Eat, sleep, move!

There's not a lot of new things to share right now.  Life is moving along!  Actually, I'm feeling pretty good, now that I stop and think about it.  This would likely be due to:

1) Eating better (with the goal to lose weight)
2) Getting enough sleep
3) Starting an exercise program
4) Re-starting antibiotics at the beginning of January

I sure had developed some BAD habits in the fall, and now I'm trying to break them.  I think I've FINALLY gotten it through my head that I need a multi-pronged approach to keeping this Lyme in check.  Honestly, if you think you can just stop the antibiotics when you feel well, but slip into your old habits of eating refined sugar and Cheetos, and staying up until 1:00 a.m., then you are likely to have a rude awakening......like I did.

Exercise has been good, but I'm sore!  I'm trying to pace myself, and listen to my body so that I give it ample time to recover from a workout before going to the gym again.  I aim to work out 3 times per week.  I have to keep reminding myself of ALL of the benefits of exercise, besides weight loss.  It boosts the immune system, helps with lymph drainage, gets those antibiotics pumping through the body better, improves sleep, and boosts the mood.  I'm also so amazed and grateful every time I work out, when I think back to how terribly weak I was in early 2011.  As I've stated before, when I was really ill with Lyme, washing and drying my hair was exhausting!  Now, I can do the treadmill for 30 minutes followed by 20 minutes of strength training.  Quite the miracle!

In the food department, my naturopath says that it takes 21 days to break the sugar habit.  OK, I'm on Day 4, and I've already blown it.  But I'm learning that healthy eating is not just a day to day goal, but sometimes an hour to hour goal.  If I blow it one hour, I need to get right back on that wagon and carry on.  Sugar is SO bad for Lyme disease.  It suppresses the immune system, which is the exact opposite to what you're hoping to do.  It also feeds yeast, and the last thing you need in addition to your Lyme is a systemic yeast infection.  I'm trying to use stevia and xylitol in place of sugar.  I can't say that I'm thrilled with stevia in my coffee, but I'll put up with it, or maybe learn to drink it with cream only.  I've also got some recipes for treats made with xylitol, so when I allow myself to indulge, at least I won't be feeding the yeast in my intestines.

I recently purchased the book Wheat Belly Cookbook.  If you haven't read Wheat Belly, I really encourage you to.  And if you feel like jumping on board (and frankly, I don't know how anyone wouldn't want to after reading that) then the Wheat Belly Cookbook is a fantastic companion to the original.  Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist, explains why the genetically modified wheat we grow today is so bad for our bodies, how it elevates the blood sugar, and produces fat storage from the resulting insulin spike.  And in addition to that, inflammation occurs all over the body and manifests itself in various ways, depending on the person.  All I can say is....it is a very, very convicting book!  And it will scare the living daylights out of you if you LOVE your pastas and breads!

I have decided to greatly reduce my grain consumption, and to try to eliminate wheat, although I don't think I'm going to go to the extent of reading every label on every canned good I buy.  If it is an obvious source of wheat, then I'll eliminate it, e.g., bread, crackers, pasta.  The key is to find suitable and tasty substitutes for those things.  Instead of wheat crackers, I've bought brown rice crackers or Mary's Crackers (which Costco sells big boxes of).  Instead of wheat pasta, I found pasta at Costco made from amaranth + quinoa + brown rice.  As my "starch" at diner, I'll eat 1/2 cup of brown rice or barley or quinoa, and sometimes a 1/2 potato, though sweet potato would be better.  The bread is the hard part!  I will occasionally allow myself some sprouted grain bread such as Ezekiel or Silver Hills, though Dr. Davis would say that this is like putting "lipstick on a pig"!  They're still wheat.

I have no idea how a cardiologist has the time to come up with so many lovely looking recipes!  But honestly, if you really do want to embark on a wheat-free diet, or if you need to be gluten-free, Dr. Davis has many recipes for making "bread-like" creations that should satisfy you.  They involve the use of almond flour for the most part:  muffins, biscuits, pizza dough, etc.  I haven't tried any of them yet.  For one thing, I would only be able to eat them at home, as my workplace is "nut free" due to allergies. 

I'd still be interested in knowing what Dr. Davis would think of the spelt flour that I wrote about recently.  It's not made from the same type of wheat we regularly consume, so perhaps it would not have the same effect on the blood sugar.(?)

I'll leave you with an amazing fact from Dr. Davis' book:  Two slices of whole wheat bread have a higher glycemic index than a Snickers Bar!  No....that doesn't mean we should run out and grab a Snickers bar guilt-free, but perhaps we need to re-think our morning toast.

Disappointment on the ice

I'm so frustrated by what Lyme disease has done to my poor body, even though I've practically recovered from the illness.  Yes, I'm dealing with a small relapse at the moment, but I'm not really talking about that.  I'm talking about the residual effect Lyme has had on my body.  I'm definitely not the same woman I used to be, health-wise.  I remember reading a couple of years ago a quote from someone who said, "Once you have Lyme, you never feel the same again."  That seems to be true, even if you've finished treatment and gone into remission.

First, there are my aching muscles and joints.  Not really a Lyme arthritis.  Just achiness.  When I get out of bed in the morning, I feel like an 80 year old!  My feet really hurt, and I hobble to the bathroom.

Second, there is the tiredness.  It comes and goes during the day.  Sometimes I think I feel 100%, and then 30 minutes later, I feel like I need to lay down and rest for a bit.  It's a weird kind of fatigue.  It's certainly NOT the crippling fatigue I had during the height of my illness, when I could barely wash and dry my hair.  But it's a "come and go" kind of thing.  I just never feel energized for an entire day.

Then, there's the weight gain.  Oh my!  I've never weighed so much in my life....not even when I was pregnant!  It's funny how some people lose weight like crazy with Lyme disease, and others gain.  I know that the meds I was on didn't help - sleep meds, an SSRI, in addition to my many antibiotics.  The SSRIs, which are an anti-depressant, are notorious for packing on the pounds. 

I guess I'm a little ticked off at how Lyme has messed things up in my life, even though I'm supposedly all better now.  Yesterday, for example, I decided to go to the skating rink for some exercise and to try out my new skates.  I decided to invest a little more in this pair of skates, as I had my last ones, so I went to a skating apparel store where they could heat up the skate and mould the boot to my foot.  I just wanted a decent pair with good support, especially with the foot issues I've been having.

Now, although I love skating, I'm not a really good skater or anything!  No spins or jumps here.  I took some lessons as an adult 20 years ago, and became a lot more comfortable on the ice, learning some basics like how to stop, cross over, skate backwards, etc.  Really, I just love the feel of the experience.  So off I went to the rink yesterday with my brand new skates, happier than a bird with a french fry!

Disaster!  (Thank you, Lyme.)

After about 10 minutes on the ice, my feet started to ACHE with a pain I'd never felt.  It wasn't from the skates; they are actually comfortable.  It was from whatever is wrong with my feet now.  The ache was so bad, I went over to the players box and sat down.....and almost wondered if I'd need to remove the skates and walk in my stocking feet across the ice to get off!  It was THAT bad!  Then, I did a little self-talk, and convinced myself to just get up and tough it out.  Do a few more laps!  Maybe your feet will get used to it.  The skates are new.  You're breaking them in.  Don't be such a wimp!  So back onto the ice I went for several more laps.  But my poor feet just kept on hurting.  I got off the ice after about 15 minutes total.  What a disappointment.

So, what do I do about this?  Go to my family doctor?  Get referred to a foot doctor?  Go to a physiotherapist?  What?!  In the end, will any of them really be able to help me?  They all know nothing about Lyme disease!

That's such a huge problem with Lyme.  We always have to come up with our own solutions and treatment options.  There's no one around, locally, to guide me through this.

I guess I'll be talking to my LLMD about my poor feet.  By the way, I have a phone consult with him on Thursday to discuss the future of my treatment with my relapse.  We'll see what he says; I'll let you know.

My quest for health

The approaching "end of treatment" date is sobering.  For the past few months, I've viewed the antibiotics as my safety net.  Sure, for the first year and a bit, those drugs were sustaining me, and then healing me.  But since I've been feeling well, they haven't had a significant purpose other than to insure that the bacteria have been beaten down sufficiently.  Soon, this safety net will be removed. 

ILADS doctors like to treat 2 months beyond the end of symptoms, and I'm currently weaning off the antibiotics.  I've gone from 2 doses of Zithromax daily, to one dose daily.  I'm having a phone consult with my LLMD next week, and we'll see what he'll do next.

Soon, my body will be on its own, needing to keep any remaining Borrelia burgdorferi at bay using only its beautifully designed immune system.  That means I need to support my immune system in the best way I can.  Sadly, I haven't been doing so well in that department, but it must begin to take on a greater importance in my life.

To that end, I joined a fitness club, something I haven't done in about 15 years!  I've certainly exercised in the past 15 years, especially when trying to lose my post-pregnancy weight, but it's been a very long time since I've had a club membership.  I decided it was time because I was having difficulty getting motivated to exercise.  Despite the fact that I have a treadmill at home, dozens of workout DVDs, and weights, I constantly found excuses to avoid exercise.  And exercise is what I need right now, not only to lose the 30 lbs I gained while I was sick, but to support my immune system.

So far, I've been doing the treadmill and the weight machines at the club.  I think I need to build up my strength a bit before venturing into a group aerobics class.  I'm dying to try Zumba, but I'd likely drop dead from exhaustion!  Perhaps I can ease into that class, doing a half class at first and working my way up.  If anyone has tried Zumba, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I've also discovered the sauna!  I have a new appreciation for the Finnish and their natural approach to health.  I've been sitting in the sauna at the club for 15 min., just feeling all those toxins rising to the surface.  It's been great.

In addition to regular exercise, I've made a pledge to myself to work on other areas I've been neglecting:  eating well and sleeping an adequate amount each night.  I've definitely improved in the eating department.  I hauled out my old Weight Watchers information, and I've been watching my calories more closely.  I lost 2.5 lbs last week.  Who hoo!  As for the sleep, that is the hardest area for me.  I'm such a night hawk and thoroughly enjoy the quiet house at those late hours, so I've been cheating myself of a good night's sleep and dragging myself through the day.  That's certainly not good for the immune system.  I'm really going to work on that goal now.

For those of you reading this who might be very ill from Lyme disease, or who might be in the middle of treatment, know that it IS possible to feel well again, and to be able to make goals like this in the future.  When I was sick, these types of things were the farthest from my mind.  I was in survival mode.  And that's OK.  You can only do what your body will allow you to do.  But do have faith that your treatment will make you well again.  It really can happen.  It happened to me.

You are in my prayers.

Thank you, Lord, that I can exercise

OK, I can hardly believe that those words went through my head earlier today!  I must be fevered or something!  I am not a person who loves exercise......never have, likely never will.  But I was truly thankful that today, I was able to take a 25 minute walk!  Wow!  I haven't done that in about 20 months.

Before I became ill with Lyme disease, I used to walk about 3 times a week, mainly to maintain my weight or lose weight when necessary.  Once Lyme got a hold of me, exercise, even mild exercise, was absolutely impossible.  I was too weak.  I remember taking a light, slow stroll around the block with my husband and kids after I had been ill for about 4 months, and my head started to pulsate and I was so fatigued.  I had to make my way back to the house to lay down.  It was just awful.  This was before I received my diagnosis, and I wondered what could be causing such bizarre symptoms.

I've been avoiding exercise these past few months, because I'm still suffering from some fatigue.  But I realize now that exercise and healthy eating will be necessary to get me into the home stretch of my recovery.  Exercise gets everything moving inside and helps the antibiotics to better circulate through the body.  It helps with lymphatic drainage, and with boosting immunity.

I'm also going to re-commit to a YF SF diet (yeast-free, sugar-free).  And I'm going to do my best to get those 'whites' out of my diet, too:  white flour, white pasta, white rice, white potatoes.  They're all so bad for you, as they convert quickly to sugar in the body.  Sugar feeds Lyme (and cancer, by the way), so it's best to eliminate those foods for optimal health - even if you're not sick.  If you're going to mow down on a baguette, you might as well just have a Mars bar!  Very little difference in the effect they have on your body.

I'm hoping that my commitment to exercise and healthy eating will help me shed these unwanted pounds I've gained.  When I first got sick, I lost 13 pounds very quickly which brought me to my desired weight.  Once I started on meds, I started to put weight on rapidy, and gained 23 pounds.  Yikes!  I've never been heavier in my life, except for pregnancy.  It's time to get serious about this.  It's going to be very hard to shed the pounds, I think, because the meds are working against me.  So, we'll see how it goes. 

I decided to try another supplement to help in the weight loss department.  I can't believe that I'm voluntarily adding ANOTHER supplement to the regimen.  Here it is - raspberry ketones.

Maybe you heard about these on Dr. Oz.  I figured that he really does his research before recommending something to his viewers, so I'm going to give them a try.  They are totally natural, extracted from raspberries.  They apparently help immensely with weight loss and appetite control.  Do your research before purchasing, as you want ones produced in Canada or the U.S. to ensure purity.  Here are a couple of links to check out to learn more about raspberry ketones.

Dr. Oz video

Advice from a dietitian on raspberry ketones

The dietitian in the second link recommends a particular brand.  I decided not to order that brand because there are other ingredients included in the capsules, such as grapefruit powder, which might interfere with my medications.  I wanted one that was 100% raspberry ketones.

I'll let you know how it goes!