#ReclaimingMe

Day 3, Clean Gut Program

Today didn't go as planned, per meal plan schedule. I totally modified the shake planned for breakfast. I made a variation of Tuesday's shake, but used almond milk for majority of the coconut water, and used less of the canned coconut milk. I also used frozen blueberries. So far this is the best shake in the program that I've tasted. As per usual, took my supplements.

I found myself hungry though, maybe I need to add more protein to the shake, and consider purchasing either the vanilla or chocolate protein from the clean gut website or another plant-based protein on Amazon.

Lunch was left overs. I had a serving of the chicken with butternut squash and mustard vinaigrette. I also had a bowl of fresh blueberries as a snack in the afternoon. It felt kind of good to have time to relax and not use up all my lunch break cooking my lunch.

For dinner, we ended up going to Korean BBQ. Now I probably consumed some things that I shouldn't have, but I made sure to not overeat. Mainly I ate non-marinated super thin strips of beef brisket with kimchi and the cucumber salad (some type of vinegar and sugar mixed in the salad, it was sweet and tangy). I didn't have rice, had a little bulgogi, but I did use the condiments: a house dressing (not sure what it was), and sesame oil. I took my supplements when we got home, but didn't walk! (ugh! I slipped a bit today, but will do better tomorrow)

Day 2, Tuesday, Clean Gut program

This morning's breakfast shake tasted much better than Monday's. It's called Blackberry Coconut Milkshake from the Clean Eats book. I didn't have frozen blackberries but used frozen mixed berries (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries). All the shake recipes are single servings, but it seemed like there was so much of this! I drank it all though, then followed with the morning supplements. This shake will also be on my go-to meal/shake list. I really liked it, though it was a bit more tangy than I'd like. I didn't add stevia though.

*Again, no adverse effects from the supplements so far. I'll take that a good sign. I've been feeling itchy though. I'm not sure if it's because my rashes have scabbed and are healing or if it's from the coconut oil my mother gave me. It can't be from the food, I've taken out gluten and other food allergies from my diet.

Lunch was the Sunken Eggs (Clean Eats). This was also good, but sour due to the tomato sauce. The recipe makes two servings. I ate one (half the sauce and two eggs) and served it on top of sautéed spinach (garlic and olive oil). I'm finding the recipes pretty simple to follow and take about 30 minutes from prep to finish. Not bad. I'm not big on sour, so this may not be a repeat recipe.

Dinner did not disappoint (another go-to meal!). I had the Chicken Paillard with Butternut Squash and Mustard Vinaigrette (Clean Eats). I didn't go through the paillard process (basically flattening the chicken), I just sliced the chicken breasts thinly and cooked them in coconut oil with a little salt and a sprinkle of dried rosemary. The butternut squash with the cinnamon flavor was roasted in the oven. I've never had butternut squash before and this part of the recipe was my favorite! I combined the chicken and the squash with a lot of fresh spinach then poured the vinaigrette dressing on top, toss a bit, and it was done. This salad recipe says two servings, but they're HUGE servings. I probably had a third of it. That's ok though, Wednesday's lunch is leftovers. Swallowed my supplements and had some fresh blueberries as a snack. Didn't walk today, but that's ok, I'll definitely walk tomorrow!

Monday's recap, Day 1

Started with a shake today, the Green Coco Shake from the Clean Gut book, and let me tell you, honestly, that one was a bit hard to put swallow. I guess I'm just not used to spinach and cashews in my shakes. But I drank it all, and followed up with the recommended supplements. I was very wary of the side effects of the supplements, but experienced no adverse effects. Maybe the next time I make this shake, I'll include some blueberries or something, to make it a bit more palatable.

Lunch was challenging, mainly because I only have a 30 minute lunch in which to prepare my food and play with my babies as well as tidy up their mess a little. Lunch was the Vegetable Frittata from the Clean Eats book. It was delicious!! The recipe makes for two servings, and they're hefty portions. This program is not for calorie-counting at all! I've reserved the second serving for this week's snack or to share with the hubby. Lunch was immediately followed by the recommended mid-day supplement.

Dinner's menu was the Chicken with Kale and Olives from the Clean Eats book. Consisting of pasture-raised chicken breast cut into thin strips, capers, shallots, garlic, kale, green olives, and a little fresh squeezed lemon juice and olive oil, this meal is a definite winner and will be on my go-to meals. Even hubby loved it and requested it for dinner for Tuesday. I took my supplements, and after the kitchen was cleaned up, I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes. The program recommends a daily 10-minute walk after dinner, but I did 30 minutes.

Overall, I felt enthused about the program even more, seeing that I survived the first day with no issues. I did miss my coffee a few times in the day, but my hope to get better outweighed that craving.

Let me add though, that I've applied homemade (my mom made it) coconut oil on my remaining rashes after my shower. My mother is adamant about the healing properties of warmed coconut oil on the skin, so hey, I'm up for anything. I smelled like a coconut dessert through the night and prayed no ants decides to visit me.

Today is my first day on the 28-days Clean Gut Program, designed by Dr. Alejandro Junger. This is essentially my last attempt to reclaiming my health before I consult with a gastroenterologist, allergist and ophthalmologist. (More on my condition later). The program is for 28 days. It aims to clean out the gut layer by layer. It's not a weight-loss cleanse, but an overall health restart. Dr. Junger believes the root cause of many diseases is a damaged or leaky gut. The first 21 days of the program is called Phase 1 which focuses on gut repair based on the four pillars known in functional medicine as: Remove, Replace, Reinoculate, and Repair. We address the four R's by following the Clean Gut diet and taking recommended supplements. The second phase, 7 days, is the reintroduction of possible toxic triggers.

The last week, I have been busy ordering my supplements and creating my meal plan (being mindful of my food allergies, I figured it's best to avoid these when starting, then later introducing them to see exactly how I react to them).

These results are based on the RAST test:

Allergies (class 1-2)
Sesame seed (1)
Shrimp (2)
Cow's Milk (2)

Allergies (class 0/1)--I'm going to include some of these in my meals
Tuna (0)
Salmon (0)
Almond (0/1)
Cashew (0)
Hazelnut (0/1)
Scallop (0)
Soybean (0)
Codfish (0)
Walnut (0)
Wheat (0/1)
Peanut (0/1)
Egg White (0)

Clean Gut Supplements (You can find the recommended supplements on the Clean Gut website, I tried to purchase the recommended items, but in my attempt to save some money, opted for a different option on some of them, so long as they have the recommended ingredient)
Herbal antimicrobial (Berberine) - Swanson Berberine 400mg caps
Saccharomyces Boulardii - Seeking Health 5 Billion CFU per capsule
Multiple Strain Probiotics - Klaire Labs Ther-Biotic Complete
Magnesium - Nature Made Magnesium Citrate 250mg
Multiple Digestive Enzymes - Global Healing VeganZyme Vegan Systemic & Digestive Enzyme Blend
Monolaurin - Ecological Formulas Monolaurin 600mg
B Vitamin Complex - Pure Encapsulations B Complex Plus

A list of the Clean Gut allowed and not allowed food can be found on their website.

The Clean Gut Daily protocol is as follows:

First thing in the morning: a glass of water with half a squeezed lemon (I found an interesting article on Tasty Yummies' blog on the benefit of this)

Breakfast: a green shake + supplements (1 serving of each: herbal microbial, saccharomyces boulardii, multiple-strain probiotic, multiple digestive enzyme, monolaurin, B vitamin complex)

Lunch: a soup, entree-size salad, and/or entree from the Clean Gut recipes or a meal made up of approved foods, + supplements (1 serving of each: multiple digestive enzyme, B vitamin complex)

Dinner: an entree-size salad from the recipes section of the book or any salad variation made of approved foods + supplements (1 serving of each: herbal microbial, saccharomyces boulardii, multiple-strain probiotic, multiple digestive enzyme, monolaurin, B vitamin complex). Take a 10 minute walk after dinner.

Immediately before bed: 1 serving of magnesium supplement

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I also purchased the book called Clean Eats, to accompany Clean Gut, which has over 200 recipes that complement the Clean Gut program and/or the Clean program. Some of my week's menu came from this book. The dressings like the mustard vinaigrette and the thousand island vinaigrette are homemade and from the Clean Eats book. The program recommends lunch to be the main meal of the day, but this is going to extremely difficult for me to prepare because of the limited time I have, so I opted my main meal to be dinner time. I aim to eat dinner early, no later than 6:30, and follow it with a 30 minute walk.

Menu for the week:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
22 Breakfast - Green Coco Shake Lunch - Vegetable Frittata Dinner -Chicken w/Kale and olives	23 Breakfast - Blackberry Coco Shake Lunch - Sunken Eggs Dinner - Chicken Paiilard w/Butternut Sqush + mustard Vinaigrette	24 Breakfast - Creamy Blueberry Shake Lunch - Monday or Tuesday’s Lunch Dinner -Chicken with capers and pine nuts + asparagus and cherry tomatoes	25 Breakfast - Blueberries + Kale Shake Lunch - Wed’s dinner Dinner - Egg Salad with Salad greens + thousand island vinaigrette	26 Breakfast - Blackberry Coco Shake Lunch - Thursday’s dinner Dinner - Fish & Chips	27 Breakfast - Blueberries + Kale Shake Lunch - Roasted Asparagus w/Poached Eggs Dinner - Baked Rosemary Chicken + garlicky spinach	28 Breakfast - Green Coco Shake Lunch - Saturday’s Dinner Dinner - Chicken Pot Pie

I picked up the ingredients I will need for the week at a local grocery store, some from Whole Foods. I opted for organic as much as possible but to be honest, it's so much more expensive and I tried to save money since I've already spent a good deal with the supplements alone.

This is a blog about my journey to reclaiming ME. I am a wife and mother to four kids. I work at home which gives me the opportunity to care for my kids. In whatever time I can squeeze in, I sew baby bibs and accessories and upkeep a shop on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shops/kaedebear).

In the past four months, I have been battling some type of allergy induced rash. The onset coincides with my starting on a nutritional cleanse program called Isagenix. This is not to knock down Isagenix, which I am inclined to admit, truly works for most people who are interested in losing weight and getting healthy, and those who want extra income. I've made the decision to stop Isagenix and focus on reclaiming my health, mainly, to get rid of the blistering rashes I get. It has taken four months to come to this point. My husband was quick to point out that Isagenix was the root cause of my problems, I was less adamant.

From my research, and initial doctor visits, appointments, tests, things pointed to dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin manifestation of celiac disease. After three or four rounds of different antibiotics and multiple topical corticosteroids, I tried to eliminate gluten from my diet. It seemed to work. I then had to see my primary care physician to request authorizations to see a rheumatologist and a gastroenterologist. She ordered full allergy, CBC, and autoimmune panels. Based on the results, I do not have celiac, although my IgA levels are very high, the numbers are within the normal range. I feel like this is due to me being on a gluten-free diet prior to the test. What was interesting in my lab results was my IgE count, which is beyond high! This indicated an allergic response to "something". Finding out that "something" is the key to my recovery. As I wait to see an allergist and a gastroenterologist (my primary doctor didn't think seeing a rheumatologist is necessary), I am embarking on healing my gut.

A colleague of mine mentioned a program called Clean Gut, but Dr. Alejandro Junter. Dr. Junter points out that most illnesses can be traced back to a leaky gut, especially allergies. This resonated with me. After all, my labs indicate that I'm allergic to something I'm consuming.

Starting on February 22, 2016 to March 13, 2016, I am undertaking the Clean Gut program, a 21-day intensive gut repair program, followed by a week of trial phase consisting of reintroducing possible allergy triggers.

I have to be mindful of the allergies that showed up in my labs and avoid these foods. I am definitely going to avoid the ones with 1-2 rating, but will likely include the 0/1 ratings in my diet. This logic is based on the fact that 0/1 is equivocal and may not necessarily indicate a true allergy. This may be a little confusing but trust me, this whole rash situation is waaaay more confusing.

So, here's to the next 28 days! Wish me luck.

#ReclaimingMe

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