[Health]: Intermittent fasting and some updates
Hullo. 
I kind of feel sorry that my LJ recently is pretty much only about my symptoms.
But LJ is about life and my life is unfortunately determined by my symptoms and the search for a cure.
I've tried to ignore them.
I've tried to just live my life.
It doesn't quite work out for me.
But I also don't want to waste my life on that search that might be in vain after all.
Uh, it's really complicated.
I've had another blood check. Still waiting for the results.
I've contact a speech therapist. End of April will be my first appointment.
Hopefully they can help me with my burping.
I've contacted a non-medical practitioner via e-mail.
His clinic is extremely far away but he runs a blog on gut issues, so I wanted to get his advice and maybe he can introduce me to one of his colleagues in my city.
I'm thinking about what I should try next: Ayurveda, osteopathy, kinesiology .....
Do any of you have any experience with this?
Also, I've postponed the FODMAP diet to after Easter holidays.
Instead I've started trying intermittent fasting in the 16:8 version.
That means I'm eating within an 8 hour frame, not eating anything in the other 16h.
For me it's easier to start with leaving out my dinner, because I really need my breakfast to function.
I'm having my last meal, a healthy snack (nuts, dates) at work, at 3:30 p.m. and then I don't eat anything until breakfast at 7:30 am.
I need to be careful as I'm already slightly underweight (172 cm, 56 kg), but my weight is usually pretty stable no matter how much (or little) I eat, so I'm hoping for the best.
As for why I'm doing it. Obviously not to lose weight, but intermittent fasting has quite a few health benefits.
Detox, liver and gut have time to rest and clean up the mess, dead cells will be flushed out etc.
Maybe it could alleviate my symptoms. I think maybe my gut just needs a break. We'll see.
Unfortunately my belly is still super huge around midnight.
It feels and looks like I have just eaten a whole pig. :(
It's so frustrating. I just can't figure out what's making it so big.
In the morning it's not as big but still "bloated" far too much considering that I haven't eaten anything for 16 hours.
And as soon as I eat, it gets unproportionally huge. And it grows as I'm eating, not half an hour later or so, but right away.
So how can this be connected to my gut? It can't, right? Food doesn't move so fast to your gut.
I just don't know anymore ...
Anyway, I'll watch my weight closely and if it stays stable, I'll continue with the intermittent fasting until I'll start the FODMAP diet.
I'm also getting tired of trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
Not because it's too much of a hassle, but because there's nothing but ambivalent studies and theories about "healthy" food, "healthy" habits, a "healthy" amount of exercise etc.
Some reports say you should eat lots of legumes, others say it's super unhealthy. Some say you should drink coffee and wine, others say it's unhealthy.
Sometimes cow milk is healthy, sometimes it's the worst thing you can put in your mouth.
Blah blah ..... the list is endless.
Same goes for exercising. Doing 10.000 steps a day is being promoted as a great method to maintain your health long-term.
Other reports say that 10.000 steps aren't enough. Yet other studies say that 20 mins of brisk walking would be much more beneficial and that jogging is not so healthy.
Some say that walking 10.000 steps a day is the best thing you can do for your long-term health instead of going full-power at a gym once or twice a week.
On a normal working day including a 20 mins walk during lunch break I'm at around 7.500 steps usually.
I would have to force myself to do another walk after work for about 30 mins to get to the "required" number.
And seriously I don't see the point of doing something just because "it could be healthy".
I want to do something that I really feel like doing. Yes, sometimes my head is exploding after work and I gladly ride my bike for an hour or go for a walk in the forest then.
But not every day just because I "should".
If they, for example, state that walking 10.000 steps every day makes you live statistically one year longer. But you have to waste about a whole year of your life on walking those 10.000 steps every day instead of doing what you'd really want to do .... then what does that +1 year really provide? And what if you're hit by a car tomorrow anyway?
If you're sick and have symptoms you want to get rid of - like me, I'd say it's worth trying various things.
But if you're healthy and you're trying to abide to rules that might provide you lifelong health, then maybe you're wasting too much time not enjoying your life ....
How are you going about that?
I know this entry might sound quite negative.
It's not supposed to be. I'm quite happy with my current life. I'm still trying to improve things step by step, but yeah .....
It would be so much easier if my symptoms would just vanish, though. Imagine how much free time I'd have available all of a sudden!
At least I'm currently saving time and money by not eating dinner. :)
Random stuff:
I swore to myself that I'd plan my vacation very early this year...... because I always end up having all of my vacation days left and then it's already October ... and I only end up going to Japan.
Now it's April and I still haven't had time to even think about where I want to go ..... I really need somebody to decide and book for me or I won't get anywhere. This is frustrating.
As I have nothing exciting to report recently, I'm not so active on LJ.
Sorry about that.
Left: I made a dice that shows the current size of my moyma (5x5x5 cm). Holy crap that's as big as a small apple! O_O;;
Right: Bought a new plant today. ^___^
Grocery shopping today for a bit more than 50 €(!!!!!)
What I always stock up is: lemons, limes, ginger
The rest depends on what I want to cook, but I usually also always have carrots or sweet potatoes at home. :)
There's also whole grain bread, pineapple, zucchini, garden radish, spring onions, kohlrabi, chicory, tomatoes, cheese, butter and smokes salmon.
The photos is too small, but about half of the items are organic.
To be fair half of the money (almost 25€) was spent on stocking up my pantry with stuff like nuts or chia seeds which are quite expensive ...
I need most of it to create a few energy balls and power bars that I can snack on at work because as you know I'm only allowed to eat until 3:30 p.m. - and these are great for restoring energy and getting in some healthy fats throught nuts and seeds.
Just a quick note on what I've been watching recently:
Uhh .... okay, I think that's about it for now.
Thanks for sticking around. :)
Bye~chuu
I kind of feel sorry that my LJ recently is pretty much only about my symptoms.
But LJ is about life and my life is unfortunately determined by my symptoms and the search for a cure.
I've tried to ignore them.
I've tried to just live my life.
It doesn't quite work out for me.
But I also don't want to waste my life on that search that might be in vain after all.
Uh, it's really complicated.
I've had another blood check. Still waiting for the results.
I've contact a speech therapist. End of April will be my first appointment.
Hopefully they can help me with my burping.
I've contacted a non-medical practitioner via e-mail.
His clinic is extremely far away but he runs a blog on gut issues, so I wanted to get his advice and maybe he can introduce me to one of his colleagues in my city.
I'm thinking about what I should try next: Ayurveda, osteopathy, kinesiology .....
Do any of you have any experience with this?
Also, I've postponed the FODMAP diet to after Easter holidays.
Instead I've started trying intermittent fasting in the 16:8 version.
That means I'm eating within an 8 hour frame, not eating anything in the other 16h.
For me it's easier to start with leaving out my dinner, because I really need my breakfast to function.
I'm having my last meal, a healthy snack (nuts, dates) at work, at 3:30 p.m. and then I don't eat anything until breakfast at 7:30 am.
I need to be careful as I'm already slightly underweight (172 cm, 56 kg), but my weight is usually pretty stable no matter how much (or little) I eat, so I'm hoping for the best.
As for why I'm doing it. Obviously not to lose weight, but intermittent fasting has quite a few health benefits.
Detox, liver and gut have time to rest and clean up the mess, dead cells will be flushed out etc.
Maybe it could alleviate my symptoms. I think maybe my gut just needs a break. We'll see.
Unfortunately my belly is still super huge around midnight.
It feels and looks like I have just eaten a whole pig. :(
It's so frustrating. I just can't figure out what's making it so big.
In the morning it's not as big but still "bloated" far too much considering that I haven't eaten anything for 16 hours.
And as soon as I eat, it gets unproportionally huge. And it grows as I'm eating, not half an hour later or so, but right away.
So how can this be connected to my gut? It can't, right? Food doesn't move so fast to your gut.
I just don't know anymore ...
Anyway, I'll watch my weight closely and if it stays stable, I'll continue with the intermittent fasting until I'll start the FODMAP diet.
I'm also getting tired of trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
Not because it's too much of a hassle, but because there's nothing but ambivalent studies and theories about "healthy" food, "healthy" habits, a "healthy" amount of exercise etc.
Some reports say you should eat lots of legumes, others say it's super unhealthy. Some say you should drink coffee and wine, others say it's unhealthy.
Sometimes cow milk is healthy, sometimes it's the worst thing you can put in your mouth.
Blah blah ..... the list is endless.
Same goes for exercising. Doing 10.000 steps a day is being promoted as a great method to maintain your health long-term.
Other reports say that 10.000 steps aren't enough. Yet other studies say that 20 mins of brisk walking would be much more beneficial and that jogging is not so healthy.
Some say that walking 10.000 steps a day is the best thing you can do for your long-term health instead of going full-power at a gym once or twice a week.
On a normal working day including a 20 mins walk during lunch break I'm at around 7.500 steps usually.
I would have to force myself to do another walk after work for about 30 mins to get to the "required" number.
And seriously I don't see the point of doing something just because "it could be healthy".
I want to do something that I really feel like doing. Yes, sometimes my head is exploding after work and I gladly ride my bike for an hour or go for a walk in the forest then.
But not every day just because I "should".
If they, for example, state that walking 10.000 steps every day makes you live statistically one year longer. But you have to waste about a whole year of your life on walking those 10.000 steps every day instead of doing what you'd really want to do .... then what does that +1 year really provide? And what if you're hit by a car tomorrow anyway?
If you're sick and have symptoms you want to get rid of - like me, I'd say it's worth trying various things.
But if you're healthy and you're trying to abide to rules that might provide you lifelong health, then maybe you're wasting too much time not enjoying your life ....
How are you going about that?
I know this entry might sound quite negative.
It's not supposed to be. I'm quite happy with my current life. I'm still trying to improve things step by step, but yeah .....
It would be so much easier if my symptoms would just vanish, though. Imagine how much free time I'd have available all of a sudden!
At least I'm currently saving time and money by not eating dinner. :)
Random stuff:
I swore to myself that I'd plan my vacation very early this year...... because I always end up having all of my vacation days left and then it's already October ... and I only end up going to Japan.
Now it's April and I still haven't had time to even think about where I want to go ..... I really need somebody to decide and book for me or I won't get anywhere. This is frustrating.
As I have nothing exciting to report recently, I'm not so active on LJ.
Sorry about that.
Left: I made a dice that shows the current size of my moyma (5x5x5 cm). Holy crap that's as big as a small apple! O_O;;
Right: Bought a new plant today. ^___^
Grocery shopping today for a bit more than 50 €(!!!!!)
What I always stock up is: lemons, limes, ginger
The rest depends on what I want to cook, but I usually also always have carrots or sweet potatoes at home. :)
There's also whole grain bread, pineapple, zucchini, garden radish, spring onions, kohlrabi, chicory, tomatoes, cheese, butter and smokes salmon.
The photos is too small, but about half of the items are organic.
To be fair half of the money (almost 25€) was spent on stocking up my pantry with stuff like nuts or chia seeds which are quite expensive ...
I need most of it to create a few energy balls and power bars that I can snack on at work because as you know I'm only allowed to eat until 3:30 p.m. - and these are great for restoring energy and getting in some healthy fats throught nuts and seeds.
Just a quick note on what I've been watching recently:
- Walking Dead has gotten so damn boring .... but I keep watching.
- The O.A. (Netflix) second season was AWESOME!!! So much better than the first season and now finally everything starts to make sense. :)
- Managed to re-watch all 7 seasons of GoT before the final season begins in less than 2 weeks. I'm so excited!!
- I watched Umbrella Academy on Netflix and liked it quite a lot.
- Looking forward to the next season of Attack on Titan which will start airing at the end of April.
- I'm currently watching Banana Fish and I'm loving it. :)
- Tokyo Ghoul was once so good, but the recent seasons were so, so horrible .... what has happened to a series that was once so great? Shame! :(
Uhh .... okay, I think that's about it for now.
Thanks for sticking around. :)
Bye~chuu