Saturday, November 12, 2011

Case Study: Me

My case study of Crohn's Disease -- my life -- has been going fairly well the past couple of months.  It does take a lot of time and energy on my part to keep track of everything and to keep my normal life running; hence, very little writing about what is actually happening with my Crohn's Disease.  With that said, let me get you up to date on what I have been doing and how it has been working.

I cut all of the carbs out of my diet.  That was VERY difficult to do and I had to do it slowly.  To say I am addicted is an understatement. I did finally get to that point where I was eating none, but I was a an asshole going through withdrawal for a couple of days after I stopped eating the carbs.  After about a week of staying away, I noticed a tremendous change in how I felt and a big rebound in my energy levels.  A lot of people have told me, "You can't cut out carbs, that is where you get energy." on many different occasions.  Let me clarify, when I talk about carbs, it is disaccharides and polysaccharides that I cut out of my diet.  They are complex sugars.  I kept the monosaccharides in my diet, the simple sugars, which are found in fruits, vegetables, honey, and certain other foods.  I am back at a point where I can eat some complex carbs, but I definitely have a daily and weekly limit about how much I can eat before my body rejects it.

I was religious with my juicing during this transition period.  I tried a lot of singular and compound juices in this time.  I found that kale, collard greens, and broccoli -- as a base -- are really good. I really enjoy broccoli juice.  One of my favorite juices is broccoli, green apple, and lime.  As my body started accepted my consumption of more veggies, I found that I was juicing less.  I still juice about every other day to make certain I am getting the nutrients that I need into my body.

The overall energy I am feeling now, as opposed to before the changes I made, is much greater.  I continue to make changes to my life, but I do it in a manner that is steady.  Through this most recent experience, the biggest thing I have learned is that my body tolerates gradual change much better than abrupt or extreme changes.

2 comments:

  1. Just discovered your blog through CDSN. Thanks for contributing your voice! The more of us there are out there talking, the more likely it is that folks will keep working on a cure!

    So are you following SCD specifically? Or just cutting out complex sugars? Either way, good for you! It's *really* hard. I've been following SCD for about 6 months now, and it was definitely a tough transition.

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  2. SCD is technically just cutting out complex sugars, ie di- and poly-saccharides (carbs). I allow myself to cheat, but for the most part I stick with it.

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