Made it over the first obstacle...

...and I feel like maybe I can handle whatever else the GAPS diet throws my way.

I wrote (okay, whined) a bit about the healing crisis I was experiencing yesterday over at Get Fit Chicks...and man, was it brutal. I've never experienced anything like that before.

Four days of complete crazy. I had a migraine that lasted about 32 hours. I had chills and sweats. I was grumpy and grouchy and cranky and snappy and annoyed with Alex and J for no reason. My eyes hurt. My back hurt. I was exhausted. I slept but didn't sleep well and when I woke up I felt worse.

That was just day one when I wasn't really aware of what was going on. I'd been warned I might feel "discomfort in the form of fatigue, nausea and/or headache during the first day or two of the cleanse." All of that started on day two, which thankfully was a snow day, so when I felt miserable, I could lie down. J was very coorperative and snuggled beside me in bed with books and took a very long nap...I'm not sure what I would have done otherwise!

Then, on day three, I still felt horrible. In addition to the other stuff, I couldn't concentrate. It took me ten times as long to do anything. And I was ready to quit.

Then I got another email from my naturopath where she referred to the discomfort as a healing crisis.

Thank goodness for Google...I discovered that a healing crisis can be more than just discomfort. It can be downright horrible. And it can last from one day to ten days depending on how "toxic" your body is, but 2-3 days seems to be the norm. So, my one extra day means my body was a little more unhappy than most people's. But I'd kind of already decided that.

Yesterday was horrible. I was determined to keep at it because it's just for a short time and starting on Saturday I get to add additional foods to my diet every two days. In one of my few moments of clarity, I sat down and took a really good look through Nourishing Traditions. It's my understanding that is where the naturopath would like my diet to end up (I'm hoping in the next three weeks or so, not at the end of the three months) and it's totally manageable and while there will be changes to our usual way of eating, it's not drastic.

Then today happened.

I woke up and I actually feel pretty good. I got to add eggs on Saturday and nut butter pancakes and avocados today, so I'm feeling like there's some substance to my diet. The headache is gone. I can focus a bit longer. I'm not as grumpy - I'm still a bit grumpier than usual for sure, but nothing like this weekend.