New things (problems) and existing things (solutions)

I'm having a really hard time coping.  I know I need to take my exercise down cause I'm stressed out. After a phone consult with Dr.Allen - he said you are lifting heavy 5 days per week, take it down to 3.  YIKES!  He is the guru and I am learning a lot from working with him and this will help since I am stating my NTC classes in September.  I figure by the time I get through my issues I will be more than able to help anyone out there!

First though, I thought I would dump some food photos from this week.  

My breakfast for the mornings, smoothie bowls, but it doesn't always have yogurt, or bananas.  Typically I smash a whole small avocado and mix my protein powder in it.  Then I have been topping it with cocoa nibs, coconut butter and hemp seeds.  I will get back to the hemp seeds in a moment, I love the crunchiness.  

 Lunch, lots of veggies with kale pate made with hemp seeds instead of sunflower seeds that should be in the recipe.  So good!  I used bacon this time, but the meat always varies.  It's all about keeping it simple.  I throw everything in a cast iron skillet and cook.

Maple bacon sausage sautéed with vegetables and jackfruit!   I found this interesting package at Whole Foods in the vegetarian refrigerated section.  This was Thai style.  Pretty tasty and paired well with any protein.

My Thursday night dinner - cassava flour pancakes with bacon, an egg and coconut butter.  Nostrand loves when I have any plate.  She always needs to see what I am doing! Hahaha!  I was working on my new training schedule.

Now we come to today's photo!  Keeping it true and real.  Yes, broken out and it has NOT gotten any better.  This is the worse it's been in many months.  This is why I said I would get back to those hemp seeds.  I love the texture they give my smoothie bowl in the morning but I think this is what is keeping the breakouts from healing.  I also have noticed some scaly patches on my arm and back.  So sad!!  So they are out for now!  I haven't had nut butters or nuts in 2 weeks and I have kept dairy and eggs to a minimum.  This must be the cause since I have been eating them daily.

I have made a list of the foods I should keep to eating 3 times or less per week.  In no particular order - hemp seeds, eggs, dairy, banana, seeds (in general) nuts and nut butters.  I think that is really about it.  These are typically the cause of leaky gut and I am clearly not completely healed.  

Going back to workouts.  Dr Allen suggests that I still have too much stress going on which is causing me to not have periods, continue to be bloated and constipated.  That is why I am going to 3 days per week for heavy lifting.  I'm thinking 2 to 3 days of easy yoga in the morning. I already have switched my cardio to walking and typically fall into "fat burn".  I'm keeping my Sunday running and may possibly run on Wednesdays depending on how I feel.

It has me freaking out but it's all in may head.  I know I will be stronger because of it.  More recovery time is sometimes better.

What do you tend to freak out about?

Any foods that you have a negative reaction to but you still love?

New Old Things to talk about

As I move along on my autoimmune journey with intros and pulling back on some things (nuts) and trying new combos (smoothie bowls with minimal fruit).  Food aside, I have found three things that I am having issues with and are being worked on.  I have even scaled back on any endurance/cardio besides my Sunday runs.  I mean seriously, I am not stopping all running.  It's nothing where it use to be and that makes me sad because I loved to compete and I did a lot of races.  I'm just not at that level anymore and at times it does make me sad.

So, I posted that I read Elle Russ's book The Paleo Thyroid Solution and that I am switching to a natural thyroid medication with the help of my fabulous functional medicine doctor - Dr. Brett Allen (seriously you should have him help you!  it's all over Skype consult, revolutionary!). That I actually get in the mail on Monday and we have to talk about the hows to move from Armour to this.  I'm excited about ditching my endocrinologist.  She amused me with all the testing I have wanted to do but when it came down to treating me she was so 1973!  UGH!  So, there will be more on that topic as I switch over.  I want to talk about any pros and/or cons that come with it.  I'm thinking that since my labs have never been off the chart that it will be pretty manageable.

The next is bowel movements or lack there of AND that they are still not "normal".  I don't think I have ever mentioned it but I have a neurogenic bowel dysfunction.  Plainly put is when I have to go there is zero waiting.  I have to go and I have to go right now and not in one minute.  There is no such thing as "holding it".  I have had some serious issues when I have gone on runs and try to make sure I have gone to the bathroom prior, otherwise it can be disastrous and humiliating.  Right now I would say I have been a number 4 on the chart.  Come on let's be honest - this is real life and we are learning here so we can help ourselves and help others at the same time!

While I still have candida (massively).  The bloat has been slightly better but still not great.  I'm trying to not have the same foods everyday, except avocado!  I am hoping by the end of this coming week I will up the game with something stronger in my protocol.  So that is a TBD too.

Yes I am both - when I am not constipated I have to go RIGHT NOW!!

The other issue that I was hoping was worked out but D had pointed out the other day.  I haven't had a period again for several months.  So clearly hormones are out of balance and I have been wondering if I have been getting enough calories and fat.

I love Xena!  I can be like this at a drop of a hat for no frickin' reason!  It's better than what it has been but still.  I have to try and catch myself.  Remember it's better to think before we speak.  It doesn't help when you have a husband that likes to joke around and you just happen to fly off the handle all the time.  Yet, according to my endocrinologist I don't have an issue.  I'm thinking now if I really need to keep my gynecology appointment this week.  What's it going to do?  Do I really need to go?  Is she going to test anything and will she put a bandage on it by suggesting birth control pills. UGH!!  I so hate conventional medicine!

I think I'm spent!  Just thinking about conventional medicine has exhausted me!

What issues are you still facing with your autoimmune (your root cause)?  What have you read that you think is a must for all with autoimmunity?

Beautycounter Consultant

This is something I have been wanting to do for sometime now as my journey progresses toward becoming an NTC (I started writing this a month ago!).  It fits right in, right?!  I mean you clean up your foods and you clean up what you put on your skin.  It is the largest organ after all!

Why did I decide BeautyCounter?  When did I start using it?  I think it was just over a year ago.  I was and still kinda using CocoKind.  Purely coconut oil based and it was so simple and the line had expanded but I needed more.  My makeup was ZuZu and I knew it wasn't as clean as I wanted it to be.  Then many bloggers in the Paleosphere were posting about this new line called BeautyCounter.  I think it started with mascara.  Everyone I tried made my eyes itchy.  Did this one?  Not at all and it looked fabulous on and didn't clump!  Boom.  I was hooked.  Ah but before the mascara I had won the rejuvenating night cream from Maria Mind Body Health.

I can't say enough good things about the mascara!  I have tried so many and even the hypo allergenic ones and my eyes still itched and burned until this one.  I have never had a problem and it lengthens and looks perfect!

I certainly have almost all the products.  Next I am trying the sunscreen and charcoal mask.  I would appreciate the love by shopping on my page!  This post is short and more Beautycounter coming!

http://www.beautycounter.com/heathermattice

Tell me what you think!  Have you used Beautycounter before?  Do you care about the garbage that's in your products knowing that your skin is absorbing all this and leads to a host of problems?  What are you curious about?  I'm sure I have tried it!

Father's Day & A book review

Father's Day 

What a great day it has been!  I got up early - no surprise there.  Nostrand had been bugging me for hours to get up and feed her.  The pups were snuggled in bed with me and D.  It was cozy, but I couldn't lay there any longer.  I got to feed the cat and let the pups outside before I fed them too.  Once they were taken care of, I changed, stretched and headed out for my usual Sunday run of 6 miles.

It was windy and a bit humid so I got super sweaty.  Unfortunately the run pretty much sucked.  I take it pretty easy anyway but I had to take 2 very short walk breaks.  I'm going to just say that I probably didn't need to drink 2 glasses of wine last night at dinner.

Yeah, sweaty and this is how I felt about this run.  They all can't be great, right?!  Damn I wish they were and my pace was 3 minutes faster like it use to be.  Not that I have given up hope!  So, I went inside and D got up.  I did a mobile Starbuck's order.  I got a venti iced coffee with coconut milk and D a grande iced caramel macchiato.

It was really good and took me the morning to drink it.  I am happy to say that I have not had any adverse reactions to coffee since adding it back into my rotation.  I do try to stick with organic coffee when I can and try to limit it to only on the weekend when possible.  It's just sometimes it just tastes really good.  I had my now typical breakfast that I won't bore you with a picture of, I didn't take one either.  Today was 2 scoops of protein powder mixed with water to make a thick pudding, a banana, 1/2 tbs hemp hearts and cashew/coconut butter blend.  Again, I have successfully introduced these things into my rotation.  I am though questioning the cashew butter just a bit and only have a tablespoon left.  So n=1, I will take it out and not open another jar for a week or so to see how my skin looks.  This is my biggest indicator that something isn't always right.  If I'm breaking out then I am over doing something.  I also didn't have dairy today, but yesterday I did.  Again, trying to not go more than 3 days per week with dairy.  When I do have it, it's high quality, grass fed yogurt with 5 grams of sugar or less.  Cheese on the other hand makes my stomach grumbly and that I am not a fan of.

My sister and her kids met myself and my dad and his wife at the club for brunch and it was fabulous!  Not just the company, but brunch too!

The only thing that could have been is if this was real bacon and not turkey bacon!  LOL - all good!

Dad and I!

Not sure what D and I are going to do tonight yet.  Whatever he wants though, it is his day!

My other fabulous thing from this is week is, I read a book!  Start to finish in only a couple days.  Big deal you say, really it is!  Prior to getting some healing done anything I even started to read would put me to sleep instantly.  This has gone on FOR YEARS!  So yeah, this is a huge deal!

Well, what did you read, you may be asking.  I read Elle Russ's book The Paleo Thyroid Solution.

My overall thoughts about this book are fabulous.  There is some great information in there about the tests that you should be looking to get if you suspect you have a thyroid issue and even if you currently have a thyroid problem but not getting the right tests done or possibly not on the right medication.  The types of medication opened my eyes a little more as well.  While I did my own research for about 6 months prior to going on Armour Thyroid, I have decided to ask my endocrinologist about switching my medication to WP Thyroid since it has less inactive ingredients in it and I don't believe I'm optimized on my current medication.  Elle also explains in very simple terms what is happening to the thyroid, processes and not reacting, and what happens when the pituitary gland and the thyroid are not communicating.  I know everyone out there with a thyroid problem has met a number of doctors who just won't listen and that it takes years to finally get a proper diagnosis and the maybe a few more years to get the right medications.  Elle, like many of us in the AIP/Hashimoto community have done this as well.  We are more than thankful for the Facebook communities that are there to listen and help us on our journeys.  I only have one downfall to this book (but it's her story so I love it too!) is that she focuses on Reverse T3 issues, which I don't have.  So, I think this would be a great book for someone who has this particular issue.  Reading this book has made me curious to read Isabella Wentz's books on thyroid/Hashimoto's.  I have read from so many how this book was a huge game changer for them as well.

Overall this is a fabulous book that I would encourage those with a thyroid issue to read for sure.  Since knowledge is power and anyone with thyroid problems know that symptoms can swing in many ways and we are in constant check to make sure that we keep our flares to a minimum and know what to do if we get into one and how to try to avoid them as well.

I'm looking to gain more knowledge and am so looking forward to becoming an NTC and helping those out there that can't get the help they need.

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Geez am I fat!? A short rant

This is by no way about me.  I can honestly say I am pretty damn happy with the way I am.  I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin, expect when I'm bloated, but that is something so different.  Yes, I am currently bloated.... so I'm ranting here.

So what am I talking about here?  Men and women who constantly and consistently talk about how fat they are.  Yes, I put men in this too - they are just as guilty.  Come on though, do you think you could really go up to a guy and ask him if he is happy with his body?  What do you think he is going to say?  He may give you a dumb ass look or state that he's "fine".  Saying I'm fine really doesn't mean I am fine.  When my dad states it, it's anything but fine.  It means he is completely irritated and is just done.

So getting back to all this.  What makes someone think they are "fat"?  Society, family, significant other?

ALL THE ABOVE.

It generally takes but one single comment for the downward spiral.  Think about it.  I bet there is something that someone said that you have never forgotten. I also bet, that said person doesn't even remember it.  So why hold on to what they said?!  They clearly didn't.  So just drop it, leave it and let it go!  I remember I was 7 or 8 when my step mother said my ankles were getting fat.  Seriously?! Ankles?!  Clearly there was something going on in her life that she wanted to reflect on me.  

My mom was always dieting when I was growing up and I thought she was perfect.  Come on, she was my mom.  What child thinks anything different.  So, in junior high I went on her medical weightless program with her.  Not that I needed it but I didn't want her to do it alone.  That probably began my own journey, but that was then and all the things in the name of being "skinny".

Ugh.... didn't I say this wasn't about me?!  So, if you have to say how fat you are or how you don't like X about yourself would you go about changing it? Or would you just keep repeating it over and over and hope that magically something would be different?

I see and hear this so much lately - from both men and women.   

WHA............

I'm not talking about some crazy crash diet, weight watchers, etc.  You've seen what I have written so far.

EAT REAL FOOD AND ALL THE FAT!!!

Seriously, it's no simpler than that.  Did I say it was easy?!  No, I would never say that.  I'm saying you have to want it enough to not even care about the ice cream, cookies, cakes, bread, pastas, etc.

Sure I love watching Cupcake Wars and cake decorating.  WHY?  Am I punching myself?  Nope not at all.  I watch it because I love the creativity and I think watching someone decorate a cake VERY relaxing!

So challenge time - go find those trigger foods - the bread and chocolates and high sugar items and donate them, give them to a neighbor or take them to work.  Eat real food, prep, do the things that make it easy and excuse-less to accomplish what you want.  Go for walks, you don't need strenuous exercise.  Drink more water.  Get rid of processed foods!  

Just remember your pant size will NOT MAKE YOU HAPPIER - YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE FOR THAT TO HAPPEN!!

By the way - this is my present state.  No 6 pack here, but that's ok.  Weight is a number and means nothing.  I wear a small, sometimes a medium.  Does it tell me what my self worth is?!  Nope - I've come a long way.  If you have listened to Jason Seib, you really need to.  Seek out Body Beliefs and Altshift.

Rant done - I could go on.  Just remember to love yourself for who you are.  Peoples opinion should not have anything to do with your own happiness.  Make your own happiness!

Should I talk more about this??

Changing the fitness game!

I posted the other day that I needed to reduce my stress which means I needed to cut down on my endurance training.  All good!  I really don't mind all the peaceful walking I have been doing.

I should say they are peaceful until you run into EVERYONE at the fair in the downtown park.  Eh, it's all good.  I just walked right through it all and continued on my way.  The longest and most annoying part was waiting for my coffee at Starbuck's.  I used my mobile app and still waited over 10 minutes once I got there.  Ugh, I really don't like that location and should have gone somewhere else! Oh well. This was actually part 3 of my walk.  I took each pup Saturday morning for about a mile walk each.  I don't always like handling them both at the same time.  If something spooks Jack I need to not have to worry about Stryker.

 

Mexican Cobb with Steak

Last night we decided to go to a new (to us) Mexican restaurant in Clawson, Mohave Cantina.  Overall it was really good but the messed up part of D's dinner.  My dinner was great and the salsa was the best we have had.  My only issue was the steak was tough.

The Skinny Chica

If you know what a NorCal marguerita is then this is the same!  I was very happy with that!  Tequila, soda water and lime.  Easy peasy and no added sugar.

I love Sunday mornings for the peaceful neighborhood.  I can go out running and there are not a lot of people out, very little cars too.  I wanted to run early since it was going to get VERY HOT and potentially storm later.  It rained all but the last mile I was out.  Figures! 

So my game plan for the rest of the week is walking to work, keeping the cardio to a minimum and only doing when my plan says to and take my well deserved rest day and sleep in!

Tuesday - Dr Brett Allen Appointment

I got my test results back this past Friday and I was hoping for better.  Of course, I immediately went to typing an email to Dr. Brett Allen about the whys and the what nows.

Don't get me wrong, I feel great!  I expected my thyroid levels to be near perfect and my candida to be back in normal range.  I even wrote - "Maybe I should have detoxed harder!"   I can't say that would really have been a solution.  We don't get where we are overnight do we.  How can we expect to heal overnight?!

Totally unrealistic!  I want it now, but I get why I can't have it now.  It takes awhile and even 4 months is not enough time.  Some people heal quicker than others.  Some people can give up things and never look back.  I have been told I have great will power.  I beg to differ.  I just remember how I feel eating certain foods and what happened when I ate those consistently - like losing my job because my brain fog was so bad and the worse I would feel as the day went longer.  January was my worst month ever.  I was paranoid beyond belief, anxious, headaches, exhausted.  By the time noon came around I just wanted to lay around and sleep.  I got my blood work done then and knew the path I needed to go on.  I was starting a new job and needed focus so I went AIP.  Within a couple days I felt better but I know I needed to do more.

I looked into functional medicine, set up apps with 2 different doctors and asked questions.  I chose Dr. Allen because I didn't need to travel to an office, not that it was a deciding factor but it was a nice addition.  He focused on wanting to help me without breaking the bank.  Yes, my bank still got a bit broken since our current health care system doesn't acknowledge functional medicine, so zero coverage.  But, I knew this going in and it wasn't life altering where I couldn't get the supplements I needed.  I had told D and my family that I was at a point that I didn't care what it was going to cost me I wanted and needed to get better!  Honestly, yes I cared - a growing credit card causes stress!  I've managed it the best I could and hope to have it paid off way before the end of the year.  Dr. Allen was focused on answering all the questions I had and answered all my emails quickly!  

So, getting back to my lab results.  Yes, I still have candida.  How can I expect that it would have gone away or become manageable in that little amount of time.  What was the biggest factor and the solution to get the rest of the numbers to become within normal range -STRESS!

Honestly, I don't feel this at all.  I feel pretty good and am trying to relax in the evening and get rid of the electronics.  As of today I work within walking distance so walking is relaxing.  I also need to lower my exercise load.  This means following my training plan closer and when it says to not do cardio - don't do the cardio!!  No adding on more exercise because it seems like it was easy or I think I can add on more.

Honestly - I will probably gain more muscle!  Cue The Bigness Project!  I'm at the end of week 4 (again), so I will tweak what I have been doing and actually follow the program to the letter.

So slight disappointment that I need to continue the candida supplements - but I'm certainly ok with it.  I'm looking forward to the continued healing and learning process.  It's interesting if you just pay a  little more attention to your body it will tell you what works and what doesn't.

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