5 Ways I’m Reviving My Health

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I am not a doctor, none of the information on any of these pages pertaining to the Ketogenic Diet or Adrenal Fatigue should be considered medical advice and should not replace the care of your personal physician. I am simply eager to share the information I have learned while on my own journey to health. Before you embark on this journey, please consult with your physician.

2015 was the year I got very authentic on A Little R & R.

I started off by talking about my Adrenal Fatigue, and then began sharing about my food addiction, my battle with comfort eating, and even for a while did vlogs about my desire to improve my health.

That year I ended up with horrible eczema that began eating up my right hand, and rendered it basically useless. I had to type my posts with my left hand until the radical combined treatment of cortisone shots, pills, and 2 kinds of creams helped to clear it up.

It was at that point that I realized that I was the worst I’d ever been.

Lack of adequate sleep, stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise all contribute to health risks, depression, and chronic health struggles. Here is how I'm reviving my health this year.

It was very much a roller coaster from there.

I would start to get better, and then I’d have a set back: a virus, my gall-bladder removal, stress that I couldn’t control….

sometimes I was just too tired to care, so I’d just throw my hands in the air and sing Que Sera Sera and leave behind the diet, vitamins, and exercise. I didn’t care anymore.

It was in February of 2017 when I spent 9 hours on the couch moaning and thrashing about after dinner.

By that time, I was having migraine headaches every 2 weeks for 4-5 days at a time. I would have severe stomach cramping after meals, and keeping a food diary only proved that it was very random and made no sense at all.

I was desperate.

I just wanted to be healthy! And all of the effort I’d made, all the supplements I’d tried, and all of the things I’d been told to do didn’t get me as far as I needed to be by this point.

It was at that low point that I stumbled on a YouTube video about low-carb / high-fat eating.

I figured it was about the only thing I hadn’t tried, so I may as well give it a shot. What did I have to lose, right? I was at rock bottom, and the only place to go from there was up!

My research led me to the Ketogenic diet.

Since I was desperately in need of a radical change, I decided to take a radical move and start the very next day. I threw myself in with both feet – kicked everything non-ketogenic to the curb and just did it!

The results were astounding!

My migraines completely disappeared, as did my stomach pain. The thin skin where my eczema had been became normal, and my energy levels began to rise.

One-by-one the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue began to fade.

I am by no means cured….yet.

But I am far better than I was a year ago. I am coming up on the one-year anniversary of beginning what I now call the “Ketogenic Lifestyle” – because after having taken a break during the holidays, I’ve found that it is a way of eating I need to stick to.

I feel much better when I simply follow this way of eating.

Now that the holidays are over and we’re back to our routine, here are 5 ways that I’m reviving my health

1.  Prayer

It would be very easy to chalk all the success I’ve had in healing my Adrenal Fatigue to diet, light exercise, supplements, and my efforts to control my stress and get more rest.

But to do so would be failing to give glory where it is first due – and that is to the Lord.

I can do all the right things, but God is the One who has created this body. And if I don’t first go to Him in prayer and ask for wisdom, I’ve got things out of order.

He is the One who has given me the wisdom to know what to do to help my body heal.

Yes, he could have chosen to heal me instantly. I do believe miraculous healing still happens.

But I believe that God has wisely chosen to heal me this way, because this process: the struggle, the desperation, and the searching for answers has done two things:

  • It has taught me empathy, when before I was so arrogant and judgmental of those with chronic illness.
  • It has taught me discipline, when before I just wanted to eat what I wanted when I wanted it. I was daily making my body sick and diseased with my comfort eating and food addiction.

2. Diet

The Ketogenic Diet, or lifestyle – as I choose to call it – is a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet. I keep my carb intake to between 20 – 35 grams of carbs a day – mainly from vegetables.

It requires discipline, meal planning, and food preparation. But the one thing I’ve found is that there is a lot less planning and food prep needed for this diet than for any other diet I’ve tried before.

 

If you’d like to learn more about the Ketogenic Diet, you can visit a little blog I’ve set up to help people get started.

3. Light exercise and fresh air

One of the struggles with Adrenal Fatigue is learning how much exercise you can do without crashing. Adrenal Fatigue sufferers need exercise, but too much will cause the body to undergo too much stress and the adrenal output will be too much, causing a crash, which can last weeks or even months.

I have found that making sure I get in 6,000-7,000 steps a day is optimal.

And my goal this year is to daily get some fresh air – take a short walk, walk around my yard….just get fresh air!

4. Lower stress

The final few months of 2017 were high stress. Very high stress.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been under that amount of stress and anxiety. I was battling a combination of my own perfectionism, fear of the future, and the mistaken assumption that I can be super-mom.

This is the infamous combination that won me Adrenal Fatigue in the first place (well, minus super-mom, because I wasn’t a mom yet then – but let’s just say “Super Woman”)

Going in to 2018, I’m determined to lower my personal standards and pray that prayer, “Lord, increase my faith”.

5.  Accountability

Last year I started a coaching group on Facebook for the Ketogenic Diet. I did for two reasons:

  • I was daily getting messages from family and friends with questions about the diet, many of which were repeated by others.
  • I needed personal accountability. I needed the encouragement and push to keep going on the days when I was tired, craving pizza, or wanted a Snickers bar.

Accountability is powerful!

I need daily accountability to remind myself that my health isn’t just about me, it’s about having the energy and stamina to serve my family each day.

They can’t afford to have me on the couch, tired, fatigued, sick, and unable to function.

They deserve a mom who is vibrant, eager, energized, and ready and willing to meet their needs. That’s what God has called me to.

If I want to fulfill that call, I must make health a priority.

Here are more articles I’ve written on health, adrenal fatigue and weight loss:

16 Ways Stay-at-Home Moms Can Get More Steps

The Acceptable Addiction

My Version of the Singing Canary

Homemade Chicken Stock

How I’ve Lost 40 Lbs and Kept It Off

Weight Loss Starts From the Inside Out

4 Tools I’ve Used to Lose Weight

4 Things I’ve Done to Lose Weight and Keep It Off

Made to Crave Email Book Study

How to Have a Stressed-less Life

3 Ways to Differentiate the Urgent From the Important

Give Yourself Permission to Disappoint

4 Ways to Respond When You’re Out of Control

Adrenal Fatigue – What is it and how do you know you have it

Adrenal Fatigue and Stress

Adrenal Fatigue and Supplements That Help

Adrenal Fatigue and Food

Adrenal Fatigue and Exercise

Rosilind
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6 Comments

  1. Rosalind, I had a friend on Fb mention needing affs for her FaithPLR content and immediately thought of you. Which, led me to find your blog again. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed reading your story.

    “I need daily accountability to remind myself that my health isn’t just about me, it’s about having the energy and stamina to serve my family each day.” YES. Exactly why I keep plugging away at taking care of this body. It’s not mine, it’s God’s.

    My son developed eczema after a breakup. Never had it before. It was to the point where he was depressed and didn’t want to leave the house. Finally, after trying many creams, removing certain foods, etc that he tried to eliminate all animal products. It worked or works for the most part. He still has flare-ups but nowhere near to the point he had before. Stress makes it worse too.

    God uses what we go through to comfort others.

    1. I’m so gad you found me again!! I, too, have eczema that’s related to diet and stress. It’s amazing how this seemingly small things have a huge impact on our bodies. Mine was so bad at one point, my right hand was entirely useless. Thankfully, lowering my stress and limiting my carbs to non-starchy veg alone has cleared it up completely. But I have to be careful. Stress or too many carbs will make it return.

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