Anyway, this post is not about my hairy legs. I just threw that in there because it is such a fascinating story, right? Also, I'm not one to nag or lecture, but let me just encourage you that in the moment when you are deciding if you want to be white or old looking, go with white.
Okay, so the real reason for this post- I am going to share with y'all some of my new favorite things. And, they kind of make me seem like a hippie named Rainbow who likes to pick daisies and sing "We Are the World". Oh well. Whatever floats your boat. The reason I'm really sharing is because I know several of my blogging buddies have shared their health and weight loss struggles and I've been wanting to share some things that have really helped me. I have been diagnosed with endometriosis, which is pretty much a chronic illness that borders on an autoimmune disease like Lupus. I try to spare y'all a lot of medical details, but as I research and read more and more I realize that there are SO many women suffering from similar problems to what I've experienced. I was going to have surgery over a year ago and didn't. I'm so glad I didn't. I know many women benefit greatly from surgery, but thankfully I have been able to make lifestyle and dietary changes that have made a world of difference for me. I've also fallen off of the wagon and know that my health and well-being are very dependent on this being a lifestyle change for me.
Basically, I have to live as naturally as possible (while still shaving my legs). This has been a long, slow, baby step process for me and that is why I haven't talked about it more. I know that I still have many changes to make and I also know that what works for me will not necessarily work for someone else. But, I have learned so much from other women who have shared the things that they've tried, so I thought it might help somebody else to read about the changes I've made. And anyone who knows me well knows that if I can do this ANYBODY can do it!!
First, I have given up dairy, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, refined sugar, processed foods, and I limit my wheat and red meat. I take a multi-vitamin, a calcium supplement with vitamin D, a B complex and Biotin in the morning and garlic oil and a probiotic at night. I'm still figuring out the whole supplement thing, but basically I've just been working to get my immune system back in shape. You can go HERE to see the website that sparked this journey for me. I first tried this diet change last spring and I thought it was going to kill me! It didn't. It really helped me. Like made me feel like a new woman. Then, I decided to cheat and it all went downhill from there and I ended up feeling even worse than I had way back in the beginning. The truth is that if you can survive the first 2 weeks of withdrawing from caffeine, sugar and dairy, you really won't crave it. I'm serious. I am a girl who would go get 2 candy bars every night because I was CRAVING them. I couldn't live without them. Now, sometimes it is hard to be around desserts, but it's more of a mental wanting them. There is no physical craving for them. I also found other ways to satisfy my sweet tooth. This is my go to, on the run, need a snack, food.
I'm eating this right now as I type. :) Nuts and seeds are really good for you, they fill you up and the raisins are the perfect sweet touch. Bananas and celery and peanut butter are also "desserts" for me. I know a lot of people who worry about the fat in nuts and peanut butter, but most of it is good fat, and really when you can't eat sugar, dairy or processed food, you don't have to worry too much about eating some nuts.
It would not be possible for me to do this if I didn't have convenience foods like my trail mix, but I am trying really hard to eat more and more fresh foods. Something that I read I needed to eat was barley and lentils. Y'all I didn't even know what those are. Nobody at the Pig knew either. Finally I found the barley in the section with grits and oatmeal. I found a couple of recipes for barley and realized that I really like it. Just this last week I made this barley and lentil soup. I won't lie, I wasn't holding my breath for culinary excellence, but again I really liked it. Soups are great to make and have for lunch throughout the week.
The food has obviously been a big change, but I soon realized that I didn't need to just change what was going into my body through my mouth. Last time I drew the line at changing my hair and skincare products. I mean seriously, I can't eat anything and my hair has to be frizzy????? I am still working on this one. I recently ordered two new products that I have been so happy with. The first is Theraneem shampoo. Everybody in my family has started using it and Josh and Eli were the two who told me how soft their hair feels now. :)
The second is Neem and Turmeric face wash. I LOVE this face wash. It is organic and it makes my skin feel amazing. I created my own hair product using sunflower oil and vanilla. I know Josh thought I was crazy, but now he uses it and thinks it is the greatest thing ever. It doesn't take much at all and I love using it on Kate's hair to calm the frizz and make her curls shine. I love knowing that it is all natural.
In addition to hair and skincare I've totally changed how I clean. I was always under the impression that my house wasn't clean unless it smelled like bleach and Mr. Clean with Febreze. I don't know if my cleaning products were causing any problems for me or not, but when I started reading about cleaning with vinegar and baking soda I got so excited about coming up with new stuff that I decided to give it a try. I use vinegar to clean my toilets and rubbing alcohol to clean windows and mirrors. I get ridiculously excited about using vinegar and baking soda to clean the drains and stains on the carpet. They fizz. :) I'm pretty sure Josh thinks he's married a mad scientist. Or a witch dr. Or a girl who needs a life. Whatever. My most favorite cleaning product is this one I found on Pinterest. It is so easy to make and cleans so well. It makes everything shiny. It is also super cheap to make.
(Kate washed the dishes for me tonight and you can see how much dish soap I have left. :) I haven't used the essential oil in it yet because I don't have any and I have yet to find any in our neck of the woods. I did find this set today and it brought about an excitement that was once reserved for new purses and haircuts. I'm telling ya, I've gotten really weird. :)
New projects I'm researching now are deodorant and facial moisturizers. Have any of you tried any natural products? What was your experience? Is there something you would like to try?
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