Day 2, Phase 1

I'm short on time today so I'm just going to be really brief.

Food prep is going well, I'm trying to get creative so I don't get bored.

Today I made a really good soup called Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple and Lentil Soup.  I found it on allrecipes.com and modified it to eliminate the foods I'm not yet eating.  I didn't really make any substitutions, just left out the things I couldn't have, mostly spices and flavorings.  Surprisingly, it was still really good!  Even my husband liked it.  This is definitely a keeper!

I also made some granola, using gluten-free rolled oats, sunflower seeds, honey, sunflower oil, cacao nibs, and salt.  I tried some before I put it in the dehydrator and I think it's going to be really good.  Tomorrow I'll be able to take it out of the dehydrator and try it for breakfast.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

I also started drinking Pau D'Arco tea today to get started on the candida cleanse.  I found that I actually like it pretty well when it's cold and mixed with some lemon juice/wedges.  Tastes almost like an Arnie Palmer!  This might be a really good option for me once I can have chai spices again.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE chai tea lattes?  Tea was in my yellow zone, so I'll need to avoid it for 3-6 months.  But the chai spices (like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, etc) are in my green zone, so I'll be adding those back in the weeks to come.  Mixed with the Pau D'Arco tea, it might actually taste somewhat similar.  Then I'd just need to find a sub for milk/cream.  I'm not sure what my options are there... maybe homemade cashew milk? 

My symptoms were pretty much the same as yesterday - joint pain, stiff ankles, fatigue (mid-afternoon nap again), abd/int pain.  I didn't have a headache (yesterday was pretty rare - I don't usually have headaches).  

Okay, time for bed.  I'm really exhausted!  Fatigue is a symptom I'm hoping to overcome with the LEAP diet.  I don't expect any changes for at least 4-5 days, maybe more.  Let's hope for sooner rather than later!

When It All Started & Day 1, Phase 1

My own personal health journey started the summer after 6th grade, when I fell ill with Mono.  I was really sick and basically spent the whole summer laying in a hammock out on our breezeway.  I didn't know it then, but that summer was the start of a very long health journey that would take me to dozens of doctors and specialists, being diagnosed (incorrectly) with everything from hypoglycemia to lupus to Lyme Disease to fibromyalgia to... on and on and on... and finally ending up at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for a proper diagnoses of a heart condition.  It's the same journey that led me to a naturopathic detox center, a physical therapist with a PRI specialty, and the Weston A. Price Foundation.   But I get ahead of myself.

That summer after the 6th grade was followed by a school-year riddled with illness.  Mainly strep throat.  Something like 13 times.  And a round of antibiotics for each one.  And chronic sinusitis.  With more antibiotics.  When I got my final report card at the end of that school year, my attendance listed that I was absent for a full quarter of the school days.  Thankfully school came easy for me and I still was able to manage straight A's, or I would have been in loads of trouble!  I think my mom would have had to start homeschooling me or something.

My mom was my personal advocate through all this - trying to research how I could get (and stay!) better.  I'm not sure how she came to this conclusion, but she had me stop drinking milk.  Shortly thereafter, my sinus infections cleared up.  My strep throat issue decreased in frequency.  I had a normal 8th grade year!  It was the first time I made the connection between how I was eating and how I felt.

Fast forward to today.  Today is the first day on my LEAP diet, or what they call the ImmunoCalm Dietary Management Program.  It's based on my MRT Food Sensitivity Test Results, which was a blood test I took a couple of weeks ago.  It took 10 days to get the test results back, and here's a summary of what it said for me:

Highly Reactive (Red Zone):

• Almond
• Coconut
• Mango
• Catfish

Moderately Reactive (Yellow Zone):

• Acetaminophen
• Candida Albicans
• MSG
• Benzoic Acid
• Cheddar Cheese
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Parsley
• Blueberry
• Cranberry
• Plum
• Zucchini
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Millet
• Wheat
• Salmon
• Tilapia
• Sole
• Scallop
• Coffee
• Cola
• Tea
• Hazelnut
• Green Pea

To start this diet, they start with your 20-25 least reactive foods (3-5 in each category), and work up from there.  The list above is slightly different than what my test results said.  That's because my dietician is having me avoid dairy and gluten for the time being.  Dairy because of the lactose - I will be trying to rid myself of candida, so I'm avoid sugars for awhile.  And gluten because this test doesn't test for gluten sensitivity.  I've been tested for celiac (negative), but since I'm reactive to wheat, this will allow me to challenge gluten specifically.  

This also doesn't test for pure allergies.  For instance, it listed that shrimp was low-reactive for me but I've never done well with seafood, so I am avoiding it.

You can see I mostly added vegetables, since we have a big vegetable garden and it's just starting to be harvest time.   

Here is my list for now:

Protein

1. Beef
2. Turkey
3. Lentil
4. Chicken

Starches

1. Sweet Potato
2. Oat
3. Quinoa

Vegetables

1. Beet
2. Spinach
3. Asparagus
4. Carrot
5. Broccoli
6. Lettuce
7. Greens

Fruits

1. Cantaloupe
2. Olive
3. Orange
4. Apple

Dairy/Misc

1. Cocoa

Nuts/Seeds/Oils

1. Olive Oil
2. Sunflower Seed

Flavor Enhancers

1. Cumin
2. Lemon
3. Carob
4. Honey 

Once I start (hopefully) feeling better (should be with a week or two), then I start adding things back in, based on the reactivity.  If I don't feel well after a couple weeks, we start taking things out (most likely starting with fructose, since my dietician is wondering if I am having problems absorbing fructose).  

I also wanted to track my stats and measurements.  This is probably the scariest thing for me (what woman wants to give out her measurements???), but I still think it's good to know if what I'm doing is working.  Mainly, I'll track my main symptoms/complaints for the day.  On a weekly basis, I'll also record my weight, clothing size, and measurements.  Ugh.  :)  

Just as a means of establishing a baseline:  I'm 5'6" with a normal/muscular build.  I was a steady 140 lbs from 8th grade until my mid to late-20s.  I am currently 35 years old.  I believe my ideal weight is 145-150. 

Main symptoms:  Joint pain (specifically ring finger on my left hand, pointer fingers, ankles, knees), stiff ankles, mid-afternoon fatigue (took a brief nap), slight headache.  I also experienced mid-severe intestinal/abdominal pain after dinner (beef roast with olive oil and salt, sweet potato).  

Weight:  191.7

Clothing Size:  16

Waist:  43.25

Hips:  45.5

Upper Arms:  12.75

Upper Thighs:  25.75

Calves:  15.875

Bust:  41.5

'twas the night before LEAP...

On Wednesday, I got my MRT test results.  We had to rush right to work so I didn’t have time to really digest what they said.  In fact, work has been extremely busy and I haven’t had a lot of time for much else.  Which is concerning as I embark on the LEAP diet, considering that my food prep will take more time and I’ll just need to be more conscientious in general about what I’m ingesting.  Also, I just feel like I need time to research and look up creative recipes.  Ugh.  Ah, I'm just kidding – I’m up for the challenge!  I'm actually really passionate about healthy food and the effects it has... BUT, I'm also really pressed for time.  So this will be an interesting experiment!

The real purpose of this blog is to document my experience with MRT/LEAP.  When I was researching the testing, it felt like I could only find a forum post or two, or sponsored websites that sold the testing.  It was really difficult to find a full account – starting from the beginning… what prompted the test?  what do I hope will happen (what results am I hoping to see)?  how long did it take a real person to see results?  what sort of setbacks should I expect?  And eventually, I hope to answer the question… did it work?  

I saw lots of testimonials and did my research, but I would have liked to see a first-person account.  The ups and downs and everything in between.  I hope this blog can maybe help someone in the future, when they are considering the testing.  Or just experiencing nagging health problems and don’t know what else to do.

For the past -oh- maybe 16 years, I have been aware that the foods I eat make a real difference in how I feel.  Before that I hadn't given it much thought.  I’ll be covering my food journey in pretty great detail in this blog, since that’s what it’s all about.  Foods and their effects on our health.  

My family always tried to eat healthy, and I discovered the origins of our food source a long time ago – big family garden, fishing, hunting, etc.  My mom always did her very best to feed us healthy foods.  But over time, our perception of what is healthy and what isn’t has changed drastically.  I’ll cover this topic more in future posts.  Here is one of my first experiences with catching my own food!

 

I'm the little girl on the right!  :)  

My mom canned much of our food, baked our breads, made dinner from scratch just about every night (going out was a VERY special event!), sent our lunches to school (man, were we envious of the kids who got to eat school lunches!), and did everything in her power to keep us kids healthy!  So how did I end up here?  It’s a long story.  And one I’ll cover over time in this blog.

Also in future posts, I’ll cover questions like:

• What exactly is MRT testing and the LEAP diet?
• What are the symptoms that prompted me to get the testing done?
• What am I hoping to achieve with the LEAP diet?

I’ll also document my stats: symptoms, weight, size, etc.  Yikes!  Okay, I’m a little nervous about that part.  :)

Tomorrow’s my first day following Phase 1 of the LEAP protocol, and I’ll write a little bit about my own personal health history too.  But now it’s time for a good nights sleep!  If you guys have any questions about anything, please feel free to pop in and ask a question in the comments.  I’m happy you’re here!