healthy this year.
