This
could be my record attempt for my shortest ever post, because in summary I
could just say “Because she’s a moron”.
One
of the things I’ve noticed over time is a seemingly insidious sense from her
that she can adapt – clearly in a previous life she was a Galapagos finch.
Whatever I try seems to work for a while, and sometimes quite a long while, but
it’s as if one day she wakes up having figured out a way to defeat my new
strategy and things on the health front will return to the erratic nonsense
that is their norm.
There
is only so much anyone can take of this before they start to get pretty fed up.
She can’t be reasoned with and she can’t be talked round, and each thing I try
she manages to work out how to beat it or simply ignore it. Maybe I just
haven’t found the right strategy to attempt yet, but I’m running out of
feasible options rather quickly.
The
real reason for the bad taste left in my mouth about it all is this though;
science and current medical thinking would dictate that these things should be working. There doesn’t seem to
be a logical explanation for why they aren’t doing so, or at least not on a
long term basis. It’s as if she just ups and decides that she doesn’t have to
pay attention.
(Except she's not listening. Image from pandawhale.com)
My
latest attempts were going gluten free and adopting a new exercise regime. The
switching to a gluten free diet has not been anywhere near as difficult as I
was at first expecting. Yet again I have reason to be thankful that my parents (and
therefore me when I was growing up) were typically British in their eating
habits. Not many things in sauces and a lot of plain but good food. Italian was
about as far as we stretched to foreign cuisine when eating out.
Once
I’d gotten my head around the mind-boggling array of unexpected items which
contain gluten (yoghurts – really?) I actually found the transition to be
relatively painless. I’m off bread completely and so not attempting the gluten
free alternatives, and only occasionally having pasta for which I don’t mind
the alternative at all. I’ve also discovered some lovely supermarket brand
gluten free ginger cake slices – unlike most gluten free sweets and cakes
they’re not terrifyingly bad for you and they’re just the right size that one
is enough to give me a little bit of a treat rush without impacting my
otherwise healthy diet very much at all.
Did
I mention they’re beyond delicious? I should have, because they are.
Of
course the main question at this point is whether this is working. At the
moment, after three weeks I can tentatively say yes. There are some definite
improvements with bowel symptoms and thereby as a result I have experienced
comparatively little bloating and discomfort since making the change. I was
expecting it to take much longer for any change to have impact and so for the
first week or so of improvement I was understandably suspicious and waiting for
the pendulum to swing back.
Thus
far, touch wood, it has yet to do so. I still get a certain amount of pain from
the same areas as before (upper and lower left quadrants) but the difference is
wonderful. By proxy, my diet is probably also cleaner than it has ever been and
I’m certainly feeling like I have a bit more energy than I have had in a long
time. I no longer have the “food nap” sensation after meals. I still have days
where I feel like I’ve woken up with the spoon count already in the negative –
negative spoons are a thing, I’ve discovered – but my “normal” level of energy
is still noticeably improved.
What
about that exercise regime though?
This
is the story of when Petunia met Jillian Michaels. They did not part as friends
To
begin with, I will just say that I’m not going to go into this write up
recommending Jillian Michaels’ workouts to anyone. They’re hard work and very
taxing on the body – and I would suggest that would be true for the 100% well
let alone those with chronic ill health, so please don’t take my successes with
the workout as an automatic green light for you. Most of her workouts are
available to watch on Youtube – I really can’t stress enough the need to watch
them through before you think about putting them into practice, and if you’re
still not sure then you need to speak to your doctor.
There
are also parts of the workouts I modify and switch out, purely because (sorry
Jillian) she’s absolute murder on the knees in particular. Some of the
exercises I watched and knew better than to attempt from the off – another
reason I say you must watch them through before you try them. This also helps
to ensure you’re picking up correct form, too.
I
would also say that I don’t consider Jillian to be a human being so much as I
do a walking and talking embodiment of the “no nonsense” approach. She takes no
prisoners at all, and whilst I love the effect the workouts are having on my
let-go-a-little-through-winter body, I still expect her to remain a permanent
fixture on my hit list.
(This is turning into something of a complex love-hate relationship. Image from copykitty.co.uk)
Most
of what I’m doing is the 30 Day Shred DVD. It’s hard. However, it does deliver the results promised. I’m about half
way through and I can see visible difference and clothes fit better already, so
I look forward to the results at the end of the month. It’s also getting me
into the frame of mind of exercising most days which I’d like to try and keep
up because it does do good things for my energy levels overall. I’m having at
least one day’s swimming a week instead of the DVD and at least one day’s rest
– ideally you should have only one but there’s no sense in working beyond my
capabilities. My body won’t do six days straight no matter what incentive you
give it.
At
the moment then, I’ve conquered the wild beast and she lies asleep and tame
once more. I don’t know how long this will continue for but I’m determined to
keep up the mostly gluten free diet (the odd treat to accommodate eating out
with friends and what have you) as even if it doesn’t solve the specific
symptoms I was aiming for long term, the renewed energy and general feeling of
“better” isn’t something to be sneezed at.
Long
may it continue.
Definitely not
sneaking off with another ginger cake slice, and wishing you all many spoons
xxx
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