Fast track to wellness - Part 1

Photo by Joseph Greve on Unsplash

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I've been away for a while because I finally get to enjoy life in wellness as it should be. Not trying to brag but I discovered something phenomenal that catapulted me into the best health I've had thus far. Really!!! If you've been following me on Social Media, you'll know what I'm talking about. I discovered fasting end of last year. After 6 months at it, I'm ready to give you guys an overview of how my wellness has improved since I added this practice to my mix. You ready to hear? Like many of the healing tools and practices out there, this too may sound extreme. If you've had any eating disorder challenges in the past and find this triggering, please stop reading NOW... and Hugs!  For the rest of you who're curious, here's the condense of how fasting has taken my health to another new level. Let me tell you how it seemed to have reset my body and even lessened my food sensitivity.

It all started with me catching a bit of stomach bug from my kid few days before Christmas, it wasn't a big deal, but with our Hawaii trip just around the corner, I wanted to be in tip-top shape for the travels. Afterall this was the first family vacay where I was in full remission. The timing must have been right as that's when I dove deep into the philosophy of a Toronto based Nephrologist, Dr. Jason Fung  Have you heard of him?

Few years ago, when I was still having gut symptoms, I used to find a bowel rest helpful to let my digestion take a break so my body can focus on any repair it needed, I found this after my first colonoscopy, which involved some form of fasting to prep for it, or at least no solid food, my UC got a lot better. That was also why I didn't jump on the medicine right away.

So back to my fasting beginning, on Dec 20, I was really feeling the holiday sluggishness on top of hormonal imbalances too, being a peri-meno woman is always fun, right?  By Xmas eve, the stomach bug really hit me hard, I was feeling fatigued and stomach cramps.

Timing and intuition. Something inside told me to look into fasting seriously, so I did more research on what Dr. Fung has on the internet, skimmed through one of his books, The Obesity Code, and learned more about how to feel better during fasting. That's when things started turning around. I began a water only fast, actually right through Christmas dinner. Yes, you heard right. I was feeling so amazing that even being around all the holiday food didn't tempt me a bit. Crazy right?

I continued to feel better, lighter and more mental clarity on an alternate day fasting schedule after Christmas and all through my family vacation in Hawaii.

Being in Hawaii was, of course, something else. I'm sure anyone would experience a boost in healing being on an island filled with sunshine, fresh produces and of course the R and R. This was a pretty special trip where I was able to enjoy carefreely, for the first time while away from home, I seriously left my worries behind. I used to always have this hold on me, reservation keeping me from being in the moment. This time was different, was it because of my recent remission news or was it from the fasting the reset my entire body? The fasting practice became quite natural and easy. The most remarkable thing was my food sensitivities seemed to have subsided. I was able to have caffeine like coffee and tea, even tomatoes. Wow! With all the liquids I have to consume during fasting, plain water got boring fast. I added a splash of ACV ( apple cider vinegar)  to help with electrolytes and to add a little flavour but one morning, I decided to try some weak green tea... I waited for the usual effects from the past, jitters, mild heart race and generally out of sort... but it never came? Hmm... what has this fasting thing done to my body? I was intrigued. Next step, I decided to try some really diluted black coffee, while in Kona why not? Again, I waited... no effects? even when I had it in the afternoon. Perhaps by consuming the coffee black had something to do with it. Could it be my body has reset to neutral?

My body continued to lean out further, but this time I wasn't wasting away like when I lost weight from my UC flares. I noticed more muscle definition from all the TRX class I had been going to. It was like BAM the layer of security fat just melted away and HELLO muscles. Or a better description might be the layer of inflammation has disappeared.  I got super excited about learning all that I can about fasting.  I devoured the books and listened and watched to any podcast/ youtube I could get hands on. The alternate day 24 hrs fast was pretty easy to follow, I was eating lunch and dinner one day, the next I would only eat dinner. No problem.

When I returned home, I hopped on the scale and was shocked to see that I had dropped 10 lbs since I started my fasting practice. That was 2 1/2 weeks.

Did I regain the weight?

I've lost a few more lbs and now below my original goal weight. Now, my focuses are continue to swap body fat for muscles, improving stamina and just plain ol' building a STRONGER me.

Stay tuned for more about fasting

For more info on fasting check out these links

What is Fasting?

The Calorie Deception

Eat more fat and skip meals got me to remission - One year Nutritional Ketosis update

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Even with my UC symptoms slowly subsiding, I was still denying my health was returning. I hung on the old habit of spotting public bathroom while I was out even when my tummy was nice and calm. I guess it takes a long time to shed the insecurities of a sick body and embrace the health most people take for granted. It's been one year since I added Nutritional Ketosis to my wellness equation. By teaching my body to use fat as fuel,  I was able to bring my Ulcerative Colitis to full remission. There, I said it! The improvements I noticed in my health include mental clarity and stable energy throughout the day, in other words, I feel pretty darn amazing. In this update, I'll be talking about how I'm diving deeper into my keto practice with intermittent fasting and how intuitive eating helps me find balance that led me to the improvements mentioned above. 

Intermittent Fasting

If you start researching about the ketogenic healing approach, sooner or later you will come across the talk about intermittent fasting. Like most people, it took me a long time to warm up to the idea of not eating to help heal the body. This was also triggering memories of UC flare up where I was forced to fast because everything I ate or drank hurt. Even as weak as I was from fasting, I remembered that the bowel rest made me feel better. At that time, I chalked it up to the much needed rest for my raw gut helped my body focus on healing instead of digesting foods,  but there is actually more to that. When I learned this funny sounding word Autophagy "... a housekeeping role in removing misfolded or aggregated proteins, clearing damaged organelles, such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and peroxisomes, as well as eliminating intracellular pathogens. " through my research, I was fascinated by how smart our bodies are designed. This " biological process ... plays a key role in your body’s ability to detoxify, repair, and regenerate itself" In plain English, our own self clean system!

If you want to read more about autophagy, click HERE or HERE

I eat when I'm hungry instead of for other emotional reasons; 

boredom, stress or thirst. 

So how does Intermittent Fasting fit so perfectly into my schedule and lifestyle? As I experimented with Intermittent Fasting ( IF), I found that I was able to carry out my day with longer periods in between meals. First I started with early dinners and late morning brunches with no snacks in between, then I found I could power straight through to lunch effortlessly. The next transition came when I just didn't feel hungry until late afternoon. Now, most of the days I would enjoy an evening feast with nutrient dense foods like my favourite meat dish, my must have giant salad, sometimes two, and a side of cooked vegetables with healthy servings of good fats of course. That's it. I feel like a Queen with no drama hanger in between. Initially, what motivated me to give IF a try was how it fit into my day. Back when I was still nervous about my unsettled gut especially shortly after I ate, I found that if I could fast during the day when I was most busy running around, I could enjoy my more elaborately prepared dinner at home where I would have no stress about finding a public bathroom.  That plan worked well for me so I stuck to it. Throughout the day, to make sure I keep well hydrated, I drink lots of fluids like noncaffeinated herbal teas.  AIP Bulletproof style Dandelion Chicory Coffee with a sprinkle of Himalayan pink salt to balance my electrolytes was one of my favourite.  I also discovered diluted Keto Lemonade sans the sweetener was refreshing for warmer days.  

Intuitive eating 

I have to admit, in the beginning of my IF, I was following my schedule so I don't mess up my routine. As I became more comfortable and confident in my new way of fueling my body, I loosened up the grip and learned about the art of intuitive eating. This doesn't mean I can go about being unprepared, it just means that if I needed to delay my food intake a bit longer, I wouldn't have a meltdown and crash. This also means that I eat when I'm hungry instead of for other emotional reasons; boredom, stress or thirst. It's a very empowering and freeing practice. 

Evidence of Improvement

Fueling my body with fat instead of sugar continues to hold first place in making my UC remission a reality. My bloodwork shows a drop in my Hemoglobin A1C from  5.5 to 5.1. It would make sense that by regulating my blood sugar, my mind was sharper and my energy remains stable throughout the day. You would think that since I wasn't eating as often as before, I'd crash sometime in the day, that's the beauty of using fat as fuel, once the body adapts, it can tap into the stored energy - body fat. 

Keto Tastebuds

You know when people go on any kind of eliminations diet like a sugar detox, all of a sudden their taste buds come alive, waking up from a deep sleep. Well, I have been experiencing that with ketosis. When refined sugar was initially removed from Paleo/ AIP, I had noticed a change in my taste buds. But eventually, I let the natural sugars from fruits and starchy root vegetables creep back in my diet. When I began my Keto journey, my sense of taste REALLY awakened. Did I miss the sweet taste at first?  Yes, but once the increase fat intake stepped in to help me feel more satiated, my cravings for sweets slowly went away. Lately, I've been having urges to chow down whole lemons like rinds and all, you know like how people eat kumquats? My husband's caramelized lemons on the BBQ might have started it or it could be from my current crush on Lemon Essential oils, either way, my sweet craving is pretty nonexistent. Instead, I crave for some lemon power on a spoonful of coconut "butter".  A tasty tart fat bomb is what this girl craves for now.

Nutritional Ketosis has definitely fine-tuned my body's natural healing senses. This way of eating has sharpened my thinking, improved my focus, uplifted my moods, and stabilized my energy, of course, I didn't forget the silencing of my Ulcerative Colitis. I love how my body feels being fat adapted, I feel more confident and stable in my ability to carry out my days without crashes. I'm finally at a place where my body is running like the magnificent machine it was designed to do. Like all protocols, there is no one size fit all, but I'm sure glad I found what works for my body. If you're still searching, hang in there, "Rome wasn't built in a day". Your body is great and it needs time and patient to nurture it. If you follow your intuition, you can find our personal protocol too. 

Here is my post from last year shortly after I started incoperated Nutritional Ketosis into my Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. 

For more interest on Nutritional Ketosis, Fat Fuel and Fasting, please refer to the following resources

Wahls Protocol
Healthful Pursuit
Dr. Jason Fung

Review - Fat Fueled Program by Leanne Vogel

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I believe every few months we should re-evaluate our lifestyle to see how things are working out.  After 10 months of keto focus, I am ready to revisit my original intention for how this eating style benefited my health. I am so happy to find the tipping point to remission with Ulcerative Colitis from nutritional ketosis, but now, I am facing some uncertainties with hormonal imbalances I would like to address.

Generally speaking, my overall well being has really improved. I have a copious amount of steady energy and my emotions have been more lifted, the only issue I had was my weight continues to creep up. This could be due to seasonal influences, the lack of Vitamin D from sunshine and less outdoor activities seem to be the logical culprit for weight gain during the winter months for most people. Instead of getting frustrated and losing faith in my current routine, I choose to focus on how the improvement instead of thinking I am not doing enough. While reminding myself that life could definitely be worst, I turn to a positive outlook to help me stay on track in exploring what to do next. 

Fat Fueled Program

Through my research in a Ketogenic lifestyle, I came across a fellow Canadiana Holistic Nutritionist,  Leanne Vogel's programs and have learned a lot from her in designing a ketogenic eating style that works for me. I am currently working through her Fat Fueled Program and found it to be comprehensive and easy to read. This book captures Leanne's fun energetic personality and yet it offers a comforting voice. It makes me feel understood because she is on my side. The program has helped me re-establish my relationship with food by decreasing the stress and restriction mentality.  The program supports my ongoing self love practice and helps me feel empowered in overcoming limiting beliefs with food.  During my Ulcerative Colitis flares, there was a lot of scarcity mentality from relying on bowel rest to give my gut a break. With this program, I am slowly addressing these emotions and resetting my outlook towards positivity. The reality of remission is still new to me, but for those who are struggling, it CAN happen.  It feels great to lose both my physical and mental hunger while gaining a sense of satisfaction.

Who is this program for?

This program is perfect for both beginners or novices who are interested in healing their bodies through a ketogenic approach, whole food eating, and holistic lifestyle. Besides the 411 for Ketogenic eating style,  this program also offers many tools and tips to troubleshoot an existing implementation. Coming from a Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, I was at first skeptical about what I can gain from this program. Yes, that was my ego talking, but after giving it a try, I glad I found what I needed to seamlessly incorporate keto into my AIP eating style. 

In this program, the meal plan is to make your transition easier. Following the delicious recipes will give you a variety of exciting meals that will satisfy both your taste buds and your belly. 

For those who has special allergies, intolerance or restrictions, like me, there is a section dedicated to how you can modify your meals with the recipes included in the book. I am honestly surprised how well this section worked.   This method of handling restrictions seems to be the most effective way to be as inclusive as possible without dividing the book into millions of sections.

I love the "Cooking with" guides. The fun infographics take the intimidation out of trying new things in the kitchen and can even turn the most beginning non-cooks into confident, dare I say, chefs?

What can you expect from this program? 

There are 19 chapters 300 pages including meal plans, recipes that will help you find your way through the Ketogenic approach to eating.  This program is packed with comprehensive information to guide anyone to better health. Just bring your own determination!

What I got most out of this program

I have to admit that most of the information in the program already align with my practice. Thankfully I am not starting from the Standard American Diet, I have come a long way baby! What I appreciate most from the program was how to tweak the amount of carbs to include in my meals in supporting my hormones. I now practice once a week Carb up ( explained in Chapter 11)  at dinner which seemed to have made my hormones happy. 

Here is a list of tools and chapters in the program that I found most useful for my journey:

• Free Writing helps me clear my mind clutter so I can better focus in what I need to accomplish.  
• Plate layout helps me visually see how my plate should look instead of measuring with a scale. It's not my thing!
• Chapter 2: RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU
• Chapter 6: ALLERGIES, RESTRICTIONS & PREFERENCES
• Chapter 11: AIN’T NOTHING LIKE A CARB UP
• Chapter 13: WEIGHT & PLATEAUS

Now I am armed with what I need to easily incorporate the Ketogenic approach into my healing protocol. If you are trying to find some help in the areas I mentioned above, Check out Leanne Vogel's Fat Fueled Program with the button below. For her audiobook version of the program click HERE

Also I am super excited about attending Leanne's book tour to celebrate the launch of her new paperback book, The Keto Diet: The Complete Guide to a High-Fat Diet.
Register here to attend at a city nearest you

Disneyland on AIP/ Paleo/ Keto eating style

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Going on vacations should be fun right? For the longest time, I didn't think so. I used to have so much anxiety at the thought of going into a flare while away from home and not having my "stuff" to calm my angry gut. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Ulcerative Colitis,  it belongs to the Inflammatory Bowel Disease family and it was debilitating. Fast forward to today,  I was lucky to find remission through diet and lifestyle changes instead of taking the conventional pharmaceutical route.  If you are also following a unique diet in the name of health, in other words, not the Standard American Diet,  I am going to show you how you can enjoy your vacation with proper planning. In my case, I am currently following a keto focused, Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. What does that mean in plain English?  Basically, my diet is free of grains, dairy, soy, nuts, nightshades and I only eat starchy vegetables sparingly.  What about fruit? Seasonal berries are on the menu,  so summer is exciting times!

Never take the simple things in life for granted

Last November, we went on a family trip that was special,  Why? It was the first trip since I was officially in remission where I could enjoy life with their family like a healthy "normal" person.  Even with my autoimmune condition in remission,  it still takes extra preparation to make the time away from home go smoothly.

Planning 

When I was researching online, I plugged in different combinations of keywords that best describe my specific eating style, it's rare to find suggestions matching the exact protocol you are following,  unless you are Keto AIP, then you are at the right place.

To start I found Danielle Walker, another IBDer who follows a Paleo lifestyle, has great resources under her "Eating at Disneyland series"

Then I turned to my AIP community and read up on The Bacon Mum's great post Shout out: The Magic of Disney where she offers lots of smart tips about her travel experience. So I took more notes.

Finally, the keto part, I turned to my keto sista, Leanne Vogel from Healthful Pursuit and went through her keto travel tips.  Even though the keto thing is kind of new to me, I realized the most important thing I needed to focus on is having enough good fats on hand. These are my three fat staples while on this trip: Avocados, Extra Virgin Olive oil and Creamed Coconut. The beauty of being Fat Adapted ( teaching your body to use fat as preferred fuel instead of glucose through a ketogenic eating style ) is my blood sugar remains more stable, which translates to NO MORE HANGER! I can go a lot longer without being hungry so the hypoglycemic Hulk no longer busts through my seams in her old ravenous way. Trust me, I think my family might appreciate this new change more than I do.

How about the Everyday Disneyland Theme Park tips?

Find this book Unofficial Guide to Disneyland Anaheim 2017 either at the library or you can order it online through the affiliate link above. Read up on the magic of Fast Pass especially if you have small children.

Packing 

The following is a list of gadgets and hard to find items I am sure glad I packed.

• Tea bags, I made them through the coffee machine. These are my favourite at the moment
• Handheld Electric Frother  to blend Fatty collagen block into my tea
• Collagen,  I pack a few of them in tiny ziplock baggies or old medication vials and slip them into my purse for a quick protein fix 
• Bring extra ziplock bags of varies sizes to portion snacks
• Canned Smoked Oysters, from Trader Joe
• Canned Smoked Sardines, also from Trader Joe
• Small bottle of EVOO or buy one at your destination
• Creamed Coconut packet ( great as fat bomb on the go ) 
• Small bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar or buy one at your destination 
• Essential oils - lavender, thieves, peppermint
• Thieves fruit and veggie soak or spray to clean off fruit without water

Exploring your local resources

Find your closest healthy grocery, Trader Joes is probably the best but Wholefoods is, of course, a bit pricier choice. Believe it or not, I managed to get what we needed at the closest, grocery only, Walmart.

Shopping List

• Buy enough water for everyone in the family, bottled waters are extra pricey inside the theme park.
• Prewashed Salad mixes 
• Lemon or limes - squeezing the juice from them make great salad dressing if you don't have your ACV 
• Whole fruit if you brought swiss army knife or peeler, otherwise get a few packages of already cut fruit

Eating out

My first meal there was at Earl of Sandwich just outside of the theme park. I got the Earl's Cobb Salad and asked for olive oil on the side, they didn't have vinegar for me but I solved the problem by grabbing a few cut up lemon wedges they had for people to squeeze into their pop.  Whatever works works! We followed Bacon Mum's advice and made a reservation for dinner inside the theme park. The chef did take the time to come out to verify my food restrictions but it was a pretty overpriced piece of fish and a side of arugula. The one place I found my most satisfying meal was... wait for it... Cheesecake Factory.  I never thought I would be able to eat compliant meals at there just from the sick of their name. Besides their desserts, they are known for their huge salads. Back in the days when I went for their Cheesecakes, I would have never been able to finish their ginormous salads. Now, it's the perfect size for me. I do wonder if they had health in mind when they planned out the sizing of their salads?

Now that you are prepared, are you feeling more excited than nervous about leaving your kitchen? You should be, so let the FUN begin! Remember to take lots of pictures, LAUGH with your family and ENJOY every moment of your trip because

YOU deserve it!

Coconut Gelatin Squares

Coconut Gelatin Squares were one of my favourite sweet treats from childhood dim sum memories. It must have been the early sign of my love for anything coconut. 

You may still able to order this dish from push carts at old-school Chinese restaurants. No doubt this is a very simple treat to create so I don't know why it took me this long to make my own version of it? 

My adaptation is completely AIP/Paleo/ Keto/ LCHF compliant. I actually do not add any sweeteners in mine, which makes them more like fat bombs for Keto and LCHF folks. My recipe produces a pretty firm gelatin, if you prefer a softer mouth feel, you can try decreasing the gelatin by 1/2 t increment to find your happy place. 

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Makes 8  1" x1" squares      Prep time 5 mins      Set time 2 hour

Ingredients

• 4 oz. coconut milk ( I use AROY D in tetra pak)

• 4 oz hot, just off boil, water

• 4 tsp grass fed gelatin ( I use Great Lakes ) 

• 1 tsp maple syrup ( optional ) 

• 1/2  tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, pour in coconut milk,
2. Sprinkle gelatin over and let sit for 5 mins to expand and soften.  
3. Stir in hot water to dissolve gelatin. Stir in remaining ingredients. 
4. Pour mixture into silicone mold ( like this one )  and let set in fridge, about 1-2 hour
5. Loosen edges before popping out the squares to enjoy.