It’s been 3 months since my last post. I’ve still been working through some food stuff (currently doing Paleo with some reintroductions), so that’s been my main focus these past few months.

I promised a post on my AIP journey. Here’s how I lived for one month and the eye opening experiences I had involving my body and my mind. I had no idea I could feel so crappy from eating so well!

WHAT IS AIP?
AIP, or the Autoimmune Protocol, is an elimination diet designed to figure out what causes an inflammatory reaction in your body. This is a method for Autoimmune disorders including, but not limited to, Hashimoto’s (that’s me!), Psoriasis or Eczema (my mom), Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc. On this diet, you eliminate a long list of foods including gluten, dairy, processed foods, refined sugar, and more. This page was a huge starting point for me, and can give you a run down of the entire diet and what to expect. You eliminate these foods for a minimum of 30 days (up to 90), typically until you can see a change in your body. This could be a positive change in digestion, mood, brain fog, skin, etc. The easiest way to tell if there’s been a change in your body is to get lab work done.

WHY DID I DO AIP?
I had to. I recently realized I must have had a thyroid problem since I hit puberty. I was always so tired, regardless of how much sleep I got. My skin was painfully dry, I remember applying straight up Vaseline to my face and lips and nothing worked. My scalp was perpetually dandruff-y. I was always so cold! Looking back, my hormones seemed way more out of wack than most of my friends. I was a teenager but with a serious hormonal imbalance. The first time I found out I had a thyroid problem was actually from my OBGYN. I was 17 and she noticed that my neck seemed a little enlarged. She did the classic thyroid test, where the doctor holds the front of your neck as you take a bunch of tiny sips of water. She felt that the right side of my thyroid was enlarged, and ordered blood work and an ultrasound. Sure enough, the results came back positive for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

Immediately I was referred to an Endocrinologist. The first one…not great. Strange guy. I eventually moved on to another doctor who put me on 75mcg of Levothyroxine and told me to come back in 8 weeks to get tested again, to see if my dosage needs to be adjusted. He said, “You will have this for the rest of your life. You will always need to be on medication for this and the ONLY way to fix this, is through this medication.” So, being a 17 year old girl, I believed him.

I’m not sure how many of you remember being 17, but at that point I didn’t really care about taking medication. I figured I was invincible, so I would take it from time to time, not realizing that I really, really needed it. I was never on it long enough to go back and do another lab test. I would forget and not take it for 4 days, then take it for a few days then forget again. At the same time, I was eating complete garbage. Laffy Taffy’s, sub sandwiches from school, SO MUCH processed cheese and my favorite after school snack, frosting straight out of the can. The only thing that kept me from becoming obese was dance. I was on a competitive dance team and took classes about 25+ hours a week. So at least I was active.

I do remember one day reading up on Hashimoto’s, and there was something on the internet that explained that the food you put into your body can effect your thyroid. I thought about how my endocrinologist never mentioned this to me. So at my next appointment, I brought it up to him and he all but cut me off. He said no, food has nothing to do with this. Take your medication, workout 30 minutes a day and you’ll be fine. So I disregarded it. I was put on more medication, and was up to 125mcg per day of a synthetic medication. It wasn’t until a couple years ago when I started listening to The Ultimate Health Podcast (see my first blog post for my overview), that I realized there is so much more to my condition than fixing it with medication. That’s when I stumbled upon AIP, through the podcast.

My mom was actually the one to lead the charge. She’s been having skin issues for many years, and nothing seems to work. She came home with an awful rash across her body and decided she was doing AIP. I had just moved home, so we ended up doing it together. Great timing, since I had just come back from Nashville where my main diet consisted of White Claws and BBQ. Definitely needed a 30 day cleanse.

WEEK 1
So we start AIP. My mom was ahead of me, but I timed it so I had a few days to bounce back before Thanksgiving. Not exactly what you’re supposed to do (click here to view a reintroduction phase graphic from Unbound Wellness), but I figured I needed to live a little. The first week is an adjustment period. I went cold turkey on everything (including alcohol). I was motivated, excited, and ready to lose some weight and feel better! I packed all my lunches for work, cooked and baked way more, and was having fun. Spirits were high.

WEEK 2
Okay, things are getting a little weird. I’m having trouble sleeping, I’m realizing I’m really bored without alcohol and I really, really miss cheese and carbs. I am baking and cooking around the clock. And having a lot of cravings. Normally I crave savory foods. I could eat salty foods for days, and maybe just a little bit of sweets. For some reason, this was not the case with AIP. I could not stop baking desserts. The dessert that saved my life during those 30 days were Eat Beautiful’s AIP Snickerdoodle Cookies. I would make these at least once a week and they were a life saver. My other savior was The Curious Coconut’s Chicken Pot Pies. Holy moly. They take forever to make but are SO WORTH IT.

WEEK 3
Things are getting weirder. I am not feeling any better, I’m not sleeping any better, and I googled it and realized I was probably experiencing the carb flu. You get this when you suddenly and significantly lower your carb intake. I actually felt relieved when I read up on it, because I was starting to get really emotional. The amount of times I cried during this process was unusual (and I already cry quite a bit so that’s saying something). I honestly felt terrible. I was also withdrawing from addictive things I always used to eat and drink – alcohol, dairy, gluten, refined sugar, etc.

At this point, I started to realize how unhealthy my relationship with food and alcohol was. I would eat and drink out of boredom, loneliness, out of a need to be comforted when nothing else would do it. And during AIP you can’t reach for those same comfort foods or drinks and it makes you feel empty. I felt utterly helpless, emotional and raw. And it was really hard to take a look in the mirror and realize this is something you’ve been clinging to your entire life. Not to mention, it’s impossible to go out and do things while you’re doing this. I went out to dinner ONCE and ate at a sushi restaurant and smuggled my own Coconut Aminos in. But that makes you feel lonely and lost to. Your whole social life is out the door when you’re on this.

WEEK 4
Things still suck big time, now I start to stress about reintroducing. The time is almost here, and I’m concerned I won’t be able to tell what inflames me and what does not. I’ve been completely compliant for 4 weeks and I’m about ready to reintroduce. I end up staying on AIP for 3 more days. At this time, I don’t feel any better. I can tell my cravings are gone but I’m still slightly depressed, anxious and feeling overall just down. However, I’m feeling mighty proud at this point. I did 33 days! Didn’t cheat once, and while I did feel like absolute shit I at least know that I need to be eating more variety. And, AND, my addictions to food and alcohol have been completely eliminated. It was pretty freeing.

AIP RESULTS
Overall, I lost about 13lbs in one month, eliminated my addictions toward dairy, gluten and alcohol (well that’s TBD), and gained a whole lot of respect for myself and for my mom. I stupidly did not schedule an appointment to have my labs looked at but I know if I did, they would show that my thyroid antibodies had gone down, no doubt.

REINTRODUCTION
So it’s Thanksgiving. I actually did an amazing job being compliant. I only had 1-1.5 glasses of wine, and I ate completely AIP (but introduced eggs and almonds back in). Let me tell you. I felt 100% better once I ate something that had eggs and almonds in it. It was like I had been half asleep for the past 4 weeks and was suddenly opening my eyes. It was amazing. So that was an easy introduction and I felt SO much better. Then I kind of come to a halt. I stopped reintroducing. I’ve got eggs and almonds under my belt, I added in some vegan chocolate later but still had not touched nightshades, legumes, gluten, dairy or grains. And that’s how I’ve mostly been now for the past few months. I did try tomatoes and peppers 3-4 weeks ago and I seemed okay. I’ve added in cashews and walnuts as well. I’ve been slowing adding those back in, but not very often. I guess I’ve been scared to. Since I didn’t do the reintroduction the right way, it’s tough for me to have a clean baseline to tell what’s affecting me.

For instance, I finally tried cheese again last week and my lord, it was so great to have it back. I did Organic Raw Unpasteurized White Cheddar and it was heaven on earth. I plan to only have it once and a while, maybe once a month, because dairy is a known inflammatory food. Then last night I tried hummus! Yay beans! Everything was fine until it appears I have a rash starting on my chest and face. It starts to make its way to my shoulders and even all over my legs. Not good. This rash reminded me of the rashes I would get when I would consume anything with food dye in it. It also only happens if I’ve been drinking alcohol, which I had. So the tough part now is, what caused this rash? I had cheese 48 hours before, and if you have a sensitivity it can show up anywhere from 30 minutes to 48 hours later. Or was it perhaps the hummus? OR did one of the wines have a hidden food additive in it, perhaps for color, that made my skin start to react?

This is the importance of not rushing introductions. I now have to continue to be very cautious with what I eat, and I need to make sure I’m waiting at least a week before reintroductions, as difficult as it is.

It appears I’m still that 17 year old girl who thinks she’s invincible and doesn’t need to play by the rules.

AIP RESOURCES
Doing AIP in 2020 is easier than ever! The internet is a beautiful thing and there are so many great websites and books that can help you through this. Here are my most visited sites, along with my absolute favorite recipes that made these 33 days livable.

1. The Simple Guide to the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol
2. Autoimmune Wellness Website – Awesome for a starting point, they also have great recipes. My favorite one which I still make all the time is their Bacon Wrapped Asparagus!
3. The Paleo Mom – Great resource, awesome recipes, and a whole section on Autoimmunity. This is a great site for those who are doing AIP and then transitioning over to Paleo.
4. Unbound Wellness – She has Hashimoto’s just like me, so I definitely trust her recipes and a lot of what she has to say! She has some really great recipes that always turn out just like the pictures, so less disappointment when you sit down to eat.
5. Here are a bunch of AIP recipes I pinned and used during my time on the diet. My favorites outside of the ones I already stated are the Mongolian Beef Stir Fry, Spinach Avocado Burgers, Lemon Blueberry Coffeecake, Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs, PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Banana Bread, Nightshade Free Taco Seasoning and the AIP Tortillas.
6. Get a partner. Having my mom under the same roof doing this with me made it 100x easier than if I were to do it alone. If you don’t have anyone you can do it with, I recommend joining a Facebook group. I did not do any research, but I know there are some out there that can help you along the way! Share stories, recipes, and of course how you’re feeling day in and day out.
7. Journal! Write down how you feel each day. How do you feel after week 1, 2, and beyond? Tracking your changes in behavior, mood, etc. can help you during the reintroduction process.
8. Understand that this will not work for everyone. For me, I think if I had really stuck to it longer and did the full elimination phase, I could have seen more results, but I’m still feeling pretty lost. I also know that I need to live my life a little bit. I am going to continue to do my best and try and figure out what inflames me, but in the mean time I choose to not be so hard on myself. What’s important for me, was breaking up with bad food.
9. Also understand that if you’re doing this for a skin inflammation, you will not see overnight results. I read a couple other blogs of women who did this for Psoriasis and Eczema and did not see any results until 6 months to 1 year of being on an anti-inflammatory diet. My mom was one of these people. She stuck to AIP for 30 days solid, and saw no change in her skin. She did however, see changes in her joints, sleep habits, etc. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to do AIP for 6 months to a year, this just means after AIP you need to continue to eat well, and realize that you’re in it for the long haul with your skin and it’s going to take a very long time to heal. This post may help with the question of “when will I get better?”
10. YOU CAN DO IT.