GAPS Intro #6: Day 2 - AM

Symptoms this morning: Fatigue, very tired/worn out, right eye lid very swollen, left eye lid slightly swollen, upper backache, lower backache, fluid retention (whole body feels puffy), breast tenderness (started yesterday), puffy face, heart rate went up to the 130s, distended abdomen, headache, not cognitive.

Goals today: Eat two GAPS stage 1 meals, rest when necessary, study some Spanish, take a detox bath or sit in the FIR sauna.

I feel very puffy, big, and flabby right now. It's probably fluid retention from hormonal imbalance but I am afraid it's true weight gain. Eating enough today will be a challenge. I don't know if the progesterone cream I started using again is causing more problems or if this is just my body adjusting. I so wish I had not gotten the hysterectomy back in 2003. It just made things more difficult to figure out.

Yesterday I was not going to have any probiotic food at all but ended up eating some coconut milk kefir that I had made with milk kefir grains and some Custom Probiotics 11-strain powder. I am trying to decided if I should skip everything today to see if I feel a bit better tomorrow. There's definitely a huge difference in how I felt yesterday morning and how I feel today. I also need to start adding garlic but am concerned it will cause too much die off. Maybe it would be best to just have healing foods today but nothing anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, etc. and give my body a break. I just don't understand why there is no end to the die off. This is not normal....and I am starting a new job soon. How I am going to handle writing code with all this brain fog is a mystery to me.

Update 10:30 AM: The headache has actually gotten worse. I ate some breakfast rather than waiting for lunch because I did not feel good...it didn't help. If I turn my head to fast I feel nauseated. I am more swollen as well. I had pork belly for breakfast but not boiled. I fried it in a cast iron skillet. Dinner will be boiled salmon.

Update 6:45 PM: I took a detox bath during which my hands and knuckles started to hurt and felt very stiff. After the bath the back of my hands started hurting and they still do. I also took some bentonite clay and sometime later the headache improved, but it's not gone. I have been insanely hungry all day and have felt very swollen all day. The breast tenderness has gotten worse. I did pretty good re food all day then around 5 PM or so I went overboard and ate way too much. Cravings for sweets got the better of me and I had some of DH's diet Coke. Of course I regretted it as soon as I drank some but man was it good. I am still craving sweets and diet soda - two of my typical PMS symptoms.

Since I blew it again with diet Coke and we are having friends over for a BBQ this weekend, I am thinking about just postponing intro until July 1st. I am only on stage 1/2 anyhow so what's the big difference. I am trying not to be discouraged and scared but I really am. I need to get these cravings under control because drinking diet Coke sure isn't going to help me heal! I feel like a failure right now.

Another New Day

I feel better emotionally today. Maybe the anxiety, negativity, and everything I was feeling yesterday was from die off. It's so hard to tell but I feel more positive and inspired today. So far I plan on doing some clear water enemas followed by a coffee enema and then to fast the rest of the day, but that may change later. Fasting has become harder but I do believe it is very beneficial.

Update: Fasting was too hard. The headache I woke up with went away and then later in the afternoon came back even worse. So I had boiled salmon, salmon broth, some of the gelatinous meat from making pork bone broth, and pork fat. The pain in my right wrist and hand came back as well. I am beginning to wonder if it's from knitting versus arthritic pain or something else.

GAPS Intro #6: Day 1 - PM

This day did not go well at all or like I had hoped. I felt very tired and sort of numb emotionally so instead of taking 7.5 mg of HC around lunch time I took 10 mg. I sat in the sun around 10:30 and when I came in my heart rate shot up to 140 when I checked it and I was starting to feel dizzy. I had a hard time standing in the shower and had to sit down as soon as I got out. My body still feels swollen and soft and I hate it which put me in a bad mood. I have also been very distended all day to the point of being in pain. After running some errands in the afternoon I made dinner and then I messed up. I had some pork rinds and some homemade almond/walnut butter. I topped it all off with some of Bob's diet Coke and two pieces of gum. Next I ate about 1/2 cup of coconut milk kefir. The latter isn't a bad thing except that I have to collect stool for a stool test tomorrow and ideally you should not be taking probees before a stool test. I feel like I messed everything up.

Because I am so distended (and I messed up today anyhow) I decided to fast tomorrow. I need a break from feeling this miserable. My abdomen is so big it's making my back hurt. I am hating life right now.

GAPS Intro #6: Day 1 - AM

Symptoms this Morning: Headache, upper backache, fatigue, anger, whole body feels swollen/puffy, right eye lid swollen, puffy face, very distended abdomen, very itchy skin, no motivation, not cognitive, slight depression, stiff body, heart rate went up to 129.

Goals for Today: Eat two GAPS Stage 1 meals (lunch and dinner), rest when tired, read some in the GAPS book and in "Maximum Achievement", take a detox bath.

I have not weaned off coffee so I started my day with water, 1/2 cup of black coffee, and medication (10 mg hydrocortisone, 10 meq potassium chloride). My heart rate came down a bit after a few minutes but was too high for just walking around the kitchen. It was normal while sitting.

I plan on eating salmon today probably with pork fat and drinking the water I cook it in as broth. I also have a pot of pork bone broth going so I may have some of that as well. The reason I want to eat only two meals is that I think I may have SIBO and have read that it's best to wait 3 to 5 hours in between meals. Also, I stopped eating breakfast a while back because I get so distended after eating and waiting until mid-day to have a meal allows me to have part of the day without so much discomfort - well, without THAT discomfort. I can't say that waking up with all the symptoms I mentioned above is comfortable!

Father's Day, blogging, GAPS, and more!

My dad would have celebrated his 69th birthday this year if he were still alive. He passed away 14 years ago after a long battle with lung cancer that spread to his brain and then his back. Sometimes I don't even think about him, other times I do but it's just fond memories, and then there are days like today when I wish I could pick up the phone, call him, and tell him "Happy Father's Day" and that I love him. Realizing that I can't and never will be able to again is devastating and there is an actual physical pain in my heart when I think about it. I know it will pass but those days are hard. He was so full of life, fun to be around, adventurous, intelligent, motivated, and more. I like to think that I am a lot like him but maybe that's just wishful thinking.

As for blogging, like so many times I thought I would keep up with it pretty much daily but that hasn't happened. It seems something always comes up that keeps me from writing. A lot of times it's brain fog, feeling like I can't capture my thoughts let alone write in coherent sentences, other times I question why I should blog. But here I am and I am about to start GAPS intro again - tomorrow. I will start with a zero carb version and without probees or ferments the first few days since I haven't done the stool test yet. I will be finishing it on Tuesday so Wednesday I will most likely add a drop of fermented veggie brine to my broth. I hope I will be able to tolerate it.

Thursday I tried adding some kefir made from raw cream. Friday wasn't so bad and I had a tiny bit more. By evening I was pretty hungry - more so than usual. Yesterday was awful...I was horribly, horribly swollen from the time I got up and it got worse as soon as I had coffee. I spent the whole day hungry, fighting cravings, and eating like horse. I could not get enough food in my body and by evening I gave in and had a tiny bite of walnut/hazelnut butter with honey in it. Although it wasn't much I am totally kicking myself and I really, really regret it. So unfortunately dairy is still out. I plan on staying off dairy, including ghee, for 6 weeks and then re-introducing it slowly starting with ghee. I am also not going past stage 2 of the intro diet until the abdominal distention goes away like Dr. McBride recommended.

I am so disappointed that I still feel so crummy after all this time. We are going on another cruise the week after Thanksgiving this year and I so wanted to be able to eat without looking like I am pregnant. I was hoping to have my flat stomach back by then, to have energy, to feel good, and to have a semi-normal vacation. Maybe that's still possible?!

Homemade Mayonnaise

I use the stick-blender method in this video versus the slow drizzle method, but my ingredients are different.

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
• sprinkle black pepper (about 2 grinds with a pepper mill)
• 1 cup macadamia nut oil (1 ½ cups if you want thinner mayo)

Latin Kisses

We love these and make them frequently.

• 16 large shrimp , peeled and deveined
• ½  cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated (or 1/4 tsp ginger powder)
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves (loose)
• 1/4 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 lime (1/2 medium or 1 large)
• 1 – 2 jalapenos
• 8 slices bacon, thick cut (slightly cooked)

Mix olive oil with spices and lime juice, puree in a food processor, and marinate shrimp in mixture for 3 to 4 hours, longer if desired. 

About 30 minutes prior to when you want to eat, slightly cook the bacon. I normally don't use the microwave, but for this recipe I arrange the bacon on a plate and put it in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Next slice the back of each shrimp, cut jalapenos in slices length-wise about 1/8th inch thick and place in back of shrimp, wrap 1/2 slice of bacon around shrimp and put on a skewer. 

 When all the shrimp has been skewered, grill until done basting with leftover marinade.

DH likes to dip them in creamy jalapeno dressing. I sometimes dip them in homemade mayonnaise, bacon fat, other animal fat, coconut oil, or nothing at all. Either way they are delicious.