If you’ve been following my recent GAPS adventures, you know I’ve been on the Introduction diet for about 2 1/2 months to heal from Fibromyalgia. It has been quite a roller coaster ride, but finally leveled off for the last couple weeks with little to no digestive issues or symptoms.
I have successfully been able to eat raw vegetables despite my bad reaction to lettuce towards the end of week 9 and have also added small bits of raw fruit with no upset. Since there is very little to write about as I finish up Intro and transition back to Full GAPS, I have decided to close this GAPS Intro series. I will continue to write about GAPS in the long run, though, 🙂
Today I’d like to share what I learned during this time, if I’m healed, and what I will be doing next.
What Did I Learn?
- It was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Now I can encourage others that they can do it, too.
- All the preparation was totally worth it! In fact, I still have some stewed meat in the freezer. I guess I better eat that up!
- I learned how to make an awesome cup of broth and hope to share it with you.
- I learned which foods cause loose stools and which ones cause constipation. This was great information when I was having digestive symptoms. I just ate the correct food which reduced or eliminated those problems. I hope to share this information in a future post, but it is all in the GAPS book or on the gaps.me website.
- I will always have stressors in my life that can cause symptoms or digestive upset. It’s not always the food’s fault!
- I had to get over not talking about my digestive system so I could share it with you. I would like to apologize, though, for being too graphic at times. 🙂
Am I Healed?
Not yet. But I feel much better than I did when I started the Intro diet and heaps better than I did before I started Full GAPS.
Last month my husband and I drove two hours round trip to the meat market to get our side of beef for the year, and I had a deja vu moment. I recalled the same trip the year before and remembered just how sick I really was. I had forgotten that my husband had to put the beef in the freezer and make dinner because I was so tired after the trip. This year he volunteered to put the beef away while I made dinner. I am so grateful to God for helping me to find healing through GAPS!
But I know there is more healing to come. I still have a little Fibromyalgia pain, but the stiffness in my feet seems to finally be gone. I’m also still struggling with sleep issues even though it improved for a time. And I have a long way to go to improve my stamina.
During the middle stages of Intro, I decided not to increase my intake of Bio-Kult
What’s Next?
- I want to write more “How-To” posts. I love writing these and hope to post about how to make GAPS-legal yogurt, sauerkraut, broth, etc., etc.
- More recipes! 🙂
- I will be writing more homesteading/gardening/sustainable-living posts.
- I want to do research on the Epstein-Barr virus since it has plagued me for 30 years. I have learned some fascinating facts about it this past year and want to continue my research so I can write up a knowledgeable post to help others.
- I am really interested in learning more about adrenal dysfunction and have enrolled in a course that will help me to understand this better. I’m super excited about this opportunity and pray it will be a way for me to help others get better. I also want to take nutrition classes in the future and one day hope to be a GAPS practitioner. Lord willing!
What was the most helpful thing you learned from this series? What would you like me write about in the future? I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
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