Sick Again!

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One of the most difficult things on my journey to health is having a set back. It happens all too often and all too easily. It is beyond frustrating to stick to a very strict gluten, corn and casein-free diet and still wind up sicker than a dog. It can drive you down right mad.

I am been retracing my food intake over the past 3 days to figure out just why it is that I became so very ill over the weekend . . . . my husband did too. We eat mostly at home and had eaten many of the same things and since we were both ill (digestively speaking), it was a little easier to track down.

At first I suspected it might be the deli turkey we got from Sprouts Farmer's Market. I called Sprouts to inquire and they confirmed that it was definitely gluten free. Then I looked at the dried banana chips we both love from Sprouts and noticed the ingredients included "coconut oil OR vegetable oil." Coconut oil is fine, corn oil would be NOT okay. I called Sprouts back but they had no idea what oil was used. I will call the corporate offices today to inquire and the banana chips were tossed into the trash.

The only other two possibilities were the herbal cleanse I had started on Thursday. However, I felt fine on that and my husband wasn't doing the cleanse and he felt sick as well, so that let the cleanse off the hook, at least a little bit.

Here is what I think might be the culprit: garlic. We enjoyed a wonderful Mahi Mahi fish dinner made at home on Friday that called for 4 cloves of garlic. That's a lot of garlic! We do eat a fair amount of garlic but perhaps since our guts are in the process of healing from food allergies, it proved to be too much. Or perhaps we both have a leaky gut and we are now both allergic to garlic. I really have no idea but in two days time we were both back to feeling great.

For the time being, no garlic for us. And I have decided to stop the detox for now. I have been reading up on detoxes and I am going with the theory that my gut is just not ready to handle that, yet. And it seems like people either think they work wonderfully or they are a complete hoax.

Meanwhile, my energy level is outstanding this morning and I am happy to feel "normal" again. I haven't lost anymore weight but I haven't gained any either. I am still at 178, which is a loss of 10 pounds since last Wednesday!

2 More Pounds Gone + New Foods that I Love

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Oh happiest of days!!! I am actually down two more pounds, making my weight loss 10 pounds in 4 days!! And, my energy levels are through the roof. I even wake up peppy, and that is a first.

I do believe that the healthy way to lose weight is little by little so that it stays off for good . . . however, I have been seriously trying to lose weight for 6 months and nothing happened except for gaining weight. I now believe that I was still ingesting foods that were toxins to my body and my body clung on to every ounce trying to tell me it wasn't happy and it was trying to pull any trace amounts of nutrients it could out of the bad food. I do not know exactly why that resulted in a bloated feeling and appearance and I am still researching that one.

I've been very strict about what eat and I am 99% sure that I have avoided all corn, gluten and dairy (casein) products for 4 days and then presto! Ten pounds melt away.

I also got my adrenal and thyroid medicines switched to compounded versions and that helped a lot. If you still feel ill after removing the food toxins in your diet, please look closely at your medications and supplements. The corn starch in my iron pills made me very ill. I've also given up my 20 year habit of wine in the evenings. I will introduce it back in down the road and I will be sad beyond measure if it turns out I have an allergy to alcohol because that is my one bad habit -- but I will give that up too if I must. I am too tired of feeling bloated and I want my youthful energy back and I will do everything and anything it takes to get there.

I have also discovered a grocery store called Sprouts. I love that store so very much that I could almost sell the farm and move in right next door to it. Okay, I could never leave my horses and donkeys and I will just suck up the two-hour journey it takes to get there and back, but I highly recommend you check out a Sprouts if you have one in your state. I like it much, much better than Whole Foods. Whole Foods needs to change its name to "Wholly Expensive Foods."

Here are a few things that I have found at Sprouts that I absolutely love and finding these yummy things keeps me motivated:

SO Delicious Coconut Milk
SO Delicious Coconut Creamer
MaraNartha Almond Butter
Just Pineapple (dried fruit)
Lundberg Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice Cakes
Amy's Organic Soups
Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth
Brown Rice Snaps (crackers)
Seeds of Change Organic Whole Grain Basmati Rice
MLO Brown Rice Protein powder (for smoothies)

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