So I spent much of December sick and even began the new year with a nice stomach flu. This time of illness and recovery was littered with bad eating and very rare trips to the gym. A part of me began to believe I could easily slip into my old ways. That voice in my head even began to justify my decisions not to work out and the bad food. Luckily I know where these breaks end up, and I have no desire to see that place again.
I started back to the gym on a regular basis in late December and have been going pretty routinely since. I have also started a new mission to become better at Burpees. If you have had the pleasure of doing these, you might think I am totally insane. However, they are a great overall body workout and mine are pretty pathetic. I am doing them 4-6 days a week, and they really are improving. No where close to pretty, but won't get there without practice.
On the food front, I did not make any great strides until last week. I have been experiencing stomach issues for the last year or so. The doctor has done ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc.. Since that did not show anything and the diagnosis started to point toward some mental delusions, I decided to do some research. I had a lot of the symptoms that pointed to a food intolerance. Therefore, last Wednesday I started a new challenge, an elimination diet. Luckily, Kent is not only supporting me from the sidelines but has also jumped into the diet with me.
10 days ago we woke up to our first day without dairy, gluten, eggs, sugar, caffeinated beverages, soda and corn for what will likely be a little over a month. For two weeks we eliminate all these things totally. In week 3 we begin testing each possible culprit and analyze the effects on our bodies. I have been fascinated by what I have observed so far.
I always assumed that weight fluctuations were totally normal. I would wake up and weigh myself on Monday and be 183. On Tuesday I would be 187 and then Wednesday was 184. Since eliminating this things, my weight is insanely consistent. Happy to report that it has consistently gone down each day, but I have not had any fluctuations. I am also almost completely craving free. Yes I am hungry at times and I want to eat, but it is nothing compared to what I once felt. Now I can wait for the good food to be ready and not grab the first food available.
Even though I am doing this to locate the culprit of my stomach issues I really hope to never return to the eating I had before. It is obvious the food I was eating before was not good for my body. I would like to create a new eating that has a foundation in my current plan. Of course this elimination also has a pretty cool side effect. I am down 6 pounds. I did not do this for weight loss, but I am certainly going to accept it.
I continue to be in awe of life and this journey. It takes me places I have never been or even thought I was possible of going.
