Going Home Always Feels Great
Over 3 years now I have been on Wahls Paleo Plus, give or take a few experiments with Wahls Paleo (second level of the Wahls Protocol). Most recently, I have been dabbling with sliding between the second and third level as I was feeling great, ready for some different food for variety, and not to mention easier to eat out! I would say I have been doing this for about 6 months now, adding things like quinoa, potatoes, coconut flour….to name a few. After this 6 month stint, it is clear it had a cumulative effect on my body….it was a slow progression. Once I started feeling a bit off, or run down I pretty much excused it away as I didn’t want to face the fact just yet that my diet was not working for me. Wrong decision of course. So, me being the hard headed person I am and always willing to take things all the way…I pushed it to the point of an almost relapse a few times. It wasn’t until my most recent episode that was so similar to how I felt when my husband carried me into the hospital 3 years ago. It was time to go home to the mother ship…..WPP.
I wanted to believe I could float around with my food, it felt like freedom at the time and I really was getting some sort of pleasure out of it. Until my body decided to kick my ass….again…and give me the wake-up call I needed. Hey, and not to mention, my husband eats what I prepare so I was doing him a disservice as well. Shame on me.
So, I started back where I began 3 years ago after diagnosis, I picked up The Wahls Protocol book, grabbed my water, snuggled into the couch and read it from front to back like I had never read it before, and taking notes of improvements I needed to make. It was inspiring, liberating! I started to feel that power of control and excitement to heal myself again! Exactly what this girl needed. My husband had been mentioning for months that our diet was off, I kept reassuring him we were eating healthy (which was true) and all was fine. I was wrong. While we were eating healthy foods, our ratios were off and so was the variety.
Here are the personal notes I made for myself that I started implementing immediately:
- More seaweed-kelp & dulse flakes-1/2 to 1 tsp daily
- Iodine
- Eat organ meat-12oz week
- Sprout all my raw nuts
- Check out adding lacto fermented almond and coconut yogurt (unsweetened)
- Add sunflower seeds
- Eat more variety of leafy greens-especially bok choy
- Eat more kimchi and fermented food daily
- Bone broth every day
- More variety of berries-add in blackberries and raspberries
- More variety radish
- More raw fish and steak tartare
- Cut back on fat intake
- Heavier on the veg intake daily
- Start an exercise/movement regimen
- Unplug more
- Sauna-sweat more for detoxing
I realized I was doing a lot of things really well and that made me feel good. I also realized there was room for improvement. Ok, so that is where I started. You may be somewhere completely different, as most of us are. I had gotten into a rut with my Farmacy run buying the exact same things weeks after week….no wonder I was bored and ready to experiment. I wasn’t eating enough variety of veg daily that my cells had become so accustomed to it. They began alerting me pretty quickly but I wanted to push the envelope…after all, I wasn’t eating chocolate cake or anything….it was potatoes and quinoa!! Well, after the rereading the book again, it all goes back to inflammation in the body. What I was doing was causing inflammation, harming my cells, damaging my brain and certainly not rebuilding any myelin sheaths that’s for sure!
I immediately went on Amazon and bought some Dulse and Kelp flake seasonings to add to my dishes. I am looking into supplements, which I do like, for replacing the organ meat as I just can’t-do it…I mean I really cant. I ordered a workout program that I can do at home because I personally like these better than going to a gym or class. It is a mix of yoga and pilates with zero impact, so I think it should serve my body well. When I read by not adding movement, your brain shrinks as you are not using many parts of it so the cells signal to kill them off! Holy shit, wake up call for me! Again, my hubby has been asking me to workout with him but I just never felt motivated. I am thin enough, feel pretty good and just wanted to spend my time on other things. Not anymore, I am making the time! Our dinner consisted of the correct ratios of real food for the first time in months and it was awesome.
Even though I did not stray far from WPP, it sure feels like coming home to return to it:) I just love how I feel on it, my body loves it and responds immediately. I already had trace ketones in my urine after 1 day….but like I said, I wasn’t super far off, my body just likes what it likes. Wahls has done an excellent job defining “Paleo” in her way. You simply can not adopt any paleo lifestyle or just eat real whole food and think its the same. Her ratios and amounts are spot on. Being a bit smaller I only need about 4-6 cups of veg/fruit per day with 6 oz meat. Now my husband is an athlete and tall so he eats 9 cups per day with about 12 oz meat. I also realized I was eating too much fat…what?! Yep, so I am cutting that back and I am sure a few lbs are gonna fall off in the next week or two….which is fine because I did gain a few over the last 6 months. It was also due to the carbs I was getting from the newly introduced foods and not being in ketosis.
It’s nice to get inspired and fired up again, I hope this helps a few of you to listen to your bodies and make the necessary changes for you! It takes time and dedication for sure as it is an entire lifestyle. My body is telling me…Welcome home Natalie, welcome home.
This was my coming home dinner after rereading the book
You can see it is heavier on veg (especially raw). The collard wraps were full of zucchini, carrot, celery, green onion, cilantro and red pepper. Served with an almond butter dipping sauce. Raw massaged kale salad with my asian dressing and more scallions. Plenty of kimchi. My kick-ass Chicken Crack with added curry. Half and avocado which I did not even eat. Glass of water. I cannot stress enough the importance of water intake daily. It is one of the easiest things you can start doing right now to feel better. I aim for 64oz every day. It cut my fatigue, brain fog and headaches immediately when I began 3 years ago.
Is it time for you to go home?
Love,
Natalie
