getting healthy

Yesterday I started a purification cleanse.  There are so many reasons I am doing this, but it all comes down to me getting healthy.  Many people would wonder why I need to get healthy.  From the outside, I look healthy, I act healthy..... but I'm not.  I've shared before that I have Hashimoto's Thyroid Disease.  Most of what I've been dealing with for about 9 years (if not longer) seems to be because of this disease, but how can we know for sure...  Over the last 9 years, since my son was born, I have seen several doctors. I was happy that one found the Hashimoto's, but then the care just didn't deliver what was promised.  I went to another endocrinologist who was promising, but then left town.  The last one I had been seeing just kept my levels 'normal', and never seemed to really care that at practically every visit I complained of muscle and joint ache, fatigue, and anxiety or depression.  This is apparently too common of an issue regarding the patient/doctor relationship when it comes to a lot of 'silent' illnesses.  I was excited that I would be moving to this area where more doctors were available.  I had already decided that i was going to be searching for a new doctor, so this just made it super convenient.  :)

Since moving here, I have found a fabulous chiropractor and an internal medicine doctor.  Both are listening to me.  Both believe that just checking blood levels is not enough.  Both want to help me feel better. Both believe that it is unacceptable for me to continue to survive when I want to THRIVE.
Soooo, long story short (I will share more as this process continues), my chiropractor told me about a hair analysis she uses to check mineral levels and how all of those work with each other.  The hair can actually tell more of what is going on in your body over months versus blood that tells what is going on recently - our blood is constantly getting 'cleaned', whereas hair grows out and has data from weeks upon weeks....   I was actually happy with the results because it shows that all of my mineral levels are down!  I know, that doesn't sound like happy news, but I was so glad to hear that I AM NOT LOSING MY MIND.  There IS a reason I feel terrible so often!  There IS a reason that I feel like I have hardly any energy!  And on and on and so forth....
My doc said I was one of the most exhausted cases she's seen, and well as having the highest toxicity.  (I'm so special, I told her.)

So here's the deal-i-o.  I am currently doing a 21 day cleanse (I've been wanting to do one before, but didn't want to just do something I'd read on the internet because I was afraid I'd hurt myself!) that basically consists of eating only fruits and vegetables for 10 days (with some spices/seasonings) and then adding small amounts of lean meats for the remaining 11 days.  Throughout the whole time I will take supplements.  Today I am thinking about Dr. Pepper a lot!!  Some of you know how I feel about this life juice we call Dr. Pepper.  It is a huge love of mine.  It tastes so good and bubbly and just has that ....   Oi, I must stop talking about it.        Then after that I will begin to rebuild my mineral levels with healthier eating, exercise, and supplements.  After 90 days we will do another hair analysis to see how things are going.  I have also changed what type of thyroid medicine I am on, and can tell a difference.

So far it's not going tooooo badly, but I am hungry.  Plus I had caught a cold, so I can't really tell if I'm having any side effects what with an already yucky head and the usual body aches.  I kind of feel like I'm trying to 'catch' an illness, but again..... the cold, etc.....  I will admit that I've had a few woe-is-me times, especially yesterday.  The first day.  Not a great sign, but I'll hang in there.  I am finally mentally ready to take the drastic-ish measures I have to in order to get healthy.  I want to have more energy!  I want to be able to plan things and not worry about how I may wake up feeling that day.  I want to run around outside with my kids and not feel like my legs are gonna disintegrate 5 minutes (if that long) later.  I want to keep my house clean and not sit on the couch looking at a mess because I can not physically make myself lift anything beyond my body.  I want to be surprised at how great I feel one day and know that this hard work is worth it.

I am trying new things, and will be making my family try them, too.  ha!!  But they still get to eat other good things, too.  I made some kale chips yesterday.  Let me just say that all the people on Pinterest who said that those things are so tasty and they never want potato chips again are LIARS.   Sorry, we shouldn't call people liars, I know.  And everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I'm hungry.  Leave me alone.  Those kale chips are toasted weeds.  Yuck.  I was a good girl and choked down several, but nope.  I threw the rest away today after I had put them in a ziplock yesterday pretending that I would try again.  No thanks.  No bueno.  Not gonna eat 'em.
I have pinned (Pinterest word) several yummy looking recipes for clean eating veggies.  And I'm looking forward to finding new nutritious dishes to make.  But they will probably taste even better next to a big juicy grilled ribeye....

with an ice cold Dr. Pepper.

and warm chocolate chip cookies.