Hypothyrodism - the thyroid gland not producing enough hormone
Symptoms - fatigue (hello?!)
Constipation (just won't talk about this one, mmk?)
sensitivity to cold (all the time)
joint and muscle pain
dry skin (using vanicream)
depression (just thought this was hereditary)
thin, brittle nails (thought this was just dry skin related)
Talking to my doctor, she could put me on medication, but it is so mild at this point neither of us want to go that route until necessary because once I start taking them, I cannot stop. I do not like to be dependent on medications. I just don't.
We agreed to give me up to 30 days to get a diet and exercise plan into action. I have to do the following -
cut out all unprocessed foods (ie: go raw or clean eat)
cardio 3-5xs a week in the morning
continue yoga 3-5xs a week in the evenings
Because of many underlying diseases that stem from this disease she would like to see me eventually go gluten free to help that out as well. Uhm, let's just try to begin the above program first.
I started by buying a couple of cookbooks and sending out a need for good wishes from my family and friends. I then cleaned out my cupboards and fridge. This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The one thing I worry about is losing my cereal. I LOVE CEREAL! I could eat this all day. I probably could live off it. Not to healthily but I could. The other worry was having the ability to cook often enough at home to allow for variation without a lot of fuss. I really enjoy cooking, but don't necessarily like to do it every single day. Which is why it has been so hard to diagnose me. I tend to eat really healthy for weeks, then go crap food for a week, then back to healthy. I stay just under the normal thyroid evaluations and usually when I make my doctor appointments it's because I feel crappy and have already switched back to healthy food.
Looking at the diets with hypothyroidism (if you believe them as there is a lot of debate about what is good for thyroidism) they mimic the raw diet as closest. I really like to have recipes to go off of, so that is where I started. (And as my doctor recommended I eat unprocessed it made sense)
I will still be eating lots of protein, in fact it should realistically be the major part of my plate. Followed by lots of vegetables and fruits. I need to cut out all breads and pastas or replace them with all natural made. I have learned very quickly that though there are many foods that profess to be healthy and clean, they are not. I read many a labels while shopping and so many have GUM or weird unpronounceable items in them. These are not clean. This may require I make many of my spreads, dressings, etc at home, but I am willing to take a look at my nearby health food grocery store and see what they have to offer.
The first challenge being cereal, I found that Muesli is wonderfully good and flavorful. I scoop 1/2 cup into a bowl along with either sliced banana or raspberries and blueberries for breakfast. I then have a shake of some kind in a few hours with protein supplement (just purchased Garden of Life Protein from a recommendation of a Vegan friend). For lunch I will need to be crafty because I like to look forward to food while working.
This past week I settled on crock pot of beans where I mixed black beans and pinto beans with half an onion and a few cloves of garlic. I then purchased some awesome whole wheat tortillas to wrap them in with lots of veggies, including sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, avocado. Notice I didn't say cheese? Yep, cheese is very processed. As is milk. I now have organic milk and cut out cheese. I did find a block of unprocessed cheese, but have yet to try it. I will be having to slice and shred my own cheese because only the unprocessed comes in blocks.
That is really the beginning of the process. I am sure I will blog more about this as I find out new tricks and new challenges (like eating out in restaurants)!
