I can't believe how time flies. It's been two months since I started the AIP diet to heal my damaged gut.
These two photos were taken within days of each other. On a bad day (left), my gut would become inflamed.
So how did I do?
Before we get into the results... a bit of background.
I've had digestive issues since I was born. Feeding was difficult and nearly always resulted in infantile projectile vomiting. Doctors could not find anything wrong, and their only suggestion was to feed me less and more often. My mother tells me that for the first few months of my life, her dreams were permeated with my screams- and let me tell you that I was born to sing, so those tiny lungs were nothing to scoff at. My mom had to do weekly trade-offs with my grandmother so that she could get some rest because I was always crying.
Fast-forward to me as an adult, and I've been suffering from severe gastrointestinal damage, causing every digestive-related problem that you can imagine, in addition to extreme fatigue, loss of hair, weight gain, and depression to name a few.
This photo was taken at the start of this healing process. I had to buy a larger size of jeans.
And this is where I decided that I just couldn't take it anymore.
So I changed my diet. About four years ago, I completely eliminated gluten. I felt marginal relief, and then slid back down into the downward spiral of intestinal damage. Cutting out gluten was helpful, but not enough. So I went vegan. This had the same effect, I felt better for a while until I stopped feeling better, and again I felt terrible.
This year, as I was struggling with my own intestinal issues, my great-aunt passed away from intestinal cancer. I decided that I owe it to her to heal my body and thus I made the move to an extreme elimination diet. I removed anything that has ever been known to irritate a human gut, and that's what I've been doing for the past two months.
I wrote previously about the fact that my hair had stopped falling out, and a crop of newly-sprouted hairs now stick up in every direction, filling in the areas where the hair had previously fallen out.
I have had no more constipation or diarrhea. No more cramping. No more acid reflux.
I have suffered from only one migraine in the past two months, as opposed to the previous two a week. I expect the migraines to disappear altogether in time.
All the extra weight/inflammation in my body has gone. My clothes actually fit me again!
The same pair of jeans, now too big.
... And best of all, I feel the weight of depression and anxiety beginning to lift.
To be completely honest, I still spend all of my time inside my apartment unless Omar is with me when we leave. The changes I feel are happening right here at home. I went from feeling anxious about the idea of going outside alone to feeling perfectly fine when I step out to throw away the trash. It is a baby step, but to me it is monumental. I truly feel stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally.
I am now transitioning into my preferred vegan diet, slowly reintroducing previously eliminated foods one by one. If any of these foods makes me sick, I put it back up on the shelf. I'll try it again in another few months. In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying the sense of being in control of what I eat and how I feel. The worst part about being sick was feeling at a loss, and helpless, and not knowing what it was that was causing the sickness.
The next step has been to incorporate my old work-out routines into my current quest for health. So far, so good!
For more information on the AIP diet:
https://steemit.com/paleo/@ellemarieisme/the-autoimmune-paleo-elimination-protocol-diet