What I Learned in Week 24

Overall: Improving in health, I’m learning my limitations but still pushing forward physically and nutritionally (read below on healthy fats & desserts).  On the left, you’ll see I went on another Segway Tour ride, feeling ready for it.  Review my health below to see how I did before & after the ride.

Last week I dipped under 130lbs. and am finding ways to add in fats and calories to my diet while eating my soluble foods (to bind things), along with exercise from the chiropractor, pool and walking.  Listed below are the good fats in my diet + some desserts I’ve made or are going to try.  If you have a suggestion on healthy fats or dessert ideas, please look at my list of food intolerance and comment below with suggestions.

My List of Healthy Fats & How I’m Using Them:

Healthy fats will allow me to slowly gain the weight I need while giving me energy throughout the day.  I can overdo this (and did this week), so each week I monitor the intake of fatty foods.

• Avocados – Salads, toppings on meat, substitute for mayonnaise.
• Nuts – Usually raw & by themselves.  Most common I eat are walnuts, macadamia, almonds, brazil, pecan, pumpkin & chia seeds.
• Oils – For cooking I use coconut oil, for salad dressing I use extra virgin olive oil.
• Fish – Salmon, sardines (skinless / boneless) are typical fatty fish I eat.  Be careful not to combine them with an avocado & EVOO as it’s too much healthy fats at one time for my body – especially if I’ve had too many nuts for the day.

Desserts and Recipes:

There are desserts that are delicious but come with a heavy health price tag.  Below are desserts with healthy fats, alternatives to sugar, delicious and quick to make.

• Chocolate – in bar form, at least 70% Dark Chocolate & sometimes with almond butter.
• Almond Butter with St. Dalfour Black Current Jam (no sugar cane)

Raw Donut Holes

Raw Donut Holes

2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2/3 cup walnuts
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon or 1 of cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp of sea salt
9 dates (can substitute dried figs)

Add coconut to food processor, and process alone for 30 sec to 1 min to release oils. Add in walnuts, vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt, process until all mixed & fine. Add in dates (pit removed)  & process.  Form into balls with your hands.

Other “Raw Ball” Recipes

Raw “Cookie Dough”

• 1/2 cup raw coconut butter
• 1/2 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt
• 1 cup dates, pitted
• 3 Tablespoons raw cacao nibs (you can also sub in raisins)

Combine butter & shredded coconut with vanilla extract & salt and process until smooth.  Add in dates (easier if they have been soaked for a 1/2 day) and process again until sticky & smooth.  Add in cacao nibs / raisins and pulse until evenly distributed in batch.  Roll into balls & add to refrigerator for a few hours.

Vanilla Honey Macaroons

• 1/2 cup cashews or almonds
• 2 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 c raw honey
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• Himalayan sea salt

Process almonds / cashews until sand-like texture.  Add with coconut, raw honey & vanilla extract into a bowl and mix together.  Mixture will be sticky so wet hands as needed and roll into balls with lots of pressure (mix can fall apart easily).  Place on dehydrator and dust with salt.  Dehydrate 118 or less overnight.
NOTE:  You can refrigerate instead of dehydrate overnight but mixture won’t hold up as well.

My Health in Week 24

• Overall:   Improving in health, I’m learning my limitations but still pushing forward.  On the left, you’ll see I went on another Segway Tour ride, feeling ready for it.  1 1/2 hours of sidewalk cracks, bumps, and hips / ankles getting a workout, I still felt fine but ankles were definitely swollen (but went down pretty quickly).  Made a big dinner and that evening was my downfall.  The rest of the Saturday evening & Sunday were spent with a sore body all over, swollen ankles, and limping due to hips.  Going to the pool on Sunday helped, but enough rest and then the chiropractor on Monday morning did the trick.  Feeling much better (even in the evening) on Monday compared to the weekend.  I was declining in energy on Tuesday and went to the pool, took a nap, and back to myself in the afternoon.
• Exercise: FINALLY, I am able to start exercising on a consistent basis.  Exercises consist of:
  • Chiropractor 3X per week (send a comment if you want detailed info):  Neck warm-ups, wobble chair, adjustment, head weights for 10 minutes, traction for 20 minutes, and traction against the wall for 10 (will go up to 20 minutes)
  • Head weights 2X per day for 10 minutes each (1X in the evening if it’s a day at the chiropractor)
  • Walking as far as I can outside (currently around 10-20 minutes)
  • Pool exercises on days not at the chiropractor.  Times range from 1/2 – 1 hour and consist of exercise gloves, walking / high-stepping, push-ups and pulling legs in/out / side-to-side to strengthen core.
• Sleep:  I am still waking up twice a night.  I go to bed at 10pm, get up around 1am (take 1 ibuprofen), then around 4am (take 1 ibuprofen, 1 probiotic, and fish oil), then finally get up at 6:30-7:30am.  The 2nd time I wake up, I usually pass out and wake up around 5am.
• Supplements:  Probiotics, Vitamin D3, Magnesium (Gluconate), HCL (1-2 times per week), digestive enzymes, and Maine Omega-3 fish oil are my standard.  I’ve added Chromium Picolinate and Vitamin B-Complex – most of supplementation is done at breakfast time.
• Current Areas of Concern:  Depending on the type of day (different exercises / activities) and time (evenings are the worst), my hips and ankles still act up.  Also, prolonged sitting enhances stiffness and fatigue.  Still difficult to raise my hands over my head and neck is still stiff (more on left than right).
• Areas of Improvement:  Adding the chiropractor 3 times a week along with exercise has improved movement / flexibility.  I’m now barely able to bend over and pick up things off the floor (to me this is a BIG win).  Adding the nutrients I lacked from the Metametrix test has boosted my energy levels and reduced swelling.  Overall I’ve made some big steps this week and it’s starting to show.
• Enbrel:  It has been 19 1/2 weeks since my last shot.
• My lowest weight was 130 lbs. and a BMI of 18.18.