21 day sugar detox - Day 2

Today was good. I still didn't have any carb craving until later in the evening and my banana with almond butter came to the rescue again! I was super busy all day and really wasn't all that hungry today. This is what I had:

Breakfast
2 organic free-range eggs
2 pieces of bacon
kombucha
water




Lunch
homemade organic beef jerky
carrots








Supper
Baked chicken thigh
Kale chips
2 helpings of roasted spaghetti squash with marinara



Snack
1 green tipped banana
almond butter
water
herbal tea with gelatin

And that's it, I've been really satisfied all day!

::Robyn

21 day sugar detox - Day 1

I decided to document this latest adventure for two reasons. The first is an accountability thing because I'm a little nervous (but excited) to do this. I need a little pressure to keep me on track. Second, I want to have a written and photographic account of this detox so if others are interested in doing it, they will have a little more knowledge with a first hand account of the process. I'm doing the balancedbites.com 21 day sugar detox.

http://balancedbites.com/2012/12/the-biggest-21-day-sugar-detox-begins-on-january-1-2013.html

So, first up, breakfast. I'm feeling pretty crappy with a cold so my wonderful husband made me bacon and eggs this morning. And, with perfect cold-induced mind fog, I forgot to take a picture!! It's a pretty standard meal so I'm sure everyone can visualize it!

Breakfast
3 organic free-range eggs (cooked in a tbsp of grassfed butter)
4 pieces of bacon
12 oz. kombucha
1 glass water
3 1000mg fish oil pills (900mg DHA/EPA)
1 500mg fermented cod liver oil pill
5000IU vitamin D
200mg chelated magnesium
500mg vitamin c (only because I'm sick)

Lunch
Leftover pot roast
onions
carrots
1/3 cup almonds
water

Supper
Lobster with grassfed butter
kale chips
green beans with grassfed butter
water

Snack
green-tipped banana with almond butter for dipping
organic carrots
herbal tea with grassfed gelatin
3 1000mg fish oil pills (900mg DHA/EPA)
1 500mg fermented cod liver oil pill

So as you can see, I had a ton of food and feel very satisfied. After the kids went to bed, I started having a sugar craving as this is typically when I'll have a glass of wine or have some dark chocolate. Tonight however, I had my banana with almond butter which totally did the trick! I didn't really eat a whole lot of veggies today so I'll have to increase that in the next few days. I'm sick with a cold and veggies are usually the last thing I eat unless I have some soup. So that's it!

::Robyn

Remission, now what?

I typically post about diet and exercise and how you can alleviate lupus/autoimmune symptoms through those means. Looking back over emails and comments that I have received over the past year, I see that many have found this information helpful. I'm so glad that I have had an impact on or helped at least one person!

While my disease is completely under control, I have never talked about the other problems related to lupus that I still have trouble with despite my remission.

My lupus markers are still positive. I still test positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and I still test positive for anti-double stranded DNA antibodies (anti dsDNA). I still test positive for Sjogren's syndrome. I don't know if those will ever change, I hope that one day they will and I'll be rid of any evidence of ever having lupus. These markers don't give me any physical problems as they are just measures of antibody presence but it is a reminder that my body doesn't forget easily and is still armed to attack my own dna, tissues and organs.

My immune system is an all or nothing kind of defense system. When I am in a flare, it works overtime, overproducing white cells and antibodies that literally destroy my body from the inside out. But when I'm in remission, as I am now, it pretty much goes on vacation, only to react to really serious things like flu (in a very untimely fashion). My 'normal' white cell counts are incredibly low when I'm healthy/lupus symptom free. This means I'm at the mercy of colds and flus, especially in winter. I have felt really well 4 days the entire month of December. This year is pretty bad because I have 3 kids under the age of 5. So, between kindergarten, playgroups and childcare at the gym, I really don't stand a chance! I do not get a flu shot because I instantly get the flu or some other nasty sinus thing. While this sounds awful; compared to taking meds and chronic pain, I'll take a month or 2 of this anytime!! I am weary of taking any supplementation that boosts your immune system like echinacea, etc. I avoid them altogether because I'm afraid of triggering an immune response that gets out of control.

Finally, I still have a teensy, tiny voice in the back of my head that wonders every night before I fall asleep if I'm going to be able to get out of bed the next day. Everyday that I get up symptom-free, that voice gets smaller. I wonder how long it will be there?

::Robyn