I just wanted to check in because it’s been a while since I’ve made a post, and one of my CLL-buddies just wrote to ask if I’m okay. I am. I am okay. My numbers continue to be stable and I like to coast occasionally. By “coast” I mean that I continue doing whatever is working, and otherwise try to live a normal life. This can be a challenge. I will explain.
Getting me ALL BETTER. My husband is a real go-getter, and lately he’s been of a mind to get me ALL BETTER. He’d like me to be one of the people who get a clean bill of health when they go to the doctor. In my case, that would be a CBC (complete blood count) that is totally normal. Now look at my picture. Do I look like a normal person? (Don’t answer that.) Sometimes I don’t even try.
But back to my husband and his quest. He and I were scheduled to go the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) Conference last November. (Check out their podcasts; they’re amazing!) Unfortunately, I came down with a cold from hell (was it the flu? I’m not sure) right before our scheduled flight. We were meeting a friend, so hubby went without me. I have to say that the WAPF is loaded with wonderful information. He was in Baltimore for three days of expert speakers on all things health. And being my husband (I know him well; it’s been 42 years) he came home with books, and also ordered ALL the recordings of not only the 2018 conference, but also the 2016 and 2017. It’s a bonanza of information. My husband is driving me crazy!
Don’t get me wrong. I know that his heart is in the right place. He loves me and wants me to keep living, which is a wonderful thing. And despite the fact that I feel like a Girl Scout (or maybe a Tibetan nun) about my lifestyle and eating habits, he has been encouraging (okay, pestering) me to CHANGE. As much as I proselytize about taking charge of your health on this site, I understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end. It can be a challenge, and sometimes I’m grumpy.
Here are the changes I’ve made so far.
- IF (intermittent fasting). This could be its whole own post. But briefly: the point is to put as many hours as possible between your last meal of the day and your breakfast (break-fast) the following morning. I’m up to about 16 hours now. It sounds like a lot, but it’s not really. I finish eating dinner at about 7pm, and don’t have breakfast till about 11am. I do have coffee and tea, and sometimes some chicken broth. The point is to give your digestive system a chance to not only get the obvious job of digestion done, but also to start scavenging around the body and ridding it of pathogens and other odds items, like toxins, that don’t belong there. You are supposed to lose weight, but so far I have not. In fact, I started gaining weight. Oy!
- Lowering my carb intake. Okay, if you start following the now-popular KETO diet, the point is to eat animal protein (but not to excess), lots and lots of fat (nuts, seeds, butter, olive oil come to mind), and low-carb vegetables (skip the root vegetables and stick with the leafy stuff), and a bare minimum of fruit. This has been challenging and I’m not there yet, and may never be strictly KETO. What I have changed, as of a week ago, is I’ve eliminated my morning smoothie as the only way it is palatable to me is with a LOT of fruit. Good fruit like berries and green apple, but still… a whole lot of it. Instead I’m having eggs or sardines with avocado, mushroom powder, and some nuts. It’s actually delicious, so no problem there.
- Epsom salt baths. Okay, I’ve only had one, but it was wonderful! You take a bath with Epsom salt and baking soda (Google for amounts; I think I used too much) and soak for about a half hour. I did this before bed and I was warmed to my core and slept like a well-fed baby. Unfortunately, I was still woozy in the morning, but I’ve read that changes after several baths. This is supposed to detox, removing toxins from your skin, much like sweating in a sauna.
The results? I don’t have results yet! Well, I did lose weight since cutting back on fruit. But that is not really the entire point of this thing. I was my thinnest (too thin!) when I was Macrobiotic back in 2005, but not my healthiest. I will keep on posting and let you know what works, and what doesn’t. I just wanted to check in so that no one worries that I’m going downhill. I am fine. I really am. Please feel free to post any opinion you might have about these changes.
Wishing you good health and the ability to coast! – Denise
PS: I do actually work on that elusive book of mine. Maybe that’s why I don’t post as much as I should.