Choosing GAPS

When I first heard/read about the GAPS diet I literally thought, "There is no way I am ever doing that!" Ha! Well I guess I was wrong because here I am...days away from starting our family on the GAPS Intro diet.

Craziness. 

The last 1.5 years have been an amazing learning experience for us as we decided to make some changes in our diet and explore a whole new world of food, nutrition and health. The more we took steps toward a healthier lifestyle the more we realized how damaged our bodies were because of years of crap-food we've fed them. Even though we were eating healthy, we couldn't ignore the fact of how our bodies were functioning. The more I pressed into a healthier lifestyle the more evident it was to me how severely things were affecting me and my family. The reality of it really hit me when I birthed our second child and I began nursing him. They say a baby gets their gut-flora from their mother at the time of birth and it must be true because my son can not tolerate the same things that upset my body (with the addition of not tolerating common gas-givers...like citrus fruits, tomatoes, etc.) The more I cut things out of my diet and tried to pinpoint what was bugging him, the more I became aware of how my body was reacting to things. It became quite evident to me how damaged my gut is, full of bad bacteria, and until I do something about it, it's not going to change. That's when I started considering GAPS.

I kept telling myself that we were healthy enough. We had already cut out all processed foods, gluten, additives, etc. and were eating whole, fresh foods. But, we were still having issues and I couldn't ignore them. Each of us suffer from different things, from bloating to food sensitivities, to eczema, candida issues, fatigue and depression. And I knew it was a result of our gut, food and the gut/brain connection. Even though we are eating healthy, our guts are damaged and need healing. Our issues aren't major issues...but, major or not, it's not normal, we don't have to feel like this and we can do something about it.

I, honestly, kept putting off looking into GAPS because I just didn't want to go through the work. But when I had a really terrible flare-up in November I decided that I was finally going to do it. That my effort would be worth it. My husband was on board, partly because of information I'd relay to him, and partly because of his realization of his own body and its connection to food. But he wanted to wait until after the Holidays so I decided to wait too and start Intro with him and our daughter. I meant to prepare more during that time, but besides making a few batches of homemade stock, I didn't do any food prep. What I did do, though, was mentally prepare and educate myself. I read through Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" book, and gave, what we are about to do, a lot of thought and research. I'm at a point now that I just want to start and I don't want to put it off any longer. I've been running around my kitchen this week trying to do food prep to make Intro a bit easier...and even though I have an idea of what to expect, I'm a little nervous about it. Nervous, but ready. And even excited to get going on the process of finding healing.  

I am hoping to journal daily (at least in the beginning) for my own benefit and reference. That is my short-term goal for this blog. My long-term goal is to share information, recipes, and our experiences in healthy living and exercise. Please feel free to follow, share and comment, bloggers always love getting comments. :)