Time for the full GAPS diet

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Life is going to get easier!

Today I got to start the full GAPS diet and there is so much more on that list that I can eat than there was on any stage of the intro diet.

Honestly, I wasn't convinced I wanted to continue with the diet until I actually saw the naturopath this afternoon. I was considering moving straight to the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and giving up on the GAPS diet.

I wasn't hungry. I wasn't craving anything. The biggest problem was that I often didn't feel satisfied after I ate. I wasn't hungry anymore, but my meals weren't making me happy.

And I feel that eating is for fueling our bodies but that it should also be a positive experience.

Before I announced I was done with the diet, we went through the complaints I had last time:

• horrible cramps, evil periods, vicious PMS (the PMS part was new following the birth of J two years ago)
• horribly chapped lips that wouldn't heal
• fatigue. EXTREME fatigue
• frequent migraines
• difficulty losing weight

Then she asked me what the status of those things is now:

• horrible cramps? nope, just a few little twinges. evil periods? not so horrible, still not perfect, but we’re getting there. PMS? none of that
• horribly chapped lips that wouldn't heal? GONE
• fatigue? improving. There are some environmental factors that need to be addressed and that will likely help too
• frequent migraines? how about no migraines since I started the GAPS diet. I haven't gone this long without a migraine since I was pregnant.
• difficulty losing weight? solved. For now. Now I just need to keep it up and then maintain…

So after that little chat, I decided I wasn't making any announcements this week. Sticking to the diet is a bit of a pain, but if it means that all those things will continue to improve, well, it’s worth it.

Oh, and the bonus? I hoped I'd be able to wear my wedding rings by Christmas. I've been wearing them for a week. It feels so great to have my rings back on my finger where they belong!

The naturopath also ran some tests and the most interesting result was that my cortisol is LOW. Very very very low. The last time I had extreme fatigue, my cortisol was off the charts high. There were some other interesting results, confirming what I thought – hormones a bit out of whack which in turn makes my thyroid unhappy – and telling me things I’d never thought of – my insulin production is out of whack so my pancreas is a bit unhappy (coupled with the weird hormones means no weight loss) and a few other things that I’ve since forgotten but were interesting at the time!