How I got to my healthy eating plan...

12th July 2015

After many years of obesity, arthritis, psoriasis and now lupus, cholecystitis, migraine and vitamin B12 deficiency ....along with sheer exhaustion; I knew things had to change. 

My 1st step was joining Weight watchers (again!) on 10th September2014. I am ashamed to say I weighed in at 23st 6lbs...the highest I had ever been. I followed the healthy and filling plan and lost 7lb week one and 6lb week 2. I was pleased but knew that was mostly water but as it was eating lean meat,fish,fruit,vegetables,grains and pulses I persevered. 

Weight loss continued each week but then the new plans came into existance. WW do a full range of options including Low carb,high carb,vegetarian and gluten free. I thought this would be great but there was no information how much carbohydrates needed to be eaten on low carb so I decided to leave. My husband said I would never do it on my own but I was determined (and stubborn) so I started researching healthy eating to suit me. 

Looking online there was lots of advice on low carbohydrate diets and I ended up signing up for the New Atkins diet online. The science behind it seemed to make sense but after one night finding I could have a pot of cream but not a carrot I thought this is not for me. 

Next came my body's desire to detox. Out came the Carol vorderman books ( again) and I followed the plan to the letter. I endured the headaches at the beginning but thought this is worth it as I knew before I had felt better on it. My health improved but still I felt something was missing. I still had terrible arthritis, I was taking more medications and my migraines became more frequent. 

Gradually bad habits crept in and at this time I was hovering around 20st 1lb and 20st 7lb. Again my body started to dictate what I needed. I suddenly stopped wanted potatoes,rice and pasta. I absolutely craved fish and vegetables like celery,asparagus and radishes. I started missing meals because I did not want to eat anything. This went on for about 3 weeks. Then a trip to the supermarket changed everything. 

Browsing through the magazines I picked up my usual Weight watchers one; even though not really interested. I looked at all the diet and fitness ones but these seemed to be aimed at the super skinny,super healthy and fit woman...definitely not me! I wanted something more nutrition based. 

Continuing onto the books one caught my eye. Amelia Freer is a nutritionist and her book "Eat, Nourish, Glow" seemed ideal. I read it cover to cover in 2 days and thought what sense it made. She suggested eliminating one group at a time out of gluten, dairy and sugar. The reasons why were included and because I like to know why I am doing something it really helped. 

On Amazon I found small recipe books of hers that suggested recipes for the four seasons. I bought these ebooks and saw other books of interest. The first was "Deliciously Ella" ...this caught my attention as she also advocated a plant based diet that had put her health problem into remission. The problem she had was Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). When diagnosed Ella was 95% bedridden and she experienced all the symptoms my daughter has with POTS. Both books highlighted the benefit of whole foods in a natural state as much as possible. So my daughter started her health plan and all I needed was some fine tuning for me. 

Another recommendation on Amazon was for the Paleo diet. I saw one where Breanna Emmit had given her husband a paleo diet for 6 months without him knowing. She had followed it a little stricture with an Autoimmune protocol (AIP) to help her heal her health problem. After a few months they both saw health benefits and she started a blog called "He won't know it's Paleo". It was exactly what I was looking for and led me to a book by "the paleomom" Sarah Ballantyne. Her book went into the science behind the AIP diet. It discussed diet,sleep,support and many other aspects to healing autoimmune conditions. 

The diet seems very restrictive but with the reasons behind why I need to eliminate it I was ready to give it a try. Basically I can have: 

MEAT

POULTRY

FISH

SEAFOOD

FRUIT

VEGETABLES (Except nightshades-potatoes,chili,peppers,tomatoes,aubergines) 

COCONUT oil,butter,flour,cream,milk 

After week one my weight is now 19st 12lb ...now for my exercise journey