Food: Friend or Foe?

pic taken at Ft. Casey on Whidbey Island. it has nothing to do with my post but i thought you might like something pretty to look at while I ramble...

Over the past 8 months or so I've had quite a journey with food. I probably should have been blogging all of this to keep track but we all know how that went. Not so hot right? This may bore some of you to tears but I'm writing this for the one or two people with whom this post will resonate.

First of all, I've suffered from this disease for oh, 20 years now. It's painful and it puts a kink in my style. The pain comes and goes but last year it set up camp and was here to stay. Surgery (I've had 3 so far) and/or hormone therapy (shots in the backside) were the two options presented to me. Neither are my fave. So I did a little digging on that thing called the internet: "natural remedies for endometriosis". Much to my dismay all of the searches mostly pointed to one specific remedy: diet. A very strict diet I might add. After more digging I found that the anti-inflammation diet was worth a try. No gluten, no dairy, no yeast and no refined anything (I just heard you all gasp!).

However, I like food. I really really do. I have always tried to eat healthy, whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup, no trans fats, etc. I had a weakness for Diet Coke (may it rest in peace) but I swear it was my only vice. Regardless of my healthy eating I always felt puffy, achy (due to the endo also), and out of sorts. So this was where I was coming from. A healthy eater but with no real clue about what my body needed.

After asking around my friend's mom recommended a book called the Fat Flush Plan (I heard you gasp again!) but please disregard the title. The person that recommended it said it was the best anti-inflammation diet out there and she's right. After I got settled with everything I needed to have on hand I tried it out and it worked from day 1. No joke. The pain went from 3 out of the 4 weeks of the month down to 1-2 days a month. Not too shabby.

The catch is that I only follow the diet about %80 of the time. Less if people like Steph are in town and we hit the cupcake place and Bakery Nouveau and have 3 pies on hand for Thanksgiving. But right after I get back on track and feel great.

This is not a diet per se. It's a lifestyle and one I will have to follow for the rest of my life. I've seen so many good things come of it. I've dropped weight, I have SO much less pain and I dropped my cholesterol 50 points. It's not often you get to see your doctor floored by your test results! High cholesterol and heart disease run in my family so I need to be very proactive on this front.

Even if you don't suffer from endo the book is worth taking a look at. It had a lot of helpful information about food and our body chemistry that I had no clue about. So head to Barnes and Noble, grab a cup of herbal tea (no artificial sweeteners!) and have a look see at the book. Or put it on hold at your library. Another great one is Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. I love her. I want to pay her lots of money some day for her to kick my butt in some major workouts.

More on food books later...I've got some good ones up my sleeve.