Independence Day from Detox!

I made it! Well, I almost made it :) I cheated on the last meal of the last day. I ate salmon, rice & broccoli:

I was proud and I convinced myself that I deserved to have a healthy Saturday night dinner with my hubby. This past week of not eating solid food has solidified how important food is to a family & friendship.
Sunday morning I woke up and what do you think I had? My favorite breakfast item... Bacon!!

But not just any bacon... Peterson's apple smoked bacon. It's uncured apple smoked bacon that's Certified Humane, with no sodium nitrates, nitrites or preservatives. If you haven't had this before, do yourself a favor and go get some! I buy mine at Whole Foods. My friend Sarah even taught me a trick to cooking it! Just put down some parchment paper, lay the bacon on top & put it in the oven at 400 degrees for 17 minutes. Depending on your oven, it may be more around 13-15 minutes. It's an easy breezy way to wake up & have bacon on the weekend.
So now that I have a few favorite but safe foods eaten, it's on to starting the new routine. Because Dr. Reisman found that I needed significant Vitamin D, Iodine, C & a thryoid boost, I'm starting a new routine of supplements.
Twice a day I'm drinking a combo of Power Greens powder, buffered C & Fiber Pro. Once a day I drink 8 oz of water with Vitamin D & Iodine drops. I'm not sure how long I'll pull off drinking the Power Greens mix but we'll see if I can make it a routine!
Now that my system is "cleansed" I'm being really aware of how I feel after I eat. I'm starting slow with basic ingredients to monitor the reactions. So far so good!
I'm really thankful for my new doctor. I'm also thankful for everyone's support. Many of you have emailed, tweeted or come up to me about what I'm going through. You all mean so much and I'm thankful for the support. I'll keep you updated and keep supporting each other out there!

Day 6!

Woohoo!! Day 6! It's been quite the day. I've felt good. Maybe it's because I'm almost done with the detox and see the light at the end of the tunnel. But it has also been an emotional two days. Yesterday there was something that made me feel left out, lonely & not valued which is ridiculous because it all surrounded food. But it wasn't about food, it was about feelings & inclusion. Five years ago I never would have thought that food would be such an emotional part of my life. But I guess that's what happens when you finally realize you can't eat like everyone else. And when the reason is medical, not because of a fad diet or trend, it's emotionally harder. I've mentioned before that I have

Day 4

One more day down! I've got three days left and I'm counting down every minute. I'm not gonna lie. This process has proved how much I depend on food. That may sound like a no brainer but it's taught me how many times a day I want to eat. Whether it's a snack I want to "brighten the day" or dessert at night, I have realized I must eat a lot without paying attention. Hopefully I can remind myself that when I get those urges I need to reach for the carrots & celery instead of gluten free treats.
I keep thinking about what I want to have as my celebration meal this weekend. It may be because I'm dying to eat so bad that everything sounds good, but I think I need help :) let me know if you have any fun suggestions!
I joke that I'm dying to eat (and I am) but I know what I'm doing has a purpose. This isn't a diet or juice fast. In fact, I haven't lost any weight at all. It's something my doctor feels is necessary for the pain I'm going through right now. I've gotten used to the taste & don't hate it anymore! So everytime I think I wanna eat a handful of trail mix, I remind myself that I've pulled off going gluten, soy, sugar, dairy, corn, chicken & caffeine free... I think I can handle three more days! I mean really... My dog threw up on the kitchen floor this morning right as I was making my breakfast shake. The two looked quite similar & I got it down anyway so hell... I can do this!



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Day 3 of Liver Detox

As I write this I'm sitting here with a glass of green detox liquid. It's the end of day three and I have four more to go. Since I drink 4 glasses of this a day, this is glass number 12. Geez... I can't believe I'm actually doing this! I think I've finally gotten over the hump though. Day one was absolute torture. I could barely choke it all down and was a drama queen with my husband making fun of how gross it was. He shut me up by drinking some of it and saying he liked it. But it really did stink. I told him it was because he didn't HAVE to drink it.
Day two was better until the early afternoon. I started getting a headache, my muscles were aching and I was really distracted. I think it took me two hours longer to do what I needed to at work that day. I just kept staring at stuff. I've heard these are pretty typical side effects of detoxing so I'm not worried.
Day three has been much easier. I've figured out that combining everything into one drink rather than having two separate ones is

Mind Body Medical Center - (part 3 of Doctors, Detox, the Liver & Surgery)

Mind Body Medical Center is an integrative medical practice in Edgehill Village. From their website: "Mind-Body Medical Center was founded in 1991 by Stephen L. Reisman, M.D. with the goal of offering integrative medicine to his patients in the Nashville, Tennessee area. We provide comprehensive approaches to medical problems and emphasize the primary importance of learning and living in ways that promote health and prevent illness." You can read more about their office and philosophy here.
As soon as I walked in I loved the environment. Two wonderful women were working the front desk and knew who I was when I entered. How often does that happen when you go to the dr? My last dr appointment left me waiting an hour and a half before I was seen.
They schedule people so that there is no waiting and the paperwork was relatively short for being a new patient. I filled everything out and only waited a few minutes until Dr. Reisman came to get me. I'll be honest. He's an interesting guy. Interesting in the way a really smart, intuitive doctor is interesting. He studied my face as I talked, looked me in the eye and I could feel him thinking throughout the entire visit. He went through the general questions and when he looked at the paperwork I had filled out he smiled when he read my reason for being there. It was simple - something's missing and no one is talking to me about it. I'm over having surgery & you're one of my last hopes.
Through all of the gentle questions and great discussion, he awoke something in me with one question: "Has anyone ever talked to you about WHY you have endometriosis?" I sat in silence for a minute. "No" I answered, I guess not. It almost felt embarrassing. My only explanation was to say that I've only been told it just "happens" to a lot of women and I was one of them. He also asked me if any of my doctors had run any kind of blood test on me to check for vitamin issues or different chemical/hormone imbalances. The answer to that was the same resounding "no".
With his answer that followed, everything started to make sense. I've read a lot on my own about endometriosis and different natural treatments. It's what lead to discovering my food intolerances to gluten, dairy, refined sugar, caffeine, chicken & corn. And it lead to the acupuncture & qigong practices that I love. From Dr. Reisman, I learned that was only part of the solution. I've been treating my symptoms, not the root. I thought the food changes were the root... but I wasn't looking at the organ that plays the part.
He proceeded to explain how the liver is the organ which processes our