Tag Archives: diet

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GAPS – Day 2

Day three of the GAPS diet. Day two was interesting.

Yesterday morning I spent almost two hours at the park with my kids. I took a large pear with me to snack on and plenty of lemon water. While at the park I usually do body weight exercises or use my baby as my weight in order to get my workout in. I do lunges, squats, push-ups, etc. I decided I had enough energy to do my workout and so did it slowly just in case I got weak during it and made sure to eat the pear midway through. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling very faint and was hit with low blood sugar on the walk home. I think my son was as well because he kept complaining of being tired. My headache was also full force by this time and I gulp down an early lunch as soon as I got home. I then caved and took an Ibuprofen.

So it looks like the reasons for my feeling “off” and having the headache was very low blood sugar caused by the sudden decrease in carbohydrates from doing the diet. I recalled that when I did the Atkins diet years ago (2001 I think) that I got very sickly feeling and had really low energy. This lasted beyond the normal period it takes the body to adjust so I stopped eating so few carbs and instantly felt better. Remembering the lesson I learned then, I decided to eat more small meals and doubled my intake of honey. By the evening I decided to make more coconut pancakes to make sure I had an available supply the next day at work.

As a result I feel hugely better and my husband remarked that he did as well. I also noticed that this morning the dryness on my face is remarkably less. There is still some flaking in some places but no more redness or tight feeling. I slept amazingly last night, too. I only woke up once as did my son and husband (baby duty you know).

GAPS Day 2 Menu

Breakfast (with snack):

  • Me: 1/2 Coconut waffle with honey, 3/4 cup Greek yogurt with blueberries, chicken broth, coffee, pear, peanut butter with honey
  • Son: 1/2 coconut waffle with honey, pear, peanut butter with honey
  • Husband and daughter ate before I woke up.

Lunch (with snack):

  • Me: Chicken soup, chicken broth, peanut butter with honey, gluten free crackers
  • Son: Large carrot, peanut butter with honey, 3-4 pieces of chicken from my soup (he wouldn’t eat the broth or veggies)

Dinner:

  • Everyone: Cauliflower and meatball soup (yum!) with gluten free toast and chicken broth. Son slept through dinner (sick still) and did not eat anything except some juice.

Dessert:

  • Coconut pancakes with honey
  • Freshly juiced juice made of kale, spinach, parsley, oranges and apples

As you can see, I did not eat nearly enough and neither did my poor son who was likely starving because he refused to eat so much. I added some gluten-free store bought bread and rice crackers to get through the day because I really do not feel well without the carbs and instantly felt better once I ate them. Honey just does not cut it!

My son finally pooped – three times in fact! lol I am hoping today while he is with my mother-in-law that he will eat more now that he has the option to eat gluten free bread and crackers. He hates the new peanut butter we got and was refusing that yesterday and he loves peanut butter! But since we are eating eggs now I have a feeling he will eat more. He loves eggs.

My daughter is doing really well on the diet. She is excited every day about what she will get to take to school in her lunch. Today she begged for the meatball soup in her lunch, so she got it with half a gluten free sandwich, applesauce and peanut butter. For breakfast she ate all her scrambled eggs (this is not usual!) and was in good spirits, all bubbly and even saying, “I love you mommy!” on her way out the door to the bus. The only time she has been grumpy was when had after school snack and could not eat her goldfish. She opted for pistachios instead.

My husband must have been feeling good yesterday because after he came home and ate lunch he decided to run the 6 miles back to work! I warned him of the exhaustion that might hit him because of the lack of carbs and he thought he would be fine. Later, he told me he did feel wiped out when he got back to work. He is tough! I would have fainted. lol

Overall, I am happy that things are better now and do not feel as overwhelmed by the diet with the few additions that I made. I intend to still limit the gluten free things I added in except for when I feel the low blood sugar symptoms threatening. I do not miss sugar! 🙂

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What to Do?

Another night without an OBE or lucid dream. Another day feeling lacking because of it. I really miss my OBEs. I don’t understand completely why they are being denied to me right now. I sleep so deeply at night that even if I were to get OOB I likely would pop back into it very quickly for lack of energy. It is such a bummer!

I am told that I should not go OOB for two reasons:

1. I was told, “You will leave”. I later asked for further explanation of this and got the feeling that I would somehow find a way not to return to my body. This seems absurd to me because in all my OBEs I have always desired to stay out and never return, yet my body always seems to suck me back in whether I want to return to it or not. Therefore it seems very unlikely that I would successfully “leave”. Yet that is what I am being told. It is possible that I am misunderstanding and that “leave” may mean something else. But what?

2. I was also told now is the time for me to “focus on life” in order to maintain “balance between the physical and spiritual”. I understand this as well but I am so not interested in my life. l would rather seek out all that remains unexplored of the astral and the spiritual. It seems that I just recently returned to the spiritual path only to find a huge “Dead End” sign posted in front of me.

On a side note: This reminds me of a dream I had not long ago after I asked about a certain path. I saw the dead end sign in it and assumed it meant that path was a dead end. Now I am wondering – perhaps the sign was telling me that the spiritual path was the dead end?

What to Do?

Without my spiritual excursions and experiences I spend my days feeling without purpose. I don’t have much going on in my mind except typical mundane activities – what to eat for dinner, what chores need doing, etc. My mind is totally and utterly bored. In the past I fixed this by returning to school, but even then I found that my mind was not satisfied or challenged. I need that mental stimulation and challenge! The spiritual has always provided me with the never-ending questions that arise with each new experience and breakthrough. It never gets boring! I am not a fun person to be around when I am bored.

So what do I do? Typically, I seek out something to fill my time and my thoughts. I have already contemplated returning to school to complete my LPC but my heart just isn’t in it. I have thought of returning to the gym to continue my weight lifting and health kick, but I get a firm “No” from within. I have considered promoting my DoTERRA business, but feel this is not the right time for that either. The only thing that seems to come with a “yes” is doing the GAPS diet, but I am not excited about it.

The first stage of the GAPS diet limits the foods one can eat to only boiled or stewed meats and veggies, fruits and nuts, homemade yogurt and kefir, and coffee and/or tea. There are no grains of any kind allowed and absolutely no starchy foods or vegetables. The first stage only lasts a week but I am already second guessing it because my children will likely strongly resist and my husband, though he says he will do it, is so easily enticed by carbohydrates and cheeses.

Every day one is suppose to drink a glass of lukewarm water with a pro-biotic in the morning before eating. Then, they are suppose to eat every meal with a glass of beef, chicken or fish broth (homemade). This stage is the most important because it replaces the bad gut flora with good gut flora and heals the lining of the stomach. It also was developed so that those with food allergies or other major issues (autism, digestive problems, IBS, ulcerate colitis, etc) can heal gradually and with the least upset to their fragile system. The author warns that some may end up with stomach-flu-like symptoms after a day or two on the diet but that this is a byproduct of the toxins being released.

As a short-term solution, I have very few concerns about the diet. However, I cannot see myself on this diet for the long-term because of the amount of work that goes into it and the resistance my family will give me. We love our carbs and dairy! None of the stages of the diet allows simple carbs, wheat or gluten and the author makes it very clear that all dairy should be “raw” and if not then fermented. My beloved oatmeal would be completely out of the question as would all store bought dairy products. I am all for eliminating processed foods but I do not feel I need to eliminate dairy, wheat, gluten or other grains from my diet.

I have decided not to make my own yogurt, kefir or fermented veggies such as sour kraut. Not only do I not have the time but I gag just thinking about leaving milk or veggies to sour on the counter. Ick! And I despise cottage cheese for that reason. Ha! I do not feel this will “ruin” the diet for me, thankfully. I bought some kefir yesterday and do not look forward to drinking it. It is an acquired taste for sure!

What Else to Do?

Following the diet will keep me somewhat busy, but then again it is not very mentally challenging. I do not know what I will do with myself otherwise. I am very irritated at this “ascension” process, or whatever it is, as it seems like I am being asked to “do nothing” with myself and like it! Actually, it is more like I am being given the option to do whatever I choose, but the only thing I want to do is focus on the spiritual and going OOB, but I can’t do that now, can I? I am still doing yoga almost daily and I meditate at night but I am falling asleep when I do it! I really have no desire to do much else. Really lame, I know.

For my own sanity I need to find something to keep me mentally challenged and “winning” or I will fall into hopelessness and despair. I wish it were easy for me to “just be”.

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Symptom Update

Although I have already written today I wanted to update you all on the physical issues I mentioned in a post last week.

Vision Concerns

Early last week I noticed that the vision in my left eye suddenly had gotten blurrier. I suspected my contacts no longer fit and so figured I needed to go to the eye doctor since it had been nearly two years since my last visit. I went in on Saturday and got all the normal vision tests and this new picture of my retina that is now offered in place of dilation. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything as I was sure that my vision had gotten horribly worse and that I may have some kind of macular degeneration or something bad like that.

The doctor was very nice and somewhat chatty, which was okay. He told me what the computer said my prescription would be and it nearly matched my current prescription. When he tested it out using his machine (not sure what that huge thing is called) he told me that it appeared that my left eye vision had improved and that I needed a prescription .25 less than I had. He said that the headaches, dryness and blurry vision was likely caused by over-correction of my vision. Ha! And here I was thinking my eyes had gotten horribly worse. They got better!

I was sent home in a new pair of contact lenses that had the exact same prescription as my others because they did not have the new prescription I needed in stock. When your vision is over-corrected it is like squinting into the sun – just too bright, thus the headaches and eye fatigue. So in a week when my contacts come in I hope that my headaches get better.

Oh and it is no miracle that my eyes improved. The doctor said it is normal as one approaches their 40s for their near-sightedness to get better (sigh I’m getting old!). He says he sees many of his patient’s prescriptions completely change from near-sighted to wearing reading glasses! Since I got lasik back in 2000 there is a chance this could happen to me sooner rather than later. Perhaps it already is?

Circulation Concerns

Another issue I was worrying about was overly cold hands and feet along with aches in my legs and what appeared to be an increase in spider veins. Rather than go to a vein specialist and get tons of tests, I started taking niacinic acid (niacin) because my research said it helps with circulation. Niacinic acid is the kind of niacin that causes a flushing of the skin. This often comes with a prickling hot sensation. It actually looks like you have a sunburn and even feels similar. I had the flushing for the first couple of times but now I don’t get it anymore. I am taking 500mg in the morning and then again before bed. My feet are much warmer as a result! Yay!

Dry Skin

Something that has been a major issue since moving to the city in July has been overly dry and irritated skin. I first had major acne issues on my face. I got those under control with antibiotics twice only to have it come back with a vengeance afterward. I suspected the antibiotics were actually messing up my stomach, disrupting the normal balance in my system and so when I stopped taking it everything went out of whack making my issues worse. I swore not to go back on the antibiotics and I haven’t, but I have been struggling with dry skin everywhere ever since.

The last straw for me was getting eczema on my wrist. I don’t get eczema so I saw this as my body crying out for me to do something different. I researched eczema and came across Aalgo.com and their organic seaweed powder. I ordered some and used it on my face three days in a row and saw significant results. My eczema disappeared after two treatments! I still have not had time to take the bath yet but that will be next. If you are struggling with eczema, psoriasis or any other dry skin condition, I recommended Aalgo.

Diet Sensitivities

With all my physical concerns I finally followed a thought of mine that asked me to consider changing what I was putting into my body. Water was the first on the list. When I moved I left behind well water. Untreated and naturally mineralized, I have been drinking well water since my birth with rarely a time in my life when I was not. I suspected early on that the water I was drinking and using here in my new home was the cause of my skin issues. I began drinking 8.8 alkaline and mineralized water last week. So far I think it is helping. I intend to keep drinking filtered and alkaline water. I really think the treated stuff is damaging to me.

Besides water, I have begun to lose my appetite for certain foods and my intuition has been telling me to change what I eat for some time now. Lately I have been skipping eating when I am hungry because nothing looks good in my fridge or pantry. I stumbled across the GAPS diet online and ordered the book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. I am still waiting for it to be delivered and I don’t know how much of the diet I will follow but I was drawn to the GAPS diet because of its focus on balancing gut flora. Something about the information I read on the page said to me, “Get the book and do this”.