It's about what you put into your body…

Do you ever experience illness or “hangovers” the next day from what you eat? For years I struggled with low energy, digestive issues, reflux – severe reflux – along with probably a slew of other issues that I can’t even identify at this point when I was far too young to be dealing with those type of problems. But it was a way of life for me. I had acid reflux so severe when I was young it would wake me up as a child. During my late 20s, I began having esophageal spasms, where it feels like you’re having severe heart pains while eating and your food or beverage gets stuck in your esophagus. Yes, you read that right – stuck! I had to go see a specialist and get a scope and now I take a fun prescription drug that mainly old men in their late 60s take. Gag! 

So, why do I share this gross story? Well, following this scoping expedition with my gastroenterologist – I wish I didn’t know what that term even was – I decided that was a wake-up call to look at my diet more closely. And over the course of the last two-and-a-half years, I’ve cut out red meat and milk and severely restricted alcohol, sugar, all other dairy, and fowl. I’ve been mainly eating whole foods and focusing on tons of vegetables, grains, and fish. I love it! I don’t crave the other crap anymore, and I don’t want it. With the exception of my favorite restaurant in town, a French restaurant.  When we go, I must have the breads and cheese and wine. Booze has been easy for me, as I don’t really like to drink that much anyway. I still indulge on special occasions or if we’re having a not so often night out. Now, I don’t need as many empty calories for my “wild” nights! 

So, what happened with my changes? 

• I have 1000 times more energy. Yep, I’ve measured it. Not really. But, even without caffeine, I can stay awake all day. I still have coffee with almond milk now. I love almond milk!
• My skin is clear and almost glows. I’m not bragging. It’s strange how different it is! I don’t use any special products. When I started approaching 30, my skin looked like a teenager’s, and I was trying everything to clear it up. Now, I use an all-natural, organic line called Pure Haven that my friend Kristen sells. I figured why put chemicals on my face when I’m so concerned about what I’m eating. And it’s working! It’s so safe that if you get the product on your lips, it actually tastes good. And it smells like heaven.
• My gastric issues, both the reflux and digestive ones, have calmed down almost completely. This is mind-blowing, since it’s been a lifetime that I’ve dealt with these. 
• My anxiety is in a much better place. This I also partly attribute to daily cardio sessions. 
• I sleep through the night and wake up feeling awake. I used to wake up 3-5 times each night wide awake with anxiety. 
• I have lost 30+ pounds. I definitely attribute a lot of this to my daily cardio sessions and work with my personal trainer, but I do know that a lot of weight loss is done in the kitchen and without giving up milk and cutting back on other dairy and sugar that wouldn’t have happened.

Why am I telling you this now? It struck a chord with me today. This weekend I took a road trip and missed a few meals on Saturday. I ate a protein bar for lunch and was starving getting back on the road at nearly 10:00 pm. As I was finally getting to a place where I could stop, the only thing open was McDonald’s. I was a bit disheartened, but I thought I could handle it even though I hadn’t eaten at McDonald’s in over 3 years. I ordered one of their new grilled sandwiches and decided to indulge in fries. Who doesn’t love their fries? It was ok. Hell, the fries were yummy! I can’t tell you the last time I had French fries… Don’t get me wrong! But it murdered me the next day! When I got home, I took an extra reflux pill and stayed up a little while. But it didn’t help. I woke up sick in the middle of the night for the first time in almost a year. I had a reflux-induced coughing fit and even woke up Mark. Once I finally got to sleep, I woke up on Sunday feeling lethargic and hungover – keep in mind I didn’t drink anything! I laid around the house ALL DAY! My wedding rings didn’t fit my hands and my entire body was bloated like a balloon! I took a nap and still woke up feeling achy and tired. And get this: I wanted to eat like shit all day! Eating crap makes you want to eat more crap!

I am not sure what causes this overall sickness. I didn’t feel THIS awful previously when I ate badly more regularly. Unless, I had a tolerance for feeling this horrible, and I have since learned what feeling good feels like. And then how horrible of a realization is that? I will continue to keep up the healthy eating, but I’d love to know what I’m reacting to. One day, I’ll do one of those allergy tests with a physician, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to avoid unhealthy things in the hopes of feeling good and being healthy. What makes you feel good? What do you eat or avoid to ensure you stay healthy and feel good?