Progress!

I’m pleased to report, and to have somewhere to talk about this! I’m just not talking much about this to anyone. DH knows I have a plan and I feel hopeful, so he’s glad, but I can tell his is also skeptical by how he looks at what I’m eating! That’ ok. I’m not telling everyone, because I’ve done that in the past, and then felt like a liar when the latest sure thing failed me. I’m glad to have these forums! Thank you, Matt.

So, progress? Yes. I started this at the beginning of this month (Feb 2014) with low temps (my readings are ?C) and a general feeling of “not well” and a realization that I’ve gained a lot of weight back. Again. I’ve been in the ETF group on Facebook (Amber Rogers) and getting the idea that I could get healthy and eat, and glad for that, but honestly, I just kept feeling tired and not well. I was almost to the point of going to the doctor for her input (not something I do very often!). Instead I started reading. Amber’s book, Taking Up Space, and somehow I got the link for Matt’s Diet Recovery 2 and then I got Eat for Heat. I decided it made sense and felt good, and so I made some changes. Mostly with eating. I also started to back off exercise and shift into healing mode.

Even just the other day, about three weeks in, I had a bad night, I felt so full and uncomfortable after dinner and my temps were not great, I thought, what am I doing??? I decided the next morning to go back to the books (Diet Recovery 2 and Eat for Heat) for encouragement and review and I stopped by here to read, and then it seemed to really turn. When I look at my records my temps were steadily increasing. I seem to have hit on some great tasting and warming foods for me. (Homemade with milk hot chocolate and big toast with butter, peanut butter and honey for breakfast and a toasted cheese sandwich with a slice of beef in it, for lunch, and I’m liking warm milk with molasses in the afternoon! and ice cream and chocolate, but mashed potatoes, unfortunately are just not doing it for me.) I think if I get it right in the morning and for lunch, I can eat what I like in the evening. Before the meltdown evening I actually had a dream about eating raw vegetables! I think I can find a way to get more in, but I can see that my meat and salad lunch was NOT warming.

Anyway, the news is my temps are soaring! I woke up this morning to 36.5 and after breakfast was 37.3! Both above the targets! This fire is stoked. I have been napping and sleeping more and exercising less. I have given myself permission to rest and refeed and heal. I’m open to exercise when it feels right, because it feels good to move, and that’s all. I really believe that the rest and food is doing more for me and my health than any exercise will at this point. So, progress. I’m feeling better. I’m eating. I’m enjoying food and the guilt is really reduced. And I can measure my progress with my temps, oh, and my nicely yellow pee. :) I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. No hurry. I want to see if I can keep the temps up, then I’ll start to ease back into some exercise, but I’ll back off if it lowers my temps. I also stopped drinking water, except added to juice or squash (British fruit drink, I found one with sugar!). And my mouth is actually less dry. It’s all good, and I’m grateful.