WTF?? I Feel....GREAT!

Ok, this is a little random, but I wanted to share with you all what's been going on with me lately. Just one week ago I went to a Doctor of Functional Medicine here in the Cleveland area. I was feeling so fatigued I literally could barely drag myself out of bed in the mornings; on the weekends I didn't even bother, usually sleeping fitfully until two or three in the afternoon and still feeling so tired I just wanted to go straight back to bed as soon as I got up. I had a continuous headache and neckache, and all my joints ached. My ankles felt so stiff when I first got up it was difficult even to walk to the bathroom! No matter what I ate and how I tried to exercise --- which was kind of a joke, b/c I was really just too tired to even try most of the time --- I never lost a pound. Needless to say, that just made me feel depressed and unmotivated to continue with any weightloss program.

So, in desperation, I made an appointment with this doctor, based on the recommendation of people from my morning job. She took a very complete medical history from me, taking note of even the smallest throw away comments --- the initial visit lasted almost three hours (try getting THAT from your average MD!). After talking with me, the doctor recommended a ton of labwork, then advised me to stick with whole, unprocessed proteins, vegetables and fruits, and high quality unprocessed carbs like starchy vegetables. Diet soda, sugar, wheat/gluten were forbidden, and she put me on a prescription level omega 3 capsule, to address inflammation throughout my system.

Well, it hasn't been easy, I assure you, particularly with Valentines Day right the first week! But....

OMG, the changes I see/feel ALREADY! It is truly incredible. My joints don't hurt! After my caffeine withdrawal (I was drinking 4-6 diet sodas per day, plus tea and/or coffee --- now I'm drinking pretty much just water) I haven't had a headache! I feel so alert all the time, and no mid-afternoon slump! And I think I'm even losing some weight; according to my POS scale, I've lost almost 8 lbs already. And since I'm eating real food, I'm not constantly hungry. In fact, I'm eating a little less than I should, as I usually don't need to eat the recommended 2-3 snacks per day.

If anyone is interested, the program she's got me on is similar to the one recommended by Dr. Schwarzbein in her book The Schwarzbein Principle. I will say, you do have to be very motivated to stick with it b/c there are no easy outs with the diet --- you have to be prepared to cook real meals, every meal. But if *I* can do it --- I'm actually learning to cook for myself, can you believe it?! --- anyone can. Just to be able to get up in the morning and not feel like I'm 80 is worth more to me than the comfort of any candybar, junk food, or soda could ever be!

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Ok, this has a very dear place in my heart, as chained/penned dogs is my pet cause. (No pun intended!) I didn't even know a group existed to address this extremely heartbreaking and important issue until I ran across their storefront. Items purchased support their work to bring attention to the plight of chained and forgotten dogs, and to get the word out to introduce legistlation limiting the number of hours dogs may be chained/penned per 24 hour period.

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