Wednesday, January 25, 2017

My "new" diet..... LOL

Well I've seen a lot of posts about people doing the Whole 30, drying out, cutting out sugar etc in January...I pondered it but after reviewing my December I decided I did not indulge enough to warrant a body reset.   or so I thought
Not your friend and they like to hitchhike
without permission 

We brought home lots of great memories from Santa Cruz, time with the kids, hiking and running and a real vacation.  And as an added bonus I brought home a tiny deer tick who made a meal in my arm. The day after we got home I was taking my arm warmers off post ride and went to brush off the dirt only to realize it was a tick, embedded.  I pulled him out whole and he was alive... watching him run around the sink before I torched him and put him down the disposal.  I did not think about saving him for testing.... The days passed and the arguments continued as to whether I would allow John to cut open my arm, as we was SURE there was a tick head in my arm.  See he really is a Dr in his own head.   Despite my insistence that I got the whole tick out he was pressuring me, but I held firm on that.  NO HOME surgery by my NOT Dr husband. 


John has a sister who has suffered from Lyme for years and it is horrific....so he was genuinely worried.  Meanwhile I had a low grade headache, was sleeping 10+ hours a night and feeling low energy but not sick perse.  I consulted with a fellow triathlete who is  MD and he said if it was him he would do the 21 day antibiotics - no question.  1- tests are often false negative for Lyme 2- it can take 30+ days for a positive test and the longer you wait to treat, the higher the risk of long term complications.

I went to see my Dr who immediately put me on 21 days of Doxycycline and sent me to the lab. He said regardless of the test results take the 21 days due to the % of false negatives.   As with any drug there are side affects but I was not too worried. I figured get on probiotics and up the yogurt.

I took my first dose and an hour later I had stomach cramps, chills, nausea and had to lay down.  1 hour later I woke up feeling sicker... it soon passed. I was convinced I now had Lyme disease until I took the pill the next AM and same thing.  For 4 days I was miserable. Thanks so Dr Google and a few consultations with some smart people I began to realize these symptoms were from the antibiotic.  Great 21 days of this!   It was suggested that antibiotics were wreaking havoc on my gut and my body- they are causing massive inflammation.

Gotta love a drug that says common side effects: nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, diarrhea, skin rash or itching, swollen glands, body aches, flu symptoms, weakness, increased pressure inside the skull, ringing in ears, dizziness, vision problems....And it seems I enjoyed most of these.  

Fast forward to the anti - inflammatory diet.... No grains, no dairy, no sugar,no legumes, no alcohol....Ok so maybe I will do a January detox.  At this point I was willing to try anything and yes anything....Cutting out all the stuff is just discipline but it is the adding in of grass fed beef, collagen and bone broth that made me pause.   The fermented foods are no issue- Kombucha, raw sauerkraut etc - Love that stuff!  

Buying frozen grass fed beef bones and cooking them for 2 days in the slower cooker was enough to make Roo and Mako crazy and me rubbing essential oils under my nose.  I swear our house smelled like a meat processing plant.   For more on why to drink bone broth.   
YUUUM  -#notsomuch

1- I am basically a vegetarian so this is a big leap
2- I am freaked out by meat on a bone, let alone a pot of bones in my house

BUT when your health is compromised, well mine anyway, and my training was halted, I was willing to yes try anything.

So..... 5 days after I started I woke up
- without a headache
- no nausea
- no stomach cramps
- muscle aches gone
- back to 8 hours a nigh and no naps (well maybe a 10 min power nap)

The idea is that grains/dairy/sugar/alcohol can cause inflammation. My normal healthy body does not react negatively to these groups normally but under the antibiotics it was.  And why the bone broth, collagen, fermented foods....to keep creating healthy bacteria in my gut that the drugs are killing every day.

I am definitely not feeling 100% but I had a solid training week and only have 8 more days of the nasty drugs.  I am doing okay with workouts up to an hour but longer than that and I am struggling. Why? the antibiotics reduce the glycogen in your muscles- hello bonk?  And i am not getting enough carbs. I am eating a lot of sweet potatoes but on my longer workouts this weekend I was hurting...

My plan for this week is to add in unsweetened applesauce pre workouts, add some dried fruit/plantains on the longer rides and work on increasing my carb intake with more potatoes. 

What does an average day look like- I do NOT log my food but thinking about the last week I can pull together what I have been eating...

Breakfast- - NOT all on the same day ( well maybe on some days)


  • SoDelicious Coconut Milk plain yogurt with berries, Pepita seeds and hemp seeds
  • Against the Grain Vermont Roll  with avocado  ( cassava flour)  Cassava is a root vegetable and used for some breads  ( Leslie turned me onto these- lucky for me (unlucky for her) she has been on this diet and is a chef and an amazing resource. 
  • Sweet potato with eggs, spinach and other random vegetables 
  • Coffee (this technically should NOT be in the diet) but come on- I have given up everything else- with Organic Coconut Milk
  • Guzzle glass of bone broth I think of this as medicine
Lunch - I am not a 3 meal a day person so I don't have a proper lunch perse usually a 2nd items from above or 
  • Eggs with whatever veggies are in the fridge with vegan cheese (ez to make)   But it does not melt so if you want melted cheese go for  Daiya  (but that is processed and I am trying do as little processed food possible ) 
  • Grass fed meat, organic chicken or some non processed protein in a coconut wrap with veggies and lettuce 
  • Nuts of any and all kinds
  • Fruits and veggies 
  • Sweet potato chips for that " I need a salty snack"
  • Jilz crackers 
Ride Food
  • dates
  • dried plantains (sprouts/Trader Joes sells them) 
  • Lara Bar, RX bar, Paleo Bar (OMG- they LOOK really good and I did not when I scanned the ingredients I was looking for grain/dairy and there was not any so I was happy.  Took a bite of the chewy vanilla pudding bar and it had an odd taste so I look again at the ingredients- #1 ingredient  "Hydro Beef Protein (grass -fed)  WTF... there is NO pudding than can mask a cow" That was too much 
  •  I need some more ideas..... 
Dinner - more of the same....bottom line whole food, real food, no f'ing good stuff Although I am told my body will soon "reject" or not want the inflammatory foods the longer I stay off them... 

The plan is stick to the plan until next Tuesday when the drugs are finished!  I may or may not crack open a bottle of wine and order a pizza or I may give this a go for a bit longer... 

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