At the beginning of October, I started an intensive Paleo diet called “The Whole 30.”  It is like a 30 day cleanse for your body, and requires you to eliminate all forms of sugar/sweeteners (including “healthy” ones like agave, honey, and stevia), legumes, dairy (including butter), soy, grains (including quinoa), and alcohol.  The whole philosophy behind this is that whole foods can and will heal you.

I was motivated to give this a try because my friend had posted a link on Facebook about a Whole30 success story.  In this success story, the woman had suffered from chronic urticaria (hives) for years, and after 30 days of strictly Paleo, it all went away.  The before and after pictures were pretty telling.  This article resonated with me because 5 years ago, I suddenly broke out in massive hives that started around my trunk, then spread to my limbs and neck.  After a month of trying to figure out what was wrong, while controlling the situation with Zyrtec and Benadryl, I finally went to the doctor.  Unfortunately, she could not explain what was going on.  She prescribed me prednisone, which I did not end up taking because while it would work with controlling the hives, it also suppresses your entire immune system.

I decided to reach out to a doctor who specialized in alternative medicine.  Through her, I learned about the “leaky gut syndrome,” which is at the heart of the Whole 30.  I was also told that something must’ve triggered an autoimmune response in my body to have it start “attacking itself” with hives.  Unfortunately, I only went to her a few times because of cost, and time (it’s a 1.5 hour drive to her).  Meanwhile, I continued to take Zyrtec for over a year, which did a good job at controlling my hives.  When I decided to wean myself off this drug, my hives came back full force (my body was going through Zyrtec withdrawal), and I was really miserable for about 2 weeks before my body calmed down.

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Since then, I’ve had minor skin issues here and there like some slight eczema (which I’ve never had my entire life, but something must’ve triggered that dormant gene), but nothing bad enough to affect my quality of life.  Well, that changed with my 2nd pregnancy.  Sometime in the middle of my 2nd pregnancy, I started developing pretty bad eczema around my left neck and shoulder.  I lived with it because it was an isolated spot.  That “little spot” became increasingly worse once I had my baby.  Postpartum is no joke!  My eczema started appearing on the left side of my body – my lower back, then butt, and finally my left thigh.  I was scratching til I bled every night.  The scratching created open wounds, which turned into scabs and rough patches.  The scabs would itch so I would scratch again, creating a vicious cycle that was difficult to break.  I didn’t want to use hydrocortisone because I was breastfeeding.  I couldn’t take allergy medicines because I was breastfeeding.  I was miserable.  It looked awful too, and I was embarrassed by it.  As if I needed another reason to feel insecure in my postpartum state.  It was affecting my quality of life in so many ways.

When the eczema starting showing up on my left arm, I had had enough.  I still don’t know why only the left side of my body was affected, but this was giving me serious cause for concern.

In September, I finally sought the help of an acupuncturist, and it further reconfirmed what I had previously learned – that foreign proteins had entered my bloodstream, making my body think it needed to fight something off, creating an overreaction of the immune system.  Acupuncture did relieve some of the itchiness, but I only went to 3 sessions before discovering and starting the Whole 30, so I didn’t do it long enough to see if it would’ve completely healed me.  I decided instead to put it off and put all my effort into the Whole 30 for a month, if it didn’t work, I’d go back to acupuncture.

My sole purpose for starting this program was to see if it would heal my skin issues; everything else would’ve been a bonus.  I figured I could do 30 focused days of really clean eating. What did I have to lose?  It didn’t mean I couldn’t have the foods I loved ever again.

Imagine my surprise when on Day 5, the eczema on my neck/shoulder area completely vanished.  Remember, this was the origination of my eczema, and it was the first to go.  My skin used to be really rough there, which no amount of lotion could soothe.  The skin there is now smooth – my husband can vouch for me!  I noticed that I haven’t been itching as much on my butt and thighs either.  The only area that’s still somewhat bothering me is my left arm.  I also hopped on the scale that day, and discovered that I dropped 2 pounds!  This was after I ate breakfast, with all my clothes on because I was about to head out the door for work.  2 pounds dropped, without exercise (not that I advocate this, it’s just been hard for me to find the time!), and in less than a week.

I honestly didn’t expect to lose much weight on the Whole 30 because 1) I thought I already ate a relatively healthy diet.  Whole grains, high protein, plenty of fruit and veggies, limited carbs, and 2) I didn’t have too much weight to lose.  Sure, I could afford to lose those last stubborn 5-10 lbs of my pregnancy weight, but I thought my body was holding onto that because I was still breastfeeding.  All that said, to lose 2 lbs just like that was something of a miracle to me.  It’s like my body disposed of all the waste it was holding onto.

I’m still in the middle of this program, but already feel so good that I had to share.  My energy levels are stabilized throughout the day (no spikes or afternoon crashes), my mind feels clearer than ever, I no longer feel the bloat in my lower belly, my eczema has improved, and that nagging knee pain I’ve always had from running too many half marathons is gone.  I have high hopes that I will be in optimal health by the end of this.

Next, I’ll share tips that have made eating this way really quick and easy for me because it all seemed so daunting at first, but it’s really not!

Paleo! part 3 of 7

1. Paleo Baby! by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
2. Whole30 Adventure - Part I by Mrs. Deer
3. My Whole30 Experience (So Far...) by Mrs. High Heels
4. The Whole30 Made Easy by Mrs. High Heels
5. Toddler Paleo Lunches by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
6. The Wonderful Pressure Cooker by Kristin @ Paleo Plus One
7. Changing the Way We Eat by Mrs. Bee

The Whole30 Experience part 3 of 7

1. Whole30 Adventure - Part I by Mrs. Deer
2. Whole30 Adventure - Part II by Mrs. Deer
3. My Whole30 Experience (So Far...) by Mrs. High Heels
4. The Whole30 Made Easy by Mrs. High Heels
5. Pre-made Paleo: A Whole 30 Meal Delivery Service by Mrs. Bee
6. Swarm: Whole30 by Swarm
7. My Essentials For Surviving Whole30 by Mrs. Bee