My Paleo Journey Part 2

Ok, let's recap:

• I was diagnosed with Bursitis, an "overuse" injury, caused by inflammation and usually related to Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
• I was also diagnosed with RA, an auto-immune disease, where my body attacks itself and in return, the synovial fluid in my joints swell...causing damage and deformity to my joints
• I was on methotrexate for a year until it stopped treating my RA effectively
• I went on Enbrel in 2009, and this seemed to help a bit more
• I decided to try a gluten free diet to see if this could possibly help with my flare ups and inflammation, along with taking my Enbrel shot once a week

There were nights, even after going gluten free, where my roommates Jodi and Lizzi, would comfort me at my bedside because I'd be in tears, agonizing over the pain and immobility of my body. I recall one night specifically where I was icing my hip or my foot (not sure which...probably both!) and they were on my bed seated next to me, offering to help get me anything I needed. They wanted to be there for me in any way they could. 

When we are in pain, it's so nice to have the support and companionship of friends and family. It's hard to bear a burden all on our own. It's hard to be vulnerable and ask for help, but I truly believe when we do, our friends and family are more than happy to step up to the plate. It's so much easier to OFFER the help then it is to ASK for help. But sometimes we get to a point where our pride doesn't even matter anymore and we are grateful for any consolation that is given. This is the point I had gotten to...I was devoid of pride and let my walls crumble down. I could not even walk downstairs on my own to get water or something to eat. So...

"Yes, I will take your help." I thought. 

I'd played around with eating gluten free for a few months... then when my flare ups were far and few in between, I'd forget how bad those nights of pain were and decide I could eat whatever I wanted. Nope. And to this day, I still battle eating perfectly...I'll go months without a flare up and decide that I deserve that donut in the break room at work. Eeek. Bad idea!

Gluten free definitely helped my RA but I'd still get horribly painful flare ups, they were just less frequent. But less pain is much better than more pain, so I tried to stick to gluten free foods.

In April 2010, when I became pregnant, I talked with my Rheumatologist and we decided that I could go off my Enbrel medication. She didn't push me to take it, which was surprising. She said several of her patients had continued taking Enbrel through their pregnancies though... and had healthy, full term babies.

 "But, f*ck that!" I thought. 
Enbrel had only been recently approved and with all the side affects it could cause me, I wasn't going to risk my baby's well being as well. 

It was time to be super strict about being gluten free.

Jason supported me in this and ate gluten free with me at dinner. He ate his own thing for breakfast and lunch, but dinner time was a meal we always shared together and he wanted to help make this process easier for me.

There were nights I'd wake up in such pain that the only way to get comfortable would be to sit up in bed, and rock back and forth. Even though I was sobbing from such pain, I couldn't help but giggle inside thinking how nutty I probably looked if someone were watching me from a window or something.


After our son, Weston was born on January 4th, 2011...Jason and I did a bit of research. I didn't like the idea of, "Ok, I'm not pregnant... let's jump right back into taking Enbrel." The thought of giving myself a shot every week made my stomach turn. I didn't want to have to rely on drugs to keep me healthy. Gluten free was "OK" but Jason and I had been reading up on something called the Paleolithic Diet.
Jason bought Loren Cordain's book called, "The Paleo Diet". This book is about a decade old though, and Dr. Loren Cordain has an updated edition called "The Paleo Answer". 
Jason and I also purchased the Robb Wolf book, "The Paleo Solution". Robb studied under Loren Cordain. Cordain is kind of what you'd call the "Paleo Guru". What's refreshing about Robb Wolff's take on the Paleo Lifestyle, is his humor and his ability to make paleo easy to follow without knowing the WHY behind it. 
However! ...
Robb Wolf is a biochemist who is a total nerd. He also provides the why behind all of the food restrictions, and gives you a detailed chemistry analysis (but only if you want it). He breaks down his book in a way that allows you to skip to the parts you care about. If you don't give a lick about knowing why you shouldn't eat grains, fine, go to chapter 'blah & blah' and he'll break it down for you in terms of how to eat what, and you can bypass all the rest. But for me, knowing why grains ruin our gut lining and cause low-grade systemic inflammation throughout our entire body, or knowing how and why grains and dairy can wreak havoc on our digestive system and cause diabetes, disease, auto-immunity and CVD really intrigued me. I read the ENTIRE book. I'm actually re-reading it now.


But, back to what I was saying...
So Jason and I agreed to try the 30 day challenge of eating like our primal ancestors. We refrained from not only gluten, including wheat, rye, barley, oats but also from rice, corn, vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners, legumes, dairy, beans, and night shades.
To keep it simple, we ate a lot of protein, vegetables, some fruit, nuts and berries. Here's an excerpt from Robb's website:

Paleo Overview

The Paleo diet is simple yet remarkably effective for fat loss and halting or preventing a number of degenerative diseases. To reap the benefits of the most effective nutritional strategy known, one need simply build meals from the following:

• Lean proteins (ideally) grass fed meat, free range fowl and wild caught fish
• Seasonal fruits and vegetables
• Healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil

Our 30 day challenge is the true test of the Paleo diet. Regardless of your fitness or health goals, you WILL look, feel and perform your best on the Paleo diet. Give it a shot and let us know how you do.

For most people the fact the Paleo diet delivers the best results is enough. Improved blood lipids, weight loss and reduced pain from autoimmunity is proof enough.  Many people however are not satisfied with blindly following any recommendations, be they nutrition or exercise related. Some folks like to know WHY they are doing something. Fortunately, the Paleo diet has stood not only the test of time, but also the rigors of scientific scrutiny.

We wanted to see if we truly felt a difference in how we felt and looked after just 30 days of following Paleo. 


We started February 21, 2011. 
Almost a year ago, to date!
The first 3 weeks were the hardest! I felt pretty good about life, considering the fact that I was recovering from a C-section, had a 1 1/2 month old and was sleep deprived... I felt really good about myself for plugging along with this paleo diet. I only anticipated doing it for just 30 days. But then... 60 days went by and then it was 3 months later and I realized I still didn't need to take my Enbrel. 
Was this truly possible? Did I really not need to take my medicine anymore!?


Well, after following Paleo strictly for about 3 months, I gave myself a cheat day. Well, that cheat day turned into a cheat week that really lasted for an entire month. Phew! It's true what they say, "Cake is the new crack!". It was like once I ate some candy, well then I couldn't say no to the pizza...and then it was my birthday too, so I could do what I wanted, right? 


Ok, wrong.


I got away without any Enbrel for a few months and then my aches and pains slowly started creeping back. Now, maybe this is because I re-introduced lots of sugar, gluten, and dairy (hello to Ice Cream!) back into my diet. Even if it was only periodically, it was and is enough to ruin my drug free streak. I had a couple of really bad flare ups that caused my hips to hurt. I couldn't walk very easily and to get in and out of a car was extremely troublesome. 
Having a baby added more stress to the matter...these flare ups didn't just ruin my mobility, but they interfered with picking up Weston, and going on walks or even trying to button his onesie. My fingers and joints took turns playing ping-pong around my body. One day my fingers were incapable of buttoning a button and then the next week I couldn't use my leg to push the clutch down in my car.
I decided I'd done the damage with eating bread, that I needed to fix this problem quickly (I couldn't wait 30 days to reset my inflammation with diet... I needed to be better NOW).
Yes, sorry to say it...but I took my enbrel. 


After my cheat month, I turned on my paleo button again. Still to this day, I enjoy an occasional ice cream splurge, or add creamer to my coffee (but I use creamer without corn syrup, just FYI).
If I do have a cheat day, it's typically gluten-free. And cheat days do happen for me. I am human. I do have a craving once in a while. But it's not for lack of being prepared. We never have "bad" food in our house. We don't buy Jack n' the Box or get take-out because we don't have anything to cook. It's a conscious decision that Jason and I will make. We know what we're doing...and we know the consequences. 
We have to ask ourselves..."Is it worth it?" 


Sometimes we order a gluten-free pizza and we love it. And then we're like, "Ok, that was our cheat meal for the month." And we move on.
I still take my Enbrel.
My rheumatalogist has me prescribed to take it once a week, but I don't. I've told her this, too. However, I did keep it from her for about 8 months. Simply put, I was scared to tell her I didn't want to take her drugs and that I'd found a better alternative to suppress my RA.
Here's the thing. 
People who are obese, or have auto-immunity, have diabetes or are  insulin resistant HAVE TO FOLLOW paleo more strictly than the average Joe. We have a condition where our bodies are extra sensitive to non-paleo foods. We have to be extra careful or we will pay for it.
I pay for it by still having aches and pains, joint stiffness and the occasional flare up. I only take my Enbrel when I have a terrible flare up...which typically occurs about every 8 weeks. 
I would say that's pretty friggin' awesome!
I would rather give myself a shot every 8 weeks vs. every week.


What if I were a lot more strict, never added creamer to my coffee, removed ice cream from the picture? or never ate a smarties candy, and avoided chocolate like the plague? 
I might not need to take my Enbrel...ever.


But...alas, I just haven't committed myself to that degree quite yet. 


Also, Jason and I do eat white rice. Here's an awesome article on white rice by Mark Sisson, another Paleo guru: White Rice. Or here's an even better article from 
T-Nation with regards to white rice: Nate Miyaki. 
Everyone has their opinions about white rice. But for me, I need the glucose to support the weight lifting I do and for the fuel it gives me. There is so much science behind how eating a lot of protein and low carb diet can put us in a state of ketosis, which some experts agree is fine...since our bodies will automatically convert our ketones into glucose if our body needs it. Certain organs, like our brains, only run on glucose. Glucose is vital for our body's survival.
I would recommend eating strict paleo for 30 days first, and then adding white rice if you choose. 
Here's an excerpt from Robb's book on gluconeogenesis:

The pool of amino acids in our bodies is considered “labile” or flexible, as we can use proteins from our muscles and other tissues in times of scarcity to make glucose via gluconeogenesis. Many doctors and health authorities want you to believe that you’ll keel over and die without carbohydrates. Not true—we have several ways of making carbohydrates from proteins and fats. You will understand this process much better before the end of the chapter. 

Wolf, Robb (2011-03-27). The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet (p. 63). Victory Belt Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

However, Paleo isn't necessarily a ketogenic diet. But you can go into ketosis via Paleo. Does that make sense?
Ketogenic diets are often based on macro-nutrient ratios and eating little, to no carbs. And honestly, that's about all I know.
Paleo is not only about eating grass fed beef, wild caught salmon and free range fowl, but also about eating seasonal veggies and fruits, as well as starches like squash and sweet potatoes. You won't fall into ketosis if you're getting plenty of carbs via veggies and fruit. 
Ya feel me?
I do not count calories. I never have...and I find it a waste of my time and just thinking about that stuff gives me a headache. 
Counting calories makes me have anxiety! Doesn't it do that for you, too?
I don't know about you but unless you're obese, counting calories is something you really don't need to do (in my opinion). 


Paleo is about eating the way our bodies weren't meant to be fed. What we were born to do...
Like Lady Gaga says "You Were Born This Way, BABY!" lol. 
The farther we remove ourselves from the natural state of our ancestral diet, I think the more we'll feel sick and be sick.
Cut out the refined sugar, processed foods. High fructose corn syrup...hell no.
That sh*t it'll kill you. Honestly.
Do your own research. Try it out. Let me know what you find.


I was about 136 lbs before Paleo (post baby too) and now I'm about 117 lbs. I've never had to work so little to look in shape. Does that make sense? I don't work out that often... I really want to change that and at least I get a workout in every Sunday. But as long as I eat right, I feel good and getting exercise in is only a bonus.
Have you heard of skinny fat? It's where people are skinny on the outside, but their blood work says the opposite...they're sick on the inside. 
I know a lot of people who fall into this category. 
So, it's not just what we look like that matters either, is my point. 
It's how we feel. How well we perform when we do exercise and it's about living a more fulfilling life. Disease free. 


I mean, hell, we can take this diet to a political sense too. Everything has corn syrup in it. Why? Because our government subsidizes corn. High fructose corn syrup, anyone? Wheat anyone? It's in EVERYTHING!
Does our government want us to be sick? Pharmaceutical companies run this place. If you're healthy, they don't make money.
It's pretty messed up. I'll get off my soap box now, thank you.


But, if nothing else. Take control of what you put in your body.
Read the ingredient labels on your food. You'll be shocked to find out what's in them. If you can't pronounce half of what's on the label, maybe you shouldn't eat it, lol.


Watch this AMAZING video, called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". 


In a nutshell:
Try Paleo for 30 days.
 I bet you'll feel pretty friggin' fantastic. 
It's not easy.
But it's definitely worth it.




love,
Meagan