GAPS Diet Update: One Month

We officially started the GAPS Diet on November 12th, so we made through the first month! Yippee!!!

These first five weeks have been a little crazy. We had to go off Intro and into Full GAPS waaaaaaaay sooner than I planned. Then my Memaw fell and broke her hip right before Thanksgiving, and while David and the peeps were able to stay on the diet, it was impossible for me while I traveled with my mom and spent a couple of days with my family. I felt so gross after I got home, however, that I was back on the wagon as soon as I pulled in my driveway. A couple weeks later, Memaw passed away, and we all had to be off the diet out of necessity for another three days. We ate out most of the meals while we were away from home, and I again felt so gross that I was back on GAPS willingly as soon as we came home. One very surprising thing is that the cheating didn't make any of us "sick", but none of us felt as great eating restaurant food as we do when we're eating our own homemade food.

So....you might be wondering...is it worth it yet????

Great question! I'll be happy to give a progress report.

Some of our main issues going into GAPS were as follows:

• Ryan's gluten intolerance, dark circles under his eyes, slow weight gain, nail biting
• Addie's sensory processing issues, white bumps on the backs of her arms
• my female issues, dark circles under my eyes, thyroid issues, ridges in my thumbnails, nail biting, sugar cravings
• David's red bumps on the backs of his arms, red patches on his skin in several areas of his body, nighttime cravings, red cheeks

And updates:

• We do not know for sure if Ryan's gluten intolerance is resolved; however, the few times he has had improperly prepared wheat products (like a hamburger bun or breading on chicken tenders), he has not complained of a stomach ache or had any digestive reaction whatsoever. While the dark circles under his eyes are still visible, they do seem noticeably lighter. He lost a bit of weight during our first week on Intro, but has gained most of it back since we've been on Full GAPS. He's still biting his nails. Progress for Ryan!
• Addie's sensory issues were better for the first couple of days on Intro. Over the past couple of weeks, though, they are worse. She is having a more difficult time than ever focusing during school and sitting still overall. I have read that symptoms generally get worse before they get better, and I'm praying this is the case with her recent flare of hyperactivity and restlessness. I am very happy to report that the bumps on the backs of her arms are almost TOTALLY GONE! Her left arm is completely clear, and she just has a few small bumps that aren't white at all on her right arm. Progress for Addie!
• My thyroid issues seem worse over the last couple of weeks. I didn't realize it was my thyroid until I noticed how tired I've been lately and that my hair has started falling out again. I don't think this has anything to do with GAPS; I got lazy with taking my supplements (iodine and 200 mg selenium daily) since I've had all this diet stuff on my brain. I am making a point to remember to take them every morning. What I need to do is get my hands on some iodine- and selenium-rich foods! The ridges in my thumbnails are still there as is my nasty nail-biting habit. I am glad to report that my girl issues are no longer a daily occurrence, and now only occur a few days a week and not even every week. This is a relief for me! Last for me is that the dark circles under my eyes are waaaaaaaay lighter (I'm not even putting concealer under my eyes anymore!), AND I have ZERO sugar cravings!!! This is a BIG DEAL! What do I crave now? Raw cheddar cheese, butter, chicken meat in broth, and fried eggs. Progress for me!
• David has made some improvements too. The bumps on his arms are still there, but I notice they are disappearing little by little every week. He hasn't noticed the red patches on his skin as frequently. They usually flared up after he got out of the shower. I haven't noticed them either, so I'm going to go ahead and say they're finally clearing up. His cheeks are still pretty rosy most of the time, but this could be credited just as much to die-off as to gut imbalance. Finally, his nighttime cravings are GONE! Both of us usually get hungry around 9:00-10:00 p.m., but we aren't actually craving anything. We're legitimately hungry. We usually grab an apple cinnamon muffin or a piece of butter fudge, and we're satisfied.

I feel so much better when I'm not eating carbs and sugar. I don't want it anymore. David has even admitted that he feels more tired, bloated, and irritable after he eats food from a restaurant, but he doesn't feel that way when he's eating GAPS food.

I don't know what our future holds. Noticing these marked improvements and positive changes encourages me to keep going. With the holidays, though, it's difficult. We spent today making GAPS-friendly Christmas cookies, bread, and muffins. We plan to try some white bean vanilla cupcakes tomorrow. It's also getting expensive! We've upped our grocery budget by almost $200 a month since beginning GAPS. Ouch, anyone?

And that's our first month on GAPS!