Pesca-Vegan-tarian... One Year Later

Well friends... March is upon us which is officially one year since my diet changes.  That's right, a FULL YEAR!  Crazy.  When I started this change, it was just an experiment.  An experiment by a girl who was at her wits end with how to feel better.   Warning: this is a long post.  Let's recap with a quick history:

I've had severe digestive issues my entire life.  As an infant, I regularly had projectile vomiting and lived off special formula that came from a prescription to the drugstore.  I was sick and continually lost weight to the point my mom thought I was going to die.  My parents tried everything and I seemed to slowly get better.   As I got older, I tried everything too.

We tried cutting out certain foods, digestive enzymes, allergy testing, gallbladder and blood tests, IV supplements etc. etc. etc.  Nothing helped but I thought I had it under control.  I would have short spells of feeling better and then I would be back to puking 4 times a week. 

Growing up, I hid my puking and I hid it well.  Only, my senior year I was accused of being bulimic by my crazy cheer coach.  My mom quickly went to the principal and straightened them out.  It was hard being a young female and constantly getting sick because of the prevalence of eating disorders (stereotypical and real problems for both young females and for gymnasts).  I remember the thrill of turning 16 and having a car .... which meant an escape route when I sensed I would get sick. 

When I moved to Utah, it seemed to progressively get worse.  I would find myself crying on the bathroom floor because I couldn't keep any of my food down.  One night in November 2010, J and I ate dinner and by the time I got home, my entire meal came up.  As in, undigested PeiWei in the toilet.  TMI?  This was my life. 

J was worried that he couldn't help and urged me to go to the doctor.  After several tests, my gastroenterologist said the only next option was a colonoscopy... and then I was conveniently laid off.  No insurance meant no more tests and thus I was back where I started.

I had heard buzz about a book called "Crazy Sexy Diet" by Kris Carr that discussed the importance of eating alkaline foods to reduce inflammation and disease in the body.  I ordered it off amazon and read it the moment I received it.  The book was me.  It described the way certain foods react in the body and it hit me like a rock.  I knew right then that things had to change.  I went over it all with J and told him I was giving up all Dairy and Meat cold-turkey (pun intended).  No half-assing it.  But then decided that I would keep fish for protein/omega-3/awesomeness reasons. 

It was my own little experiment and if I still got sick, it ended.... I could go back to being a cheese-a-holic.  But...

I didn't get sick.  Well, actually I threw up twice within the first month of the food changes.  Twice for an ENTIRE month was a record!  I was thrilled!  (And one of those times was a direct result of me feeling like I could sneak some cheetos... boy, was that a bad idea). 

J and I purchased a juicer and started eating a lot more fruits and veggies.  I LOVE juicing them because it doesn't cook out the nutrients.  After seeing how it had changed my digestive issues, J jumped on board with the diet a few months after I did.  It was rough at first but now he's now lost about 20 lbs and loves the way he feels!  He decided he eventually wants to add some local grass-fed beef into his diet but hasn't done it yet. 

It was a hard transition and I still fight the urge to eat bacon and eggs EVERY morning!  I actually get angry when people tell me they couldn't do it "because they love cheese too much" ... Yeah, I'm from Oklahoma for goodness sake and lived off chips and queso, cheese enchiladas, grilled cheese, etc.... I LOVE CHEESE TOO A-HOLE.  ;)  But it's about self-control and feeling awesome :)

I do have the occasional splurge such as a cup of potato salad on my bday (which made me sick, go figure) or a cookie on a holiday but that's it.  I haven't gone back.  It's not worth going back to the way I used to feel.  Maybe one day I will be able to add in some foods like the occasional scrambled egg but for right now, I'm sticking to it!  :)  And I am thrilled!

I have had a lot of friends ask my advice about changes in their diets so I will just post a few things I wish someone would have told me a year ago:

• Research!  Anything and everything!  I am constantly reading articles and studies about food, vitamins, nutrition, agriculture, etc.  Educate yourself and never stop learning.
• Start with the positives!  Instead of worrying about what you shouldn't eat, add things you should... namely, Fruits and Veggies!  I recommend adding lots of them to your diet and eating them everyday.  
• Pick your Poison!  If you have the urge to cut something out, try dairy before meat. I get so concerned when I hear that people have gone vegetarian and their meals consist primarily of dairy.  I won't go into the details since this post is already LONG, so I will just repeat: educate yourself. 
• Soy is not your friend!  do your research.  This topic has lots of proponents and opponents so go with what feels right to you.  I stay away from it except when it's the only option at a restaurant.  Visualizing it as a nutritionless lump of estrogen is my stance but you do whatever works for you.  ;)
• Listen to your Body!  Only you know what works for your body, listen to it.  If you feel like crap every time you eat a certain food, try cutting it out and see if it helps.  Through the past year, I have become so much more aware of what food does to me.  Even now, eating certain things makes me feel sluggish and weighed down.   Only you know what makes you feel the best :)  

So if you got this far in the post, I commend you for reading my recap!  I am thrilled about this past year and just hope that I can continue to feel this awesome for the year to come. 

With that being said... our friend had a mustache party... it was awesome! :)

The End.