15. New year, new me?
The new year has started. 2022, how is this even possible?! I remember just starting this blog while I was studying in Leeds. The Idea came earlier, when I was studying in Vilnius, but I finally realised it a few months later. I already knew what I wanted to write about, but it also scared the sh*t out of me. This is vulnerable and do I really want to share my story with the world? Yes.
The previous blog posts were mostly about how horrific endometriosis is and how it makes my life so difficult sometimes. It really is, that’s the sad truth. Anyhow, I have a new coworker for a few months and her sisters are holistic food coaches. They were building their new website and needed someone to write the text and do some SEO as well. Such a coincidence, because that’s part of my job. We decided to trade our services!
The amount of stress that I was exposed to also played a huge part
I started to write the text for their website and they started with creating a specific diet plan. Not a regular diet, but one that minimizes my symptoms. I couldn’t be happier of course, because I am not a diet type of girl to be honest. Something I mentioned earlier, but for me there has to be balance. I can’t be dieting strictly every. single. day. No way, José. That’s just not for me. So, I was also kind of scared that this wouldn’t fit me either.
We made an appointment, one of the sisters and I. It felt so natural and she made me feel so comfortable. I am a very talkative and open person, but not really when it comes to situations or things that are very close to my heart. Just like my childhood, the relationship I have with my family members, my boyfriend or my chronic disease endometriosis. Somehow I started to talk about my entire life. What?! So strange, but it felt so safe to talk about everything. Probably I felt that it was a real safe zone, because she also works as a youth counselor for problematic families.
Anyway, she told me that the amount of stress that I was exposed to also played a huge part in the way my body works and copes with stress. Weirdly it felt like the confirmation I needed. I have struggled a lot with some serious things, the biggest thing is definitely the death of my bestie, but I never took a moment for myself to realise that it ís hard and that it is ok to not feel ok. I always pushed through, put on a fake smile and went to school or work. This is not the way to go and it affects my body very hard.
But, let’s not go too deep in my personal struggles, but let’s dive into the diet that I got prescribed. It’s gluten free, sugar free and mostly vegan. Which sounded soooo difficult to me. And then there it was; her telling me I had to balance it 80-20. I have to be strict with the diet 80% of the time and 20% of the time I can eat and drink whatever I want. This was the method I needed. The first month I had to make sure to follow the diet very strictly. I had to do groceries differently and it cost me so much money because I didn’t know what to get. Therefore, I bought every single thing haha. Such a joke.
In addition to the diet, I was doing a liver detox for one week in the first month. That was for me the most difficult thing. I first had to drink a liter of apple juice or apple vinegar with water every day. After that I wasn’t able to eat after 2:00pm until the next day, so 24 hours. Before I went to bed I had to drink a mixture of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and olive oil. Drink it as fast as I could, cause this sh*t was disgusting, and then lay in bed immediately. It caused my liver to create gall and clean itself. The next day I was only allowed to drink times a mixture of bitter salt with water (F*CKING GROS!) and this caused my intestines to be completely clean. So my tummy was hurting and growling since the night before. When I went to the toilet I literally pooped only water and GREEN STONES…. I am absolutely not kidding. There were tiny green stones in the toilet, called liver stones. This was a horrible experience cause the bitter salt was laxating, but I felt so great and clean afterward. Ready to rock this diet.
After a few weeks I started to notice so much difference already. I was in a lot less pain and felt lighter. I lost a few kilograms, not much, but that wasn’t even the goal. I just felt much healthier. Now, a few months into this diet, I only have pain when I am having my period. This is a huge thing, because usually I was in pain approximately 15-20 days per month. It reduced to 7 days a week! The pain is still as horrible as it was, but I am so insanely grateful that I had the chance to get to know these sisters and that they’ve helped me.
I don’t believe in coincidences actually. This was supposed to happen. I am grateful and definitely recommend a diet of such form to any woman suffering from endometriosis! If you want to know more or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to help.
Love,
Andrea