One week after apocalypse

So here I sit, one week into this Paleo diet thing.  And let me tell you the first few days are really tough.  You feel like there is nothing to eat.  Yet after you eat your protein, veggies and fruits, you really are not that hangry (hungry & angry).  Though I did feel like something was still missing.  It was sort of an empty feeling or a bit of anxiety.  Or something.  The headache that I had for the first 6 days has finally gone away.  And my stomach is definitely a lot flatter.  So I know it is working and this gives me hope.  My insides must be healing and I can tell that my body likes the protein.  I could probably sustain this for awhile.  Didn't think so at first, but now I think I could do this beyond the 30 day reset.  Maybe you just have to get used to feeling full but not full of crap (sugar, carbs, grains).  Don't get me wrong, I think that sugar carbs and grains definitely have their place in this world.  But if you've ever experienced the kinds of stomach issues I've dealt with you would understand why it is that I need to be ever so careful with my food.  In 2006 I had major surgery to remove a large chunk of my intestines.  It just happened quickly, one day I just crashed without warning.  A month later and I was out of the hospital but still alive.  The doctors told me that I could now resume eating anything I wanted to eat.  They also told me (multiple doctors not just the surgeon) that what I consumed ......wait for it......JUST DIDN'T MATTER!  Really?

Well I got sick of being sick.  I was still sick after surgery.  After living with stomach pain almost every day for all of my life, I thought the surgery would have taken care of things.  But it didn't.  The pattern was pretty obvious.  I ate.  I got sick.  I ate.  I felt pain.  I ate.  I literally died in pain.  Wash...rinse.....repeat.
So against the sage advice of medical doctors, I struck out on my own to find my own cure and get to the root cause of my problem.  Food was my problem.  It seemed pretty simple to me.  But the hard part was this.  I had to eat to live.  So what did I have to eliminate to be healthy, and what could I eat?
Step one - get allergy tested.  Voila!  I found out there is a whole long list of foods that I am allergic too.  I eliminated ALL of those foods from my diet.  Or greatly limited the quantities of the lower allergen foods.  This is kind of annoying (mostly to other people) because I'm a bit high maintenance with what I can eat now.  And it is also socially isolating.  Most people don't understand why I am so motivated to eat right for my body.  But then again, they didn't almost die from perotinitis or live in pain all those years.  Or maybe they're afraid that I'm somehow holding myself to some ridiculous higher standard that they won't measure up to.  NO.  That is not it at all.  Boy howdy wouldn't I love to eat at McDonald's once in awhile or even drink a soda, or (see last blog) eat cake with buttercream frosting.  Maybe suck down a red Icee.  God knows, I envy you people.  But this is my situation and I'm gonna deal with it on my own terms.  Boom!
Much love to y'all!
Affectionately - Paris girl 197