Thyroid Diet - Update 1

Overall, I feel pretty good.

Last time I weighed myself (which I didn't post here, for whatever reason), I was down almost a pound and a half despite the point in my cycle I'm currently in. Since I didn't lose any weight and even, some weeks, gained weight no matter what I did for over a month before this, I'm inclined to think of it as proof of how it's working. It's still early days--I've only been on this diet for less than a month--but it's something, and it's encourageing, and it makes me want to see if it'll keep getting better.

As for the other things I'm seeing if I can fix without medication...
- My mood is generally more stable. I had a big disappointment early in the week and it ruined my day but didn't linger for the rest of the week like previous disappointments have. I'm still figuring out motivation, but I feel better enough to plan stuff now; before, I was having trouble even getting that far.
- I'm still sleeping way out of sorts, but I got some chamomile tea and that helps me get sleepy when I should be and stay asleep better once I'm in bed.
- My hormones are still all over the place, but random floating pains caused by it are down to almost nothing--and that right there is amazing enough to make all this thinking about what I'm eating worth it! Beforehand, I was hurting all over in alarming ways, and now almost all of that is gone! I also have clearer skin and the afore-mentioned evener and more positive emotions.
- And my overall energy levels are up.

Here's what I've been doing:
- Taking vitamins and a few herbal suppliments
- Switching white carbs for brown ones, and generally trying to avoid sugary and fatty foods, especially when both are together
- Getting the thyroid-friendly foods into rotation: seaweed, lean proteins, whole grains, fresh veggies and fruits, coconut oil, omega-3s
- Avoiding the whole cabbage family unless it's cooked real well, trying to avoid corn and soy (almost impossible, but I can minimize), trimming gluten
- Taking ACV daily as a general tonic, ands drinking more green and oolong tea instead of just black tea.

And even though it could be placebo-effect, I feel a lot better.

So, all in all, not bad for only a few weeks and a little shifting of diet without a whole lot of exclusions!

How about you guys? Anyone on a diet, or trying to fix something with food instead of medicine? How're you doing?

Update! I know, right?

I've been busy. I'm currently at my last residency for my MFA, and this Sunday I'm graduating with a grown-ass degree and a pretty dress. This past month up until this week was all writing, revising, doing paperwork, redoing paperwork, picking pages to read for my thesis defense, writing speeches, packing and traveling.

So yeah. Not much blogging.

But in addition to that, I've gone on a new diet. We're pretty sure that most of my health problems come from having an underperforming thyroid, so I'm now on a thyroid friendly meal plan, which I'll be on for a month or two to see if I can control it with diet. I hope I can, because I don't want to take pills every day of my life.

And really, the diet doesn't cut out all that much--mostly stuff I shouldn't be eating anyway like white starches, fatty meats, excessive alcohol. I can eat all sorts of things I've been craving--dark chocolate, salmon, sushi, grapefruits, avocadoes--which, basically, just tells me I need to get back in the habit of listening to my body when it's telling me things.

So! When I get home, I'll post a proper discussion of what I've been going through and not talking about much, and in the weeks to come, I'll talk about how it's working and how I feel.

And, along the way, I'll talk about what I learn about this constellation of problems and how to fix it in case there are other people who feel as scrappy as I did.