Thursday, December 09, 2010

I've lost...

...8 pounds since starting my Eat Fat, Lose Fat goal.  When I started this goal in September, I think I was eating too much food for my body to shed extra pounds.  So I have shaved each meal down a little, paying closer attention to when I am full.  The reduced calories allow me to feel hungry between meals, something I am learning to even enjoy.  By the time I am hungry, boil water to melt my 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, take the coconut oil "tea", and then wait 20 minutes to eat my meal, I am already slowing down more than I used to to really think about what I am going to eat, and how much.

This mindfulness has come hand in hand with increased meditation and self-awareness.  Savoring the textures and flavors of my meal is more pleasant now that I am not rushing through it.  When you have little boys you are watching over at home, it's easy to get caught in the hurry hurry hurry of keeping them on time to school, fed, dressed, and happy.  I am finding more quiet moments with them, where I am not off to the next thing, but simply being with them.

I don't finish my food if I am not hungry.  I save it for the next meal, which helps me feel good about myself, frugal, and not wasteful.  I am more in touch with how my body is feeling, what I really need.  I have to believe that this will also affect my adrenals and thyroid.

My body has gotten to a point after three pregnancies, two births, 2 full years of breastfeeding, reaching 30, dealing with PTSD from my abusive childhood, and stress where my adrenals and thyroid are barely hanging on.  My hormone levels are all wacky, I am tired all the time, I cannot lose weight with normal eating, and I do not feel like myself.  However, after nearly one year of real food, I think I am finally starting to heal.

It was last December that I was going to wean E, because the thought of pumping my breastmilk and feeding him bottles beyond his first birthday was simply more than I could emotionally handle.  I had read Nourishing Traditions, and I knew what our food should be like; but it's difficult to change all your habits at once.  Knowing that real food commitment would help the health of the whole family (but especially E with his health problems) was the push I needed.

Fortunately, I was one year ago when I was ready to fully embrace real food-dom.  We started buying raw milk, switched to only grass-fed and pastured meats, dairy, cheese, butter and eggs, took cod liver oil every day, soaked our grains, and even started eating organ meats (liver, yum!).  We kept eating our local, organic produce, remaining supportive of our AZ farmers and sustainably-minded.  It hasn't been that hard, I promise :)

So now I am looking at this December, knowing so much more about what is going on inside my body than I ever have before.  I hope to continue slowly dropping pounds as my adrenals and thyroid heal.  I am reading a book about how to heal adrenal fatigue and thyroid problems called The Mood Cure.  I was already doing a lot of things right, but with the help of the book I have been able to pinpoint what specific symptoms I have.  For example, by taking 5-HTP this week my mood has improved and my energy levels are up.

As I read it seems that a lot of my questions are finding answers.  More on that to come as I blog more this week about adrenal fatigue and thyroid function.  For today simply celebrate my 8-pound-loss victory with me!

6 comments:

Robin said...

Yay! I'm so happy for you! Congrats and thanks for being an inspiration. :)

Lani said...

Congratulatons!

Nourishing Creations said...

This is great. The Mood Cure book looks interesting- I love it when you start getting the big picture, and then you can start fine tuning and finding specific cures and thinks that help :)
Also, I never put it together in my head that PTSD from an abusive childhood could still be with one as an adult. What things are you doing to help with that?
I didn't have a physically abusive childhood, but saw many things that still cause my heart to ache- so learning to heal and overcome that id something i'd like to learn more about!
thanks for sharing openly on your blog!

EmilyCC said...

So exciting! Congratulations!

k said...

For me the PTSD manifests in terms of occasionally being triggered back to feelings of helplessness. But most often it is the feeling constantly "on guard" and jumpy. I also get heart palpitations whenever my stress level gets too high, even if my stress has nothing to do with the abuse.

If I can find foods and amino acids that provide nutrients I am missing, then my stress levels will stabilize and my heart palpitations should decrease. I have also noticed that if I meditate, do yoga and pilates that my symptoms get better. I also pay attention to when my symptoms start ramping up, and I back off a little from life.

Jord said...

Congratulations Kendahl! What a journey for you but I am so glad that it is working and you are feeling better.