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Week 2, Whole30 + Gut Protocol

May 26, 2025Posted in autoimmune, wellnessTagged autoimmune, clean eating, cleaneating, diet, eat healthy, food, gut health, hair skin nails, health, healthy, healthy eating, healthy habits, healthy lifestyle, healthy tips, holistic approach, holistic wellness, natural skincare, nutrition, recipes, self care, vegan, vegetarian, wellbeing, wellness, whole30Leave a comment

Find the week 1 recap of my current round of food sensitivity elimination here.

I came out of week 1 feeling pretty amazing; regular 💩, bloat-free, ready for more positive feelings surrounding my health and how I’m feeling physically! I was a little unprepared in the day to day because I didn’t prep any food ahead of time – which is really a game changer for completing this entire program with little stress! So let’s talk about week 2…

I strayed from my path 😶

I ate ice cream with my family. Throughout the week I ate sour gummies, chocolate, and too much gluten free bread – which technically isn’t against the rules, but for the amount of bread I ate I have to tattle on myself. It’s definitely not recommended on Gut Protocol, and even if Whole 30th basically says you can eat as much as you want I’m sure they would frown up on consuming a loaf of bread in just a couple of days. But I’m moving on…

I’m not beating myself up for getting off track. Not even a little. This is a big switch to make, from eating lots of low-nutrition foods to eating lots of nutritious foods – the mind and body will crave the sugar and caffeine for a little while, especially if you regularly consume a lot, but the switch will happen and you will begin to feel amazing in a relatively short amount of time! And I’m talking to myself here 😅 I have to remind myself that if I just stick with it for a little longer I will feel great for a long long time! And feeling good feels good. I want to always choose feeling good over falling back into old habits again and again.

So here’s my plan for this week.

Today is Memorial Day, meaning a day off of school for my kid. I know she’ll sleep in so it’s a typical morning for me: pack my husbands lunch (because he doesn’t have the day off), mix some preworkout, walk on the treadmill (currently), stretch + Pilates, then breakfast. Luckily, I have leftover food from preparing husbands lunch this morning so I will just have to warm it up and add some greens and a dressing of some kind. It came together quickly this morning: (frozen) riced cauliflower, tofu, bell peppers, onion, tomato. It smelled great, even at 5:30 am 😆 I don’t usually have an appetite first thing in the morning (I like to start my day with this) and I don’t always make extra so I’m happy to have food ready for after my workout today!

From there, I want to prep some food. Like for real this time. I have ideas for meals (just like week 1), but this time I will make some rice and quinoa, chop the veggies I have in the fridge (zucchini, bell peppers), I already washed the grapes and put them into a bowl for easy access, and I will press a couple blocks of tofu so they are ready to go for meals quickly. I used to LOVE cooking and couldn’t wait to make meals every day – until I hit burnout. Now, I get motivated to cook by serving myself a beverage (usually just La Croix, I’ve been sober since 2018), I put in an earbud that’s connected to my laptop, and I watch (or mostly just listen to) Sex and the City. This is the one show I know by heart and can be entertained by the content without really having to watch the screen. Do you have a show like that? Background noise that also brings a little joy to your heart at the same time? (Currently working through season 6, the last one, but I will inevitably start all over again from the beginning once I reach the final episode. There is something about the first season that gives me great nostalgia for a pre-internet era).

So it all comes down to the planning and preparation again. I had my fun last week with sweet treats (maybe I can blame hormones?), but this week I’m back on track. I saw the beginning of some results already in week 1, and I want those back!! Things are okay at the moment, but I really saw a difference in the way my skin looks and feels (remember: psoriasis) in week 1, and now regressing in week 2 with the extra sugar intake. Am I allowed to say diet can affect autoimmune disease yet? I see a difference, but let’s see what happens in the next few weeks as I WILL DEFINITELY stay on track (I hope 🤞).

PS the Plant-Based Reese’s Cups? Fan-freaking-tastic 😋😋😋😋😋 I ate them all so I won’t have any to tempt me this week 😆😆😅😅 an obvious tip for during your food sensitivity elimination? Don’t keep tempting junk food in the house 🙅‍♀️ or at least keep it out of sight, if you have family who still wants to eat it 😆

Can Diet Help Autoimmune Disease? Let me find out…

May 5, 2025May 5, 2025Posted in Hot Body Habits, wellnessTagged autoimmune, cleaneating, diet, eat healthy, food, health, healthy eating, nutrition, psoriasis, vegan, weight-loss, wellness, whole foods, whole301 Comment

This is a road I’ve been down before. More than once, actually. It’s been well-documented here on this blog in the past, but I’ve never done it like this, the way I’m about to, before. A quick background:

I randomly started a round of Whole30 in 2018 and it changed the way I looked at food forever. I did it to literally “see if I could do it” -and I did! But even though I learned a lot about how food works in MY body specifically, I went straight back into my old eating habits (Standard American Diet, with some “health” food mixed in). At this point in time, I didn’t have psoriasis flareups – or at least not until after this program.
In 2022, I was part of an online wellness community (read: MLM (that I loved)) that had a new food sensitivity elimination program, at the time, called Gut Protocol. Same idea as Whole30 with more parameters around the right amount of nutrients for your individual body. I didn’t expect changes to my skin, but one day, a few weeks into the elimination program, the most significant patch I had was almost entirely faded – like ALMOST ALL THE WAY GONE. But what did I do? I finished the program and thought, “I’m healed!!!!!” and went right back to eating the old way, when clearly my body needed more time.

I didn’t learn my lesson either of those times. I saw the clear changes, yet still believed healing was a destination, not a journey.

So here we are, present day. I am restarting the Gut Protocol because I know in my heart the way we eat and everything we consume makes an impact on our overall health. I’ve seen it before, and I have high hopes that I will see a change again! So here’s what this means:

Eliminate top allergens from my diet
Drink at least half my body weight in ounces of water
Keep caffeine intake low (less than 200mg/day)
No more than 10g/day

Maybe you’re asking, so what will you eat? I actually have a hard time eating as much as I’m supposed to on this plan. The focus, as always, is essential nutrients.

Protein: I don’t eat meat, so my proteins will come from tofu, tempeh, protein powder (this one), and beans.
Carbs: Rice, oats, potatoes, quinoa, millet (a food I never had before doing GP, but is now a favorite!!)
Fat: Avocado, nuts, hummus, olive oil, nut butters
Vitamins & Minerals: Any and all fruits and vegetables

Mixing and matching these different groups easily creates well balanced meals that leave me feeling full AND energized! It honestly amazes me how great we can potentially feel when nourished properly, and how DIFFICULT people have made the process seem. You don’t need the latest fad diet to do the trick. And even if you don’t want to do a full elimination program, taking a moment to think “do I have all the essentials covered?” can take you a long long way in your health journey.

So how is this time different? I’m in it for the long haul. In the past, I went the full 30 days of the program, and went straight back into reintroducing the top allergens and into the old way of eating. This time, I’m going as long as I can. I can admit – I do get to a point where I feel like F* THIS and go back to eating some processed junk food. After I overindulge on this stuff, I instantly feel miserable and feel like IT’S NOT WORTH IT. It happens every single time. If I could learn how to have small treats, that are still satisfying, without OVER-indulging to the point where my body HATES ME – that’s the real goal here.

Today, Monday May 5th, is my Day 1. I woke up this morning and sipped water, my favorite pre-workout (allowed on this plan), and a ginger turmeric shot. I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, but as soon as I finish writing this I’ll be headed into the kitchen to figure out what to make. I don’t ever have a big appetite in the morning, but in order to eat all the food I need (which includes six cups of vegetables) I have to start early. I’ll admit, nothing sounds appetizing at the moment, but my tummy is growling loudly after having my ginger shot! I could eat leftovers or I can make oats. I don’t want either. Actually what sounds great is some toast – easy and delicious, one of my favorite things to eat – but gluten is one thing I’m supposed to avoid during this time. I do plan to make gluten free bread at some point, but I’m usually lazy. ***Edit: I decided on a vanilla protein shake made with oat milk. I’ll snack on some pistachios while I drive to the grocery store. So that gives me a protein, a carb, and a fat for breakfast!

Next week I will share my food journal for the week, which documents everything I’m eating, plus how I’m feeling one week into eating this way. Overall I feel pretty good right now, but I want to see if I can feel even better just by changing what I’m consuming (I know I will).

Do you know someone who could benefit from improving their autoimmune symptoms? Share this post with them!

If you understand my struggles and feel comfortable sharing, I’d love for you to comment below or send me a message so we can connect!

Eat the Fat

June 19, 2023Posted in UncategorizedTagged carbs, eat healthy, fats, healthy eating, healthy fats, healthy lifestyle, low fatLeave a comment

How do you feel about the word “fat,” in regards to food? Were you ever told to consume a low fat diet to lose weight? It’s almost as common as hearing a low carb diet is good for weight loss. Sure weight loss may happen, but it’s not easy to stick with, and you’re actually depriving your body of essential nutrients, leading to other issues!

When it comes to maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet, we often tend to associate the word “fat” with negative connotations. However, not all fats are created equal. In fact, incorporating healthy fats into our daily meals can provide numerous benefits for our overall health and well-being. From sustained energy levels and improved nutrient absorption to heart health, cognitive function, and skin radiance, healthy fats are a powerhouse of essential nutrients and compounds. So, don’t shy away from avocados, nuts, seeds, oils, and nut butters! Instead, embrace these delicious and nutritious sources of healthy fats to fuel your body and reap the countless benefits they offer.

To learn more, click here.