Every time I go to the doctor it goes something like this,
I don't feel good.  My throat hurts.  I'm super tired.  My body aches.

Hmm, it sounds like allergies.  What color is your phlegm (PS.  Ew to that question)?  Let me feel your throat.  Let me listen to your lungs.  Let me look in your nose.  Yes, I think you have a sinus infection.  Here's a Z-Pack.

And I'm off, on my way.

Doctor was nice.  He asked questions.  He gave me medicine.  Why the problem?

Here's what he didn't ask.
Tell me about your diet.  What are you eating?  What are you drinking?  Tell me about your exercise habits.

After my first Whole 30, I was completely convinced that 95% (I just made up that percentage but it should be up there) of all of our ailments are food related.  The ONLY thing that is constantly happening is that we are putting food into our bodies.  That's it.  We're not outside all the time (ie: things blooming for seasonal allergies).  We're not overworked every second of our lives. We're not at work 100% of the time.  We're not at home 100% of the time.  It's not allergy season 100% of the time.  However, we are ALWAYS eat or digesting.

Every time I hear people talk here's what I'm thinking:

I'm sick.  My allergies are going crazy right now.
LPIMH (little people in my head): It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.
But I just have seasonal allergies.
LPIMH: It's still food related.  Try a Whole 30 and you'll see. 

My nose is really runny.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

My stomach hurts.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

I am constipated (I know, I know but I'm trying to make a point)
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

My kids are sick.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

My kid has ADHD.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

I have bad acne.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

My hair is really dry/greasy.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

My nails won't grow.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage.

I have a headache.
LPIMH: It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage....or drink LOTS more water :)

I'm not a Whole 30 pusher...ok I am sometimes and I wish they paid me.  I really believe that so many of our aliments are food related.  My poor friend doesn't even complain to me anymore because my first question is always, "What have you eaten for the last 3 days?"

PS.  Quick story...
Yesterday I ate pancakes.  Dodging the stones being thrown. Again.  Yes, again.  Yes, for you faithful followers, that's the 3rd time in a week.   I'm going to throw away the pancake mix when I get home.  Pinky promise.


My day had been a little crappy and I emotionally ate.  Yeah I did.  I'm on a the JOURNEY to the healthiest version of me.  I have not arrived.  I still make bad choices...and pay the consequences as you will soon see.

I had an awful night's sleep, for a lot of reasons but really bad allergies all night.  I woke up in the middle of the night and took, not 1, but 2 allergy pills...

All that from the gluten, sugar filled pancakes.  Strong work KC.  Strong work and I thought as I wondered, "Why do I feel so crappy?"
It's food related.  You need to eliminate the garbage!

It's no secret that I love sugar. Love. This makes me think of that Friends episode when Phoebe is dating the psychologist and he says, "It's just food, Monica, not love." "It's just sugar, Katie, not love."

Let me just tell you about the worst of my addiction to that refined poison...during my 1st year of teaching (which was the 2nd most stressful time EVER) my daily routine, after school (and sometimes at lunch too-did I really just admit that??), was to get a Diet Coke and a Twix bar out of the vending machine. You know how the commercial for Twix bar makes them look like a "pause" button? Well, where the hell was the pause button during my gluttonous overdose of a year of bad decisions and a TWENTY (yes, you read correctly) pound weight gain?!?!




Fast forward to the next time I ODed, big time. I moved to Durango...the fittest city in the world. These people worked out and ate healthy like it was their job. The guy I used to work with biked to school every day...even when it was 8 degrees. WTF?! EIGHT DEGREES. I didn't even want to walk to my car, let alone bike to my job. So, all of the Durangans were kayaking, hiking, jogging, biking, rock climbing, cross country skiing. I was driving, not biking (even though that's pretty much how everyone else gets there) to Bread...for the cookies that were as big as my face. This happened a lot. Strong work Cartier.



So, as I began getting healthier, because it was either that or slit my wrists (and probably watch refined sugar pour out of my veins), I did some research. Since I pretty much have a PhD in Googling, I Googled.


Major things that cause sugar/caffeine (caffeine is in this category as well) cravings:
1. High stress
Your body doesn't care whether you're stressed because you're being chased by a shark (in which case I would hope I wouldn't stop for the Twix but I'm not convinced) or because of the day-to-day BS. SOLUTION: Realize you're getting stressed and: breathe, meditate, chew gum, whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of your body because the last thing you need when you're stressed is for your jeans to not button.


2. Inflammation
This sounds weird, but it's true. However, it can me the normal inflammation like injury or something or allergens. So, if you are allergic to everything, as I am (I'm not freakin' kidding. They put 80 "allergens" on my and I was allergic to 73 of them, Holy Shnikees!) you'll be affected. SOLUTION: Take your allergy pills or stay away from things you're body hates you for putting in/near it.


3. Low blood sugar.
That means when you don't eat enough, your blood sugar gets low and you crave sugary snacks. SOLUTION: Eat every 3 hours. NEVER let more times than that pass and make sure that each time you eat there's some protein in the mix.


4. Not Enough Sleep
This is not a problem for me but some people getting enough sleep is a tough task. SOLUTION: turn off your computer (ahh, the irony as I type this as midnight) and drift off into dreamland. Sidenote: I had to put this adorable picture of my sweet, sweet niece sleeping like a baby.



5. Eating Dirty
This is the opposite of "eating clean." So, if you're putting food that has been altered (think: almost everything that's in the aisles of the store), you're going to be craving more of that dirty food. SOLUTION: Detox. Some people don't agree with these but I do. People have said, "Our bodies are built to process this and we don't need to do them." I say, "No, our bodies were NOT built to process chemically enhanced, processed food. So, for that reason we need to "eat clean" and when we don't (cause nobody can do it all the time) we need to detox. In unrelated news: don't EVER Google Image: eating dirty. Ahhhh, my eyes are burning!!!


Moral of this story: I had to find my triggers and still have to work hard to realize what is going on when it's happening and then, here's the hard part, not give in to the sugar cravings.

PS. I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not but refined sugar is BAD, BAD, BAD for you. So, grab some fruit (which is not refined sugar but still sweet) and let's all sing Kumbaya. Namaste Friends.