I have been "sick" for a long time now with sleeping issues, eating problems, chronic pain, anxiety, depression and so on.
I have been to a wide variety of doctors from holistic to medical.
Medications galore have been put into my body and help for periods of time.
At no point have I gone to the doctor and had them discuss with me the importance of nutrition or what/what not I should be eating.
With that said - how many times has a doctor told me that I am overweight? How many times have I heard, you should lose weight, that will assist with your pain/anxiety/sleep....
Almost every single time. When I ask how, I have been told some "basic" guidelines, but more or less to eat less and move more. Makes sense to me. I have done almost every diet that has been invented. I have spent a lot of money on diet supplements, meal replacements, etc.
I have been told if I lose the first 20 pounds myself, that they would prescribe me with appetite suppressants.
All of these "diets" seem to cause even more issues with my stomach issues/food allergies.
Things were so bad a few years ago, my family paid for me to have extensive food allergy testing that is not covered under medical insurance.
I found that I am "allergic" to more things than not. It would really be shorter for me to tell you what I "can" have than what I can't. Not only food wise, but just in general.
Last year I started experiencing - Chronic pain. I'm not talking about a little soreness here and there - like getting old pains. I am talking about it feels like someone beat the hell out of me everyday pain. Migraines, joint issues, overall pain. EVERY DAY. I thought I had the flu. I went to my general doctor, then had a wide variety of useless tests done - MRI, Echo cardiogram, Stress Test, Ultrasounds on my female organs, a mammogram (I'm 38) and guess what they found nothing. I was referred to a rheumatologist as my ANA levels were a tad high. I was started on more medication that again, helped a little for a bit.
I don't have anything that they tested me for and they can't explain why I hurt and things are swollen.
So, they give you a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia if you have a bunch of qualifying symptoms on a list over a specified period of time. I was put on a higher dosage of daily medication and a sleeping aid. If you aren't sleeping, guess what your body will hurt. It's telling you to slow your roll.....
Why the rant? NO ONE TOLD ME how to eat.
Not once.
Not, you should do X or Y or Z or have you looked into this.....
Let's just put a bunch of chemicals in your body that is making you more sick or more dependent on us so you continue coming back from more medication.
So tonight I went to a nutrition seminar. I signed up for a 21 day detox and purification program. All of the natural products were $170. The first 10 days you eat mainly vegetables, some fruit and oddly enough - fat.
Day 11-21 you add lean protein to your diet.
Yes, the suggestion is to eat mostly organic vegetables (free from chemicals) and fruit and grass fed/hormone free protein. I am going to stick with the Dirty Dozen as far as organic fruits/veggies - because of cost.
No dairy, no grains (except brown or wild rice), no nuts/seeds, no alcohol/caffeine/tobacco and no processed foods.
So, I get home and start talking about the program and the organic veggies/fruit and hormone free meat. The comments I get - that's so expensive, who eats like that, etc.
Really? I have answer to that.
1) "It's too expensive to eat healthy" - I call bull.
Yes, I bought 3 organic honeycrisp apples for $9. - Oh my goodness, you spent $9 on apples.
Really? You don't have a problem spending $9 on a mexican martini. You don't have a problem spending $9 on that chinese food you ate for lunch. or how about that $6 Starbucks?
3 Organic Honeycrisp apples are 6 - count them 6 of my snacks. As they are SO big, that I cut them in half and put some lemon juice on them to keep them from browning.
So, while you consume whatever you are putting into your body - I challenge you to "record" how much money it really costs to eat that and then look into your healthy options - you will be surprised at how NOT much more expensive it is to eat healthy. I'm not talking about fast food or in a restaurant - I'm talking about YOU not being lazy and making your own food to take to work or eat for dinner. Yes, convenience food is more expensive to eat healthy. That is because they know you will pay it or just eat their crap that costs nothing for them to make and therefore is cheap for you to eat. Crap in is Crap out - quite literally.
2) $170 is a lot of money for 3 weeks worth of supplements...I have an answer to that.
I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars for tests, doctor appointments, medication that sits in my drawers. I have lost a LOT of my time dedicated to "figuring out" what is wrong with me. $170 is NOTHING.
3) Oh, well when are you going to start this "detox" We have X event and then Y and then there will be this other thing? I have an answer to that.
EXCUSES can ALWAYS be made to put off ANYTHING.
I don't think the world will stop or be overly concerned if on Friday I don't eat a cupcake at someone's graduation, if Saturday I don't drink a sugary sweet alcoholic beverage or if on Monday - I eat a veggie plate at a birthday celebration.
Will it be hard - ABSOLUTELY. We are so programmed to fall back into the ways we know. To enjoy the company of others around food that make us "feel" happy or have a drink to make the pain go away.
Guess what I am TIRED of trying to feel good in that moment and then suffer for countless other moments.
I am asking the negative people to please leave their comments inside themselves. I am asking for your support and your positive vibes while I am trying to make lifestyle changes so I can feel better.
This is not an attempt to "lose weight" or "look better" - this is a decision I have made so I FEEL better. I am sure that with the positive changes I am going to make I will have those first two things happen as a side effect and I will just call that my bonus.
Please don't be offended when I don't eat or drink the food you have prepared if it isn't within my parameters. I am sure it is tasty and you put a lot of hard work into it. It just isn't going to benefit me in the long run. Will I be perfect? I am sure I won't be, but I am asking for support in making the right choices for me.
I will let you know how my journey goes along the way. I am looking forward to the upcoming weeks and to a new healthy lifestyle. NOT a DIET.
This is awesome! I wish I could swing the $170 to do it with you, quite frankly.
ReplyDeleteYou know we support you in this, lady. You got this.
You can do the rest. :)
DeleteLittle by little.
I am so proud of you for sharing your story and wish you all the best on your new journey!! I highly recommend the documentary Forks over Knives if you have not already seen it. It focuses on the benefits of following a plant based diet as well as the negative effects animal proteins have on our bodies. I watched it back in February and challenged myself to not to consume any animal products for 30 days, really just to see if I could do it. I had never been on a "diet" where I was not focused on losing weight or comparing calories & carbs & sugar and all that. It was a very freeing feeling and was actually much easier than I thought it would be. After my 30 days I wanted to incorporate lean meats back into my diet but found that I did not receive the same satisfaction I had originally. They tasted bland and made me feel heavy afterwards. When we eat it is supposed to be to fuel our bodies yet how many times do we eat and feel stuffed and tired? Yet we just accept it and don't try to break the mold and change what it is we are putting in our bodies because a bag of chips is cheap and easy and tastes good at the time. But 30 minutes later we're searching for another snack to satisfy our craving because we are not feeding our bodies what it truely craves, nutrition. When we go to the grocery store we won't get a variety of fruits to take to work each day which are also cheap and easy and taste good yet also give us energy and provide our bodies with the nutrients it's craving. I still follow a primarily plant based diet but will have meat or cheese on occassion but it's rare and I definitely feel the difference in my body afterwards. I too get sick of hearing people complain about eating healthy is too expensive. If you buy the fruits and vegetables that are in season it's really not and if you stock up and freeze some of those vegetables when they are in season you will have them when they are out of season and are too expensive. Most grocery stores have a bulk section of grains and beans and nuts which are cheaper than buying a box of rice or can of almonds and you can season them the way you want instead of putting a package of seasoned salt all over it. My family and friends wonder where I get my protein and calcium from, but as I'm sure you already know there are so many other sources to get protein and calcium from other than dairy or meat. Almond milk has much more calcium than cow milk and the are multiple grains and nuts and vegetables that contain protein. Of course your doctors didn't recommend a change in your diet, then they wouldn't continue to get your money to perform all their tests and keep you dependent on the medication they prescribe you. It's just like how we used to benefit from people losing their homes. Doctors don't make a living off healthy people. I've done a lot of research and continue to research food and how our bodies use it and process it and the short term as well as long term effects of it. I would be more than happy to help you any way that I can or you need to make your journey a successful one. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteBrandy - I have watched Forks over Knives and have a copy of the Engine 2 Diet. I will surely use some of the recipes in that book. I can't do soy, or wheat so a lot of the recipes in the book are pretty useless to me. I am hoping that after the detox, I can get tested again and find what is really the issue.
DeleteI look forward to the day that cooking meat doesn't make my mouth water. It was tough today!
I shop in the bulk section often. Sure, it takes longer- it's not in that fancy packaging, but it is less expensive and everything I have had tastes better in my opinion.
With my milk/soy allergy - I found almond milk long ago. I switch back and forth between almond or almond/coconut blend.
Any delicious recipes you want to throw my way - I would love. If you want to get together and tell me great hints - that would be nice also. :)
And thank you for your lengthy reply - it really did make my day for you to take the time to respond.
DeleteI don't do soy either. I have tried several recipes & narrowed it down to the few that are my favorites based on taste, cost & convenience. I still try new ones from time to time. I would loooove to get together & talk more about this. My number is the same if you still have it, if not hit me up on FB & I'll give it to you!
ReplyDelete