sugar free

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Poisonous Apples Do Not Lead To Slumber

Posted by Mildred Jane on January 18, 2014
Posted in: budget, Caregiver, Diet, Gastroparesis, gluten free, health, spasms, sugar free. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Green AppleDo NOT be deceived by the delicious looking green apple above!  It looks so healthy and yummy, which it was.  However, this little gem brought on some of the worst muscle spasms that I have ever experienced.

It all started after the holidays.  THANKFULLY, I was able to enjoy the holidays relative Gastroparesis symptom free.  Of course there was the occasional discomfort, bloating, and all of that fun stuff.  But on a general whole, it wasn’t that bad.  I knew that I was eating things that I shouldn’t and really wanted to get back to a strict gluten-free/refined sugar-free diet.  Researching this type of diet led me to the 21 Day Sugar Detox.

I purchased the book and the cookbook, knowing that I would need more recipes to pick from due to the already known food limitations with Gastroparesis.  I spent an entire Saturday mapping out the Gastroparesis adjusted meal plan for 21 days, the shopping lists for each week, as well as the shopping list for the pantry.  Then my ever so patient and supportive fiance and I made up a spreadsheet and priced out the food and pantry items at all of our local grocery stores.  (Yes, I am a HUGE spreadsheet nerd.)  We knew that completely overhauling our diet was going to be expensive so we wanted to save money everywhere that we could.  We found deals on Amazon for pantry items, got the pantry stocked, and shopped for week 1.

The only allowed fruits during the 21 days are bananas which about send me to the emergency room (if they could actually do anything, then maybe I would go), grapefruit which has sketchy results with me, and those lovely green apples.  I eat red apples all of the time, so these will be fine, RIGHT?

Well…the first week’s worth of recipes called for a total of 20 green apples.  Since I’m splitting half of the food with my fiance then that means 10 green apples for me.  Day 1 came along with the ever so wonderful Polar Vortex and about a 30 degree drop in temperature.  Of course I tanked and was in a lot of pain, it’s the Polar Vortex RIGHT?  Day 2 came along, I force feed myself to keep my nutrition up but the pain is getting significantly worse, it’s the Polar Vortex RIGHT?  Day 3 came along, I started to feel a little bit better and powered my way through work.  Even though at one point I had my head down on my desk clutching my stomach.  Then Day 4 came along, and I felt muscle spasms like I had never felt before.  It was truly awful.  I thought about going to the emergency room, but as all GPers know there isn’t a whole lot they can do for us.  Then on Day 5, I was screaming in pain.  I tried my dear friend the heating pad, I tried hot baths, my dog tried doggie kisses, nothing was working.  The Polar Vortex was long gone by this point so we were knew it had to be something we were eating.  I have had all of the ingredients before.  Everything is all natural, no chemicals, and uber healthy so what the heck could it be.  Then my fiance realized that on Wednesday, the one glimmer of light day, we had very few apples.  He thought it had to be the green apples it was the only thing different.  Which is crazy since red apples go fine.  We started to eliminate the green apples and I slowly started to feel better.  Within a week I was back to lifting kettlebells and going to spin glass.

So now when I look at green apples this is what I see:

snow-white-witch

But when I eat the apple, I don’t go into a nice slumber while a bunch of woodland creatures clean my house.  I go into a torture pit of the 7 Gastroparesis Elves mining away at my stomach while working overtime.

At least I have my prince charming to wake me up, but I assure you that I do NOT look like Snow White.  (Unless she was blown around in a tornado!)

~Millie

Never Give Up!

Posted by Mildred Jane on August 4, 2013
Posted in: Acupuncture, caffeine free, dairy free, Diet, Energy, Exercise, Gastroparesis, gluten free, half marathon, health, Inspiration, running, sugar free, supplements. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

SAMSUNG

Thankfully there has been wonderful reasons why I have gone M.I.A. the past few weeks.  I have been SUCCESSFULLY training for a half marathon that I will be completing in 2 weeks.  Whenever someone with Gastroparesis goes M.I.A. for awhile, it is always cause for concern.  Are they having a flair?  Are they okay?  Are they regressing? or…sometimes it does happen…Are they living life?!  I am extremely happy to report that the last reason is why I have been M.I.A.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have either been going to the gym or running on the trail.  Friday night, I ran 9.25 miles at my best pace ever.  I am FINALLY able to push through the barrier without being afraid of triggering a Gastroparesis flair and becoming deathly ill.  Friday nights run was one of the best experiences of my life.

Several times throughout the run, I would think back to where I was last year at this time.  Those days were filled with not being able to get out of bed, vomiting for hours at a time, frequent IVs, and wondering if I would ever be able to get my life back.  Those days were also filled with the fear of potentially needing a gastric stimulator (aka…a pacemaker for your stomach).  During my run, I would think of these things and it would drive me to keep moving forward.  It was almost as if I was running away from Gastroparesis and trying to stay out of its reach.

I am here to tell you…NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!!!  Many of the Gastroparesis groups focus on GP being “incurable”.  However, this does not mean that you can’t make changes that will help lead to better days ahead.  Yes, I still have bad days but they are becoming few and far between.  I have worked extremely hard to revolutionize my diet and have seen life changing results.

Below are some of the things that I have done and am undeniably feeling amazing:

  • Almost all chemicals have been removed and I eat all natural.  GMOs are hard to cut out completely due to the lack of labeling, but removing as much as possible has reaped huge rewards.
  • Cow’s milk has been replaced with Almond milk.
  • Coffee is gone gone gone.  Tomorrow I will be 3 months free from its addictive powers and this has been one of the best decisions of my life.  I still have a minimal amount of caffeine through tea, but my daily caffeine intake has dropped dramatically.
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup is removed completely.  This means, no more ginger ale.  I found this to be much harder to give up than coffee and the withdrawal symptoms were significantly worse, but it was worth it.
  • Refined sugar has been replaced with Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, Agave Nectar, & Stevia.  It has gotten to the point that refined sugar will give me horrible headaches.
  • Eating on a strict schedule…breakfast (w/ protein) at 6:45am, lunch at 11 am, snack (w/ protein) 2:30 pm, dinner 5:15 pm.  A snack of berries at either the morning or afternoon depending on when I become hungry.  Eating protein at specific intervals of time has really helped my energy level remain stable throughout the day.  My favorite snack is an apple with all natural almond butter.
  • Replacing sugary sports drinks with all natural ones.  Vega Sport is my brand of choice.  It has helped give me the power to make it through long runs without making me ill.
  • Water, Water, Water, and more Water.  I drink approximately 80-100 ounces per day.  This has helped me keep my system flushed.
  • Going to bed by 10 PM.  Getting the proper amount of sleep has given me better results than I would ever admit was possible.
  • Taking digestive enzymes & probiatics every day.  (Garden of Life is my brand of choice.)
  • Last, but certainly not least.  ACUPUNCTURE!!  I can’t say it enough, acupuncture changed my life.  I honestly do not believe that I would be running 9.25 miles at a great pace without having acupuncture over the past several months.  If there is one thing off this list that I would recommend above all others it would be to find yourself a good acupuncturist.

They last big piece of advice that I could give is the following:  do not try to make all of these changes at once.  It is too overwhelming mentally and too much of a shock to your system.  Pick one or two items and stick with them for a month and then add a couple of additional items the next month.  There are always steps back while you are moving forward, but do not get discouraged, do not give up hope.  It is possible to start to feel better, but it will take a lot of determination, hard work, and staying positive through the set backs.

On another note, this post is not to diminish how hard it is for those individuals with severe Gastroparesis.  However, if you do have a milder case, I honestly believe that it is possible to feel better the majority of days if you make serious changes.

~Millie

Clean Out the Chemicals From Your Diet

Posted by Mildred Jane on May 22, 2013
Posted in: caffeine free, Diet, Gastroparesis, gluten free, health, Inspiration, Life, sugar free. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

photo

What do you think of when you look at the photo above?  People in hazmat suits?  Nuclear power stations?  Mushroom clouds?  Running for your life?  Chernobal? 

I bet what your not thinking about is:  food!  Although, I would argue that you should.  The amount of chemicals that are taking over our food supply is alarming and I truly believe that it is at the heart of my Gastroparesis.  Do some research on GMOs and you will see what I am talking about?  If an inseticide is designed to explode a bug’s stomach upon ingestion, then what is going to do to my stomach?  Stay far far far away from GMOs & any genetically modified food.  If it’s not found in nature then your body isn’t meant to have it!

Hopefully you have heard the statement:  If you look at the ingredient list & you can’t buy them all in the store, do NOT buy the product?  After all, your body doesn’t need all the preservatives that are laced throughout our food supply today.  Our ancestors did not have all of the digestive issues that plague us today and it is no wonder when you look at the evolution of food over the past 50 years. 

Since April, I have been drastically changing my diet.  I have eliminitated all chemicals from my diet, eliminated gluten (this could have various results for GPers), limited caffeine to less then 60 mg per day (eventually it will all be gone), and eliminated refined sugar.  I must say that I am feeling AMAZING!  I attribute it to the old addage:  garbage in = garbage out.  If you are putting all of this garbage into your body then you are not setting yourself up for success.  You are only continuing to damage what is already hurting.  This is why I am on a 100% organic, chemical free diet.  I am sick and tired of being sick and tired which means that I will try anything to feel better.

This is my challenge to anyone with Gastroparesis…CLEAN OUT THE CHEMICALS!!  Slowly start eliminating chemicals from your diet and see if you start to feel better.  You have to give it time because your body needs time to process the chemicals out of your body.  However, I am telling you that if you stick with it, you will start to feel much better.  You can’t cheat, you have to be strict but it is your life and you are worth it!  What do we as GPers really have to lose?  We are in survival mood just trying to get by so it is time that we buckle down and quit ingesting chemicals.  And for goodness sakes, STOP EATING FAST FOOD!  It is not even food and is not going to do anything to help your situation!  I know that this is tough love, but someone has to say it.  Someone has to say, put the ice cream down!  Put the hamburger down!  Put the coffee down!  What do you have to lose?

Please let me know if you decide to try this & I will be more than happy to provide you support along the way.  I would also like to feature others who are trying this and the success that they are having!

~Millie

No Gluten, No Dairy, No Sugar, No Caffeine, OH MY!

Posted by Mildred Jane on March 27, 2013
Posted in: caffeine free, dairy free, Diet, Gastroparesis, gluten free, health, Inspiration, Life, sugar free. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 17 Comments

oh-no

Well…it’s time to face the facts.  When 3 out of 3 medical professionals agree it must be right.  When all 3 medical professionals are from different areas then you probably shouldn’t ignore the advice.  I’m not sure yet if I should be thankful that my GI doctor, nutritionist, and acupuncture are all in agreement.  Most people with Gastroparesis would be thrilled to have 3 medical professionals agree.  Although, I think most GPers will agree with me on this one.  No one wants to hear the four things these professionals agree on.

They ALL have recommended that I give up gluten, dairy, sugar, and caffeine!  OH NO!!  What will I do?!  I will feel better!  That is what I will do!  I have known for a long time that this is inevitable, but this time I am ready to accept it.  I am ready to face the long road ahead to cutting these items out of my diet and my life.  My eye is on the prize and the prize is feeling better.

I’m viewing this food elimination process like I view running a half marathon.  You know the journey will be difficult but you know what an amazing accomplishment it will be.  When I run a race I run it in 4 sections.  Oddly enough, 4 sections of 3 miles.  (I am a numbers nerd, so seeing 4 & 3 pop up must mean something!)  This means that I will run the food elimination marathon in 4 sections.  I plan to chose one item per month to focus on.

Considering that I have already eliminated most gluten, I will focus the month of April on eliminating gluten.  I will miss my occasional bread and occasional pasta but it will be worth it to have more good days.  I also know that I cannot start with caffeine.  I will need my lovely cup of coffee and my delectable mochas to get me through the first part of this journey.

Who knows which section will be next.  We shall wait and see what feels the most natural to give up.

Does anyone have gluten free recipes that they would like to share?

I’m excited for this new portion of my Gastroparesis Adventure and am hopeful that it will lead to more relief.  Staying positive is the key!

~Millie