Last year I woke up overnight and my work pants no longer fit. I was still exercising the same way I always had and my diet was clean and green (save the occasional date night dinner and wine). My hormones were also causing me issues…I hadn’t had a period in almost a year and my libido was in the toilet. Here’s the icing on the cake though you guys…. I went to doctor after doctor and they all told me that this was my “new normal” at 44. Oh, and they always threw in the kick in the teeth as they tucked their stethoscope back in their breast pocket and headed for the door, “Stephanie, you really should think about exercising more and maybe think about meeting with a nutritionist.” Always with that smirky face of “look girlfriend, we know you aren’t REALLY exercising and eating right”.
I was at a crossroads. I was either going to go spend a crap ton of money at Banana Republic to buy new work pants or I was going to spend some time and money and actually figure out what the heck was causing my issues. I knew that if I didn’t try to get to the root cause of the issues that were causing me to feel like crap, I would just be “sitting on a tack”, meaning I could treat the pain from the tack but if I didn’t actually pull OUT the tack, I would never get better. Ya feel me?
The Universe is pretty badass when stuff like this happens. I firmly believe that we get what we need when we need it if we pay attention. As I scrolled through Facebook, I came upon a hormone specialist affiliated with a functional doctor and I just knew she could help me. Call it intuition, call it a “gut feeling”, call it whatever, it was meant to be. I hired her on the spot.
She talked to me on the phone and made me feel heard and understood. We formulated a plan – I was going to have blood work and a stool test done. She said that oftentimes when people are experiencing bad bloating and are having a hard time losing weight but are eating really well and exercising, it is stemming from a gut issue.
When my lab work came back, I spoke to the functional doctor who informed me that in fact, my gut WAS jacked up. I had candida, h pylori, suspected Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and something called dysbiosis, which is an imbalance of bad bacteria in the gut.
Journey to Healing My Gut
Here’s what we implemented to get me back to feeling vibrant again:
NUTRITION: I immediately started a diet called low “FODMAP”. FODMAPS stand for fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols. Basically, FODMAPS are short-chain carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion. Instead of being absorbed into your bloodstream like they should be, they reach the far end of your intestines where bacteria are. These bacteria then use the carbs for fuel and produce gas that cause us nasty digestive issues.
So I stopped eating foods containing FODMAPS, which I found to be IMMEDIATELY helpful. You guys, I lost that donut ring around my rib cage in a few days not eating these foods. I also found out from my labs that I have antibodies to gluten, so…. that was out too. I cut out dairy too except for my morning collagen latte which calls for a tbsp of grass-fed butter. What am I eating, you ask? Lean proteins like chicken, beef, eggs and fish, carbs such as quinoa and sweet potato, low-FODMAP veggies like zucchini and yellow squash, and healthy fats like coconut oil and grass-fed butter.
STRESS REDUCTION: I stopped doing massively intense workouts. They were causing me more stress than good and were making my body very inflamed. I started walking, doing yoga, meditating, getting more sleep, taking naps when I needed them, and doing more self-care. I look back now and realize just how much stress I was under at that time – I had been laid off from my job, I was interviewing and scared. It’s no wonder my body felt under attack. I now have a job that is still stressful but in an exciting way. I no longer have many of the issues that came from my previous job, like fear and insecurity.
SUPPLEMENTS: I’m not going to go too far in depth about what supplements I am taking because they are specific to my lab results, but I can tell you that I have benefitted massively from 2 specific ones: Digestive Enzymes with each meal, and L-Glutamine. Digestive enzymes help break down the food that you eat and helps with absorption of all the great nutrients. L-Glutamine helps repair your gut lining. Both are vital to the digestive process. Another great suggestion that my doc made is to start brushing my teeth a few times a week with probiotic toothpaste! You can get this from Amazon – It’s by Designs for Health.
All in all, I am feeling wonderful. My pants fit me again, my skin feels better, I am starting to feel more vibrant and alive. My pesky hormones are taking a little longer to jump on the “juicy feeling” train, but I continue to be hopeful that my program is working.
The reason why I share this with you is to tell you that if you feel like you are spinning your wheels and not getting the results you feel you should be getting based on the effort you are putting in both in the gym and the kitchen, there is hope. Functional medicine is so important to getting to the root cause of the issue. Having actual DATA to tell you what your body needs is a breath of fresh air. I spent far too many years “throwing darts in the dark” to try to figure out issues. Not to mention all those times I ugly cried in doctor’s parking lots because NONE of them UNDERSTOOD me or even tried to figure out what my issues were.
Love to you.
Steph
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