AIP Update

Waking up to Day 10 on strict AIP...

• Left leg swelling is completely gone.
• Left hip is no longer giving me fits.
• Lower back pain is gone.
• Energy levels are up.
• Brain fog is lifting, however still present.
• Lower dependence on allergy meds. to make it through the day. I've taken it three times this week as opposed to every single day. I didn't really need it, but I took it this morning and will take it again tomorrow morning as a precautionary measure. Monday morning I will try to go without it again. FYI: I do recall in times past on this diet, my allergy symptoms were slim to none all the time I was fully on. When I would sneak a bite of ice cream, or some chips and salsa, BAM. Post nasal drip, itchy skin and headaches.   
• Five lbs. gone.
• Left heel/foot is still tender (so intense exercise is still out), but much, much better

Weight is at the bottom end of the list because it's not the biggest reason to do this. But it is one thing that really keeps me motivated. When you see the pounds start to drop, it's easier to stick with it.

One thing occurred to me since I posted last week. In talking with, writing and sending recipes to  some of you concerning questions about this diet/lifestyle change, I didn't give information on some of the things that have eased this transition for me in the past and have made this go 'round the easiest yet.

This book, The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook, gives you a guide to either go cold-turkey or ease into AIP. For folks that are doing this for the first time or are just in a very busy season, this looks to me like a very helpful guide. On a personal note, I started out with a Paleo diet on my first go and slowly moved into AIP. During that time, I was diagnosed and a whole lot of things came to light and began to make sense. While I was on Paleo, one of mine and Jason's favorite cookbooks was Well Fed. There's a recipe in there called "The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat!". Jason and I spent a lot of time making fun of that title until we went to the trouble of actually preparing that recipe. It is, in fact, the best chicken you will ever eat, especially if you go the extra mile and prepare the chimichurri sauce to go with it. I really believe Paleo is a good segue into this diet.

If you can, get a micro-nutrient deficiency test. This was, hands down, the best thing I did in the beginning. After I received three autoimmune diagnoses and another diagnosis that often accompanies AI issues, I was flattened. For the first year, and against the advice of the more traditional rheumatologist and endocrinologist I had to see once every three months, I stayed on AIP. They were shocked at how quickly my numbers leveled out. After that, we hired a functional holistic physician to help me. I continued to see the other docs, but got the most help and support from her.  The first thing she did was perform the micro-nutrient deficiency test. When the results came in, she got me started on supplements to address those deficiencies. I immediately started feeling better.

Most recently, my doc. here performed an iodine deficiency test. Not surprisingly, I was really, really deficient. Turns out, most people are. When I started supplementing that (under the doctor's care... it's dangerous to get too much iodine, so you really shouldn't start an iodine regimen unless you have a doctor keeping up with the results) lots of secondary issues that I've dealt with years and years have cleared up.

One way I start to transition into this is to give one thing up at a time (I actually did start transitioning about eight weeks ago in anticipation of the talk I had with the doc. last week which was a combination, "Help me. I feel like death." and lab readout visit.). To begin with, I started backing off all dairy again. I still let myself get a little coconut ice cream here and there, but I tried hard to just eat this smoothie as a substitution...

In a high-powered blender...

•  Frozen banana slices
• 1/2 fresh avocado (gives a creamy consistency, but you can't taste it)
• 1/2 C- 1C water
• 2T carob powder
• 2T collagen powder

This helps me when I have an ice cream craving. I won't lie. It ain't ice cream, but it fills you up and helps curb the craving for those of us who live for ice cream! In case you don't know, carob helps you stay compliant when you can't have chocolate. Again, it ain't chocolate (but it's close).

Another favorite smoothie...

• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 fresh avocado
• 1 C water
• handful of kale or spinach (I prefer fresh, but you can buy it frozen and use that.)
• frozen fruit (I like strawberry and mango, or just mango and more mango :o))

The first time I tried this, there weren't any good AIP bread-like recipes. Here's one I love. This has made this foray back into AIP MUCH easier! This is a super-easy recipe. You can double or triple it without changing the integrity of the recipe and you can freeze them.

•  1C cassava flour
•  1/4 C coconut milk
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1/4 cup water

Mix with a fork and then knead lightly with a hand covered with a plastic baggie. Most GF bread recipes are really sticky, but this one isn't so bad. You can pat them out onto parchment paper in 4-5" diameter rounds and pop them into a cast iron skillet (or whatever you have on hand) with some olive oil. It makes about eight tortillas.

Thankfully for you, the grocery stores are getting smart. You can get fresh or frozen riced cauliflower, butternut squash cubes and zootles (zucchini noodles) in most stores now. These go a long way to cut your prep time in the kitchen.

Another thing that has helped me a lot... I quit making bone broth. I buy this instead. In the winter I have a cup of this with 1/8 tsp powdered ginger and 1/4 tsp powdered turmeric for breakfast. I also typically eat an apple or sauteed greens with it. Then I let myself have a cup of black tea with about a 1/2 tsp of honey stirred in as my treat for choking down bone broth out of a mug. Seriously though, I got used to it quickly and actually started to crave it in the mornings. Last winter, even with a compromised immune system, I did not get sick.

In lieu of organ meats (if you just can't seem to stomach them like me), you can take dessicated liver in pill form.  When I first started taking these, I noticed a marked upswing in energy. I still have low points, but I only take one a day unless I'm really struggling. Then I take two. I think the daily dose is up to four capsules per day but I've never taken that many.

That's it for now. I'm heading back to the kitchen to prepare for another week on AIP. Please, please, please let me know if I can help or listen or pray for you... or bring you an AIP meal!  I don't want to wear anyone out talking about this, but as much as it is an intrusion on my life and one more thing to do, AIP is so helpful. I typically start feeling better somewhere inside day three on the diet. Somewhere in day 4-5 or 5-6, my body starts telling me, "Hey! Where's the sugar? Where's the caffeine?" and I experience a slump (And I become a big grump.). But that's short-lived, and I promise, things start looking up. It's really awesome if your hubby decides to do it with you! Jason stopped at Costco for me yesterday (of his own volition!) and sent a text asking what I needed. He's feeling better too! You don't have to have an auto-immune condition to try it.