3 Months into my Plant Based Lifestyle
As mentioned back in this post (here), I made the decision to experiment with my diet and do a complete turnaround from paleo to plant based. In particular, a high carb – low fat plant based lifestyle.
You can see more about why I’m doing this (here).
As I write this, it’s been over 3 months of eating this way, and I thought I’d share how I’m going/feeling with you. Curious? Grab your cuppa and here we go . . .
The Beginning
As much as the first 5-6 weeks were tough due to all the detox symptoms from headaches, flu like symptoms, fatigue and bloating, I truly felt like I was on the right path. The more I researched, listened to podcasts and ate in this way, it was like my body was exhaling for the first time in a long time. I was starting to taste food again, feel hunger again and my digestion was DEFINITELY working again!
I’ll be honest with you, I was actually surprised by all the detox symptoms I was having, considering I wasn’t coming from a Standard Western Diet.
For the past 5-6 years, I’ve been very conscious of the foods I eat, having slowly removed inflammatory foods from gluten, dairy, soy, corn and refined sugars, having increased significantly the amount of organic veggies I eat, removing all toxins from my home and personal care products AS WELL AS working closely with a naturopath to help balance any deficiencies. However, just by removing meat and eggs, it was like my body was hit by a bulldozer.
Right Now
Having 2 Autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto’s and ITP), SIBO, thyroid nodules, sky rocketing thyroid antibodies, recently developed fibroids and now a mild case of fatty liver – I acknowledge that my healing journey is most probably going to be a long and winding one, and even now just past the 3 month mark, I am (being honest again) still dealing with a few of these detox symptoms as well as my “usual” chronic symptoms, which have included (overall):
Digestive issues (including parasites and SIBO)
Weight gain
Fatigue
Swelling Thyroid (Thyroiditis)
Increased antibodies
Thyroid nodules
Restless legs
Tinnitus
Headaches (detox symptom)
Flu symptoms (detox symptom)
Even though it’s only been such a short time, I’ve been unfortunately playing the compare game lately – comparing my progress to the success stories I’ve been reading that have had HUGE changes in such a short amount of time. I’ve had to really pull myself into line with this. We’re all different (something I preach all the time) so of course our healing journey will be different also. I need to let go of the impatience I feel and what the outcome will be and simply enjoy the journey. Easier said than done some days, but I’m getting better.
So what’s actually changed so far
Digestion | This is still up and down – I can be bloated one hour and not the next. However now, I’m having much longer periods of NO bloating at all, and when I am, it is nowhere near as bad. Note – I have not been addressing SIBO with my naturopath at the moment. We felt getting my health more stable was first priority
Bowels | Working EVERY DAY! (Sorry maybe a little TMI) Things still aren’t quite right, however I believe this is still due to my body detoxing
Weight Gain | A slight decrease, but a decrease all the same considering the amount I had put on. So far I’ve shed 5kg
Headaches | Gone!
Flu Like Symptoms | Gone!
Fatigue | Some days better than others, but overall I have way more energy. I’m no longer dragging my feet and feel a little stronger each yoga and pilates class I attend
Thyroid | Latest blood tests show I’ve moved slightly into HypERthyroidism, meaning I’m a little overmedicated at the moment. My latest Thyroid Ultrasound also shows the nodules have not grown (thankful) however they’ve also not reduced in size, but I’ll take any win I can get
Restless Legs | I only realised the other day that I haven’t had this in weeks!
Tinnitus | This symptom only developed earlier this year – and in fact I had to have a neighbour come over as I thought I was hearing things (haha). It comes and goes, but again, like my restless legs, I actually haven’t noticed it in ages
Blood Sugar | My fasting blood sugar levels are lower than ever. They’ve never been too bad, but they’re sooo much better. I just wanted to add this comment here, in answer to questions I get about the amount of fruit I’ve been eating.
What other changes have I’ve noticed so far
Hunger | Feeling hunger again. When I was Paleo – I would sometimes only eat 2 meals a day and even then I was never really “hungry” for them. It was purely out of habit that I would eat. Now, I’m loving that gurgling feeling, knowing that my body’s ready for re-fuelling and that it’s digested what I’ve already eaten
Satisfaction | I’m loving every mouthful of food I eat from my smoothies and smoothie bowls to my veggie packed salads (yes, even in Winter!) Especially when I eat fruit! It’s like my body is completely satiated from top to bottom and feels utterly content. I wake up with a smile on my face knowing a big bowl of greens and fruits awaits me
Overview so far
I’m still 100% happy. Again, as mentioned above, I’m still dealing with symptoms and I still have a long way to go, but my body feels so much lighter. It’s a really subtle feeling, but I love it. I’m enjoying experimenting with foods and I’d forgotten how much I loved fruit! Just the thought of it makes me smile. So my plan right at this moment is to continue on my merry way, noting down any other changes and hopefully seeing my body respond positively even more in the next coming weeks/months. I’ll keep you posted!
