Bill and Eileen's excellent Whole30 adventure, continued

[EileenRBe]

I've been posting experiences and reintroductions in my Success Story topic ("Bill and Eileen's Excellent Whole30 Adventure - Post-Challenge Report") which is not quite where they belong. Since I find myself coming back to read the forums often and to post from time to time, I'm starting this topic in the appropriate area.

Brief recap: We "finished" our W30 at the beginning of February. We're continuing to eat mostly W30-style because we love to. With my reintroductions of wheat bread, dairy, sugar, and wine, I've had symptoms and/or cravings that tell me I should keep these out of my diet.

I love these Forums. I learn so much and get such great support!!

[bberan]

It has been about 98 days since we started our whole 30. I haven't had time or inclination to write a lot about the adventure. But this seems like a good time. My main point would be that the program worked and continues to work for me. Contrary to what you will be told by almost any traditional medical practitioner, things like arthritis and psoriasis can be curable. And the cure is not some miracle drug, it's a simple change of diet. But for many of us, diet is such a part of who we are that changing seems almost unthinkable. That's why it's easier to just believe the lie that you can't do anything about it, and take a pill.

My second point would be that this is a cleansing protocol. It's simply an elimination diet with a great website and lot of very knowledgeable and dedicated supporters, and I think that's what makes it work. I knew about elimination diets before, but was never exposed to them in a way that seemed doable. The way it is presented makes it seem simple.

And as my body cleansed the toxins, I went through lots of changes. One thing very noticeable was throbbing in the blood vessels of my ears. If you've ever had a high fever, or ear infections, it's kind of like the throbbing you experience then. It stayed with me for weeks. I can still sense it to some degree, but it's gradually reducing. My theory is that you re-experience to some degree the physical and mental issues that are associated with the original absorption of the toxins you are eliminating.

Third thing is that your rate of healing is likely to correlate with the damage to your system. I started looking for answers to my health issues 40 years ago, but things seemed to always be getting a little worse. And I had already been working away at a gluten free diet for a couple years before Whole 30 because I have celiac disease. Because my health issues were so deep, I did not experience much healing in the first 30 days. Most of my arthritic aches and pains were greatly reduced, but still not really healing. But Eileen was making good progress, so we stayed with it. After 45 days, Eileen started reintroducing some foods, but I knew I had to keep going. About day 77, I notice a subtle change and felt that some serious healing was starting. The psoriasis started healing in my ears about that time. My sleep patterns also began improving then because before that, I had lots of trouble sleeping.

Anyway, I need to keep up the Whole 30 for awhile until my skin completely heals. And I plan to try the autoimmune protocol to see what other issues I can get rid of. I even feel that my memory has been getting better lately, which I first noticed was deteriorating in my late 20s. Once you start to heal up, it becomes a lot easier to just keep going for it.

[EileenRBe]

Update: For the most part I'm continuing to eat W30 compliant (W30 started January 5). I'm finding that I can add a little cheese or cream with no ill effects. ANY time I eat wheat (except semolina, one time), I get a nasal infection and nosebleed. I've eaten gluten-free pizza crust and gotten a mildly bloaty stomach and nasty gas. If I drink alcohol, I feel down and lethargic the next day. 

 

I've been working on adding a sleep component using the SleepBot app. It's an effort to get 8 to 9 hours! My sleep debt is currently down to only 1 hour (from 6 when I went on a long weekend plane trip to Colorado). I like to read at bedtime, and have heard that LCD e-readers (I use a Kindle Fire) suppress melatonin, so I just ordered a Kindle Paperwhite, hoping it'll make a difference so I don't wake up every few hours.

 

Also, during my W30 I didn't focus on the exercise component, but in February I got a University job, and there's a world-class rec center there. Last week I took an intense intervals class, this week a "balanced bodies" class, and am planning a 4-session (2 per week) kettlebells class later in June. I wanted to do crossfit, which they offer, but it doesn't specify "all levels," so I figured I should get to a better fitness level before trying it. 

 

When I get the sleep and exercise thing down, I suppose I should focus on water, then all will be perfect.   I think I don't hydrate enough. It's a process, this healthiness thing! 

 

I've been lurking on the forums and enjoying especially The Crazy Things People Say and You Know You're Doing a Whole30 When..... I love checking in from time to time!!