Monday, June 10, 2013

1 week Diet Update

It has been one week since I drastically changed my diet.  I started the first phase of The Maker's Diet.  No wheat or any grains, no sugar, no dairy products, no fruit except grapefruit, berries, and cherries.  This first phase lasts for 2 weeks.  Second phase will include some fermented dairy and more fruit and corn.  Again, that will last 2 weeks.  Then the standard diet - all natural foods the way God intended them to be eaten.

Any differences?  Not in my skin, but I was expecting changes in my skin any time soon.  But I have had significant more energy this week than any other time during my nearly 4 months into topical steroid withdrawal.  I have accomplished more chores, gone out more, and overall feel much better.  Now I started the diet about 3 days or so into one of my "breaks"....a 4-5 day period of time I get about once a month where I feel much less pain, have less itch, and less reddening.  My flare returned and it is by far one of the worst times for my skin...more red, more pain, and definitely more itching.  I have not gone the past 4 days without ice - not even during the night.  Last month I was flaring bad on my arms, chest, and back, but my neck was not so bad and I barely used the ice - but now, I am back to a bad neck flare and need ice every minute!  I also have a bad flare in more areas than before - the redness seems to keep spreading without any clearing in the areas it started.  Right now I have a constant flare with my arms from wrist to armpit, all around my neck, upper back, lower back, chest, abdomen, upper legs, behind knees, and groin.  The only clear areas right now are my lower legs and feet, my hands (except a few fingers), my middle back, my bum, and my scalp.  I am thankful for these clear areas, especially given my previous TSW with a full body withdrawal....and I remember my scalp being so very bad.  I am also right now having worse body temperature control. Everyone around me is hot with the warmer weather, but I am over dressed and freezing.  This also went away last month, so for it to return is a bit discouraging, but I know is part of the process.

Good news is I am losing some weight - I have about 40 pounds total to lose - and this week alone I am down 5 pounds.  I will be incorporating walking for exercise in once my skin gets to a point where it can tolerate a little over heating (aka basically when I start sweating - which I have yet to do except in 2 small areas).

Other things I am doing:  I started with herbal salves for my skin 2 days ago.  Again not expecting any changes anytime soon, but will be documenting my skin every week to see if there is any consistent change.  The salves do not last as long on my skin for being able to move with less pain, but they feel better on my skin than the vaseline.

I am also going to start juicing.  I do not plan to do a juice fast anytime soon, but that is in the future.  Right now I just plan to add more greens to my diet and healthy juice to bring in more nutrients and vitamins my skin needs.

Again, I am not looking for any miracles, or whatnot.  Nor do I believe any specific food group causes the flares to be worse or better.  I just believe in providing my body with as many nutrients as possible to achieve optimal healing.  I also believe in not over taxing our bodies to have to use excessive energy processing processed foods when that energy can best be used in healing my skin.

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