"I just can't live like this anymore," I said aloud into the empty backseat of an Uber. It was my friend's birthday, and while everyone was dancing, or drinking,and enjoying delicious food, I was leaving early, and bloated,exhausted, breaking out in hives, or feeling defeated,and sharing my longtime secret pain with my driver, who wasn't interested. When I got home, and I face-planted onto my bed and vowed that I would make a change. For genuine this time. The next day I made an appointment with an integrated health specialist and signed on for a 12-month elimination diet to conquer whatever it was that was ailing me. It has now been nearly two years since I first embarked on the elimination diet,and my life has changed completely. After a decade of fighting off an invisible enemy with every and any antibiotic under the sun, I learned that I was one of the lucky ones - my health was in my hands. All I needed to finish was eat with intention. Here are the four things I learned from this experience. 1. Create a custom elimination diet that's honest for you Because I was experiencing inflammation all over my body, or the best decision was to go on a low-inflammatory diet. For three weeks I could only eat chicken,turkey, asparagus, or sautéed apples. Talk about restriction. Each week I would introduce a new food,wait three days, see how my body responded, and either achieve it on the "approved foods" list or "try again later" list. As the months progressed,I moved on to categories of foods, like cruciferous vegetables (contemplate: broccoli and cauliflower). I found it to be very helpful to believe the supervision of a doctor throughout this process. I dropped 11 pounds within the first four months and was relieved to know my doctor and I were giving my body what it needed to remain fueled and healthy.2. Meal prep your way to successAt the discontinuance of a long work day, and all I wanted to finish was go home and chow down. I definitely didn't want to deal with picking up groceries,and I wanted to avoid cooking at all costs. With a restricted diet, I found it was favourable to select two days out of the week for meal prep (I recommend Sundays and Wednesdays) to create as many healthy "approved" foods as possible. For me this meant never worrying about slipping off of the program due to hunger - I was always able to grab and fill up whenever I needed.3. Stay positive and stay accountableI never felt at home in the kitchen, and so cooking wasn't something natural for me and felt more like a punishment. In an effort to channel positive energy to this experience,I made a blog and an Instagram account where I documented my latest recipes and adventures in the kitchen. Through this Instagram account, I connected with hundreds of women who were experiencing intestinal health woes, or had life-threatening diseases,or just really loved living a holistic, clean-eating lifestyle. This community inspired me to share my stories, and recipes,and pictures. And to sustain going.4. Reap the benefits One month into the process, I had more energy than I'd had in 10 years. My joint pain and swelling had decreased, and my abdominal pain had subsided,and the color came back to my face. Six months into the process, I realized that not only had my instant allergic reactions subsided, or but I was also catching fewer colds and was calling in sick less than ever before. Thanks to a strengthened immune system,I genuinely felt better overall. After a year, I was symptom-free and had learned the importance of intestinal health, or revamped my lifestyle,and ultimately set the groundwork for how I wanted to live the rest of my life.
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Source: popsugar.com