Autoimmune back again….paleo for the win

As some of you know I started my paleo journey about four years ago after having gone through some significant health struggles. (If you want to read the whole story, check out my How paleo found me section.)

After many years of feeling great and the birth of my third son, I began to have flair ups of past symptoms. I chalked them up to being older this birth, having three boys running around, getting a poor night’s sleep, etc. Eventually, though, there was no denying that many of my hashimotos symptoms had come back with a force.

Stepping on the scale and seeing I had gained ten pounds in six weeks without changing my diet or exercise was my final red flag. I found a new doctor in my area, and after an hour and a half consultation walked out with 6 vials of blood drawn, an adrenal fatigue/hormone test in hand, and a gut healing protocol to begin immediately. The questions she asked me were a big wake up call. I have known deep down that I was not feeling my very best the past few months but hearing myself answer yes to the majority of the symptoms she was listing, made me pretty certain they were not all random coincidences.

So here I am…. feeling like I am starting over. To be completely honest, I feel incredibly frustrated, bummed, and angry at myself. I know my condition now is nowhere close to what it was last time, so this is definitely not starting over at ground zero. I do, however, feel embarrassed that I have gotten myself into this, when my passion is to help people get out of it!!! I am someone who has committed their last four years of life to learning everything there is to know about auto-immunity, healing with food, and overcoming chronic conditions. I think I also fear the length of suffering I had to go through in order to get to a good spot last time. It took multiple years for me to heal, and those years held a lot of pain, suffering, and misery. When my body gets hit, it gets hit hard. I think it is God’s way of slowing me down, so I am forced to practice true self-care and gentleness with myself.

All this to say, the timing of all of this has not gone unnoticed by me. I wanted to start this blog to give hope and inspiration to others, and now it looks like I will be walking through your valleys and challenges right there with you! For the next two months, I will be chronicling my journey to healing my body and mind once again! I will be sharing my meals and recipes, stress relieving exercises, happiness hacks, and my struggles along the way. I hope through my continuous learning and growing in this journey to health I can inspire you to take the baby steps you need to live your happiest and healthiest life!