Full-Gaps Day 90 (Pre-Intro)

Wow, time kinda got away from me.

I was feeling crappy for a while so I took a break from blogging. Then time passed and I wasn't feeling so horrid, but I still wasn't blogging. Then I'd start thinking about getting back to blogging and realized I really didn't want to. After more thought, I realized that it was the format I was using. It's boring me to tears. It's good to see my progress all layed out, but if I can't make myself sit down and record it, it isn't very useful, right?

We are still doing Full GAPS. Even fuller now as we have reintroduced raw dairy. I'm doing fabulous on dairy and am super happy to have it be part of my diet again. I'm also being super picky about what kind of dairy I'm ingesting. Next time you're in the supermarket, pick up a carton of whip cream or yogurt and check out the ingredients. "What's that?" you say, "Whip cream has ingredients? Shouldn't it be 100% cream?" You would think, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

So, we are sticking to dairy that is either raw or has no "additives". To note, I consider the mysterious "milk ingredients" to be an additive as they most likely contain milk powders which aren't good for you, plus who knows where they are sourced from.

Anyway, I'm done with the structured blog for now. I can still record how I'm feeling,what we eat, and recipes and all that yazz.

Tonight I'm too tired. It's bed time. I'll start my post earlier tomorrow.

Full-Gaps Day 74 (Pre-Intro)

Breakfast:
-fresh nectarine 
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-leftover Roast Beef
-leftover coleslaw

Snacks:
-crispy walnuts & hazelnuts
-raw kefir

Dinner:
-leftover Roast Beef
-leftover coleslaw
-Bubbies pickles

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: introduced raw kefir last week
Both The Fiancé and I are doing well on raw kefir. I did a second fermentation and it was really good.
How To Make Your Kefir Taste Extra Yummy
Ripening Kefir under AirLock

Energy Level:
OK.

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
Low back is getting better. I put it out last week by sitting on a chair wrong. Gotta love that.

Foot pain:
Very mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
4 (.)

Last nights sleep:
Good.

Anxiety:
Oh boy, a new category.

Anxiety is my newest most annoying Adrenal Fatigue symptom. It's especially annoying as it has decided to manifest itself, not as a panic attack like in a normal person, but as diarrhea. Yep, the joke's on me. Why, oh why, oh why, oh why does it have to be that? No idea. It is what it is.

I've been reluctant to talk about this, as it's a tiny bit (= A LOT!!) embarrassing, not to mention really gross. I'm not a good public pooper and what's been coming out of me is far from normal, so I've been pretty much homebound. There are little things I get out to do, within range of my toilet =] Groceries and such. But longer excursions, yikes, they come at a risk. I've had to turn down so many fun events and visits because of it and it really sucks.

I was really, super-duper hoping GAPS would address this sooner rather than later, but it hasn't. If anything it might be worse.

So, I'm about to do something drastic. I'm weaning myself off coffee. Oh dear coffee, I love you so. It's a necessary evil. It'll get The Fiancé off my back, as I shouldn't be drinking it at all with Adrenal Fatigue and he loves to remind me of that daily, and it will answer the question lurking somewhere in the back of my mind... Is coffee part of my poopy problem?

The other thing is that I really should be recording when it happens. Don't panic, I'm not going to be describing anything here, I'm not that gross. Well, actually I am, but I'm still not going to post it. I mostly want to see the frequency and what days it happens on. I'm hoping to see a pattern emerge. Something that will clue me in to the inner workings of my weird brain and help me figure out why the heck this is happening. I'm ready for my life back, please.

So in the spirit of documenting my progress on GAPS...
(d) x 3

Comments:
Missed a few days of posting again, oops!
Hurt my back last week and couldn't sit comfortably to type. Then I got busy. Then I was a lil' bit hungover. The truth hurts.

Lots of fun stuff going on with our Milk Share. To make life easier for our new Agister, I've put our share back to "normal". This means we'll be messing up our reintroduction schedule and will have raw milk to "bathe in" this week. (I secretly can't wait!!!! I miss it soooooooooo much!!) I like kefir, but I don't want to "bathe in" 4 litres of it a week. I was intending to wait and bring raw milk back last. It's not even officially GAPS legal, being a more advanced "bath product". Whatcha gonna do? At this time I feel it's more important to support the cause, our Agister, and our herd, so we'll be "bathing in" raw milk before I'd planned. (secret YAHOO!!)

Besides, I'm confident we won't have any negative reactions to it. We've been "using" it for 3 years and had no problems with the dairy we've reintroduced so far. The Fiancé reacts instantly to pasteurized dairy. His nose runs, he sneezes, and he even gets asthmatic at times. Scary. He's A-OK on raw dairy.

Ontario raw milk farmer takes over Home on the Range cows

Full-Gaps Day 68 (Pre-Intro)

Breakfast:
-fresh peach 
-coffee, with honey

Lunch:
-Left over Chicken Salad from yesterday
-Leftover Grain Free Tabouli
-Leftover Boozy Flank Steak
-kalamata olives

Snacks:
-crispy hazelnuts & walnuts
-coconut macaroons (the recipe was a flop so I'll post it when I work out the kinks)

Dinner:
-Classic Drop Biscuits with raw butter, mayo, mustard, and leftover Boozy Flank Steak
-steamed beans with butter & unprocessed salt
-Simple Veggie Salad (tomato, avocado & lime)

Supplements:
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with breakfast
-1 tsp Magnesium Citrate (Natural Calm) with dinner
No foot or leg cramps last night.

Dairy:
Week 5 of dairy reintroduction: nothing new this week

Energy Level:
Good. I'm finally waking up feeling refreshed again. We'll see for how long :-)

Mood:
Good.

Brain Power:
Good.

Back pain:
You bet. No low back pain today, but loads of between the shoulder blades pain while working in the kitchen.

Foot pain:
Mild in both feet.

Knee Pain:
A bit in the left knee when sitting.

Heartburn:
None.

Day of cycle:
34
?? What happened to my reset button? Last month was only 29 days.

Last nights sleep:
Good! I love the times of the month when I am sleeping well. I feel so much more productive.

Comments:
Holy cow! We had a sandwich for dinner tonight! The first honest to goodness pick it up and eat it with your hands sandwich. No wheat was harmed during this meal :]

Speaking of cows, our cow share is under attack, again.
Here's a little of what' going on out there...

What is white, frothy, and illegal to sell in B.C.?

Bovinity

B.C. judge orders Alice Jongerden not to milk the cows 

Thank you, Alice, for taking this on. I know you didn't ask to be thrust into the spotlight. You're doing a wonderful job!

Poor Fraser Health doesn't understand the community Alice has created around our cows and the precious milk they produce. Our share members will band together to support each other and do their best to ensure each of us keeps getting our property. We won't let a little Contempt of Court get us down.

This fight has become more about basic personal rights than actual access to a truly healthy food. Deny people their rights and you are going to have a revolution on your hands. Well, maybe a change in law anyway.