Part 1 & Part 2 – in case you missed it.
When I am overweight, not exercising, and eating rubbish, I feel lethargic, tired, and slow, even when I am well rested and fed. When I start working out, the first two weeks are tough because my body is screaming, “What the hell are you doing?!” But once I get into the rhythm of exercising my body adjusts to the new schedule. When I am working out and eating clean on a consistent basis, my body literally feels like it is suffused with energy. I feel alive. There is really no other way to describe how amazing I feel even when I haven’t reached my goal weight. Just by eating clean and exercising, I feel 10 years younger! I would have to use an exorbitant number of exclamation points to truly convey how utterly transformed I feel!
On January 2nd I started working out. Around the 14th I was still feeling tired and I just figured it was because my body was taking a bit longer to adjust. By the 30th I absolutely could not work out any more. My joints hurt and I was tired all the time, no matter how much sleep I got or how much food I ate. I body felt awful! I had no idea what was going on and I was feeling really frustrated because I had started exercising again and should be feeling wonderful! Yet here I was, feeling just as bad as when I wasn’t exercising!
My husband decided to do some research online and found that folks with Hashimoto’s can often times be gluten sensitive. Additionally, gluten sensitivity may also lead to cross-reactivity with dairy. When I started exercising, guess what I had been eating twice a day?
**drum roll**
Protein shakes with WHEY and CASEIN protein!!
I was utterly devastated. I don’t really drink milk other than having it in tea and coffee, but I eat a lot of foods that contain milk, like butter, cheese, and yogurt. This may sound strange but I entered a period of mourning. At least that’s what it felt like to me. I now had to cut out both gluten AND dairy from my diet. There were foods that I grew up on that I could no longer eat. There were foods that I LOVED that would essentially kill me very slowly if I continued to eat them. I was so sad.
However, once I stopped eating dairy twice a day, my energy started to return, I wasn’t tired all the time, and my joints stopped aching for no reason. I had to accept that dairy was best left behind. I still fantasize about cheese danishes, ice cream, and bread rolls from India called gootlie pao (crusty on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside). And butter! How I love butter. (I now use ghee – clarified butter, as a dairy-free substitute.) The cravings are receding as my husband and I explore new paleo recipes (Please see the links on the right-hand sidebar). Sometimes when a mad craving strikes, I think back on how I felt when I was still drinking those protein shakes; the craving typically dies down quickly after that. I am slowly getting to a place where I can appreciate how delicious some foods were and still be glad that I’m making a change for the better without them. It’s not always easy, but listening to my body helps me make these changes because really, I am done with feeling awful.
After January 30th, I took a two week break from exercising. During this time, I cut out all gluten and dairy. We ordered egg whites for me to use in protein shakes. I also made sure I was getting at least 5 small meals and 1-2 snacks a day. When I say small, I mean tiny – my stomach is rather small and I can’t fit a lot in it at once. (Please note: there was no limit to how much chocolate or bread I could fit in my stomach. That was part of the problem!) I was finally getting back on track with my diet of eating clean!
It was around early February that I ran out of one of my medications that control my hives. I decided to try to go without it. The worst that could happen is a swollen lip or puffy eye lid. Typically, when I’m taking my medications, if I’m extremely stressed, that is how my hives will manifest instead of a full body break out. Amazingly, it worked! I have been off Ranitidine since early February without any signs of a break out! (I have to block both H1 and H2 histamine receptors – Ranitidine blocks the second type of histamine receptor which helps fully control my hives.) I am still on Cetirizine; however I’m tempted to go off it over the weekend and see what happens.
So what, you ask, does this have to do with spirituality? Well, as I said I was very interested in Dr. Wesselman’s discussion of how healing the body can also be done in the spiritual realm. I am currently doing everything I possibly can in the physical realm to help my body heal and repair itself. But I don’t want to ignore the possibility that I can help the physical healing with the addition of the spiritual aspect.
For the record, I am a biologist at heart. I have been in love with all things biological from as far back as I can remember. This love of biology propelled me to earn a Master of Science in Biology. However, what strengths I posses in my scientific background, I sorely lack in my spiritual background. Part of the reason for that is my long hiatus from accessing and cultivating my spiritual aspect which led to the previously discussed hole. I have come to realize that my scientific background is not at odds with my need to cultivate my spirituality. In fact, it is complementary to my spiritual awakening.
Going forward, I am putting the negative reactions to spirituality behind me. I have found a new peace in accepting the fact that I need to actively cultivate my spiritual practice and this practice does not detract from my scientific practice. I feel a little silly for not figuring out this simple truth sooner, but I also realize that I came to the place I am now at exactly the right moment in my life.
It is my goal for 2013 to continue to work on the physical needs of my body and to get myself to a more healthy weight (decrease body fat, increase/maintain muscle mass). I want to continue to eat clean and remain gluten and dairy free. I also want to start practicing meditation again. Eventually, I would be thrilled to be able to spiritwalk, but for now, I need to concentrate on making time to practice daily meditation.
2013 is shaping up to be a year of great change – for the better!
**Please note: I am not a medical doctor and I am not dispensing medical advice. I am simply relating my personal experiences with disease, medication, and weight loss. If you have questions and concerns regarding your health, please consult your doctor.**
No comments:
Post a Comment