Sunday, May 11, 2014

FLC

I had vacation time at the end of April, which freed me up to spend some time listening to the web lectures at the Food Revolution Summit.  The lectures I caught were refreshing, inspiring and reminded me of the reasons I am so interested in learning as much as possible about the food industry and how to fuel myself and my family healthfully.  My browsing the Food Revolution Summit brought my attention to Dr. Mark Hyman, who happens to practice in the New England area, and is a pioneer in the arena of functional medicine. Functional medicine, as most of you likely know, tries to identify the root cause of disease and views and treats the body as an integrated system, not independent "silos" of organs and symptoms.   I read through some of his literature and stumbled upon one of his "diagnoses" that screamed me and I have decided that I need to do something about it.

FLC Syndrome: Feel Like Crap.  I just recently had my annual physical (yay me for not putting it off as usual!) and everything is good on paper.  Cholesterol, blood pressure, skin screen, post-baby weight loss- everything.  I'm a lucky lady.  That said, I'm so tired.  I understand that the first year after having another baby while working full time is busy, but during my time with the Food Revolution Summit I stumbled upon the word "vitality" and couldn't help but wonder where did it go?  I'm 2 weeks out from post-baby half-marathon #2 and the word I would use to describe my running is as follows: sludge.  When I refer to "sludge" I am not criticizing my pace.  We all have our own and every run we get out there is progress, but I feel like sludge.  I don't feel energized.  Truthfully, I feel so sludge-like that I haven't even been looking forward to my runs lately.  They are on the "have-to" list because this race is coming up.  I have successfully turned my stress outlet into something that is stressing me out because I FLC as I am running and can't help but wonder how that will translate on race day.  I am not seeking a personal record, but I didn't expect to feel worse than February's race.  I didn't expect to feel like sludge every step of the way at this point.

I have decided that I am tired of being tired and I need to do something about it. I purchased Dr. Hyman's recent book The Blood Sugar Solution 10 Day Detox Diet and read it in one night.  I took the sample quizzes on the internet material and they described many of the things I have been feeling like lately: tired, craving sugar, needing caffeine and carbs.  Over Lent, I tried to give up chocolate as my Lenten sacrifice.  Everyone I met looked like a talking Cadbury bar.  Although I have been doing green smoothies most mornings, I still need a cup of coffee at some point and I'm toast at 3PM without some caffeine or sweets.  Even now that the wee one seems to be starting to sleep through the night regularly (shhhh), I wake up feeling unrested and sluggish. 

Approximately 3 years ago, my sister in law and I did a fast after reading a book called Quantum Wellness.  For up to 3 weeks, we were to eliminate caffeine, sugar, alcohol, gluten and all animal products from our diet.  I understood the premise to be that such a fast allows one's digestive system to take a much needed break.  The book advocated for doing this fast for 3 weeks, or as long as you could up to that point, and possibly a few times a year.  I didn't do it to lose weight- I was sapped of energy.  I remember about 4 or 5 days into it, I went to bed one night around 10:30 pm and woke on my own, without an alarm clock, at 4:28 am.  I was rested.  Ready to go.  It was the weirdest feeling.  It was a great experience but I felt it was very challenging to keep up such a restricted a diet and completely eliminate all of those things....so I regressed back to my original diet.  Alcohol and meat were not a problem to eliminate.  Caffeine was fine once I got over some withdrawal headaches.  Sugar was tough. Gluten and all animal products was difficult for me, but I remember the energy....         

So, tomorrow is Day #1 of The Blood Sugar Solution 10 Day Detox Diet for me.  I need to be an energetic Mom, I need to work and I want vitality.  This program can be about losing weight, but I am fortunate that my weight is not currently a health issue for me.  The program is based around a ten day detox that involves whole, clean foods, relaxation techniques, at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day and rest. While many things will be eliminated from my diet, with sugar being the #1 culprit, animal protein and plenty of other whole foods will contribute to my fuel.  The book provides "Core" recipes and "Adventurous" recipes to give people options depending upon the amount of time they have to dedicate to cooking.  Additionally, there is a basic guideline to follow about what meals should consist of if someone needs to throw something together.  Although there are recipes that I definitely want and hope to try over the next ten days, I think I will end up in the "throw a healthy meal together" category for the most part!

I questioned if I should get going on this now with my half-marathon 2 weeks away, but I don't think I have anything to lose except the sludge feeling!   

Check it out, join me or send me tips!

Here is to all of our health and vitality!