My Journey on the Autoimmune Protocol Diet Day 4
- Mar 29, 2018
- 3 min read
Hey, everyone!! I am so excited about this journey that I have begun. I know that this is finally the answer and while it is scary, intimidating, and extremely hard. I know I can do this. I made a video, but this website will only allow me to upload a video from youtube. I guess that means that after my office is set up I may try a youtube channel. Which is WAY out of my comfort zone.
Today is day 4 on the autoimmune protocol diet that I started. Day 1 consisted of shopping which I will say was a bit intimidating. For those of you who are not familiar with this diet think restricted Paleo. I cannot have dairy, eggs, beans, legumes, nightshades, nuts, any spices derived from nightshades such as paprika and cayenne. No sugar, no caffeine, no sugar substitutes. Coconut sugar is allowed in moderation. You can only have grass-fed and range free meats. That means no almond flour and making a lot of adjustments to recipes. You do this restriction for 30 days to 6 months. To allow your gut to heal and the inflammation process to calm down. This then allows your body to reset. Then you can slowly add back in foods and see which ones you react to. This is when you get rid of those foods forever.
Meal prep and planning is essential on this diet. Day 1 shopping involved going to about 4 stores to get everything I needed. I now cringe at the thought of buying meat. That is the worst part, and I can kind of tell why people become vegetarians LOL. The end of day 1 brought on the beginning of detox symptoms starting with the headache.
Day 2 was meal prep and I did fairly well with that. I prepped a homemade marinade for my chicken and had it grilled on the grill with some lamb. I made a ginger turmeric stir fry from the organic vegetables that I bought. Breakfast was definitely the most challenging meal of the day. No eggs, no cereal, and no milk. I finally opted for a fruit and vegetable juice/smoothie with moringa powder. The advice they give on breakfast is think like other countries. They do not really indulge in breakfast foods, but eat what they have for dinner or lunch. This is still a struggle. I usually have fruit and tea for breakfast. Detox symptoms on day 2 increased to the point that it felt like the flu was starting. I increased my water. Sugar cravings were unreal on this day, and I finally broke and ate a TBSP of nut butter. I now had a severe headache, body aches, and muscle spasms.
Day 3 I decided I had enough of these flu like symptoms and I made an herbal tea o f marshmallow root, linden flowers, lavender, and spearmint. I placed 1 tsp of honey and half a crystallized piece of ginger. After half a cup my cough subsided and I could breathe after a full cup. all the cold symptoms were about gone, I could breathe, and my headache was almost gone. I decided I would continue this twice a day until I was finished with detoxing which is 7-14 days. I also took an epsom salt bath with lavender and eucalyptus. Then I went to bed and slept for a good 8 hours. I woke up on Day 4 and it was almost as if the detox had ended.
Today is Day 4. I woke up feeling refreshed. I have only a slight headache today, but all the other detox symptoms are gone. I can definitely feel a difference in my pain level. I am in slightly less pain, and seem to have a bit more flexibility. I have more energy. I am walking 1/2 a mile fasting a day, and trying to get to the gym 3 days a week. Weight wise I am down in body fat, weight, water weight, and up slightly in muscle percentage. My ring is falling off my finger which I would say is a definite sign that the inflammation is decreasing. I also seem to be a tad bit anxious, and not as many racing thoughts. I would say all of the above are very encouraging.
I am really excited to be on this daunting journey. It is opening up new creativity in the kitchen, and all new doors as far as what I am able to do without pain. I hope you come along on this journey with me, and that it will inspire a journey of your own.
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