After having an over-the-phone consultation last week, filling out a food diary (with, um…EVERY…detail; i.e. My physical and emotional reactions to everything I’ve consumed) and filling out 8-10 pages of various questionnaires, I finally had my first appointment with my new nutritionist, Robin. I can see why she has insanely positive reviews… Turns out, she knows her sh*t (no pun intended) and has helped thousands of people, even entire families, change their lives.
Robin showed me the structure of her questions and how they were grouped by different categories of bodily functions/possible issues (liver, pancreas, various hormones, thyroid, food intolerances, etc..) and based on my answers, plus my detailed food diary, she showed me why it appears I not only have Leaky Gut Syndrome, but possibly a thyroid issue, as well as a clear indication of food intolerance(s).
Now comes the fun part: Undoing the damage I’ve done to my gut throughout the first almost 29 years of my life. Apparently this is a long process, and will involve the following lifestyle changes:
Change #1… Heal myself from the outside-in. This means it’s time to change my eating habits. Besides when I was (kind-of) strict about the organic 30 day cleanse I did 2 years ago, I have not been a healthy eater. My favorite food groups for many years have been: Chocolate, cheese, and beer. (Thanks, Wisconsin.) 🙂 No wonder I have gut issues!!!
In order to figure out what food intolerances I have, I have to cut out the main four triggers. Dairy, corn, gluten, and soy. A strict paleo diet. Luckily, I have a few good friends on this diet that have already helped me by sending me websites, books, and Pinterest ideas with recipes. Robin also gave me some delicious looking recipes!! I am actually excited to start cooking and trying them out…
Change #2… Heal myself from the inside-out. This means taking probiotics to restore the “good” bugs that should be in my tummy. This is a therapeutic way to heal your stomach; start with a baby amount and increase every week until…well… I guess I haven’t gotten that far yet. Until Robin says so!
This also means taking fish oil every day. In my questionnaires it was obvious I have some focus and concentration issues, a little dyslexia, and a lot of frustration. It takes a LOT of energy for me to focus on a task (minus this blog tonight, which is flowing like butter. Ha! Oh, butter, I miss you already…) so fish oil should aid in helping my brain out. First thing I need to get over: Those pills smell NASTY!! And they are HUGE. Wish me luck with this one…
Change #3… Drink More WATER! Holy cow, the food diary was a wake up call. On top of getting to see how unhealthily I was eating, I learned that I normally drink less than half the recommended daily amount of water. This, by itself, could help me in many ways. Therefore, my other homework was to find a water bottle I love and commit to drinking water. Every morning, after my probiotics, fish oil, and my nutritional shake… I have to drink a giant glass of water with lemon in it. Robin wants me to set a goal to have my daily water amount (64 oz) done by dinner time. This is going to be a challenge, but I’m making myself do it.
Change #4… Drink Less Booze. This one I’m most excited about, to be honest, considering I just don’t want to waste time with hangovers anymore. I think I’ve wasted more time being hungover between the ages of 15-28 than most people do in a lifetime. (Again, thanks, Wisconsin.) Also, alcohol has been a very clear “no-no” for my stomach… and now I have a legit excuse to “just say no.” 😉 Funny how a month ago, I would look for excuses TO drink. Must be that whole stage 3 thing… (See last post.)
I can’t wait to see the changes that come of this. This isn’t temporary… This is day one of the rest of my life. I’m determined. 🙂
Comentários