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Amy's Log for 2020


Amy_Michigan

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End of Day 7

I did start getting period cramps this afternoon after I drank all of that coffee, so I should have known better...

Last night I went kind of crazy thinking I had lice.  I checked everyone's heads, and my kids heads looked clear.  My head was all "tickely" feeling and I swore I saw white things on the strands of my hair.  So, I worked from home today and went to a professional lice "boutique" (lol) and they checked my hair and NOTHING.  No lice or nits or anything.  THANK GOD.  But I do have a small patch of some weird "hair casts" which are white and look like nits but are not.  The lady said if I switched shampoos lately it could have been caused by that.  Something about drawing oil up from hair shafts or something- not sure I understood what she was explaining.  Upon further research when I got home, it can also be caused by some skin conditions.  One in particular is seborrheic dermatitis.  I really hope I don't have that.  I don't think I do because this head stuff came out of nowhere- I wasn't even itchy at all a few days ago.  Upon getting a recommendation from the "lice lady", I picked up a shampoo called "Neutrogena T/Gel" that I can use 1-2x per week.  It is supposed to be good for dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, and other things.  I don't actually know if I have either of those scalp issues, but I'm going to mention it at my dermatologist appointment next month.

Also, I had #dinnerfail and ran out of time to make myself anything.  I have to get the kids ready and take them to dance class on Thursdays as soon as I get home from work and today I was running late.  Thought about getting some veggies out around 7 PM for munching, but my cramps are making everything that's not chocolate sound unappetizing, unfortunately.  I also just didn't feel hungry.  My mother-in-law sent a Valentine's care package with lots of candy for us and the kids, but I gave it to my husband for him to hide right away.  lol.  

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Day 8

Last day of the work week.  Couldn't have gotten here any sooner.  Weekends are slightly exhausting though since I have to keep my kids entertained.  Saturday we will watch cartoons, go to dance classes, and I set up a playdate for my daughter so I will take them to meet up at an indoor public swimming pool tomorrow afternoon.  Sunday I might try to get them to the pool again (they are starting up lessons again on Sunday the 16th and I want to make sure to get some practice in beforehand.)  It has been about a year since they have been in swim lessons.  My youngest is 5 and he hates the idea of water touching his head/face.  It is a battle just to wash his hair.  I think I was the same way.  My daughter started swim lessons when she was around 3.5 or 4 years old and after awhile it really made her comfortable of water and not scared to get her head wet.  Funny how I tried that with my son and it just increased his stubborness.  He only agreed to go to lessons if I would tell his teacher he didn't want to go under water.  Then he would have fun and go underwater without noticing, and forget within minutes of his lesson that he went under and enjoyed it.

M1: Two eggs fried in ghee & a green banana

M2: I packed a salad with romaine lettuce, a chopped up cucumber, a mix of dark meat and white meat chicken, and Primal Kitchen ranch dressing.  Also brought an apple. 

M3: Planning to have an Applegate beef-mushroom blended burger with Primal Kitchen ketchup and some veggies (to be determined) on the side

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Laughing - Kids and water. Weekends are slightly exhausting. I look forward to more time, but they're a motley mix of time and responsibilities and other engagements and lessons. Glad we're not doing swim lessons, but I also feel some guilt because my kids have been asking and asking. Hope your day goes well.

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6 hours ago, Amy_Michigan said:

My youngest is 5 and he hates the idea of water touching his head/face.  It is a battle just to wash his hair.

My 13 yr DS was this way since birth.  Horrific fear of his face getting wet.  He is the only kid I know that could literally spend an entire day in the pool and never get his hair or face wet.  Trying to force him past his fear made it worse, so I left it alone.  He refused splash parks, sprinklers, and would only play in the hose if he was in control of it.  When he was 11 he was watching kids go down all the water slides at a resort we were at, he decided he needed to figure out how to put his face in the water without dying so he could go have fun.  It took him half our vacation to get up the nerve to go totally under, but he did it on his own and I couldn’t have been any prouder.  If some day the reward out weighs the risk for him he will set out to conquer his fear.

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@BabyBear Wow, that is amazing that he built up that confidence to do it himself.  Every child is sooo different.  Hard to know if water will be a big issue when lessons start in a week or not.  When he was 4 he would sometimes go under water for his old swim teacher, but we probably lost a lot of that progress since it's been so long.  My 7 year old daughter recently developed a phobia of being left alone in the house.  Whenever I get the garbage to take out, she asks where I am going (even though it is obvious), and nervously makes sure I'm not going anywhere else (like getting the mail or doing recycling)- even when her dad is there with her, she still needs to know exactly where I am going.  I know what caused it- after I left for work, my husband left her alone once to take my son to preschool which is nearby.  She had a mild fever and didn't want to go take a car ride. She was resting on the couch.  I told him to never to leave our kids in the house by themselves ever again.  I was pretty mad.  He agreed not to.  I don't know how long it is going to take for my daughter to gain her confidence and trust back in us that we aren't going to leave her.  :unsure:  That happened last November! 

Well, I'm going to Kohls to buy a few new clothing items because I have to go to return something- I don't think I can let an opportunity of shopping by myself at Kohls slip by without taking full advantage.  Have a good night everyone!

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Spent only 20 dollars at kohl’s by staying in the clearance section.  I bought 4 tops.  3 are casual short sleeves and one is a fancier work shirt.  I love getting good deals!  lol

I didn’t get home until 6:30 and didn’t start eating until 7...but it was delicious!  When I was at work earlier, I asked my husband to wrap sweet potatoes in foil and cook them on high for 4 hours in the slow cooker.  I didn’t have time to cook veggies so I sliced up some fresh carrots and celery and munched a bit on those after my meal.  The kids came and munched with me..we were like little rabbits.

Here is a photo of my dinner.

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Day 9

Almost a third of the way through!  I’m exhausted from running around all day with the kids.

Breakfast- 2 fried eggs in ghee and a banana

Lunch- Applegate Turkey-Mushroom Blended burger, compliant ketchup, and a few slices of apple

Snack- Planters Nut-rition nuts (cashews, almonds, macadamia)

Dinner- I gave up for the day and made a smoothie with strawberry, canned coconut milk, banana, and water

Currently snacking on a box of raisins with no guilt.  Today was a total veggie fail, but tomorrow should be better.  Also, I have a double batch of sweet potato basil soup cooking in the slow cooker.  I chopped onion AND garlic cloves in addition to sweet potatoes.  Go me!

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I laughed at the image of you munching on raisins. Laughing - when would I ever munch on raisins! Only during a Whole30 - especially mixed with almonds! Last night I munched on spoonfulls of almond butter. I thought about breaking out the coconut cream. Yet, we are still on track. Go us. Sweet potato soup and onions and garlic....you are ROCKING this!

Hope you have a great day!

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Thanks @BabyBear and @Emma.  I'm still hanging in there.

Last night and this morning was rough. At bedtime, my 7 year old was reading to my 5 year old and a page (actually a tab that was supposed to pull something on the page) hit my son's eye.  I gave him a cold rag to hold against his eye because it hurt but I thought when he gave it back a minute later all was well.  At midnight he woke up with breathing issues and was hysterically crying (poor guy has to be really scared or hurt to cry like that). It turns out he has croupe.  He gets it every year at least once.  Then he woke up this morning with a red, bloody-looking spot on the white part of his eye this morning.  So we went to urgent care today.  He was started on an oral steroid in the doctor's office for the croupe which he hated and it's going to be a treat to give it to him at home a few more times when he told me in the Dr. office that he'd never take that medicine again.  Thankfully, no drops necessary for the minor eye injury.

M1 at 11:30: Beef-Mushroom burger and Broccoli slaw steamed and then cooked with olive oil

M2 at 4:30: Romaine and iceberg lettuce salad with dark meat chicken, tomatoes, and primal kitchen ranch.

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I drove through a snowstorm tonight to get the prescription oral steroid just to have my son take half then cry and avoid me for a half hour, before more crying and avoiding and then taking the last half and throwing it up all over me, himself, and the couch.  The stuff really must taste horrible.  I'm hoping the amount he got at the doctors office and the amount he took before bed will be enough to help him sleep through the night.  I don't think he will take the last couple of doses tomorrow.  Maybe getting him through the night tonight will be enough to get through the worst of the croup, though.

My husband made me Fools Gold Chicken Nuggets from the Paleo Parents book called Eat Like a Dinosaur.  These used to be my absolute favorite back in the day.  He did this while I was going to get the prescription and surprised me with them.  :wub:  I couldn't stop myself from trying a few nuggets as a snack before bed.. yum.  Pure heaven.  

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So random that you have that book too @Emma. Very cool.  The nuggets are also my favorite recipe from that book! :)

As for my husband...while there have always been ups and downs in our relationship, one thing that has always been a constant is my husband's willingness to help me when I'm trying to change to a healthier lifestyle.  He is a very serious guy.  He likes to be regimented- always organized and having a plan.  He has a lot more discipline, willpower, and stability than I have.  I feel like I am more spontaneous, unstable, self-destructive (like procrastinating), and unable to form lasting habits (like the habits to take care of myself).  We are quite the pair.  :rolleyes:

As for the chicken... I've determined that in the future, this Fools Gold nugget recipe is going to have to be made only after my whole30, and when I'm sharing it with my family for dinner.  Why?  Because this morning, I ate more chicken nuggets for breakfast with a banana.  Then, when I got to work, I ate all the chicken nuggets I packed in my lunch.  BEFORE 9 AM.  I literally can't stop eating them.  It's like they are covered in pastry dough.  So, I guess these nuggets would have to be considered SWYPO for me.  Oops!  Now I know, at least.  I will keep chugging along with my Whole30 even though I temporarily lost control of my brain.

 

 

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On 2/6/2020 at 10:46 PM, Amy_Michigan said:

Last night I went kind of crazy thinking I had lice.  I checked everyone's heads, and my kids heads looked clear.  My head was all "tickely" feeling and I swore I saw white things on the strands of my hair.

I just read this to my husband, saying it sounds like me.

I'm terrified of getting lice, because I DO have seborrheic dermatitis which, in my case, means lots and lots of dandruff... which means lots and lots of white stuff in my hair, ugh. It's always itchy, and I can convince myself at times that I feel something crawling. Hubby is against the idea of checking my hair for me unless I see something on one of the kids, because it's so difficult to get past my dandruff. I've got a metal nit-picker comb that I use to run over my scalp and through my hair probably once every week or two, just to be safe.

Seborrheic dermatitis isn't always horrid. I mean, it's dandruff, lol. Sometimes the symptoms can get worse than other times, though, just like basically any condition. When I was younger, I routinely had big patches of crusty stuff caused by oil buildup, and that could at times lead to scalp sores... but now that I'm older, it's generally just really bad dandruff regardless of what shampoo I use. It's one of the things I deal with, though, as part of my eczema (I get dyshidrotic eczema on my hands and feet, and seborrhea on my scalp).

That actually makes me want to do another elimination round at some point soon, to see if my dandruff is affected. I didn't think to pay any attention to that in previous rounds! Silly me!

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33 minutes ago, Jihanna said:

I just read this to my husband, saying it sounds like me.

I'm terrified of getting lice, because I DO have seborrheic dermatitis which, in my case, means lots and lots of dandruff... which means lots and lots of white stuff in my hair, ugh. It's always itchy, and I can convince myself at times that I feel something crawling. Hubby is against the idea of checking my hair for me unless I see something on one of the kids, because it's so difficult to get past my dandruff. I've got a metal nit-picker comb that I use to run over my scalp and through my hair probably once every week or two, just to be safe.

Seborrheic dermatitis isn't always horrid. I mean, it's dandruff, lol. Sometimes the symptoms can get worse than other times, though, just like basically any condition. When I was younger, I routinely had big patches of crusty stuff caused by oil buildup, and that could at times lead to scalp sores... but now that I'm older, it's generally just really bad dandruff regardless of what shampoo I use. It's one of the things I deal with, though, as part of my eczema (I get dyshidrotic eczema on my hands and feet, and seborrhea on my scalp).

That actually makes me want to do another elimination round at some point soon, to see if my dandruff is affected. I didn't think to pay any attention to that in previous rounds! Silly me!

Thank you for sharing this @Jihanna.  Since writing that post, my head still gets tickely/crawling feelings but at least now I have some peace of mind knowing that it is not lice.  I started the T/Gel shampoo, but so far it hasn't eliminated the dandruff looking stuff ("hair casts" or whatever they are) completely.  I am going to pick up a metal comb like you have.  I think I had wishful thinking that the itchyness was a temporary thing, but the more I think about it, I think I have eczema issues elsewhere (my face - on the sides of my nose). Maybe my scalp and face are related skin conditions.  I will know more in a few weeks.  I scheduled a dermatologist appointment the first week of March to look at my face.  The face redness/itchyness has been on and off for more than a year.  I have a little bit of skin peeling, and also the skin inflames when I put  any moisturizer on it.  I will let you know if these improve at the end of my whole30, but I am guessing since I am 10 days in with no improvement, it might be a whole60 or whole90 to see noticeable skin results, if any skin results at all.  No feet issues, but my hands occassionally develop one or two red inflammed circles on my fingers that are slightly itchy.  I think that is only when I have a really horrible diet though.  They go away when I start eating healthy.  I haven't had any of those spots in awhile.  Since I have lupus, I always question whether skin issues are lupus related or eczema related.

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Oh Jihanna and Amy, Eczema - blech! My good friend has dyshidrotic eczema on her hands and it's horrible! The only trigger she has found is stress, but she has also never done a Whole30. @Jihanna Have you ever found it changes related to your food? 

My daughter had horrible eczema as a kid and it seemed to go away when we eliminated garlic. She has a whole bunch of relatives with skin issues so I doubt it's just as simple as eliminating garlic, but for now, it's not such an issue.  Have either of you two noticed things that are more obvious triggers?

And, Amy, your comment about it needing to be a Whole60 or Whole90 - sighing - so true. My asthma stuff took a Whole6Months before I noticed the difference. 

 

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1 hour ago, Emma said:

Have either of you two noticed things that are more obvious triggers?

And, Amy, your comment about it needing to be a Whole60 or Whole90 - sighing - so true. My asthma stuff took a Whole6Months before I noticed the difference. 

The closest I have come to knowing a trigger is that I get the itchy red spots on my fingers when I'm eating lots of sugary foods.  Not sure.  Also I remembered that I HAVE gotten the same thing on the bottom of my toes as well.  Funny how it is the same thing as on my hands- the palm side of my fingers, just like the "palm" side/bottom of my toes.  It itches like crazy on my toes so I always have to use anti-itch cream when I get it there. 

My face redness around my nose was originally triggered by using tea tree oil on a pimple, I think.  Then I tried Miceller cleansing water, and that might have made it worse.  From that point on I decided never to try new/weird things like that on my face ever again, but for some reason even though I haven't been putting harsh stuff on my face, the red/inflamed area seems to fade and then come back again randomly as far as I can tell.  I have been using CeraVe moisturing cream and cleanser for the last few months because it is supposed to be gentle and my apartment is very dry so I don't want to completely eliminate putting lotion on my face.  Also, a couple of times a week I use "Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Exfoliating Face Scrub" to help prevent the peeling skin from clogging my pores and making everything worse.  (I read that dry skin/dead skin cells can clog pores.)  It seems to provide very gentle exfoliation, but I'm always on the lookout for gentle products that will do more to improve my skin.

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I found this picture on facebook... I was looking back at my old posts that mentioned the phrase "whole30".  Pretty cool how this works when you stick with this healthier lifestyle.  I had also done couch to 5k (C25k) and ran in 2-3 "5k fun runs" before the photo on the right was taken.  Now I'm back to looking like the picture on the left LOL.  These pictures were taken before my son was born.  Little Adrienne is 7 now!  :o  I think I was around 220/225 in the picture on the left and 150/155 in the picture on the right.  I never was able to lose any more before I got pregnant again.  I'm 5 foot, 4 (and a half inches) so I was going to try to lose about 10-15 more pounds- all the stubborn weight is in my legs/thighs.  My face has no problem losing weight!  LOL  

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Day 11

M1: Chicken Nuggets and Banana

M2: Chicken Nuggets, a whole cucumber (with skin) sliced and dipped in Primal Kitchen ranch

M3: Applebee's steak with broccoli.  The most evil steak I have ever ordered from a restaurant.  May have to sue for jaw injury from trying to chew it (just kidding).  But seriously hard to eat.  Very tough.  I asked for well done, but I've never had this problem before.  I don't know if it's too well done or the cut of meat.  I don't even know how my body is going to digest something I could barely cut/barely chew up.  Kind of feels like a huge lump in my esophogus right now.  Hope I don't get esophageal reflux!  I'm so happy no one saw me eat this like a hungry animal.

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Triggers... stress, dairy, cold/dry weather... maybe other stuff I haven't pin-pointed. I didn't realize the dairy connection until my first Whole30, when it cleared a bit even though it was still winter and then popped back up as soon as I reintroduced dairy products. I'd known that dairy caused rashes for years, though, just hadn't realized that the little "deep blisters" on my hands were eczema (I call them that because they look like little blisters that are sunken under the skin). I guess I'd always thought of eczema as rashiness on faces and arms or something, I don't know.

I use Gold Bond eczema relief lotion (with colloidal oatmeal) on my hands and feet daily, have been for about a month now, and it's helping to keep them much better moisturized. I especially have to make sure to use it shortly after a warm shower, otherwise I get skin shedding off like crazy... and once they dry out, they'll be ragged and catch on things, ripping skin off and causing open wounds. It's definitely not pretty, and I've worn massive bandages across portions of my feet on more days than I can count. I think that's why the cold/dry weather affects me so harshly, because it just makes the drying out happen more quickly.

I'm seriously thinking of doing another round of elimination followed by extensive reintro testing, though, maybe once things settle down at work and we're on set schedules (my manager is trying to make that happen but we've still got several things in transition), so I'll know exactly what I need to prepare for in terms of when and what I'm cooking and whether or not I'll have to eat it while working (since we don't get a real break). I'll definitely try to remember to let you ladies know if I discover anything else that sets me off, and might actually craft it as an AIP-Whole30 just to see what happens. :D 

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