Food as medicine. Finding out what serves you and what doesn’t.

I am going to take you on my journey.

It has taken me 40 years to figure this out. So if you feel like you are having some issues and you don’t know where to go to figure out what is happening with your health, you’re not alone!

*Disclaimer – I am not a dietitian or a medical doctor. I am sharing my experience, not giving health advice. I am a registered nurse with an appetite for health knowledge and have tried many “diets” over the years.

This is my story

It all started when I was a young girl in figure skating. My tummy was not flat and perfect in my tight leotard outfit and my poor self-esteem grew from there. It didn’t always bother me. I was a tomboy who grew up in the country. I knew I was strong and healthy. I wasn’t skinny and popular. I feel like there are so many girls out there feeling the same way and I hate that society creates this norm that girls have to look a certain way.

I purchased my first diet kit from a magazine when I was 16 or 17. I don’t remember what it involved but I ordered a kit and was delivered guides and recipes. Eat this, not that. It wasn’t successful. Just successful in making me feel bad about myself.

I have continued on this journey of trying different diets, restricting, binging, losing, gaining and at the end of all of it, I still had a poor self image and a poor relationship with food. I wasn’t obese. I definitely carried a few extra pounds. It really hit home when my family doctor told me that I needed to lose weight. I was in my mid to late 20s and topped the scale at 200lbs. And still, she offered me no advice on food choices, just that I should eat less and exercise more.

I grew up with asthma and allergies to animals, dust, smoke and other environmental factors. I always had a runny nose. I just assumed it was from my old dusty house. Then when I started nursing, I developed these itchy red rashes on my hands that would not go away. I was told it was “contact dermatitis”, likely from washing my hands all the time and being exposed to harsh cleaning chemicals at work.

Looking For A Fix

I had been to many doctors, naturopaths and allergists. I had done food sensitivity testing done and was about to spend more money on DNA testing to see if that would answer more questions about what foods to eat and not eat. Every test I did or person I talked to had different answers for me. I was spinning with information and didn’t know where to go next.

The doctor gave me cortisone cream for my rashes that made them go away, but didn’t stop them from coming back. The allergist said I had chronic rhinitis and there was nothing I could do about it. Just offered ways to deal with it. The naturopath said I was stressed out and in adrenal fatigue. She gave me supplements to take but they made me restless, and sleep because a distant memory. The naturopath did a food sensitivity test on me and it was a good starting point, but it had SO many foods on there that didn’t give me any troubles at all. The dietitian told me to go on an elimination diet of everything on the food sensitivity test. That was hard. I lasted 2 weeks, then started adding things back to my diet but didn’t get any answers. The rashes were still there. My runny nose was still there. I had no energy. I still wasn’t sleeping. I didn’t lose any weight. I didn’t feel any different.

Then Something Happened

I saw a friend post online about a 30 day challenge she was doing. She said it was a healthy living program that teaches intuitive eating and introduces healthy habits in your lifestyle. It wasn’t a crash diet, lose weight fast program. I could eat when I was hungry and followed a structured plan. There was also a support group where people, doing the same program, could ask questions or share recipes. I wanted IN. I was at a point in my life where I needed this to be successful so I committed to the program 100%. Perhaps food could be my medicine.

I promptly bought the package and followed the instructions.

For 30 days I was to eliminate:

• Coffee
• Alcohol
• Dairy
• Gluten
• Soy
• Artificial sugar

These foods are inflammatory, acidic, allergenic and addictive.

I was also going to introduce some new supplements into my everyday routine:

• A pre and probiotic with digestive enzymes to improve my gut health
• A vegan protein shake mixed with fruits, veggies and a healthy fat as a meal replacement
• A detox tea
• An all natural energy drink with ginseng and B vitamins
• A greens powder taken as a shot to start the day
• A body cleanse (only taken in the 3rd week) to help clean out the poop shoot. I have to emphasize that this is not a scary, run to the bathroom every 5 min kind of cleanse. It just makes you regular. I had the most amazing poops when I was taking this stuff! You feel 5lbs lighter. Sorry if that is too much information! But seriously, going number 2 is SO important to your overall health. If you aren’t going at least once a day, then something has to change in your diet. Let’s normalize talking about #2!
• Extra fiber. This one is optional. I personally find that the protein shakes themselves have enough fiber plus I eat a ton of veggies full of fiber, so I don’t usually take the extra.

The foods I could eat were plenty:

• Rice, sweet potato, quinoa, butternut squash, oats
• All the colours of the rainbow of fruits and veggies. People say that some fruits are higher in sugar than others. I don’t worry about that. A banana is better than a chocolate bar. Eat the fruits.
• Lean meats like chicken and fish, or vegan proteins like chickpeas and beans.
• There are plenty of approved sweet options if you have to satisfy a craving as well. Like I said, it isn’t about restricting, it’s about eating intuitively. Learning to appreciate how you feel after you eat something.

Let me tell you, this was no walk in the park. The first 4 days, I felt like shit. I had such a bad headache, still wasn’t sleeping, I had no energy. Craving “bad” food. I stuck to my guns though. If there is one quality about myself that I truly love, it is that I am determined to always finish what I start.

Day 5 was a whole new ball game. I started sleeping. I started sleeping through the night! It was unlike anything I had experienced before. True restful bliss. I hadn’t slept this well since I was a teenager!

I started getting up with my husband at 5:15am to workout again. I had this energy and positivity flowing from me. I felt like I could do anything. Within a couple of weeks, my skin rashes went away. I was crushing my personal best times on my bike. My asthma didn’t bother me as much. My runny nose went away. My skin was glowing. I lost weight. This was everything I had been looking for my entire life, and it was something I had to do for myself. No doctor was going to tell me what was wrong.

The Struggles

My struggles were real on this program though. I am fond of drinking beer and wine. I like to be social and have a few bevies. This is still something I am working on and this is a whole other issue with society that I will not get into here. I had to be strong and I just chose to drink bubbly water instead. Plus, I have figured out that alcohol is the thing that ruins sleep! I like sleep better than booze.

Have I mentioned that I am a coffee snob? I love coffee. I love good coffee. It was so hard giving up coffee. For everything that is removed from your diet, there is something that replaces it. The natural energy drink that comes with the set is so damn good. It makes you feel awake and doesn’t make you crash afterward. It also doesn’t give you gut rot or the jitters like coffee gave me. As soon as I say, “no coffee”, people walk away from this program. But trust me, if I can do it, so can you! Plus its only 30 days. You can do anything for 30 days.

I am married to a Swiss man. Swiss people eat a lot of cheese and chocolate. My mother and father in law are the most amazing chefs. They often bring us freshly baked bread (Zupfe) and cookies. We also go over to their house for family weekly dinners. I had to bring my own food for dinner and ate apples with almond butter as dessert as they dove into some perfect delicacy full of gluten, sugar and dairy.

The Wins

After making it through the 30 days unscathed, I stared introducing foods back into my diet. I have since realized that gluten is the culprit for my skin rashes and dairy is the wrecks havoc on my sinuses.

I now try my best to avoid gluten and dairy always, and I try to follow the 30 days guideline 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, I allow myself to eat what I want given the situation and not feel bad about it. This is intuitive eating. I eat pizza and drink beer, but I suffer the consequences after. I enjoy the food and I realize how it makes me feel. Life is meant to be lived to the fullest. So eat the cake and don’t feel bad. Just take a moment to reflect how it made you feel during and after. Was it worth it? Probably. Are you going to do it again? Maybe. But I promise you wont do it nearly as much as you used to.

You will start to discover new recipes that you love. New treats to have that don’t make you feel like crap. You will crave healthy food. Most people don’t know that they feel bad, until they feel good.

I lost weight on this program too. I lost about 10cm around my waist the first time I did it. The results were incredible. However, this is not a weight loss program. This is a healthy living program. Weight loss is just a happy side effect.

I am elated to finally have direction in my eating habits. I know what serves my body and what doesn’t. I know how to fuel my body for its best performance. I learned so much about myself from a little 30 day experiment.

If this sounds like something you want to get on board with, drop me a line. Comment on this post, shoot me an email or connect with me on the socials. Click here to find out more.

I wish you all good health!