In Perilous Danger of Becoming a Crunchy Granola Person

This is a follow-up post to the previous one (titled "Why I'm Always Cold", if you care to go read that first). I promised an update as I continue with some revised eating patterns.

Well, it might be starting to get out of control.

Not in terms of my body, though. That part is doing great. As of Sunday morning I was down 7 pounds total from where I started the morning I began this change of food habits. (The word "diet" does not seem fitting for what I'm doing, since I'm still eating plenty and I do not feel deprived.) I feel better and am no longer caffeine-dependent. I say this with some pride, as my Diet Coke habit has been tough to kick in the past. I had a small Diet Coke at McDonald's on Sunday morning and wasn't really that into it. Before we left, I rinsed out my cup and refilled it with ice water. I'm still having a Spark in the morning most of the time, but on Saturday I forgot. And guess what... I was fine. No caffeine-deprivation headaches, no sleepy-time crashing... nada. I've been walking on my breaks at work when the weather's nice, and I'm starting to actually like the exercise. I think it stabilizes my mood throughout the day a bit. My job can be pretty stressful, and there have been a lot of days in the past where by the time I got home I did not want to talk to humans for a while. I haven't had any of those days in the last couple of weeks, and I'm not sure if the change in food and exercise is what did it, but I'm sure it didn't hurt.

No, the trouble started when I started reading some of the other articles that were on some of the sites I was getting recipes for "clean" foods from. It seems that one thing leads to another in this lifestyle... you stop eating stuff with a bunch of weird chemicals in it, and suddenly you become aware of the zillions of other weird chemicals that you're ingesting/absorbing without really meaning to.

Before I go any further, let me pull over and park (as Ron would say). Inevitably when we discuss this subject, someone makes the comment, "But EVERYTHING is made of chemicals!" Yes, that's true. Some of those chemicals are even naturally ocurring, and some of those naturally occurring ones are even meant to be in your body. But when I say "chemicals", I am speaking of the man-made ones that you can't spell or pronounce without a chemistry degree that most likely do not belong in your body. I'd copy something off of a bottle of Diet Coke as an example, except I don't have one of those in the house. 

Getting back on the road (parking over!), I happen to be female. This seems to be inextricably linked to the use of various cosmetic products... shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, deodorants, shave gels, body wash, foundations, eyeshadows, mascaras... the list goes on and on. Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and something I read (don't know for sure if it's true but it certainly sounds plausible) stated that any sort of chemical you put on your skin is absorbed into your bloodstream in less than 30 seconds. Go read the ingredient labels of some of your cosmetic products, ladies. Decide how many of those things you actually WANT in your bloodstream. It's going to be pretty close to zero, if your bathroom is anything like mine was. 

Let me take this opportunity to say that my husband is an amazing human. He did not complain when I went out and spent probably far too much money on ingredients. He did not bat an eyelash when I took over the kitchen and made my own shampoo and conditioner. He did not comment when I *used* said homemade shampoo and conditioner. And that was day one. 

Day two I made my own deodorant. I even put it in an old deodorant container (I may have accidentally thrown away the last quarter inch or so of existing deodorant after reading the label), so I can dial it up just like regular deodorant. So far, no complaints. It's sort of a dark gray, which looks a little funny, but it goes on clear. The husband even justified that a little. When I asked him if he knew what kind of chemicals were in deodorant and that some of them were carcinogens, he said something about how we put it under our arms right where the lymph nodes are. He didn't complain about the homemade deodorant (nor has he complained about me being smelly, so I guess it's working). 

Day three we were cleaning the house. He was vacuuming the carpet in his "man cave" room, and noted that the carpet was smelly and that we needed to get some Carpet Fresh. The first thing out of my mouth was, "I think they have that at Dollar Tree." The next thing to pop into my head was, "Wow, I wonder how many nasties are in that stuff?" And I fled to Pinterest, which has become my first source of DIY info. About ten minutes later I brought him a "repurposed" frosting container (frosting recently tossed in garbage, because eew) with holes punched in the lid. "Try this," I said. We applied it generously to the carpet, waited a bit, then vacuumed. He admitted there was an improvement, though he informed me he did not prefer citrus cents. 

This "carpet fresh" was comprised of exactly two things. Baking soda and essential oil (sweet orange). 

Tonight when he was headed through the kitchen on his way to bed (he's not feeling well so he turned in early), I was standing at the stove over an improvised double boiler. Mind you, I don't know how to cook very well. He asked me teasingly, "What kind of meth are you cooking now?" I informed him that what was in the double boiler was beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil, and what was in the bowl on the counter was honey, olive oil, and sweet orange essential oil, and that the two were just about to be combined and then poured into that muffin tin over there to make lotion bars. He just nodded and said okay, and made me promise to put at least a little money in my savings account this pay period. I get paid Thursday, so that's an easy promise. And I informed him that while it might be more of an investment initially to get the raw materials, it'll probably be cheaper in the long run since I'll be making stuff instead of buying it. 

After he went to bed, I made body spray. The lotion bars are cooling in the fridge. I am excited about them. They smell yummy. I'm also learning how to clean wax off of kitchen things. I think I will probably break down and get some cheap stuff at Goodwill that I use exclusively for my "meth-cooking". 

I also had a brief panic attack yesterday about plastic containers. Specifically, re-heating my lunch in plastic containers, because those things leach nasty chemicals when they get too hot or too cold. Ran to Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree came through for me. I now have glass containers with plastic snap-on lids. I got 3 of them to start, so $3. Yay! 

So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I've gone a bit crunchy. Not entirely... I still dyed my hair tonight (it was too yellow), but then I followed it up with homemade conditioner. I am not yet insisting on all organic produce, nor do I forsee that happening (though I may buy some things organic). I plan to contiue experimenting with less toxic homemade versions of household cleaners and cosmetics. The scarcity of mango butter in Portland is the only thing stopping me from making some killer body lotion right now (that and I just used the last of my beeswax in the lotion bars that I made because I couldn't find mango butter, so they were my second pick). 

The boys don't like my chia seed pudding (I happen to love it!) but they've at least been accepting and supportive of me while I'm trying something new. And who knows... we might all be better for it.

I made a cinnamon/honey/lemon face mask tonight. It was slightly runny.

Why I'm Always Cold

This is going to be one of those boring, "I learned something about myself and I'm putting it in writing" posts, so if that doesn't interest you, move along... :-)

Last weekend I was on Facebook creeping around other people's posts, and I read over a conversation going on between my friend The Empress (The Empress knows who she is) and several of her friends. One of her friends mentioned that she'd recently discovered she had hypothyroid and listed some of the symptoms she'd been experiencing, and I was like, "Whoa! That sounds familiar!"

I started doing some research. Symptoms that I experience on a regular basis that can be linked to hypothyroid (though there are over 300 possible symptoms that can be stand-alone or linked to a thyroid problem) are: weight gain, difficulty losing weight, feeling cold all the time, cold hands and feet, stiff/sore muscles (for me it's the calves in particular always feel like they have knots in them), sleep problems (can't go to sleep in under 30 minutes to save my life), acne, foggy thinking, slow recovery after activity (I can exercise but then I can't think about doing it again for a couple of days at least), carpal tunnel, retention of fluids, dry skin (why is my skin dry when I'm retaining fluids!?!), digestive issues, and I used to have gallstones before I had my gallbladder removed years ago. The fact that I could tick that many boxes on a list of 50 possible symptoms (and even more on a list of 300 that I found), made me start to wonder if maybe there wasn't something to this thing.

Unfortunately, the only way to diagnose with 100% certainty is medical testing, and I'm still in the process of getting insurance, and Cover Oregon is slow. However, I did read many articles written by diagnosed hypothyroid sufferers who had made great improvements to their condition and even reduced the amount of medication they needed to take for it simply by changing their diet.

First off, I learned that most people with thyroid issues have low levels of Vitamin D, magnesium, and selenium. I already had Vitamin D supplements in the house (though I wasn't taking them), and acquiring magnesium supplements was easy enough. Grocery store. Selenium, as I learned is best obtained from a natural source. The best and easiest way to get all the selenium you need in a day is to eat 3-4 Brazil nuts. What's harder is finding Brazil nuts that aren't in a can of mixed nuts. Finally found them in bulk at Fred Meyer after checking a few other stores I visit more regularly. 

While at Fred Meyer I stumbled upon quinoa pasta. I am already a lover of quinoa, and I am also a lover of pasta. Unfortunately, most pasta is made with wheat, and wheat is a thing that a hypothyroid person does well to avoid. 

One article I read estimated that 90% of hypothyroid cases are linked to AITD (Auto-Immune Thyroid Disorder). Apparently the protein in gluten, called gliadin, is nearly twinsies with your thyroid in terms of molecular structure. Close enough that when gliadin gets out into your bloodstream, your immune system goes into "kill it with fire" mode. And while your body is out killing gliadin, it also starts killing your thyroid because it looks pretty much the same on a molecular level. It's a case of mistaken identity, really, but the end result is that if you do have AITD, eating gluten causes your body to attack its own thyroid gland. Scary stuff. Even worse, one article I read suggested that if you eat gluten it can take your body six months to stand down red alert and stop trying to kill gliadin or things that look a lot like it (like... your thyroid). So gluten is really the biggest no-no unless you're among the 10% that doesn't have the AITD and just have thyroid problems because of something else.

Another thing on the big-time naughty list for hypothyroid diet was artificial sweeteners (and indeed processed foods of pretty much any kind). This made me kind of sad, as my Diet Coke addiction is well known, and it's sweetened with aspartame, which is one of the worst offenders on the artificial sweetener spectrum. 

I've done flirtations with the so-called "Paleo Diet" before (even fairly recently), but it was my love affair with pasta and Diet Coke that undid me every time. Quinoa pasta, while slightly more expensive than the regular stuff, fills the void and is gluten-free. I'm hoping that will help me stay the course this time, and I shall explain why in a bit.

I've tried to quit Diet Coke before too, and each time the caffeine-deprivation headaches, which were pretty intense and sometimes went on for four days or longer, would make me go crawling back to the nearest 7-Eleven. As it turns out, however, The Empress is a purveyor of Advocare products, which are good stuff and should be checked out if you're into that sort of thing. One of the goods available from Advocare is a miraculous little thing called Spark. It is a power which is mixed into water. It has some caffeine in it, yes, but the rest of it is chock-full of vitaminy goodness and none of the weird unpronounceable chemicals that are in Diet Coke (or any other soda, really). So I purchased a box from the Empress, made my plan, and resolved to try it for a week to see how I felt. I'm only 6 days in right now, and here's the update:

I weighed myself Monday morning and initially told myself that I wouldn't do it again until Friday morning. Yeah, that lasted about two days. I weighed in for the first time Wednesday morning. At that point I was already down two pounds. (Please note that I weigh at exactly the same time of day on the same scale, in the same spot, and wearing nothing so clothes don't confuse the issue.) Thursday I was down two more.  Friday morning I was down another 0.8, and this morning (Saturday), another 0.2, for a grand total of 5 pounds lost in only 6 days. This much, however, is probably only apparent to me and the scale at this point because I have many pounds to lose. The fun continues in the next paragraph, however.

I felt a little sluggish Monday and Tuesday as I tried to adapt to both an abrupt change in diet and the sudden absence of a Diet Coke in my hand. The Spark, however, helped to keep the headaches minimal. By Wednesday morning, though, I noticed that I had gotten out of bed more easily and felt

less like I was dragging through my day. This feeling increased on Thursday, and Friday it felt like the world wasn't keeping up with me. This morning (Saturday), I woke up warm. You don't even know what that's like for me. I got out of bed and I was warm. I took a shower and stayed warm. I came out into the kitchen and made breakfast and continued being warm. I went to the store and was comfortably warm, and it is NOT warm outside today. Generally I am too cold unless the mercury rises above 70 degrees. Today's high was 61. At the time I was out we probably hadn't hit 60 yet. It just felt like my metabolism had turned itself on today. I kept eating a little something and then being hungry an hour or so later and eating something else, then getting hungry again an hour or so later and eating something. Today I've been feeling pretty incredible. Not much like myself, but more like the self I'd like to be. 

So, here's a rundown of what a food day is looking like for me right now:

Breakfast:

Either a scrambled egg with ham and cheese OR gluten-free banana pancake with blueberries (I learned that if you mash up a banana and mix an egg, then cook it, it's pretty much a pancake. Who knew??)

Snack:

3 Brazil nuts and either banana chips OR clementine oranges

Lunch: 

Either quinoa pasta OR straight up quinoa, with side dishes of raw cucumbers, red bell peppers, a string cheese, and lots of Tajin. If you're not familiar with Tajin, look it up and then get some. It will change your life (and your vegetables) for the better.

Dinner:

Whatever we make around the house. I'm not yet forcing Train and the Chamaco to eat like me, so if Train cooks I eat what he cooked, just less of it than I used to. When I cook I've been trying to make things that, if not completely friendly to clean eating, are at least only slightly horrible.

Since I've had good results in the first six days, I plan to continue. Updates will probably follow. :-)

 Picture is completely unrelated, but I like it.

Life Updates

Well... I've just realized I haven't posted anything for 4 months. Oops. Some stuff happened in between then and now. 

Most notably, Train and I got married on March 22, 2014. 

That's us in the middle, if you couldn't figure it out. The gentleman on the right is Eduardo Gándara, the preacher who married us, and the lovely lady on the left is his wife Aracely. 

We weren't actually scheduled to leave on our honeymoon until March 29th, so on March 23rd we took a "mini-honeymoon" to the Oregon Coast (about a 2 hr drive for us). 

As you can see, dorky pictures ensued.

We left on March 29th to go on our honeymoon to Bora Bora, which was the experience of a lifetime and someplace that most people will probably never see. Due to the fact that it's so remote and a bit pricey, it's not as huge of a travel destination as Hawaii is. However, it's definitely worth seeing if you're able, because this:

Looks horrible, right? I won't burden your browser with an overabundance of photos (those who are friends with me on FB have probably already seen them anyway), but we did all kinds of crazy things like swimming with sharks and stingrays, a jet-ski tour around the entire island, we spent an afternoon   on a "private" island, and all kinds of fun stuff. 

Since we came back we've settled into a comfortable married routine. We're starting a garden. We're planning our next roadtrip (Yellowstone in late June). The Chamaco is just about to finish sixth grade. The house stays mostly clean. Life, overall, is extremely good and I feel very, very blessed. I'm also looking forward to a week of 80 degree days ahead, which is not normal for our area in mid-May. 

When I started this blog post I was intending to combine two topics, but I've just changed my mind! Therefore, this post is just the general bringing up to speed of the last few months, and the next post shall be just the excitement of the last week or so. (At least *I* think it's exciting. Whether or not you will I guess is yet to be determined.)