About two weeks ago Alvaro & I walked into my doctor’s office hand in hand. We waited for nearly an hour to meet with the doctor. Once she came in we reviewed the test results. I was pretty certain what the test would be, but will still surprised. We talked for some time about the best way to move forward and treat this. After the diagnosis (& a few tears) Alvaro and I walked out hand in hand.
This diagnosis isn’t a life stopper, but I would label it is a life alterer. We’ll have to alter our eating and exercise. The doctor suggested a very clean, paleo style eating plan. Avoiding things that are known to cause inflammation. Basically no sugar, gluten, or dairy. Lots of organic fruits & vegetables, lean meats, and proteins. Sticking to a strict exercise plan is also very important as she’d like me to lose a little of the weight I’ve gained over the last 2 years (newlywed weight gain). We wouldn’t say we ate terrible before, but enjoyed ice cream & pasta whenever we wanted and often had sandwiches for lunch.
Well nearly two weeks in and it’s been going good and bad. The first week I felt great. It wasn’t so hard to give up my favorite treats knowing that their was something bigger on the line here. Alvaro & I both felt like we had more energy and weren’t crashing at 5pm everyday due to our my 3pm sugar snack. We also felt like we were sleeping better and deeper. This last week was a little tougher. I felt exhausted. Cooking every meal & making sure lunch was packed the night before was tiring. Alvaro worked late nearly every night so he wasn’t able to help as much as usual. I felt like week 1 the whole, organic food we were eating was fueling me. This week I felt like I was detoxing all the crap I’d been consuming before. It was tough. I fell asleep on the couch nearly every night. I should have been more in tune with what my body needed. And to top it all off Friday afternoon I tried to make a good snack decision and ate a package of peanuts. Big mistake! I’m guessing maybe I ate it too fast or it was too much fat and I was sick almost the rest of the day & night. I felt terrible. Lesson learned, no snacks. I’ll be sticking to my fruits and vegetables and wait till I get home to have more if I’m still hungry.
Through all of this Alvaro has been my saving grace. Promising to eat, exercise, and do whatever I’m doing to improve my condition. How I was lucky enough to marry the most understanding, flexible, caring, and selfless person, is a mystery to me. I love him & am so grateful for him. He’s told me so many times, we’re a team. These last 2 weeks have really brought us even closer.
We’re still getting a handle on our grocery budget & learning where to buy everything. This is one of the hardest things for me. Grocery shopping isn’t my favorite. I usually like to go at 7am on Saturday or Sunday and (proudly) finish my shopping in less than an hour. That’s no longer an option. We now are comparing prices and shopping multiple stores. Learning who has what and what we can afford. It’s a lot of work, lol! #firstworldproblems
So we’re learning. Reading a lot of books (hello Powell’s & the public library!), lots of research, recipe reading, and blog following. Overwhelming and encouraging. If you have a favorite paleo style blog, cookbook, or recipe, please share in the comments! I hope to document my progress and journey on this new path and hopefully offer support and info to others making changes to their diet and lifestyle for health reasons.
Thanks for reading! I’m off to find some goodies for dinner from the farmers market!
