My journey away from chronic illness began after the birth of my daughter in 2008. At 3 weeks old, she developed colic (another medical word like -itis for ‘I don’t know’). I found solace in the Internet after I learned that doctors had no real answers for me.
From mid 2008 to late 2010, we removed the regular SAD (Standard American Diet) foods from our house and replaced them with the dairy-free/gluten-free versions. Katie was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months and started solid foods with sweet potatoes and pears.
I thought we were so much healthier and was very proud of how well I fed my little family.
Instead, our health went downhill fast. With almost no fat-soluble vitamins, we sorely needed to focus on nutrient-dense foods that would allow us to heal and thrive. But I knew nothing about REAL nutrition.
A focus on dairy-free/gluten-free SAD foods had increased my nutritional deficiencies so severely that I developed cavities for the first time in my life and began to uncontrollably binge by late summer/fall of 2009. I couldn’t stop eating fast food, baked goods, and other foods that made Katie sick.
I tried to limit it to once a week since I was breastfeeding, but it was a losing battle.
I went from this (June 2009 at Katie’s first birthday)
to this within a year.
I was miserably unhappy and filled with overwhelming guilt. Katie weaned herself at just over a year and a half because my breast milk was making her sick. But I could NOT stop.
Welcome Super Mom Guilt! C’mon in and stay awhile.
Late in 2010, I began to learn about REAL FOOD, the Weston A. Price Foundation, GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), and knew I was on to something.
Health had always interested me and I dabbled in organics, juicing, weight loss diets, sugar elimination, whole foods, and natural products through the years. This felt like the culmination of all I had learned and explored, beginning with my Little House on the Prairie fascination at 9 years old.
I have lost over 40 pounds since we began this healing journey and am at my optimal weight. Almost all of my chronic illness symptoms have disappeared (read more about my journey here) and my health has returned.
I will never go back to a SAD lifestyle.
For the first 32 years of my life, I suffered from a chronic sugar addiction and undiagnosed food allergies. They caused me to suffer from such symptoms as cystic acne, tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, mood swings, painful menstrual cycles, and sensitivities to chemicals, noise, and light.
Chronic illnesses like chronic fatigue syndrome, restless leg syndrome, and too many other syndromes that had yet to be named were things I carried around with me on a daily basis.
Nothing was ever wrong with me though. I was just a hypochondriac.
Sound familiar?
If so, join us on our REAL FOOD journey where we learn to follow a healthier lifestyle using a holistic approach to healing. We tackle healing diets, alternative therapies, and even have a baby steps approach to learning this lifestyle.