Only a weirdo like me would enjoy obsessing about every possible theory about my health and experimenting in different ways for the sake of wholeness and wellness. Last week I wrote part 1 of this unintended journey my husband and I found ourselves on. Since my last post I am still in the same state of mind where I’m doing all sorts of different things based on my research and findings. I know this all sounds vague, because it is, but with good reason. My goal is to improve my health. Some things I have clear answers on and other things I’m still investigating. I can’t really explain any of this with sound reasoning because it changes day to day. But because so many of you have shared you are struggling like I was with exhaustion, fatigue, and other ailments which causes you to not live as optimally as you would like, I will share with you just my own story and perhaps it will help you on your own journey.
One thing I find so funny, but not really, is how quickly people notice my sudden weight loss but are not that interested in understanding what triggered my journey and what I’m trying to accomplish – which is a holistic type of wellness which cannot be found in a magic pill. Usually they want to know the exact formula on how to lose weight quickly. If you are one of these people, this post is going to really disappoint you.
Instead, I can explain to you what has been going through my mind and how this has motivated me and continues to motivate me to seek answers to questions which I continually have.
As I wrote in my last post, two months ago I found myself extremely exhausted. Needing to take long naps during the day and finding it challenging walking up a flight of stairs to my bedroom, I could tell something was very wrong. Still though, I thought if I pushed through it, everything would get better. It didn’t. After researching online a bit, I believe I was suffering from Adrenal Fatigue. As a result I knew I had to eliminate stress and make some changes. At this time my sister and brother-in-law had been making changes to their diets with noticeable results. Not quite vegan, their meat consumption dropped dramatically, and they had been eating a mostly vegetarian diet including homemade juices.
Naturally I asked her about the changes she had been making and immediately I went through a mental checklist of why I could never do what she was doing. Yet, I knew something had to change.
One night, very late into the evening I decided to watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead on Netflix. Rob was asleep but woke up while I was watching on my little iPhone. He ended up watching most of the movie with me. If you’re not familiar with this documentary, it is about 2 men who weighed over 300 pounds and lost a considerable amount of weight by drinking nothing but green vegetable juice for 60 days. Their goal was to get off of medication for severe health conditions they were suffering from. After watching the movie, my husband and I decided on drinking one green juice a day to see if our energy levels increased. What I decided to do was give up my morning coffee and instead drink a green juice made from kale, celery, cucumber, lemon, ginger, and green apple. We would go to a nearby juice bar (Alive Juice Bar in Shoreline, WA) and buy one every morning. We did this for 3 weeks. I did not miss my morning coffee and surprisingly I stopped drinking coffee in the afternoon as well. At this point we decided to invest in a decent juicer to make them at home.
Rob decided he wanted to do a 15 day juice fast / detox cleanse and I decided on 5 days. I usually do a cleanse of some sort each year and 5 days is my limit. It was during this time my energy levels increased and my mental clarity was improving. Rob lost about 18 pounds in 15 days, I lost about 8 pounds in 6 days. Since this journey was never about weight loss per se, it was nice to fit back into clothes I missed wearing. A common benefit of doing a cleanse like this is how it resets so much within the body including sleep patterns, energy levels, and cravings. It also improves skin and can lead to weight loss.
After the cleanse I decided to use the time to try a raw and vegan diet for a week. This allowed me to understand to even a greater degree how important the role of whole foods, especially plant-based foods play in total wellness. During the raw/vegan week I lost more weight because I was also walking. Instead of driving to the store, I would walk. I downloaded a nice walking app called MapMyWalk to track how far I would walk which was great incentive to walk more.
However, it was after our cleanse that I suspected we both cleaned any toxic barrier in our intestines enabling us to absorb nutrients better but also intensifying any existing food sensitivities we knowingly or unknowingly had – at least in theory.
Rob, who suffers from gout attacks, woke up one morning after attending a birthday party and eating a few chicken wings with a severe attack. Attacks usually happen when he eats a lot of meat over a period of time. His new attack was out of character because he had not been eating meat for weeks. It was strange considering he had not had any meat for several weeks. Then he had another attack the following week and one more small attack a week after. Reading about gout, it turns out some vegetables can trigger high uric acid levels in the body. Gosh, who knew!? Then there was me. I would discover through the process of an elimination diet that I have a dairy sensitivity. This would make sense to me because both of my daughters are also sensitive to dairy. When I ingest dairy I get extremely tired. To test this theory, I drank some form of dairy for nearly 2 weeks each morning to see what would happen. Each and every time I felt like I could not get up and think clearly. This would explain why when I would drink lattes every morning I felt immune to the effects of coffee. It wasn’t that the caffeine wasn’t doing its job, it’s that the effects of the dairy were so much more prevalent than the caffeine. I always thought I was immune to coffee. If I am going to eat dairy, I wait until the evening. This way it doesn’t keep me feeling tired during the day and it actually helps me to fall asleep.
I also downloaded another app called My Fitness Pal to track what I was eating. I read online that multiplying your body weight by 10-12 calories is what your body needs to function each day. So by tracking what I ate, I would try to stay within this range. However, with the all the walking I was doing, this accelerated my body losing weight more quickly.
To me, reducing stress became a priority. By walking everywhere, I was taking advantage of a natural FREE stress reliever not to mention I felt stronger with each day. I started with 10 minutes a day and try to get in at least 30 minutes now days. Having a couple close friends to walk with is also a great added bonus. Staying offline has also been a huge de-stresser. I don’t know what it is about social media and the internet but I find it stressful. It’s too much non-essential, unimportant information coming at me all at once. I realize the fact that I blog puts me in the category of having an internet presence. I’m just saying that social media (to me) is a non-stop party I need a break from. I’m averaging about 5 minutes a day on social media which is all I can handle currently.
So where does this leave me today? Well, I’ve cut dairy out of my mornings and for the most part, out of my day. I know if I eat it then I should expect to feel tired. This is very empowering because I have a choice in all of this. I’ve cut a lot of meat out of my diet. I still eat it, just not in massive quantities. As for as baking and desserts, I still eat this but I limit myself smaller portions. No more gigantic serving sizes for me. I try to limit desserts to about 4-6 very satisfying bites. I still eat a small piece of dark chocolate every night and I only drink alcohol on social occasions. Which reminds me, I haven’t had any in about 1 ½ months. Recently I dusted off some 10 pound dumbbells I had in my closet and try to use them a few times a week.
All in all I’m feeling better. I feel like I’m at a 65-70% optimal wellness rate. This is great considering I was feeling about 35-50% a couple months ago. Ideally, I would like to get to an 85-90% rate. I’m hoping as Fall approaches and the holiday season sneaks upon me that I’ll be able to maintain the gains I’ve made this summer. Who knows. But for today, I’ll keep walking and listening to what my body needs, responding accordingly.
Mary says
Hi Alice,
I just love your blog and think that so much of what you share with your readers is so nice. You seem like such a lovely person.
I love the video you mentioned. The changes that the man made were nothing short of amazing. I think juicing is great but there are a few things I steer clear of when juicing. You may want to check out the post by Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist who shares that juicing greens can be detrimental to one’s health. Her concern is the high oxalate content of the uncooked greens.
I learned a great deal about this from the Weston A Price Foundation and also from Sarah’s blog. You can read her post about green drinks here:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-green-smoothies-can-devastate-your-health/
If you have a chance to read the article, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Love,
Mary
paper plates machines says
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Donna says
I’m a fan of your blog and this is my first time commenting on your site. Your story is inspiring and I hope your new found path to wellness gets you back 100% healthy. I’m also somewhat lactose intolerant. I love cheese and I noticed the next morning, my face mainly my chin/throat area feels puffy. I tried the Blood Type Diet where based on your blood type, there are certain fruits, veggies, etc. that aren’t suitable for your body. I’m A type and it says I should live mainly on vegetarian diet. I don’t follow it 100% because there’s so fruits and veggies I like but I limit them. I try to limit gluten foods as well. I would like to go to the doctor to get tested for food allergies though.
Leanne M. says
Here’s to not ‘pushing through’ but to listening to our bodies!
Christina says
I’m loving that you’re being so honest and open about this path to wellness. It’s not an easy or clear road for anyone. After reading Bringing Up Bebe’, I decided to do with less bread and without milk in my morning drip. Instead, I’ve switched to a double espresso and more beans, greens and fruit. Two days a week I eat what I want, but am finding that I want bread/pasta/dairy less and less. It’s easy to stick with this eating pattern because I’m not doing it based on guilt, i.e. a specific food is “bad”; it’s about how it makes me feel. I’m more energized and feel lighter, inside and out. I truly believe tapping into food sensitivities and reactions (positive or negative) will lead to a life of energy and health. Keep it up girl!
Christina
http://www.foodiewithalife.com
Holiday Baker Man says
Awesome work. Wishing you the best going forward.
Beverly says
I’d like to suggest that a wise thing to do before making drastic changes to one’s diet is to ask your doctor to test you for your nutrient & hormone levels. I suffered from extreme fatigue, sleeping for extreme lengths of time & so heavily alarms wouldn’t wake me, foggy mind, depression, unusually strong allergies, and all sorts of small ailments, getting worse & worse over several years. My doctor just kept writing prescriptions for each new problem.
I found myself at the point of considering whether I might have to eventually go on disability. Then I went to an integrative health doctor. Before changing anything she ran all the tests doctors usually do — CBC, cholesterol, etc., but she also ran tests for nutrient levels and hormone levels.
The results were surprising & enlightening. The most notable results were than I was bottomed out on B vitamins across the board, extremely low on magnesium, quite low on vitamin D, and all of my hormone levels were extremely low. She provided me a supplement plan to begin addressing the deficits and I started to feel better than I had in ages, but not as well as the doctor thought that I should be.
Because of the B and magnesium levels she decided to run a genetic test and we found that I have a mutation of the MTHFR gene that actually causes my body to have difficulty processing and using B vitamins and magnesium. What was worse was that three of the prescriptions that other doctors had given me for those small ailments also cause those same problems. No wonder I was bottomed out!
I had tried some of the dietary changes over the years that you mention in your blog, but — for me — some of them were precisely the wrong thing to do. For example — the B vitamins only come from animal proteins in our diet so my efforts to cut back on meat & dairy were hurting, not helping me. Short of flesh foods & dairy, the only other way to get the B vitamins is through supplements.
I strongly believe that everyone should strive to improve their overall health, but my experience taught me that it’s best to start doing that with an understanding of what the state of your health really is so that you can determine the right avenues.
One last thing in the long post — the estimate mentioned in my genetic test results from Mayo is that about 40% of us have at least one of the mutations of the MTHFR gene. These mutations are believed to be linked to a host of problems from chronic fatigue syndrome to autism to alzheimer’s. (Doctors are now finding that a significant number of “alzheimer’s” patients actually have the mutations and once the deficiencies are addressed they suddenly don’t have “alzheimer’s” anymore!)
So in addition to having those nutrient & hormone tests, since there may be 40% of us with the mutations, I want to encourage you and your readers to learn a little about MTHFR to see if the mutations might run in your family. You can start with http://mthfr.net/ but there is quite a lot of information on it on the web, including on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) site.
Wishing you excellent health!
Tessa @ Handle the Heat says
Reading about your experiences with dairy was interesting because just last year my mom visited a homeopathic doctor for the first time and discovered she’s allergic to dairy. For her entire adult life she thought she was lactose intolerant but she’s actually allergic to the proteins found in dairy which, consequently, are also found in lactose-free milks and many packaged foods. She experienced similar symptoms to you, fatigue and mental fogginess. She also experienced stomach discomfort and intestinal issues. Her doctor actually said that years of consuming dairy made her GI tract inflamed, preventing her from fully absorbing nutrients from other foods. Anyways… I thought you might be interested to hear her story and I hope it helps you on your path to better health.
baker in disguise says
i think the biggest lesson is to listen to your body.. too often we stop listening.. and thats when all the problems start!!
Hana says
Thank you for sharing your path towards a healthier life. Have you been tested for vitamin B12 deficiency? Dr. Oz’s tv segment yesterday was very interesting about how the lack of vitamin B 12 in many of us may cause lack of energy, mood changes, etc.
Tracey says
Thanks for the update, Alice. You look so happy in your photo which makes me smile too. 🙂
My biggest weakness is sugar (cupcakes in particular) and pizza. I blame the latter on Whole Foods, because there pizza is so darn good.
I really want to make some dietary changes and am inspired by you to push forward. I can only imagine what it would feel like to have more energy and less exhaustion. Thank you for documenting your journey and sharing with us. I look forward to the next update.
Lynn says
Congrats on taking the steps toward better health. It’s so easy to keep doing the same things and then wonder what’s wrong. If I recall correctly, people of Asian descent have a higher rate of lactose intolerance.
Denise @ Creative Kitchen says
I’m not sure if I commented on your last post (I think I did), but I’ve also discovered some food issues this summer. It’s so interesting to me to find that some of the very things I thought would give me issues (wheat/dairy) were not. I did find that it’s certain ingredients in processed foods (high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, etc).
The body is definitely a mystery, and I’ve learned recently that it changes as we grow older…especially our digestive situation. So glad you’re on the path to health!
Desiree says
Could you give us details on your cleanse? Did you follow a program, or did you just make your own? I’m really interested in doing one, but there’s so many out there to choose from, it’s hard to decide. Thanks!
Arthur in the Garden! says
That’s great! I wish I could do this but stress makes me eat and then my boyfriend loves to eat, too! So I have to watch my portions. I use to be macrobiotic/raw food follower. Your journey has put more fuel to the fire that I need to make that change!
Thanks!
Arthur in the garden!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says
Too cool! Glad you are feeling better
Rebekah Smith says
I really enjoy reading your blog. Your honesty makes it so real and I appreciate that. Life is challenging and making poor eating choices which I do all the time can really mess things up. You have def inspired me to check out what I am putting in my body and I look forward to changing.
Thank you 🙂
Karen says
I’ve loved following these last few posts of yours. I think it’s great that you’re taking your health into your own hands and actually thinking about what you’re putting into your body. I want to start to do that more too, and you’ve given me lots to think about and some good starting points. Thanks, and pls keep us informed.
Ruthy T. (@DiscoveryStreet) says
about half way through my pregnancy my husband and I went vegan for a week. He definitely felt a lot better and lost some weight quickly…for me i didn’t really notice a difference (but perhaps its because i’m pregnant and the body does weird things). I’m severely anemic and ironically my body has been craving red meat. But in the past, while not pregnant, when I’ve done “cleanses” I really did notice a difference. It’s also interesting how the body’s sensitivities can change over time. I used to be really sensitive to dairy and wheat, but not now…I really love delving into wholistic nutrition…my degree is actually in nutrition but there is so much more information out there since I graduated!
haemin says
this is really inspiring and i appreciate you sharing your journey. could you also share some more details on the juice fast/cleanse? what did you juice or did you buy something like BluePrint Cleanse?
Jackie says
You are truly an inspiration! Thanks for sharing, and keep it coming!
Kelly says
Lots of great information, thank you! And I know the same thing doesn’t work for everyone, but am definitely thinking about doing a detox cleanse. I’ve never done one before and am a little nervous about it as I’ve heard more negatives than positives.
Keep staying stress-free and positive and I’m looking forward to your next post. 🙂
Carol says
Great job documenting the changes in your diet and routine, as well as the consequences. My son and I also watched the same documentary. We did a month long total juice diet. He lost 24 pounds; I lost 13. While it did become routine, and we did adjust to it, we also found that we felt weak…as in reduced stamina and energy. I think the best approach is to do the cleanse, then modify the juicing to once a day, or even every other day….plus reducing the amount of meat and increasing plant material. I would never eliminate meat.
Keep up the good work, and please keep us posted!
Jenn says
Good for you, Alice! I wish everyone has the motivation like you do!
JennyBC says
this is very enlightening, thank you. I appreciate the details because I also feel I am inordinately tired at times and think it has to be related to my diet. We have decreased meat consumption and I try to juice or smoothie for breakfast. I have not cut out dairy. That insight is good for me although it makes me want to weep….coffee with milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese. Was that hard for you and did the benefit outweigh missing dairy? It’s funny, I am game for a lot of things from a dietary standpoint and that one thing freaks me out a little. Maybe it’s because I feel like I have already made a good many changes and this is the one thing I am holding onto. ha!
I would like to hear more about your cleanse as well. Not something I have tried before. I exercise a good bit and know it must be a food issue. thanks for sharing your story…maybe I can get to the bottom of mine.