Re-Set and Food Sensitivities

If you suspect that you may have sensitivities to certain foods or additives in foods a cleanse and reset may be a good way to find out. For instance, two years ago I was living with a lot of acid reflux, weight gain and joint inflammation. My Chiropractor recommended a cleanse to reveal if I had food allergies and to jump start weight loss.

Since I work with the Nutrilite company I wanted to design the cleanse around their shakes and supplements. After researching several published cleanses and reputable nutrition authors I designed a cleanse and diet reset that I hoped would identify my food sensitivities and help me form healthier eating habits. It began with protein shakes and a whole food plant based diet, then gradually re-introduced animal protein, dairy and gluten in order to discover what foods if any were causing uncomfortable reactions.

Basically you remove certain food groups from your diet for a two week period and then gradually re-introduce one group at a time over the following two weeks. I found that Bovine dairy products, except for yogurt, were causing the reflux and a lot of the joint inflammation. Wheat products came in as mildly irritating and I actually lost my taste for a variety of animal proteins.

Now, I’m working with a whole foods, plant based diet and the weight loss is happening gradually. Joint swelling and pain have almost disappeared and acid reflux is a thing of the past. See some of my former posts here on Healthchat to read about my progress.

As a disclaimer I do have a graduate degree in Nursing and I’ve worked with one of the top Vitamin and Supplement companies for over 30 years so I know a lot about nutrition, however, I do not have a degree in Nutrition or any certifications in that field. Also if you have ever had a violent reaction to food, ie., hives, difficulty breathing, or anaphylactic shock, definitely follow your doctors recommendations when it comes to changes in your diet and eating habits.

Ask me questions and post your comments here. I would love to hear from you and share more of the details.

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Habit #2 – Stop eating at 8:00pm

How many of you have been sleeping at least 7 – 8 hours per night? In the interest of full disclosure my average is 6 hours so I’m still working on Habit #1 in the previous post.

The second habit that is really working well for me is to stop eating at 8:00pm every night, allowing my digestive system to rest and fast for at least 12 hours before eating the next day. I also get a better nights sleep when I’m not trying to digest a heavy meal before bedtime.

This takes some planning. Schedule when you will be eating your evening meal along with how long it will take to cook it so you aren’t scrambling for ideas at 7:45pm and end up eating something that’s fast but not healthy.

Link the habit to other activities. Put a reminder on your phone or maybe make a sign for your kitchen that says, “Kitchen Closed after 8:00pm. Turn out the lights and put yourself in another room in the house. Fill a water bottle and take it into another room with you so you won’t have to return to the kitchen until the following morning. This habit will help with sleep and with weight loss.

Day 7 Detox

This isn’t for weight loss though it can be a great side effect. The 21 day plan is for detoxification. Ridding your body of pollutants, preservatives, and helping your cells to work better. It’s also a great jumpstart for a healthy eating plan. Having said that, I weighed myself at the beginning which everyone should do and then I weighed myself this morning just for some extra encouragement and that’s what I got. I’ve lost 15 pounds!

Breakthrough Fast Day 15 Unexpected Results

This fast has not been what I expected. I planned to stay on juices and a daily soy shake for the whole 21 days. Instead, I set aside food until I’ve had an hour or more of talking with God and meditating on His Word. Then, I break the fast, usually in late afternoon. Fasting brings clarity and a focus to my daily devotions that I’ve not experienced before. It also allows God to fill the empty places. However, by evening my blood sugar is so low that I’m breaking the fast by dinnertime and it’s okay. This fast doesn’t have to fit my pictures in order to bring results.

Breakthrough Fast, Day 8

Just as each race is different, each fast is different.*  This fast has been nothing like the Juice Reboot that I did last summer.  This one has been an emotional rollercoaster and the food cravings have not gone away after two days like before.  I blame Christmas feasting, the sugar intake was very high this year.  As for the emotions,  I’m spending at least an hour per day in prayer and bible study.  God is teaching me about Joy and craving Him instead of food. Forgetting what is behind and reaching toward the goal, I’m expecting this coming week will be  easier, I’ll  keep you posted.

*See Fasting is Like Running, Dec.2011

21 Day Breakthrough – Day 1 A Little Shakey

The first few days of a fast are the hardest for me.  My body reacts to juicing with a weak, shaky feeling plus getting rid of lots of fluid.  So, I’ve learned to add some whole vegetables the first few days.

For example, today I enjoyed a protein powder shake with nonfat milk, and a banana.  Then while shopping I chose a Bolthouse Farms Amazing Mango Fruit Smoothie.  At dinner time I  retreated to my room where I prayed and read the bible for a while and took a nap.   Fasting after all the rich Christmas fare has left me feeling not so good, so I celebrated the end of the day with a bowl of salad greens, purple cabbage and vinegar for the dressing.  Now I’m feeling fine and ready for whatever tomorrow will bring.  I’ve learned to listen to my body and feed it whole foods when the shakes strike.

Fasting is like Running

Lately i’ve been discussing dietary fasting with my niece who is a marathoner and we realized that participating in the various fasts is like running in marathons. For a runner each established race is a notch in their belt with bragging rights. There’s the Marine Corps Marathon, Boston Marathon, The Mud Run. For the health conscious participating in the various fasts is also grounds for bragging.  There is the 15 Day Juice Reboot, The 7-day cleanse and the 40 days of Lent.  The endurance and mental focus needed to successfully finish both disciplines are the same.

My next fast will be the 21 Days to Breakthrough with our church family. It begins on January 2. The details are on church-redeemer.org (keyword: breakthrough).  Anyone who wants to join me please send me a comment.  Maybe I’ll get a plaque for my office  or a bumper sticker for the back windshield of my car or maybe a pin ….

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 90 Return to the Beginning

The last day of the adventure and I find myself returning to the Juice Reboot.  Halloween with its mini-candy bars just about did me in.  I am now craving sugar and chocolate again.  So, the remedy is to Reboot.  At the end of the 90 day adventure I’m dusting off the juicer and enjoying at least one day of fasting to break the addictions and get back on track to healthy eating.

Fall fruit and vegetables make delicious juices.  The fresh kale is still growing in the garden and apples are available from the orchard.  Plus carrots have been recently harvested.  The two recipes using these seasonal ingredients are as follows:

Breakfast:  1 stick celery, 1 organic carrot, 2 Golden Delicious apples.

Lunch:  1 stick celery, 1 organic carrot, 1 Golden Delicious apple, handful fresh kale.

Enjoy!  Send me some of your favorite juices.  I welcome your comments.

 

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 49 The Benefits of Tea

One of the unexpected results of the 15 day Juice Reboot, see category below, was a change from drinking coffee to tea.  My daughter asked me about my favorite teas and if I’ve seen any benefit from the change.

Drinking tea instead of coffee has completely healed the acid reflux I was experiencing.  It doesn’t seem to matter what type of tea it is, the calcium antacids remain in the bottle.  I was taking at least 2 antacids before bed almost every night before the reboot.  I was also drinking decaffeinated coffee from Starbucks and other cafe’s along with sodas with fast food.  The sodas and coffee were associated with the acidic problem in my stomach.

The other major benefit comes from fresh mint tea which is by far my favorite.  We grow spearmint, peppermint, and for the first time Stevia  in our garden.  The mints are easy to get started and hard to kill, plus they spread over a period of time.  12 stalks of mint plus about 20 leaves of Stevia make 2 quarts of tea.  Iced or hot it is delicious without the effects of sugar and it settles all stomach issues.

Whenever, my children caught a stomach flu or other digestive tract disorder, the first thing we would do is run to the garden for some mint and make tea.  It always made them feel better.

90 Day Vegetarian Adventure – Day 47 New Fall Wardrobe?

I forgot what I was going to blog about today, so I will give you an update instead.  Since the Juice Reboot at the beginning of the summer I have dropped almost 2 sizes in slacks and blouses.  This means that when I unpack my winter clothing most of it will be too big.  Unfortunately, or not, I do not hold onto clothing that doesn’t fit.  If I haven’t worn it during the past year, the item is donated to the local used clothing shop.  That means it’s time for a new wardrobe, yahoo!!

I also have a profile on Fitday.com and have begun entering my daily calories.  This is a great site for keeping track of weight loss goals and exercise.  Just want to make sure that I don’t regress into denial.  Believe me it’s easy to overeat and gain weight on any eating plan, just increase your calories past your activity level.  However, it’s much easier to stay within bounds when meat and high fat dairy are not on the plate.

I’ve been downloading and watching the “Heavy” TV series from Netflix.  Just like the “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” Documentary these shows greatly improve motivation.  Please send comments about how you motivate yourself to stay on an eating plan.  We accept all diets here, not just Vegetarian.  Though my personal results show that it is the plan that works for me.