As most of you know I already don’t eat gluten but my body has been really struggling this last year and a half. My son has been pretty concerned about my health and mentioned it might be time to go back on Paleo. We had done it before as a family and it was the best we ever felt.

He had been wanting to lose a little weight and I did feel really good on paleo but I asked him if we could take it one step further and do AIP for the first two weeks before going full paleo. Hey I’m all about a team effort and getting your family involved makes it so much better and easier.

So as we do, we made up our minds up pretty quick to get started. If you don’t know what AIP is it’s the autoimmune protocol. It’s a food elimination diet. A tough one. Your diet mostly consists of meat, fruits and veggies minus nightshade vegetables. After 30 days you can start adding a new food in every week. It’s complicated and I’ll explain it in a later post if there’s interest. But I’m guessing if you’re here you already know. Bottom line It’s specifically made to eliminate foods that can be inflammatory and help your body heal.

Since I have 2 autoimmune diseases, I know that even two weeks will give me a jumpstart into healing but what I’m hoping is that we will last a full 30 days. I like having shorter goals to meet, because then I can just adjust as needed instead of failure. I can do any diet for two weeks. Plus I’m an avid list maker and accomplishing goals brings me joy. So if I can mark it off the list even better.

I digress…the whole reason I’m writing this post is I was searching online for inspiration for example how did people feel day 4 and then day 6 and I could find nothing except for one TikTok and one YouTube video so I’m writing my own. I know everyone is different but still a point of reference is nice. Right? This post is for you but also for me. A journal for myself and hopefully helpful for you so you know you’re not the only one struggling or going through withdrawal.

So I begin:

Day 1

I start the morning without my beloved Diet Coke and drink my licorice root tea instead. I sit on my balcony and sip my warm beverage, half dreading and half excited that this is the day I make a real effort to stop the suffering.

I love to cook with my son and I know we can make this awesome. I truly believe it in my heart. I get up and ready for work. My son and I pack our steak, broccoli and sweet potato lunch, we each have an assortment of teas to replace our sodas. We are prepared.

That’s where my positivity starts to fade. At work, during lunch I miss my Diet Coke. I have two hot teas. I need something fizzy, I start to resent the diet. I haven’t missed cheese yet but when I get home that night…I want a snack. I sure don’t want to eat fruit. I want my Haagen Daz coffee ice cream. It doesn’t really matter though because I pass out by 7:30pm. I was so exhausted and irritated all day I should have known I wouldn’t last long.

Day 2

Not quite as chipper today, today it’s chicken, fennel and white sweet potatoes. I eat one big one meal a day and then have smaller meals/snacks in the morning and evening. In case you wonder why I only mention one meal. I had never had fennel before and I have to say I’m not a fan. Now I feel lousy and I hate my lunch. I’m hungry and I’m nauseous and my acid reflux is off the charts. I’m tired and ready to just go home and pass out. That is exactly what I do, your body is going to be tired. Be ready for that. I should also mention I had headaches days 1-4.

Day 3

This day was by far the worst…at least so far. I go into work a couple hours late because I feel so bad. Which I rarely do. I just have no strength and my stomach is killing me. Why the hell am I doing this to myself. I seriously consider getting a cheese stick just to see if it helps or maybe grab a Diet Coke. I don’t, probably because I didn’t have the strength but still it counts.

I make giant sweet potatoes today. Filled with ham, broccoli, bacon and avocado. I finally get to work, but my body is in misery. I just sit there staring at my screen with an unhappy look on my face. Hoping no one will come bother me. That was a dream of course but I manage not to rip anyone’s head off. So’points. I have the team out of there by a record breaking 5:30 on the dot. And I rush home so I can sleep it off. I should mention I rarely sleep but this is kicking my you know what and I’m so tired I have no choice. Asleep by 7:00, praying the nausea and acid, aches and pains are gone in the morning.

Day 4

I wake up at midnight, fall asleep at 4am and wake up again at 7am. Wait do I feel better today. Maybe. I mean I feel my normal which isn’t great but after the hell of the last few days I actually feel great. I usually wake up around 5am so I’m running late I forget caffeinated tea and head off to work. I know you’re not supposed to have it but cold turkey caffeine free hurts so I was easing into it.

It’s a crazy day but I’ve felt pretty decent all day. Then I realize I haven’t had caffeine at all. This is amazing. The acid is minimal and the nausea at bay. I decide to see if I can make it the whole day and I do. I feel a little crappy after lunch but that is normal. I struggle with nausea daily and zofran is my security blanket. I feel super excited, maybe the dairy flu is over or maybe it’s the artificial sweeteners left my system. But I actually think it might be no caffeine. Could after all these years of having a love affair with caffeine suddenly my body can’t take it. I get a small headache but an Advil fixes that. I’m still tired but just physically. Having to hide feeling bad all day is exhausting and I didn’t have too. So in my mind it was a fantastic day.

Day 5

I feel great today too. Alright I’m not risking the possibility of caffine making me feel like garbage so I drink my herbal tea and sit on the balcony and plan my day until sunrise and then I start my list of things to do. It’s Friday and I’m grateful. I get to work and start reorganizing our warehouse. New shelves came in and I believe organization is the only way to stay on top of our heavy work load. I plan an hour a day for this project but I stay out there all day. And miracles of all miracles I feel great. Honey chicken today for lunch. I feel a little crappy after lunch but again normal for me. I work in the office for an hour and then I’m back out there. At 4:30 exhaustion sets in and I have an apple and orange for snack. A cup of apple cinnamon tea and spend the last hour at my desk. The team and I clean up our office. We all go home and I still feel okay but yeah super tired. I have company tonight but they’re a good friend so they won’t care if I lounge. We visit a few hours and then I promptly get in my pjs and hardly move the rest of the night. I do manage to stay up until 10pm for the first time all week.

Day 6

It’s Saturday and I wake up around 5. I’m starving. I have no food in the house, so I eat a banana with honey and coconut yogurt. Man I wish I could have a gluten free English muffin … still I feel okay this morning not as great as yesterday but still pretty decent. I eat lunch and feel pretty bad after. Disappointing. But it ends fairly quickly. I usually struggle with constipation but that seems to be becoming more regular. If I eat I go. Maybe TMI but hey if you struggle with this, having no dairy definitely helps move things along. My skin is looking more fresh. There is no bloat or heaviness happening. I’m pretty thin already and don’t need to lose weight but I dropped 4lbs this week. I’ve read it’s water and inflammation and that seems right. My skin feels less tight and my body feels better in some ways I can’t explain yet.

Day 7

Well a little disappointing, I do not feel like a rockstar this morning. I’m tired, my acid is crap and my stomach is jumpy and rumbly. Nausea is manageable though so that’s a good sign. My eyes are very dry but I have just put in eye drops because rubbing just leads to problems. By noon, the nausea is bad and I have to take a zofran to get it under control. Within a few minutes the medicine starts to kick in and I get started again on my list. This is my dream to make it through the day without zofran. At 1:00 I eat a salad for lunch. But by 1:30 I can barely keep my eyes open. My stomach is grumbly. I really want to nap but man I have a lot to do today. I tell myself I’ll get moving at 2:00. It’s meal prep day and I just drug out all my Christmas decorations so I need to get those up and put away. Yes my tree is up, yes I realize Halloween is four days away. I can’t help it, I love Christmas and really it’s close enough. Today we are making new recipes that I’m excited to try. Chicken and roasted grapes. I’ve never had roasted grapes before, but I hear they’re delicious and I’m excited to try them. I finally manage to pry myself out of bed and go into the kitchen. 4 hours later, food is ready, veggies are cleaned and cut and ready for snacking. Kitchen is clean. Success. I promptly fall into bed and fall asleep. Indigestion was bad today. Again this is normal and not because of the diet.

Day 8

It’s Monday and I wake up at 4:30. I slept a little over 6 hours. Mornings are when I feel my best normally. I’m tired and wishing for my Diet Coke and quick energy but overall I feel okay. I’m hopeful it lasts all day. We will see what the day brings.

Well overall good day, I didn’t even need Zofran, it’s a happy day. I made a rosemary chicken with roasted grapes. Very good btw. I had some discomfort but I managed.

I was exhausted when I got home and got right into my pjs and haven’t moved since. but still the sickness was manageable and I was very active so that’s saying something.

Day 9

I don’t want to jinx myself but maybe…just maybe things are getting better. Today I had a hamburger patty with fried bacon, apples and mushrooms. And of course yummy sweet potato fries. Delicious.

Again I didn’t need zofran and what’s really crazy is I didn’ have digestive enzymes either, when I realized this, I freaked out just knowing I was going to feel awful but somehow my body didn’t kick my butt for eating all that fat. One more day like this and it will be longest I have gone in over 2 years without medication and not feeling like I need to curl up in a ball after lunch.

Also for those who wonder about the bathroom situation.. it continues to improve. I’m down 5lbs now. I don’t look bad or feel bad so I’m not going to worry about the weight loss. I struggled to keep weight on before too, It’s hard to be hungry when you’re nauseous constantly. Ice cream was my go to for easy calories. But now I’m feeding my body much more nutritious food and my calorie intake is about the same. So I’m sticking with the inflammation is going down and that’s why I’m losing. Which is my personal goal.

The only downside is I’m still tired but hopefully that will pass soon.

Day 10

So it started bad today. My stomach was a mess and my nerves were shot right off the bat. The indigestion was rough. I barely made it to mid morning before I broke down for a zofran. To make matters worse I must have messed up my back working in the warehouse’so I was in pain.

I made Tuscan baked chicken for lunch and asparagus wrapped in bacon and of course a sweet potato for carbs.

Tomorrow is Halloween and our office potluck, so no going home to rest. By the time I’m done preparing for the party I can barely stand and I literally crawl into bed and wait for relief.

I sure hope the next 10 days are better. Follow my next post if you’re interested in seeing how I make out!