Month: May 2017

Go with Your Gut

I did something pretty amazing. I think I cured my dairy sensitivity.

For the past few years, dairy has caused me swelling, hives, and a lot of discomfort. Because of that, I have been avoiding dairy products like kids avoid vegetables. And let me tell you, that has not been an easy feat.

Quinoa, sweet potatoes, and red onion is a delicious dairy-free meal.

Staying away from dairy is much more than asking for a sandwich without cheese or opting for soy milk instead of regular milk when ordering a latte. It means being diligent about checking labels on all food. Dairy has a tendency to sneak in when you least expect it. You want to enjoy some whole grain bread with your lunch? Too bad, there’s dairy in it. You want to have some candy? Well, your options are pretty limited to things like licorice or jelly beans because most things with chocolate have dairy in them.

It definitely was not easy to avoid dairy, but I found a system that seemed to be pretty effective for me. Every once in a while I would give in to temptation and allow myself to have a piece of pizza or some ranch dressing. Whenever I gave in to dairy, my eye or lips swelled up or I got hives.

Eggs have become a main staple of my diet since I’ve given up dairy.

Lately I’ve been studying nutrition and the way the body works for my own benefit. I find it really interesting to see how the different systems inside work together. During my research, I started to learn a lot about the small intestine, which many people refer to as the gut. What many people do not know about the gut, though, is that it contains a large portion of the immune system. This means if your gut is not healthy, the rest of your body is likely to be unhealthy as well.

Everyone has bacteria in the small intestine. There are plenty of good bacteria that not only improve your gut health, but they also improve your overall health. Bad bacteria, on the other hand, lead to a lot of issues.

Because the modern American diet consists largely of carbohydrates, sugar, and dairy,  people are much more likely to have intestinal health issues. These concerns combined with the stress of daily life affect you much more than you might realize.

In fact, there are a lot of people who have something called leaky gut syndrome without even realizing it. Basically, this means that small holes have developed along the intestinal lining. These holes make it hard for your body to absorb nutrients. It also makes it easy for large pieces of gluten, dairy, and other potentially problematic substances to get into your gut and into your bloodstream.

Researchers are starting to link leaky gut with a lot of illnesses and disorders. One of the biggest signs that you have leaky gut is the sudden development of food allergies…like a sensitivity to dairy.

I am not a doctor, but I researched leaky gut and how to improve intestinal health and started to make small changes to my daily routine. Luckily, avoiding dairy and gluten are two of the biggest ways to improve your gut health and I was already doing both. I also started taking a probiotic every day, using coconut milk regularly, and taking apple cider vinegar tablets.

Once again, I am not a medical professional, but this system has seemingly worked for me. I have had some dairy the last week (including cheese pizza on gluten-free crust) and I have not had ANY itching or swelling. Hooray!

I’m not planning to fully incorporate dairy back into my diet, especially not at home. But it makes my life soooo much easier being able to be a little more lenient with my menu options when I’m eating in the real world.

This cake was made with coconut flour, coconut milk, and coconut yogurt. I’m not going to lie, it was delicious.

Live Like You’re Already Confident

Last night I was texting with a friend and she suddenly said, “random question, but what’s your ideal scenario where you see yourself being perfectly confident?”

“What do you mean?” I replied, unsure where she was going with it.

“I mean like in your mind’s eye, if you picture yourself at peak confidence, what does it look like? What does your day look like, that kind of thing.” The question caught me a little bit off guard and I waited a few minutes before I answered.

To be honest, when I did answer, it was pretty generic. My friend replied with her answer and the conversation moved onto different topics, but I kept thinking about the question. Why was it so hard for me to describe my ultimate scenario for confidence?

At first I thought it was because I feel like I am so lacking in confidence most of the time. As I ruminated on the idea (and slept on it), though, I started to change my mind. I think the reason that I had such a hard time answering the question was that there was a part of me, albeit a very small part, that wanted to rebel against the idea of needing to have all of these things in place to feel confident. Because I realized it’s hard to have the life you want, the one where you feel comfortable in your skin and like you’re on the right path for yourself, if you don’t already feel confident.

Even as I write that, I realize that it’s an easy concept to talk about, but a really hard one to master. But I also think that none of us give ourselves enough credit for those times when we are really and truly brave.

When I was pondering the question this morning I had an epiphany. I moved to Scotland to go to grad school when I was 24. Not only was I moving to an entirely different country, but it was to a country I had never even visited. And I moved there without knowing anyone else.

After that life-changing year, I moved to Boston to go to a different grad school. I had never been to Boston before the day I moved there, either, and I didn’t know anyone in the whole city. Both experiences were definitely hard, but they were also incredible. And I definitely would not have been able to do either if I didn’t have any confidence like I trick myself into thinking all the time.

I know my mentality is not going to change overnight, but I’m going to try to start looking at life like I’m already living at peak confidence and see what great things come my way.

So if my friend were to ask me today about my ideal scenario for peak confidence, I would say, “hopefully today, tomorrow, and every day after that.”

The No-Judgment Doughnut

Today I ate a doughnut.

Once upon a time, I would have been ashamed of publicly announcing that. Because I didn’t want to advertise when I ate anything that could be seen as “junk food.”

I’m sure a lot of people have this aversion to being seen eating fat and sugar-filled foods in public. I’m sure a lot of other people don’t care, but for me, this has always been a secret shame.

Because of PCOS, I can do three workouts in a day and eat what most people would consider a “healthy” diet without losing weight. If I let my workout routine slack for even a few days, I am very at risk for gaining a few pounds.

I have always been athletic and exercise has been an important part of my life since I was 14. Even with a regiment of hardcore workouts, I never felt like my body reflected this active lifestyle, though, and I was always afraid that people would judge me if they saw me in workout clothes. I hated eating anything like fries or doughnuts in public.

As I become more familiar with PCOS and how to manage it, I do not feel as badly about some of these behaviors. I will fully wear running pants and a tank top to the grocery store and not care if people don’t see an “athletic person” when they look at me. Because I finally realized that I am athletic. I’m strong and flexible and constantly working toward improving my fitness levels. And that’s something I know.

I will admit, though, that I do still struggle in the grocery store. If I have a craving for some chips or something sweet, I notice that I have to buy something healthy along with it. That’s not a bad habit, but my reason for doing it might not be the healthiest. I still have the stigma that people might judge me if I buy unhealthy food so I have to show them that most of my diet is nutritious. The other day I actually avoided getting some candy because I was already buying a bag of chips and I was too embarrassed to add more junk food to the conveyor belt.

As I write this, I’m sitting in Starbucks looking at three extremely fit girls decked out in workout gear while eating and drinking sugary pastries and coffees. Since athleisure wear is such a popular trend, I’m sure they paid a lot of money to look like they just came from the gym. The old me would have been jealous of them that they do not have to field discerning glances as they take a bite of a powdery scone.

But you know what? I have no way of knowing how they feel inside. Maybe they do worry about every glance that comes their way. Maybe they too struggled with eating something because they were too afraid of other people commenting on their diet or their physiques. And me judging them for not having to be judged is no better than someone judging me.

So, basically, we all need to relax, stop judging others, and stop worrying about other people judging us. But most importantly, we need to stop judging ourselves.

And occasionally eat the damn doughnut if we feel like it.