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Category: dairy-free (Page 2 of 3)

Rediscovering Weight Watchers

June 20, 2012 / / 7 Comments
“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~ Dr. Dennis Waitley

So I have been writing a lot over the past six months about nutrition and exercise because I am on a mission, and I mean a SERIOUS mission, to improve my autoimmune symptoms as much as I can by eating healthier and exercising my very unpredictable and sometimes seemingly frail body. As all journeys are, this particular one is an ever changing and evolving journey. This blog entry is about my most recent change.

In January of this year I changed to a gluten and dairy-free diet with a focus on also reducing refined sugars and processed foods. Then around April, I joined a new gym with the intention of getting myself on a very regular exercise program which would help me to build a stronger body and in the process, alleviate some of the overwhelming stress I had experienced over the previous several months. Despite many obstacles with my physical abilities at times, overall my exercise program has been quite successful in terms of meeting the objectives and goals I had set for myself.

Although the primary focus of these lifestyle changes was, and still is, for the purpose of improving my health and combating this god awful autoimmune illness, there is more to the story. In addition to wanting to be healthier, I was sick of being fat. Sick of being the biggest person in the room. Sick of never finding the right clothes to fit me in a flattering way. Sick of looking in the mirror and knowing that I didn’t like the image looking back at me. I had lost a good amount of weight, thirty-six pounds, on my own over the past three years but I had stalled out in my weight loss for a variety of reasons. However as I was making these dietary and fitness changes since January, I was also determined to not fall into the diet trap again. The one I had spent so much time in for most of my life. You know, the one where you start a diet, do OK for a while, fall off the wagon, and start hating yourself all over again. I wanted my lifestyle changes to be about taking good care of my body and not about dieting.

However despite the changes I had made already, I knew that I needed to do more. Yes, I was on steroids and sometimes huge doses of them. But I felt like I was not in control of my eating and definitely not in control of my weight. I felt like I was not truly doing the best that I could do to take care of myself and I needed some help.

As luck would have it, a dear friend of mine had recently started Weight Watchers and she told me about their new program. I had been to Weight Watchers before and did well with it for a period of time. And then I would stop following the program or start cheating a lot and I would fall off the wagon. I was also concerned about the gluten and dairy-free issue and how I would pull that off. However this friend of mine is also gluten and dairy-free so she was my inspiration for believing that it could be done.

I sat down and seriously thought about if I started going to Weight Watchers, would it work for me? What if it didn’t work for me with all the steroids I was on? What if I couldn’t stick with it? What if, what if, what if. This is what I finally decided. First, I had to stop using the steroids as an excuse for being overweight. Yes, they can cause weight gain but let’s face it, I was severely overweight before I ever popped a prednisone tablet into my mouth.

Yeap, truth hurts sometimes.

Secondly, things are different now than they were when I was on Weight Watchers years ago. My health is a mess and I have a lot more to lose now. My autoimmune illness is not weight related but I have spent so much friggin’ time being sick that I want to be as fit and healthy as I can possibly  be so that I can enjoy my good days more fully. In addition, I don’t want to have to deal with any weight related health issues down the road on top of the health issues I already have. I want to be in the best possible state of health that my autoimmune illness will allow. I have never been this motivated to change.

So on my 41st birthday, May 3rd, I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting. And you know what? It felt good to be there. To be taking yet another proactive step in an attempt to create a healthier version of myself.

I have to admit, between following Weight Watchers and staying gluten/dairy-free, the past seven weeks have not always been easy. I have come to figure out that even though I was eating a lot healthier over the past six months, my portion sizes were ridiculously out of wack. I found that the new Weight Watchers program focuses more on eating whole natural foods than it used to and I really liked that fact. I have found a lot of emotional support in the group meetings and through the message boards online to help change some of my unhealthy eating habits and to learn to eat with purpose. Eat to live rather than live to eat.

And it is working. Looking at the numbers, I have lost twelve pounds in the past seven weeks, despite being on steroids for five of those weeks. This puts me back at the weight I was at seven months ago which is when I started my last round of steroids. More importantly though, I feel better about myself and what I am eating. I am starting to like the face looking back at me in the mirror every morning. Not because she is twelve pounds lighter but rather because she is working hard to be the best that she can be.

She is defying the steroid odds.

She is defying her own self doubts.

She is in control.

It is a much better place to be.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Crossroads

June 14, 2012 / / 6 Comments

I feel like I am at a crossroads in regards to my health, nutrition, and exercise lately. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word crossroads as: a crucial point, especially where a decision must be made. I am not certain that my decisions are necessarily crucial but you get the point.

Over the past two months I have slowly been weaning off my prednisone which was at very high doses to begin with between the oral tablets I was taking and the IV infusions. I finally came off of it three days ago. I knew it was going to be difficult. Historically I come off prednisone for a while and then ultimately go back on it at varying doses because my symptoms return. However this time I am determined to stay off of it for as long as I can unless I am in a very bad or urgent situation such as literally not being able to walk or if I am having extreme difficulty breathing. The reason I feel so strongly about staying off the prednisone is because I am forty-one years old and I believe that my doctor and I need to try another course of treatment. The risk of long term side efefects is high. Not to mention the ones I have to live with when on the medication. It is a toss up most of the time as to what is worse: the disease or the treatment. At this point, it has become a quality of life issue.

But I am in a lot of pain. The joint pain that notoriously feels like someone is driving a chisel into my bones. It is not the worst pain I have ever had but it is pervasive and it is starting to affect my daily life again. I know that if I call my rheumatologist, she will immediately put me back on the prednisone and I just can’t do that to myself again right now. Also, the adrenal gland gets shut off when you are on prednisone and they need time to work on their own again. While this rebalance is taking place, it is common to have symptoms like joint pain. I am hoping that this is all this pain issue is: a response to coming off the prednisone.

I am also at a crossroads with my exercise program. While I was on the prednisone, I was able to do a lot more than I can now. At this point, I cannot even swim without being in significant pain afterwards. And this upsets me. I have come to rely heavily on regular exercise to not only manage my weight but also my emotional well being. I am currently reevaluating the exercise program I have put in place to see how I can work it so that I can still exercise without paying such a heavy price afterwards. It is difficult though when I have made so much progress over the past two months in regards to my fitness level. All I want to do is keep going forward, not backwards.

The final issue to my diet. I have been working so hard on changing my lifestyle over the past six months and my dietary changes have been drastic. And now I am ticked off. Why? Because I have busted my butt for the past five to six months eliminating all gluten and dairy from my diet. I have drastically eliminated sugar as well. I did these things because it has been shown that gluten, dairy, and sugar can contribute to inflammation. I have sacrificed a lot to make this eating plan work for me and yet as I sit here typing, the joints in fingers are swollen and painful. I know I may be jumping the gun a bit because once my body chemistry evens out, maybe the pain will be better. But it is hard to not be discouraged when I had a lot of hope placed on my dietary changes making a huge difference in my illness. Not to say that it won’t but time will have to tell on that issue.

So what do I do now? Do I give up my gluten and dairy free diet? Do I let myself start having sugary dessert more often? Do I just sit back and use my pain as an excuse to not exercise as often or even at all? Most importantly, do I go back to my medicine cabinet and give in to the pain; knowing that relief may just be as easy as a 10mg tablet of prednisone?

Hell no.

Here is what I am going to do instead. I am going to go to acupuncture more frequently. I will keep reading and learning about pain management techniques and use them as much as possible. I will eat even healthier than I already have been. I will use regular pain medicine when I need to give my body a break from the pain. And I will still exercise. I am not quite sure how but I am resourceful. I will figure it out.

The most important thing I will do is….

Not give in.

I will fight to be stronger than this current flare up of pain. I will not use my illness as an excuse to eat crap or be a couch potato twenty-four hours a day. However, I will also be kind and gentle to my body in whatever ways it need me to be. I will have faith that this too shall pass. One day and one hour at a time.

Photo Courtesy of:  Image Crossroads (C) by www.martin-liebermann.de

Eight Weeks Later – The Nutritional Odyssey Continues….

March 12, 2012 / / 5 Comments
“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.” ~ Hippocrates

Eight weeks later I am still following a nutrition plan that I began January 18, 2012. A lot has happened to me in those eight weeks, both in terms of the eating plan and in regards to my Sjogren’s syndrome. The Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder, has been the catalyst for drastically changing how I eat in the first place.

I have written two previous blog entries on the topic which can be found by following these two links so hopefully I am not repeating myself too much:

Nutritional Healing
Nutritional Healing Update

I started eating this way after hours and days of research in a desperate attempt to try and contribute to controlling my symptoms as my Sjogren’s symptoms were worsening relatively rapidly. I have a history of lousy nutrition and being overweight and since my first autoimmune symptoms in December 2007, not one physician has suggested that I do any dietary changes in an attempt to help alleviate my symptoms. Of course nutrition research is not funded because it is not profitable so there is a scant amount of true research information out in the medical community about the positive effects of diet on autoimmune disorders. However I read enough patient stories and experiences to know it was something I had to try and if it didn’t help my Sjogren’s, it sure as heck was going to help the rest of me.

People have been asking me if I have noticed an improvement in my Sjogren’s symptoms with this new way of eating which is gluten and dairy-fee, semi vegetarian, reduced sugar, reduced processed foods, no fast food, whole foods, no soda or caffeine. The answer is:

I cannot say with any certainty.

The same time I started my eating plan, I started on large doses of steroids for neurological issues, was diagnosed with two blood clots in my lungs, and received a diagnosis of another autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barre. My body has been a huge deposit for steroids, blood thinners, and multiple other medications I am not accustomed to taking. I think that as I wean off the steroids and recover fully from the Guillain-Barre (which I absolutely will), the answer to this question will be more clear.

What I can say is that until my last steroid infusion, I was tolerating some of the side effects better than usual, my periods have been more tolerable, cravings for high fat and sugar laden foods have diminished dramatically. I feel much more in control, with a few exceptions, of my eating. Until my last infusion last week, which was the fourth in six weeks, and in addition to oral steroids everyday at home, I had lost weight. This last infusion killed me in terms of fluid retention, gaining some weight (which has already started to come off), drastic mood swings, heart issues, etc. In regards to non autoimmune issues, my lipid profile (which includes cholesterol, LDL, HDL) is the best it has ever been; very close to perfectly normal and my blood sugar is perfect. Very important since I come from a family history of heart disease and diabetes.

So time will tell. After doing some research, I also learned that it can take several months to notice a positive effect and I am in this for the long haul.

I can honestly say that to the best of my knowledge, I have been on plan with the exception of one time and that demonstrated some proof that I am on to something. After a horrendous appointment with my neurologist last month, I was driving home by myself and was very upset. So how did I deal with that? Burger King drive through of course. The whole works: double cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. I had not had any Sjogren’s related joint pain in quite a while because of the steroids and sure enough, the next day I woke up so stiff and arthritic that I actually questioned if they gave me the right medicine, steroids, at my last infusion a few days prior. Of course they did. It was the food. I am certain of it.

I wish I could say it has been an easy journey but it has been challenging at times. The learning process, shopping more often, cooking all the time and such really can take a toll on me when I am not physically feeling well; especially with all the neurological issues I have had. Not to mention the physical therapy, doctor’s appointments, etc. However this has just meant that I have to ask for help when I am REALLY sick and that I have to plan and prioritize when I am able to do more for myself. For example, yesterday I spent time going through cookbooks, planning meals, and making a shopping list so that I can decrease my trips to the store. I only have so much energy to use in my day and it is limited lately but the food part HAS to be a priority.

My other challenge has been eating out and eating at other people’s homes. Because in reality, the rest of the world is not eating exactly like me although for the life of me, I cannot imagine why. Eating out has gotten easier and I have found a few restaurants that are very accommodating to my needs. They include places Red Robin, Pizzeria Unos, The Roadhouse, which is a local joint in my town, and a slew of independently owned restaurants in some nearby towns. I am finding that gluten-free is not as big a deal as finding a place that provides gluten AND dairy free options. I am hoping that as awareness of food allergies catches on more, there will be more options available so I can visit some of my old favorite haunts such as Kristina’s and the Hanger (both local places as well) once in a while.

My experience with eating at other people’s homes and social functions has been limited because of my health lately but I was at a family function this past weekend that was challenging, VERY challenging. But I did it. I knew there was going to be pizza, birthday cake, etc. So I brought my own supper and a low sugar, gluten/dairy-free dessert and thought how awesome it was that I was so prepared.

Yeah, not so much.

Pizza is my favorite food in the world and the aroma of the pepperoni soaked pie almost did me in. Plus I was all messed up from the steroids. I wanted to dive into that box head first or at the very least, take it and run like hell. So one might ask, why deprive yourself? What is the big deal about a slice or two of pizza? The big deal is that gluten and dairy can do damage to your intestines that you may not even know about and set you back god knows how long. It is not like a traditional diet where you give in to your craving and move on, compensating for it later. At least not that I know of and I wasn’t willing to risk all that hard work. I left that evening pizza free. And you can bet I will be making an awesome gluten and dairy-free pizza for Chuck and I sometime this week.

I have also found it very helpful to be prepared for travel such as for doctor appointments and long days. I bought a lunch box, a bunch of food containers, ice packs, etc. When you have what you can eat right at your disposal, it makes a huge difference when you come across a hospital coffee shop that literally only has a bag of peanuts and a bruised apple to choose from while you wait an extra hour to see your doctor!

So these have been some of the challenges in my new found way of eating. There have been a lot of blessings though as well. To start with, I have found a love of cooking that I never knew I had. And to be honest, I am kind of good at it! I am not the most creative cook so I rely a lot on some really great cookbooks I have found. However slowly but surely, I am learning to make some things without a recipe and discovering a culinary world I never knew existed. It makes me feel good to create something with my own hands that is healthy and nutritious for my body. Yes, there are occasions that I resort to a gluten/dairy-free processed meal that some factory made for me but I feel no guilt about that because it is so infrequent.

I also enjoy the challenge of creating dishes and meals that are not only on plan, but also taste fantastic. I appreciate food now more than ever because I actually taste the FOOD itself; imagine that! I also find that I am starting to look forward to certain healthy foods such as kale, black eyed peas, and quinoa, rather that Chef Boyardee ravioli or fast food.

I never want to be one of those people who runs around saying how their lifestyle is the only way to go; whether it be in regards to food, exercise, or anything else. But I will continue to let people know how it is going and share information. Not just because I happen to have this autoimmune disorder, but because the fact is, the typical American diet is lethal and the incidence of obesity and weight related health issues in this country is off the charts. We are so obsessed with losing weight that we don’t stop to think about being healthy. That should be the goal.

Sometimes all it takes is a small change. Eat a vegetable every day. Pass on the fried appetizer. I started this way of eating plan eight weeks ago but reality is, the process started for me a year ago when I drank my first green smoothie in an effort to get more greens into my body.

A whole year ago.

Who knows where I, or you, can be a year from now….

Photos: Courtesy of Google Images

Nutritional Healing Update

February 1, 2012 / / 16 Comments
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” ~ Michael Pollan

It has been about two and a half weeks now since I made some radical changes in the way I eat. A lot has changed and I have to say it has been quite the journey so far. A few close family members and friends have been a great support in this HUGE learning process and I am grateful. I have also received a lot of questions and comments regarding what I am doing so I thought I would do a blog update on how things are going and post some helpful information I have learned along the way thus far.

Since starting this new way of eating, I have been better able to define exactly what it is I am trying to do. What is that? Well to start with, I am completely gluten and dairy-free (including casein). I am soda and fast food free. I have drastically reduced my refined sugar intake and have reduced my processed food intake. I am working on the artificial sweetener thing which at this point is only in my gluten/dairy-free flavored waters; which I have cut back on. I am eating semi vegetarian and trying to focus mostly on whole foods.

At this point, I think I am past the nasty withdrawal phase of eliminating dairy, gluten, and refined sugar. And yes, if you spend some time researching this, you will find that all three can be addicting. I say I am through the withdrawal because despite being on a large amount of steroids (which for many of us causes excessive sugar/food cravings), I am no longer willing to sell my soul on an hourly basis for a loaf of garlic bread or a regular chocolate chip cookie. Not that I don’t desire something like that once in a while, I do. However it no longer consumes my thoughts. It is a very freeing experience and I am sure at some point, I will blog on food cravings and addictions.

I think it is too soon to say if I noticed a difference in my autoimmune symptoms, as that can take several months and it has been all of two and a half weeks. I am in the throes of a very difficult time with my Sjogren’s syndrome which is bringing up new significant issues. I am also on a hefty dose of steroids (orally and intravenously) which, as some of you know, can help a whole host of problems in addition to the ones I am taking them for. This can make it difficult to distinguish if the steroids are helpful or the diet. I did start the diet and the increased steroids at the same time BUT that being said, I have absolutely no issues at all with my sinuses or allergies; which have plagued me before I ever knew I had an autoimmune disorder and are exacerbated by the Sjogren’s. Those issues are completely gone at the moment. Prednisone is also notorious for causing weight gain and swelling. I am no longer bloated, have no swelling, and the scale this morning says I am down seven pounds despite not being able to exercise or get much physical activity at all for that matter.

Right now, that’s all good enough for me to keep going.

One of my strengths in this whole process (in addition to some amazing support) has been my outlook on what I am doing. It’s a challenge and I am viewing it as such. Yes, it sucks sometimes, but I just stop and think about the good things I am doing for my body and my future. Not to mention my fiance’s health; which is good, but I would like to keep it that way! I make it a challenge to eat plentiful and well without being deprived. It means a lot of cooking, browsing the stores, and reading. Not to mention planning! One of my goals is to make food pleasurable, without making it the enemy.

I have discovered a whole world of foods and tastes that I never knew existed and I have to say, that is exciting! I have had a notorious reputation amongst my family and friends for being a very finicky eater and never in a million years did I think I would eat foods like, lentils, beans, hummus, kale, and yes, even tomatoes. But I have to say that are very few foods I have tried that I hated or wouldn’t try again in a different way. The image that comes to my mind with that statement is Chuck and I standing at the kitchen counter trying our first vegan cheese slice by a company that shall remain nameless for now. I knew when I sliced it that it was going to be sketchy! Sure enough, we each had a piece in our mouth and as I was chewing it and trying not to vomit, I saw my 6’2″ fiance lean over and spew the nastiness right into the trash can without hesitation. It was a hysterical moment I will remember when I am ninety.

As I am eating more natural and unprocessed foods, taste has become a new experience. I know this sounds bizarre, but I taste food differently now. When I do eat meat, I enjoy it so much more because it is not smothered with dairy, bread, or preservatives. I am learning quickly the value of a fully stocked spice cabinet and I am purchasing fresh herbs on a regular basis for the first time in my life. It’s pretty neat.

I know as the weeks and months progress and I attempt to get through this current autoimmune crisis, I will be eating out more in public and the challenges with that will likely increase. But I think I am building a good foundation at a time where it is important for me to play an active part in getting well. Changing my diet may not cure my autoimmune illness and it might not even help, it but in the end, I think it will make me healthier in so many other ways. And I have spent enough time being sick. I have things to do and a life to live.

One bite at a time.

The following is a list of processed/packaged foods that I have found helpful in transitioning to a more plant based, whole foods diet. In an ideal world, processed foods will not be part of my diet but I cannot sit here and honestly say that at some point, I will be eating completely processed food free. I just don’t know, I am trying. Meanwhile, these are healthier, not to mention delicious alternatives.

Cedar’s Garden Vegetable hummus
Cedar’s Lemon hummus
Mediterranean Snack Company Rosemary Lentil Chips
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Tofutti fake sour cream
Food Should Taste Good Lime tortilla chips
Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato tortilla chips
Late July Organic Sea Salt snack chips
Daiya shredded cheddar cheese
Enjoy Life Seed and Fruit Mix
Organicville salad dressings and condiments
Earth Balance natural soy free butter spread
Unsweetened soy milk
Soy yogurt
Sunflower butter

I have indulged a bit on Amazon in the book department. Since I am not typically a big shopper, this probably has our mailman wondering what the heck is going on since he has been here several times over the past two weeks. God bless Amazon gifts cards!

These are the books that I have read and found incredibly helpful and informative. There are a few more behind them just waiting to be explored.

The Pure Kitchen by Hallie Klecker
Gluten-free, dairy-free, and low sugar recipes. She does a nice job in the beginning of the book explaining what a pure kitchen is. I particularly like her approach to using substitutes for sugar and the two recipes I have tried so far have been great.

Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr
This book just rocks. Written by a cancer patient who has a tell-it-like-it -is approach, she had me at the first politically incorrect word she used. I read an excerpt to Chuck, while I was waiting to have an MRI done, and he laughed out loud. I learned an astounding amount of information about the pitfalls and dangers of gluten, dairy, etc. Some may find some of her approaches radical; I find it holistic and informative.

The Happy Herbivore and Everyday Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon
I liked The Happy Herbivore recipes enough to buy the second book so that is a good sign. I bought the first book before I knew I was going dairy and gluten-free which many of the recipes are not, but substitutions are not a big deal. Then I delighted to see that Everyday Happy Herbivore listed recipes according to allergies like gluten and dairy. There were also suggestions about substitutions. Both books have helped me enter the vegetarian world much easier.

The Road Less Traveled

January 23, 2012 / / 7 Comments
“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” ~ M. Scott Peck

I have had a lot of questions about how my new found eating plan has been going so I figured I would blog about it rather than updating my Facebook status several times more a day than I already do. I know, I am working on that. What can I say? It’s winter, I have been housebound way more than usual, and even the dog gets sick of listening to me after a while!

So I have been going strong since the day after Christmas with eating healthier and getting back on my green smoothies. I wrote about my intention to further expand this in my previous blog entries: Patient, Heal Thyself and Nutritional Healing.  Last week I started the whole gluten-free, dairy-free, semi vegetarian, no soda, minimally processed foods, reduced sugar business. And yes, I am pretty much making it up as I go along since this is not a specific “diet” plan so to speak. Rather, it is a hodgepodge of what I currently think to be in my best interest health wise.

I will be frank. It has been difficult, very difficult. But not more difficult than my Sjogren’s Syndrome related health issues over the past few months and especially over the past two weeks. I am glad that I started to detox from all the Christmas indulgences the day after the holiday. It gave my body a chance to adjust to being off caffeine (which I was off of until the holidays) and processed sugar. I truly believe that there are certain foods that I am addicted to and the big ones are sugar and fast food. I also have found it amazing that once I have gone through that detoxification process, I crave the bad stuff so much less. Past experience has taught me that once I have more than a treat or two in a week, all bets are off because my body seems to then want it more and more.

One of the biggest challenges has been that I am doing this all at a time when I am taking a dose of steroids (prednisone) that I have never had to take at this dose (50mg a day) for this long a duration. Prednisone is notorious for causing excessive hunger, weight gain, cravings and menstrual difficulties which can in turn produce hormonal changes that affect all of the previously stated issues!  But I am resolved to not let that be a barrier for me. In addition, if my nutrition changes help my autoimmune disorder, then hopefully the prednisone will someday soon be a thing of the past. I know I need to give the nutritional plan at least three or four months before I can make a decision about whether it is working for me or not.

Another huge challenge for me has been figuring out the whole gluten-free/dairy-free situation. It is not that difficult to figure out one or the other but the two combined gives me a run for my money. Gluten and the hidden protein of dairy, called casein, are in an unbelievable amount of foods and personal care products.Think about anything processed: condiments, sauces, bread, pasta, beer, drinks, salad dressings, baked goods, cold cuts, marinated meats, hot chocolate; foods in restaurants; I could go on and on! I am not sure how diligent I need to be with the gluten in the personal care products such as  lotion, makeup, shampoo, etc. but I am going to err on the side of caution. My thinking is that if I am putting myself through all this, get it right the first time. As luck would have it, a lot of the personal care products I use because of my Sjogren’s are gluten-free anyways…thank god!

I have found many ways to make this whole process easier. The internet has been an invaluable tool as has my social network of friends and acquaintances who have trail blazed before me. I love the fact that I can type in “is Heinz ketchup gluten-free?” and get an immediate response; most of the time! Certain stores like Trader Joe’s, which I have always loved anyways, do a huge part with training their employees in helping you out. I found out today that they even have a bulletin board with different allergy food lists so that you can take the list around the store in order to make life easier.

I have also learned two valuable things; I must cook at home most of the time in order to accomplish this great nutritional feat and I must speak up for myself without worrying what other people are going to think. At home I have complete control over what is in my kitchen and more importantly, what goes in my mouth. When out in public, especially at restaurants, I have to ask as many questions as I need to and be proactive about bringing my own food as needed. I have been blessed with a very supportive fiancee whom although I do not expect to do this exact plan with me, is more than willing to eat whatever I make. I have successfully divided up our cabinet in sections for foods that are allowable for me and then not allowable in order to make the process easier for both of us. As a matter of fact, as I am writing this, he is giving me a break from cooking and whipping up a pot of gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian chili for tomorrow and the next couple of days.

I so love this man.

I know restaurants and socializing will end up being my biggest struggle with this whole way of life but I think it will get easier with time. I don’t want to avoid social situations just because I don’t think I can participate. I had my first restaurant meal at Pizzeria Unos the other day with my mom after a very long day. We were both famished after my doctor’s appointment and I had left my car in their parking lot so she could drive the rest of the way to Hartford. I had done a little online restaurant research and thought I might be able to get a decent, safe meal there. I was not disappointed. They had a separate gluten-free menu and the waitress was good at helping me figure out how to avoid the dairy. It was quite an enjoyable meal with my mom!

As I go through the next month or two of meeting with doctors and undergoing medical tests to try and sort some new things out in regards to the Sjogren’s Syndrome, I know that I am doing everything in my power to hopefully help heal myself. I am taking one day at a time, one hour at a time even. I am discovering a host of new foods that not only did I not know existed, but that I actually enjoy. It is  exciting doing such a positive change for myself.

It makes me feel empowered.

It gives me some peace.









































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