4.14.14

HELLO LYMIES!

So many things have happened since we last spoke. err well from when i spoke and you read haha. 

So BIG things have happened

I moved!! Little girl in the big city, well its not Boston but its fifteen minutes away and super close to work which is amazing. As many people battling auto immune disorders understand all the extra rest time you can have is a total godsend. My place is beautiful and i'm finally starting to really get settled and explore the area and really call this my "home". I share it with three other people that are rarely home which means i get a humungooo gorgeous kitchen all to myself! Not to mention there is a totally gluten free health store down the street that makes fresh juices! Can you say amen?

I honestly can't remember what was in this but it was delicious.

I started working weekends for an online company telecommuting. Which means i'm working a lot more now.. aka why i haven't written anything in a while. Nothing really crazy to report here.. you know work is work. 

I met with a nutritionist. Her name is Juliane and she was amaze balls. The only downer to her being so awesome was the new dietary restrictions i was given.. No dairy (duh), no gluten (double duh), no dried fruits or fruit juices and NO SUGAR. Now having lived more than half my life learning to not become attached to foods because i know in some way or form things always seem to be "bad" for me.. no matter the actual nutritional value. So when i heard i had to stay away from sugar i really wasn't concerned. 

Gluten free oats, frozen mixed berries heated up, walnuts and banana.. my now go to breakfast!

This was the book i was told to get by Juliane, yet to read it all the way through since i got it today but i'm excited for this change! Fuel your body not the disease.

HOLY HERX! I don't know how to emphasize this more. Starting on the 4th i stayed away from sugar. After 24 hours i had a severe migraine, and here is little naive old me thinking this was how it was going to be for a few days. Now let me reiterate.. when you have lyme disease nothing is ever "that simple". Three or so days go by then i notice my stomach is getting super sensitive. I then start alternating in between a low and high fever for another week, i then loose my voice, stomach is having pains and my body pains start worsening. Now mind you i totally doofed up and forgot to check the lunar calendar, because behold the full moon we had. In case you didn't know full moons somehow tend to make my pain and symptoms more aggressive and worse. So here i am a solid ten days after my last piece of sugar (sort of.. i cheated and had a SMALL piece of chocolate and lordy did i pay for it) and finally starting to get over the fevers and throat things. 

Oh and how did i almost forget.. I got the okay to drink again! THANK YOU UNIVERSE. So i had some clear rum and tequila the other night with total success! Well partially.. i apparently lost my tolerance and became a lightweight.. and my wallet is okay with that! haha.

Me and the boyfriend out in Beantown :)

I started working at my work's apothecary part time, four hours doing my normal desk job and four hours down in there. I honestly love it because it breaks the day up, not to mention since i've been on more than half of the things in stock its a good learning experience. 

I finally have been feeling well enough to start really moving around. I got so serious i even re-instated my gym membership! I am yet to go since this all happened today but i will start back slow soon which i'm super excited for.

Its been so nice being so close to so many friends and new activities out here i even got to go bouldering the other day! I plan to try as many new activities as my body will allow now being close to the city. Not to mention its fantastic to be able to go out and not worry about an hour plus ride home!!

A few weeks ago when things were pretty terrible i received this in the mail:

This was an awesome reminder that you are not alone and there are others in the same place you are all over the world. Be good to another and be kind.

Here's wishing well to my fellow fighters. Keep on trying it'll pay off. Here are some little words to live by to help keep your mind in a good place!

<3 Namaste lovies! ॐ

3.23.14

So you may have noticed that over the past few posts things have been far and few in between. Now this took a lot of serious thought writing this post and for the past month or so my thoughts really went to a dark place that i know so many others with chronic illnesses sadly understand so well. Lately i have been going through some major and much needed changes in my outlook on life, my path, lyme disease and how my actions affect others. 

I have recently become super fed up with the fact that my body constantly fails me. After an incident shortly after my last post, i decided that it was time to start back at light exercise. My knees, hips, wrists, shoulders and fingers have all become increasingly weak and have been causing me much pain. There was a period of time where i was literally collapsing because my knees were too weak to hold me up.  After a few really embarrassing stints of this i decided it was time to try something new. 

I decided to start back up with practicing yoga. I always loved yoga and was religious about my practice for a few years prior to when i started to get really sick. Now keep in mind i have not really worked out in about half a year and i haven't gained any weight either (thank god), so transitioning back has been quite the progress. I started with one hot 90 minute vinyasa flow class a week, modifying almost every pose because my wrists were so weak they felt like they would snap. To now being able to complete a whole 50 minute strala yoga dvd. The progress is slow and small but never the less progress. I notice the immediate effects on my mental state after yoga. I immediately feel more grounded and at peace. I feel less like i am thrown into chaos but more as a buoy bobbing with the incoming waves, floating yet still in control, anchored to the sea floor. 

I have since also stopped seeing my practitioner in Rhode Island. I wasn't feeling much of a benefit from treatment and just felt worse and worse. Although i can't say i feel incredibly better i can say that i feel like things are for the most part a bit more livable. Now whether or not this was a dumb decision i don't know right now, but only time will tell. 

At the end of April i have scheduled an appointment with a LLMD who actually is a doctor in my building at work. I decided that its about time i try to see how a physician who relies on antibiotics and combats the symptoms with supplements, IV therapy (vitamin infusions), and other alternative treatments like cranio-sacral work, massage, acupuncture etc. I truly do feel so very fortunate to be working in a facility that i am able to have access to all of these things in the same building, and get an employee discount on services making everything more affordable.

Although i still do not physical feel any better than i have in the past, i feel that focusing on the positives has helped me move on a little. I still sleep all the time, sadly through weekends and plans with friends, still feel all the pain that i have all along and i feel as if this will not change for a long time. 

All in all a few other big things have happened and has truly made me question a lot of decisions i have made. I in the past have put my health on the back burner to participate in things that in turn made me worse (i.e. new year's drinking… oh hell no). Trying to pretend like i am still capable of being the same person i was, doing the things i use to do. I am no longer that person. I feel i have grown to be a much more mature woman, who understands when to say no and realize its okay to be selfish to be more healthy. At the end of the day  realized what are healthy decisions for my soul, my body, my heart, my emotions. I now wake up every day thankful for the things i have in my life, thankful for what health i do have, and welcoming new opportunities to learn, grow and evolve to be the person i am meant to become.

After some long thought and soul searching i finally feel more peace than ever. With some much needed closure with some negative people in my life and the addition of some amazing positive light, i feel as if i am ready to take on whatever comes my way with grace and peace. 

Think of your decisions and ask yourself is this nourishing you or feeding into disease?

<3

Doxy Doxy go awaayyyy

So due to Lyme hands i accidentally deleted this post after i wrote the whole thing out on my phone.. so if i seem scattered or a bit ragey thats why.

So the past few weeks i have been on doxy and prior to being on medication for Lyme, i was truly optimistic about the process. I read a few books, watched a documentary, talked to my primary care and got a specialist appointment for after i finished up with three weeks of doxy. 

Now sadly the more i take the meds the more sick i become. My body is constantly lashing out at me in new and "interesting" ways. For once that word is not a good thing. I would kill to be nothing more than boring to doctors for once. As we speak my hands feel like they are that of an 80 year old. I feel like my joints are seizing up as i type. Joint stiffness and pain, muscle aches and pains, muscle fatigue, mental fatigue, brain fog, memory loss, migraines, light sensitivity, hypersensitivity to touch etc. I know there are more but i honestly can't remember. 

Having a chronic illness it takes a huge toll on you mentally, physically and emotionally. As i said i went into this whole process all bright eyed and now that i see what my life is slowly becoming i am not so optimistic  I have spoken with numerous people who's story start out similar to mine and lead down a bleak path. 

Pale is in now right? Vitamin deficiency for the win

I already feel isolated because the constant need to explain myself as to why i don't have the energy to do certain things or why i can't go out drinking. Recently with the heart episodes i'm afraid to drive. Rightfully so i could never forgive myself if i were to have one behind the wheel of a car and crash. With the hypersensitivity to lights as well it makes night driving a terror so i avoid it altogether. In doing so it seems that i have lost contact with a few people i thought were friends. People not understanding that i can't simply "drive on over" or "go out for a drink". 

Too tired and weak to stand so this is what i do at parties..

As to my other friends who i hear trying to downplay my illness or play it off as if this is somehow something i chose for myself thats not how a friend should act. I am hurt to hear that you find this somehow amusing to you that "i'm always sick". Believe it or not i'm not having a blast over here and honestly i'm not thrilled that i feel the need to "defend" my illness as if i need to prove how sick i am to you or something?

I feel as if i am a constant burden to my friends and that i'm slowing them down from how they want to live their life. 

I simply don't fit.

I didn't chose to have this. 

I miss going out with friends and staying up late.

I miss tequila, cake, or anything with sugar or gluten.

I miss having the energy to go to the gym.

I miss being in the woods.

I miss hiking.

The things that seem to keep me the most sane are the things that right now can hurt me the most. 

I'm tired physically and emotionally. I'm depressed and i feel more alone than ever.

This fucking sucks.

Hampton trip...

So i just realized that i never even told you guys about what happened in Hampton! I'm not sure how this one got missed...

Well basically what happened is C and i signed up to volunteer at the spartan race up in Amesbury sometime in august. We got stuck in a ton of traffic on the way up and by the time we got to park we were beyond late for our assignment. There was a huge screw up on the spartan race's park by lack of direction with the volunteers and then we had decided to head up to hampton and make it a beach day and then go back the following day to help break everything down.

We really had an amazing day just hanging out by the water, laying back and relaxing. We ended the day buying some fireworks and setting them off by the beach. Before we left to head back on the 90 minute drive home, we decided to stop and get something to eat. 

I saw a place i have been before and decided it was a good idea to stop there. We stopped at Ceal's clam shack. (Now mind you i have learned now that it is never a smart idea to eat at a shack/stand with food intolerances and allergies but unfortunately this lesson i had to apparently learn the hard way.) I almost squealed with excitement when i saw a little sign that said that they had Udi's gluten free rolls. When i went to order i told the woman i was allergic to gluten and she seemed to understand and put in our order. 

I was so excited that i even took a picture.. oh the irony

My plain hamburger on a udi's roll popped out of the other order window a few minutes later and i woofed that thing down like i haven't eaten in days. Within about five minutes my stomach started to get really upset. I knew something wasn't right...

So C started driving us back and i could feel my stomach starting to wrench and twist around. WHICH FEELS AWESOME. This was seriously the worst episode i have had in the past year by far. I was sitting in his car and with each passing moment i could feel myself getting more and more sick.

Sweating, fevering from hot to cold, hot to cold.

Feeling my stomach twist and turn.

And to be honest and a tad graphic i didn't know if i was going to straight up shit myself or throw up.

The poor guy kept asking if he needed to pull over. No no...

Now keep in mind we were still doing that hang out dating sort of thing then. And lets get real no one ever wants to go into explicit detail of what their body does to "evacuate" food when you are intolerant/allergic to it.

Anyways i don't really remember much except for sitting in his car crying with my hand over my face and repeatedly apologizing for having that happen and being completely mortified. We finally got to my house and i was completely delirious at this point. Rushed into the house and pretty sure i told him i would grab all of my stuff later.

C being the super nice guy that he is sent me a text shortly after making sure that i was okay.  A few weeks after this thats when he told me that was the day that he knew he really cared about me.

Needless to say i did not end up returning the following day. I was feeling the effects for about ten days after it happened. Sick to my stomach for the following three and bloating  weight gain and brain fog for the rest.

I followed up by calling the restaurant and letting them know what had happened. I wasn't mad (although i had every right to) i was more concerned that someone with a more severe allergy could have landed in the hospital. The manager was very kind and assured me that she would be re-educating her employees on food safety. 


Moral of the story/lessons learned:

1. NEVER EAT FROM A CLAM SHACK AGAIN

2. C is a keeper.

3.Finding places to eat out is becoming increasingly impossible with my ever growing food intolerances.

4. If at any time you are not sure about the safety of your food DO NOT hesitate to talk to the waitress, manager or chef.

I was feeling pretty good during the day and made this little thing in the sand. looks pretty neat eh?

September 25th 2013

So i don't even know where to being without ranting. Its been a long month full of lots of changes and new beginnings. 

So the good, the bad and the nasty.

The Good:

I have been seeing an amazing guy for a little while now who i can officially call my boyfriend. We'll call him "C" (out of respect for his privacy and i'm pretty sure he doesn't even read this blog...). He is amazingly supportive, a genuinely good guy and for some reason or another can put up with me and all of my health woes. FINALLY NOT SINGLE. Better yet that feeling of being 100% comfortable with someone and knowing that you completely support you. Nothing can really touch that feeling right now.

Oh and remember back when i got glutened in Hampton? Oh ya that was C in the car driving. That was 90 minutes of pure horror on my behalf sitting in that car mortified of having that episode with him being around. Well at the very least he knows full willingly what he got himself into haha. 

C and i got to spend a nice weekend up in Vermont at the Spartan race at Killington Mountain. I was so happy to have a stress free weekend away. I was really proud of my progress with my arm strength because for the first time i was able to do the monkey bars all by myself (saving my 30 burpees! yay!!) 

I have become an unstoppable trivia force and am seriously considering packing my bags and traveling around winning trivia everywhere i go. Just kidding. But seriously i have been winning trivia every tuesday for a while now and finally won some money on scratch tickets ($105 total!) plus i won a winter classic hoodie and tee shirt last week. winner winner.

I have stopped losing weight but i am super happy with the visual progress i have seen in my body from continuing to work out. (far left early Sept, middle is two weeks ago and far right is the day after the spartan race)


Lastly finally getting a grip on what foods i can have without dying. Close to coming to a point where i get what my diet is. Dessert hacks! I attempted to make "ice cream" from bananas. Well it didn't blend as well as i hoped and i added some almond milk and soon enough it ended up looking more like a frosty from wendy's than ice cream. Either way it was delicious and totally agreed with my tummy!

Frozen bananas, nutella, non dairy enjoy life chocolate chips and slivered almonds!

The Bad:

My stomach problems have only been getting worse. With every weekly trip to the doctors comes more medications, more diagnosis, more bills, more tests..more more more.

After seeing Karen (my naturopath) this past week i actually took a day off work today because i was sick. Sometimes after she does the manual lymph node drainage a day or two later i feel like death. Correction every time she does it this happens. It just gets worse like it is today when there are bugs going around. 

The Ugly:

As of this past week i was officially diagnosed as having celiac disease. Now this is a bittersweet diagnosis because i'm very glad to know whats wrong so i can make corrective changes to my life to get better. But on the other hand my tests for sensitivities and allergies are getting worse. Either that or i had an incorrect reading previously. Either way it makes me pretty concerned. 

Sick girl supplies at it finest 

After i get the lymph node drainage massage from Karen i get pretty sick unfortunately. Whats happening is that my body is physically releasing all of the toxins and sickness that was being held into my system. So basically it sucks more times than others when its flu season because otherwise i don't get sick it just comes full force all at once. So here i am home sick from work today writing this post. At least i'm being productive?.. ish?

Silly faces can heal your soul sometimes..maybe not but i enjoy making a goofy face anyways

Now don't get me wrong  over the past few months my attitude towards my health issues have greatly changed. I feel as if i have become more positive and confident in my decisions regarding my health. I have a great support system of friends who unfortunately share similar issues, a great boyfriend and a mom who is trying to understand. Surrounding yourself with good and understanding people is really the best advice i can give to anyone in a similar position.                                                                         

 I feel very optimistic for the future and even with my new diagnosis comes more life changes. This is all a process of learning and growing and i am more than thankful for everyday and for the people who are in my life. 

Nothing but love love love.

Until next time....
  

Not so Happy Birthday to Me :(

Hello everyone! First off today is my birthday and i wish i had better news to share about whats been going on. I wish i could say that i haven't been writing was because i've been so busy being happy and healthy elsewhere but sadly that is not the truth. 

All my AIP/Paleo peeps can feel me on this one..

The past couple months i have been getting worse. I gained a few pounds (165 to 168) and my health seems to be drastically declining. My sleeping patterns have become really erratic or non existent. My adrenal glands are way overactive and stressed and my thyroid is being lethargic. My sugar levels have been insanely low, along with my magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc all being in a funk. She also thinks that i may have a gene mutation called MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase) that would account for my thyroid being funky and having serious adrenal gland issues. I have been to two of my doctors over the past week and lets just say i'm tired of hearing bad news. I was in such a good mood for a long time. Happy with the insane progress i have made and the changes seemed to really be paying off in all aspects of my life.  

About three weeks ago i started to notice my sleep was getting really bad. I was consistently waking up late for work and it was clearly impacting my energy levels throughout the day when i was sleeping a shoddy four hours a night (more if i was lucky). I was going to the gym every day after work after working 12 hours three days a week and two four hour days. I feel like any time i find things start to go well my body has other plans. Can we all remember that like two seconds i had abs? That was pretty cool..

The apple cider vinegar that i was taking (which is UH-mazing for de-bloating) was now giving me sever migraines  I am now on all sorts of new medications! YAY. (i will post names and pictures later i just don't have them on me right now). Lastly i have upped my medications for the enzymes and probiotics to double aka (3 or 4 pills of enzymes every time i eat-depending on how heavy or large my meal is; 1/2 tsp probiotics twice a day).

So now here i am. On my 22nd birthday, slowly slipping back from all the progress i worked so hard for. So forgive me for bitching a bit because i am pissed. It has taken me a very long time to "come to terms" with the fact that my body does whatever it wants, whenever it wants without consulting me...and it sucks. So i'm a little bitter and pissed off today. And god forbid i actually would be able to drown my sorrows in some german chocolate cake or half baked froyo because we all know that would end in me rolling around on the ground swearing and crying.

Thank you Leaky Gut for proving that i am your bitch.

Happy birthday right?

Update 7.21.13

Hey guys,

Sorry i've been SUPER lame and haven't posted anything in a while!

So basically this was a combination of being mad at myself for not hitting my projected goal on time and enjoying (a little too much) of the holiday festivities. I am all about the holidays that involve blowing things up, drinking, dressing up and having no stress and all fun. So 4th of July is right up there with Halloween and Cinco de Mayo in my book!

Well i am officially under 170 now which is AWESOMMEEEE. And if you are reading the number below then you see that this means that i am officially .8 pounds away from being 30 pounds down! So get ready for that obnoxious update post soon...

I can already tell i look better in the top photo than the bottom one but i ran out of apple cider vinegar (i use Bragg's and ran out then i tried stop and shop brand and that was a learning experience BIG NO NO) and had to go without it for a few days which unfortunately led to some bloating :/

So those are the two selfies i took and its seriously crazy how much of a pound difference makes.. And then the gem below was taken this morning. One of the good things about this whole process is that its been neat to see the small changes in my body through the pictures. And a bad thing is that i have become a selfie whore.. I can't help it and i swear i am not self obsessed its just cool to have pictures to look back on remember why i do everything i do.

Well on that note i will get better on updating and within the next few posts i want to share my favorite GF/Paleo/Auto Immune friendly snacks and treats!

Peace!

Medicine Galore!

So i have been asked by many people about the specifics of my medications on a daily basis so i figured i would write you all a post!

So this is my current medication routine. I have previously been on other antibiotics, l-glutamine, and other enzymes and juices that are suppose to sooth my stomach. I just found this to be the best combination for me.

FIRST

So first thing in the morning when i wake up i take a probiotic. 

This medicine needs to stay refrigerated (as you can see in the picture i keep it in my guacamole drawer.. and yes i have a whole drawer of guacamole.) I take 1/4  teaspoon per day and it is in a powder form (i'll do this twice a day if i am feeling sick to boost my immune system). I have a starbucks cup i got for christmas that i use to drink it all out of since its a larger glass. I have found that sometimes the taste can be a tad weird so you just have to grin and bear it and add more water if you need to. Although this comes out more like little granules and doesn't really mix too well and DO NOT MIX WITH HOT WATER. The Ultraflora was made to break down in your warm belly so it gets really gross in your cup when you do that. If you can wait like 30mins before eating anything after taking this. Although in all reality i don't follow that because i wake up way too late all the time.. I take this and then get started on making breakfast which usually gives me about 15/20 minutes. 

Buy here

NEXT

I take digestive enzymes WITH my food. 

I take two of these pills every time i eat. I find that for me if i stop taking them or lower the dosage then i don't find it to be as effective. Now when i first started taking these i was advised to take 1/2 a capsule per meal (3x a day) to start then up them by 1/2 a capsule until i get to 2 per meal a day. I've heard from other people who tried diving right in that it bothered their stomachs especially if you already have a sensitive stomach. This i do like to mix with warm water because i find that the powder mixes easier. Now you can always swallow the capsules as well but i personally like drinking them better because i feel it working faster. Now if i was smart i would take it like 15 minutes before eating but again time management isn't really my strong suite. 

Buy here

LASTLY

I take apple cider vinegar WITH my meal. 

Sometimes i don't have the stomach to finish it before i eat so it does the same thing if you sip and eat. I do 2 tsp with about 16 oz of water before every time i eat. Now i personally like Bragg's vinegar because i'm all about it being organic and gfree and cheap. Just makes sure you mix well before putting this in your drink. Now i like to mix this in my big cup with my straw and just suck the whole thing down. I'm going to warn you.. This is for sure a taste you need to get use to. Because well.. its vinegar and not so tasty at first. I feel a huge difference when i skip the vinegar when i eat though so its 100% worth the temporary yuckness. I have heard from other people that cutting it with some organic apple juice or pineapple juice can help with the taste and make it more bearable but i would rather just water it down a ton. 

Buy here

TIPS

So i like to drink from a cup with a big straw for these (especially the probiotics) because #1 when you're chugging it down there is nothing splashing on your face and i find hat you get more of the probiotics when you use the straw instead of chugging it because it won't stick all over the walls of the glass. 

Gfree people- ALL OF THESE ARE VEGAN AND GFREE. I personally forget that certain medications have gluten in them and i love these ones

I do NOT recommend buying any medications from third party sites. Metagenics i purchase straight through my doctor's office but you can purchase it straight off their website. Digest Basic i buy from amazon and they have super fast shipping usually 2 days and i would only buy from amazon directly not another dealer through the site. 

And as always if you have any questions or post ideas send them to my email :)

Phillips.katie@live.com

7.1.13

HAPPY JULY!

Hello Everyone! 

So we are now officially in the summer and with only a few days before the 4th of July its pretty cool to see the progress over the past weeks. So above is a photo i took of myself the other day when i was bored on the train. I realized that this whole process has made me completely obsessed with taking selfies. Obnoxious i know.. but it is all for a purpose! Like i mentioned earlier my face shows my weight a ton so its cool to see how that among other things in and on my body are changing! So i know lately i've been in a little bit of a slump and i'm not really sure what to attribute that to but i'm feeling a little bit more optimistic now and excited to be able to look back on this from the end of the summer and just be happy.

So officially 172 now WHICH IS CRAZZAAYYY. That's only one pound off of being 25 pounds down and two pounds away from my goal of being 170 for the 4th of July. 

So with the summer months upon us i find that my hankering for ice cream has sadly not gotten any easier BUT i did find a pretty cool alternative! So i read from some paleo sites that they like to make "ice cream" from pulverizing frozen bananas and putting in add ins like walnuts, dairy free chocolate chips, peanut butter or shredded coconut! Yumm. I am yet to take a picture of when i make it because it eat it so darn fast but i will soon.

In the mean time check out this blog for yummy paleo recipes to keep your tummy and body happy and healthy!

Obnoxious selfie for you to enjoy until my next post :)

Hot sweaty hot yoga

So with the diagnosis of Leaky Gut also comes with restrictions on types of exercise. Because i have an overactive adrenal gland i need to focus on more low-key exercise like yoga, walking and hiking. So it turns out that there is a yoga studio that does hot yoga near my house, so i figured i would give it a try tonight!

So being so SUPAH SMAHHT i decided to google some tips on things to do before/after or bring with me to the class. The interwebs people recommended that i bring a small towel, lots of water and to not eat before class.

"Power Vinyasa Yoga is a dynamic combination of strength, sweat and spirituality. It detoxifies, heals and electrifies. This accessible, challenging and flowing form of yoga will lead you to a state of transformation. It will sculpt, tone and hone the muscles of your body and your mind."

Well let me tell you something. I have seriously never sweat that much in my life.95 Degrees in a room with twenty other people. Literally sweat dripping off of my everything. And of course trusting the internet led me to some inconveniences.. Well next time i will bring a full size beach towel to go over my yoga mat. It was like a slip and slide except instead of landing in a nice pool at the end my foot would end up in some girl's face. No bueno. 

Mhhhmmm sweatyy

My instructor was really cool and we started off our 90 minute class with some breathing and light stretching then moving into some power vinyasa. Somewhere in between there we did some funky handstand things and then my favorite part was when we ended (but seriously) because we had a nice few minutes of meditating and laying down relaxed. The ending makes you forget all about that hour and half of slipping all over the mat, sweating your ass off...literally, and my personal favorite my clothes being soaked in sweat falling off of myself. So naturally i signed up for an unlimited month... :X

In the end i felt amazing after i left class.


And on another note i am officially under 175 and have lost 21 pounds! Stoked!!

Help me! I've been glutened and can't get up!

"I've been glutened"

For anyone living with celiac, gluten sensitivities or allergies i am pretty sure you are about to sit back and agree with everything i am about to say...

I have always had a love/hate relationship with any season that involves large family gatherings and parties because of my mucho complicated and ongoing issues with food. So naturally as we approach the end of spring and the beginning of summer it seems that my calendar is booked with graduation parties, weddings and baby showers every weekend.

So since this is the first year that i actually have a clue of what to avoid i feel a bit more prepared. As always friendly reminder ringing in the back of my head is constantly doing its job of showing me what horrors would happen if i eat any of my no-no foods.

Here's the usual set up: 

usually is a mis-mash of delicious looking and smelling "who-who-know-whats"in large pans with mystery sauces. And my even more favorite part of this whole event is the completely ignorant event staff or that uncle who has been grazing the table for the past hour and is telling you what everything is. Because we all know both are DEFINITELY reliable sources of information for those of us with allergies... NOT.

So i personally am yet to master the beast i call my hungry stomach and stick to what i know are more times than not safe foods.

Safe foods:

-Salad (usually dry with dressings on side)* Jackpot if the bottles are there to read!*

- I am still yet to find another solid option to put here... sometimes if you are lucky they will have burgers and other meats for the grill made to order. But for all my GFFs* you're out of luck :(

(GFF=gluten free fiends)

Iffy Foods:

-Potatoes. 

          I find that these are usually cooked in either butter or some sort of oil (vegetable/olive) with seasoning.            usually no obvious signs of wheat or gluten. I say this is IFFY because we all know gluten likes to surprise us sometimes..

DO NOT EAT:

-Chicken ... anything. Hidden in that sauce is only lord knows what.

- Any food with any sort of sauce.. 

So basically my best advice is to try to load up on goodies before you go somewhere with uncertain food choices. 

King Arthur GF cookie mix with Enjoy life non-dairy choco chips! Made by yours truly.

OR if possible bring a dish to share that is friendly to your dietary restrictions. I tend to always bring GF "chocolate chip" cookies because i LOVE LOVE LOVE chocolate. 

And then this brings me to my recent experience with these parties...

The past two graduation parties i got a little cocky and thought that since i asked what was in my mystery chicken dishes that that means that it was gospel knowledge at that point... Which as we have all learned the hard way is not true.

So i had to leave early those two times. Once because of some BBQ chicken deal (which in their defense was quite tasty until it settled) and some chicken in red sauce. 

And in case anyone wanted to know how i spent the rest of my afternoon...well i think you can get what happened there...

So lessons learned.

Don't get cocky

Stick to your safe foods (we all remember what happens if you don't..)

Bring appropriate back up food/snacks

Lastly in case you haven't seen this site yet: When i went gluten free Gifs

And yes we are all making those same faces as you are right now.

:)