Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Ups, downs, & the in-between

Seafood craziness. DELISH!!!!! 

Ground chicken thigh nuggets with zucchini. Cute & fun to eat! 

Roasted chicken: my favorite! 

Mock Italian anyone? No one said pasta couldn't be green. 

TOO good to be true. 

If it's not one thing, it's another. A lesson in life I'm struggling to accept. On a Tuesday, it could be too many carbs. On that Saturday, it could be my new body lotion (that's already 'everything-free'/gluten-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, & so forth). Or maybe even just too much standing on that particular day. Or not enough water. Or the bright lights in a store. Or the toxic smells from a clothing department. Or an overindulgence of a REALLY tasty food you know you can eat but you just don't know when to stop. Whatever the culprit may turn out to be remains unknown until it's too late to deny it. Before you have time to decide if you feel like fighting off an auto-immune response, you're smack-dab in the middle of one. If I had to single out the most important thing this way of eating has taught me, it would have to be this ugly truth; life isn't perfect. Life isn't perfect no matter how much you want it to be. Life will never come without bumps. SO, you have to take your great days & run with them! :) 


We haven't talked at all since the night of New Year's Eve thanks to those bumps I just mentioned. School has started back up (we've got a love/hate relationship), a new job at my college bookstore has begun, my "no time of the month" ordeal has not been resolved (thanks a lot, body), & my severe case of inflammation from head to toe has refused to kick the can. But I am doing EVERYTHING I can to smile, look on the bright side, enjoy each day, & live my life to the fullest. It's required some extra effort on my part such as taking more time for myself but it's worth it. I hate when my heart & my mind are in two different places. I'm torn!!!! Then I hop onto my computer, check my support group page, & am immediately reminded of what's most important to me. It's healthy distractions like the page, my blog, a book, or a movie that I have clung to most often lately when I've been in a real pickle. I just have to tell myself it will pass. Nothing is forever!!!!! 


If I've explored all those options & am still in need of a pick-me-upper then I usually venture into my kitchen, camera in hand, ready to create & capture something magical. Taking photos of everything I cook is somewhat of a form of therapy for me, I will admit. :) It gives me something to focus on other than reality that's sitting right in front of me. My most recent picture of the dollop of peanut butter is my favorite. Peanut butter takes the cake for the tastiest snack on the planet that's SCD-legal. I am LOVING it!!!!!!! I have to beware of eating too much though because I don't want to run into problems. I'm trying, I tell you! It's hard to turn down a spoonful! 


Well it's past 10 now which means it is definitely time for bed!!!! I would chat a bit more but while I'm struggling, sleep is crucial! I hope you enjoy my appetizing photographs. Look out for others later this week! Sleep tight & once again, thanks for listening. Please feel free to share what you do to cope when the going gets tough. 


~Allie      

5 comments:

  1. hang in there! i love ya!! xoxo

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  2. You can do it! You got this woman! :)

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  3. Hey Allie,
    my name is Katie and I'm 19 from Australia, I emailed you a while ago but you mustn't have got it!
    Anyway, I enjoy and RELATE so much to this post. It's good to be reassured that others have set-backs even on the SCD (I am following the GAPS protocol as I find it much easier to implement from day 1 - SCD was hard for me with the limited 1 veg (carrots) = because I can't be exposed to things over and over otherwise I start to react to them).
    Anyway- I want to know what you meant by my "no time of the month" issues not being resolved? - do you mean that you have lost your period? Because I have also - I have now not had them for a year!! :( Its within this last year that my health has turned for the worse.
    I can so so relate to you (autoimmune disorders - thyroid, celiac, etc) along with other things.. so would love to talk to you more.
    What to you is a typical autoimmune response? and what do you mean by your head-to-toe inflammation?

    I would really love to stay in contact with you :)
    Look forward to your reply,
    Katie x

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  4. Love ya toooo, deedee!!!! <3 xoxo :)

    Thanks 'anonymous'! :P

    Katie, hi! :)
    I never got your email!!!! Yes, please know that everyone experiences set-backs. I hate them SO much but no matter how much I wish they didn't exist, they DO. It's how we handle them that matters! Ahh, you're on the GAPS? How is that going? I'm extremely interested in it! I'm still familiarizing myself with it but the main difference between it & the SCD is the emphasis on fermentation right?

    Yes, I have lost my period! :/ Well, I hadn't had it since last July & my endocrinologist put me on the Provera challenge the first week of January (a major boost of hormones for 5 days to kick your period back into action). She thought that the extreme weight loss I experienced at the beginning of this diet caused my hypothalamus to think my body was in starvation mode & therefore shut down my hormones. Anyway, I had somewhat (emphasis on the somewhat) of a period last month after the Provera challenge & I'm REALLY hoping it returns on its own this month. If not, birth control... I shall refuse. I will find a homeopathic way to get it to start. You too?! :( Ugh, I'm sorry! I'm here for you, girl! Oh really? I'd definitely like to talk with you more as well!

    A typical auto-immune response for me would be major, major inflammation. Inflammation everywhere in my body. And when I say head-to-toe inflammation, I'm referring to puffiness literally in my face, my chest, my arms, my stomach, my legs (all the joints), & my toes. I HATE IT!!!!!!!! I also have RSD which wreaks havoc (fight or flight system is totally out of whack) on my system. I seem to be in an allergic state right now which I hate as well.

    Let's talk more about EVERYTHING!!!!! :) Hugs & maybe we can skype?
    Allie xoxo

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  5. OH MY LORDY! Allie, I'm so sorry I didn't think you replied!! Haha, I had to check your blog page to see if you had because for some reason, I didn't get notified!

    Ahh so interesting - your endocrinologist sounds a whooooole lot better than mine! Mine is hopeless - the only things she's said is 'maybe take the Pill or anti-depressants' - I hate the way conventional doctors pop a pill for EVERYTHING! I know there's natural alternatives for these things but these specialists are not up for the brain usage are they!
    Anyway... although we're both in hideous situations regarding our bodies it is nice to know that theres another girl around my age experiencing really similar things and that I'm not crazy!
    I don't personally experience those inflammatory flares (that sounds horrible - you poor thing :( ) but I do get really dizzy, fatigued and weak with headaches, diarrhoea and nausea - can't get off the bed for days ( thats a really BAD flare up for me).. do you get this?

    Yeah, with the period-loss... interesting that you lost yours - it is hard to know whether or not because of weight loss or not but?!? so confusing hey! I lost mine before I'd lost the weight however so I don't even knowww whats going on there! :(
    I am getting acupuncture now though also, which has helped me AMAZINGLY in the past - have you ever got acupuncture/other therapies like it? I highly recommend it :)

    Yess.. with GAPS I think the main differences in the intro diets are yeah GAPS focuses a lot on bone broth, fats and meat tissues, along with you got it - fermented foods. But I'm not eating dairy - so no yoghurt for me - and I actually haven't been eating the sauerkraut as suggested as i attempted to make it and it failed haha! But I will try again - anyway my diet basically consists of meats, broth, meat tissues and fat (animal fats, coconut oil and cold pressed virgin olive oil for dressing colder things), vegetables (all kinds (well not potato etc - same as SCD) - but peeled and deseeded - mostly anyway), fish, seafood, fruits (not very much though).
    So yeah, its pretty limited - but I'm managing to make it tasty! I am assuming /know from all your posts that you are well accustomed with that!! :)
    I also get this crazy breathing difficulty thing where it feels like i can't get a full breath in. I have noticed recently that it occurs usually after eating bananas? but i'm really not sure. Have you ever had breathing problems?

    Ah yes, I would definitely like to talk about EVERYTHING :) !! Haha
    that would be absolutely WONDERFUL!
    It's great to find a support network .. even if it is through the internet! But its wonderful :)
    I'll be here for you tooo!!

    Hope that you've sorted out that inflammatory response.
    Sad to hear that it may be the peanut butter :( I love peanut butter too... I am not eating nuts at the moment anyway but YUMMM.

    Anyway, best of luck and I can't wait to hear back from you!
    Sorry it took so long to reply.. I'll have to figure out how to receive notifications that you've replied!
    Oh yes and Skype would be cool as. I'll have to get my microphone fixed first though!
    x
    x
    x
    Love x

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