Remember this our plan to heal our gut. Consult your doctor before beginning any program. Adjust to your own body and needs. We have done our own research and have come to these steps to help us in our journey to heal our stomach issues. Please do your own research before starting anything new. We are not really sure how long we plan to do this program. And over time we might be changing things depending on how our bodies are doing. We plan to share just about everything as we heal, so we apologize now if some things are TMI. We want to be honest as we are using our blog as our journal.
Well 20 days are done and over with our journey to heal our guts. Hard to believe… 20 days.
We finally had the chance last night to talk together about so many different things! We both sure can talk.
…What to try next? Are we happy with how things are going? What foods may still be causing us issues? What foods do we want to bring back? etc. were things we discussed (more on our thoughts at end of posts).
Yesterday we worked our abs! Did the Tone It Up Love Your Abs routine #LoveYourBody challenge. We adore workouts for our abs. We know the power and importance to having a strong core. Both of us are very pleased with how ‘our abs’ are coming along.
Lori’s day 20 of healing recap:
I took my morning probiotic, 1/2 tsp fermented cod liver oil/butter blend, and l-glutamine and gelatin.
Meal 1 was a new egg butternut squash quiche pie, I will share recipe on Friday (tomorrow) along with 2 pieces of bacon.
Little bit later I made myself some black coffee with another slice of egg quiche pie. This slice stuck to the pan so it looks deconstructed, haha
Next I enjoyed one banana with 1/2 cup frozen blueberries with lots of cinnamon and cardamom.
After my little fruit snack it was time to walk Jax. Please excuse the scarf in the picture. Hard to walk, take a picture and stay warm at the same time 😉
It has been soooo cold here lately, anyone else having really cold weather? I have seen many places getting snow.
After my 20 minute walk with Jax I was ready to juice!
Yesterdays juice was grapefruit based as Whole Foods did not have any beets (the horror). Luckily I love my grapefruit. I juiced 1 whole grapefruit, romaine, red kale, ginger, lemon, cucumber, mint and parsley. So good.
Later I came back to enjoy some veggie pulp chia seed crackers with about 3oz of spiralized turnip that I sautéed on the skillet with some spices topped with coconut oil. Told you I was trying to cut my veggies in different ways to help make them ‘feel’ different. You can pretty much spiralize almost anything.
I also enjoyed 1 1/2 cups of peppermint tea before getting things ready for dinner.
I took my pre-dinner pills: 1 tsp fish oil, l-glutamine, quercetin, licorice, digestive enzyme, probiotic and more gelatin.
Dinner was salmon sardine avocado sauerkraut mustard filled nori wraps again. I also enjoyed 1 cup steamed brussel sprouts and a few roasted carrots with 1 tbsp coconut oil on top.
Dessert was my new grain-free carob based mini cake. As I was talking with Michelle last night I told her about this mini cake and that she had to try it. I of course had to make it again too.
Lori: Day 20 recap –
Bathroom: yes! stool was between stool 2 and 3
Energy: very good
Gas: a little gassy but nothing bad
Skin: about the same with the pimples I got a few days ago which are starting to get smaller, also had a few very small pimples come on chin (due to getting my period yesterday)
Water intake –about 9 cups (does not include juice)
Day 20 was a good day. I got my period about mid-day. And you all know Michelle got hers a few days ago too. Which means we got our periods two months in a row now! Great improvement, as before that we were going every other month or every 2 months. Not sure if we will get our period next month but we are both really happy with getting it two months in a row. Slowly our hormones are getting back to balanced, we know we still have a journey to get there but are very pleased.
Though I am pleased with how I think my hormones are getting better it still doesn’t make sense that my skin is still breaking out, mainly my back. It is the weirdest thing as I have mentioned before that I have never had this before. I am starting to dry skin brush my back and plan on trying tea tree on it to see if that helps.
Michelle’s Day 20 recap:
I took my morning pills – fish oil pill, l-glutamine and probiotic.
I was hungry when I woke up, which I thought was odd, but went with my body’s cravings and enjoyed a banana with gelatin.
I mixed one banana with 1 tbsp gelatin and some water to make a banana gelatin mush!
Despite having little success in the bathroom I was still hungry, so I enjoyed another banana with some coffee to help get me going for the day. I was craving carbs, so these two bananas hit the spot for me!
I did some computer work (slowly getting caught up on things) while I chatted with the older sis about things (new shirt designs, the expos coming up, etc)
Then she made a nice warm breakfast! Cooked spinach, 2 eggs and some bacon. Man I have missed my greens!! Perfect balance of protein and fat for me.
This meal kept me full for hours, which was a good thing as I was busy working and then had a 3 hr drive home.
Upon arriving home, I snacked on some carrots that I dipped in coconut oil while I cooked up my dinner. I did take my fish oil pill, l-glutamine, quercetin, licorice, digestive enzyme and took a probiotic. I know I did not really have a lunch as I was not hungry nor did I have an appetite for anything. I kept my dinner simple. Plus this was the only food I could find in the house 😉 as I did not feel like going to the store.
I enjoyed about 1 cup steamed brussel sprouts with 10 shrimp and I drizzled coconut oil on top with some spices and dulse flakes.
And I could not wait for dessert!
I was so excited to finally make Lori’s carob chia cake that she shared yesterday! I put some cacao nibs in! Yes I know those are chocolate and chocolate is one thing Lori and I took out for now, but I could not help it! I caved. I am starting to crave foods I cannot have at the moment. I know slip-ups happen and I am fine with it and moving on.
Michelle Day 20 recap –
Bathroom: type 1 (I know due to dehydration)
Energy: a little off, I think due to time change and sleeping in
Gas: no major complaints
Skin: nothing new
Water intake – about 6-7 cups
I think it is going to take my body a few days to adjust to being home and settled. My body never does good traveling, everything tends to shut down. And as I was talking with Lori last night I feel like I cannot really judge what I have been doing these past 2 weeks too harshly because of the stress of my work schedule and traveling. I feel like now I am truly starting a program to heal my gut since I am home.
Lori and I will be sharing soon some new things we are trying, but one thing we are realizing is when do we stop and just say this is our bodies…this is what we will deal with in life…when do we just stop and just eat and do whatever we feel like??? Thoughts like this have been crossing our minds as we are getting bored with things and miss creating things in the kitchen. But when we read articles of people healing it keeps us going! We know it takes time, so we are not giving up yet!! Thanks for sticking around for our craziness.
Now since we both think our hormones are slowly getting better it makes us think… is it still something we are eating that is causing our skin to flare up? As we are going poo just about every day now too. So is going poo still the main problem or is it food related?
A question we discussed a lot last night. We have some new books to read that we hope helps give us some answers. Plus we have decided to take out avocados from our diet. Avocados are one food we have never taken out before, so we are curious if we take it out….will we see improvements or not?? This is going to be VERY HARD for us to do, because we LOVE our avocados. But we feel it is worth a shot. As we never know what might happen. Fingers crossed that avocados are not the culprit.
One more thing, I (Lori) realized I was still have ‘dairy’ in a way. I take the fermented cod liver oil butter blend from green pastures. Even though that butter is very high quality doesn’t mean my body will like it. So yesterday was my last day taking it. I am now just taking plain cod oil and fish oil. I shall see if I notice any differences with this change as well. I will keep you all updated on my findings.
Thanks again everyone for support! Again remember this is our journey to heal. You may find youself eating different things and that is ok, just listen to your body!
til next time,
xoxo
purelytwins
36 comments
A few things I have learned that may help:
-the butyrate in butter can be an allergen. While most people with dairy issues tend to react to lactose or casein, there is a small percentage that r eact to butyrate. What sucks about this is that butyrate is important for good flora, as it is a byproduct of good flora fermentation. However. If u eat enough good fiber (ie, legumes and veggies) then the good flora can naturally produce enough butyrate
-i can’t stress zinc enough. Again, see what ur serum levels are and if they are below 100 then u need to supplement. Cooper/zinc imbalances can be a root cause for a lot of issues, from digestion to skin and mental health
-the bananas may need to be a bit more ripe, as the less spotted they are, the more starchy and constipation they may be.
-perhaps a cdsa (great Plains labs takes bcbs insurance) might be worthwhile in order to see exactly what flora imbalances u are dealing with bc certain herbal antibiotics can do wonders. For certain strains. Also, dietary tweaks may need to be made based on ur flora imbalances, as some strains thrive off starch, some on sugar, and some on meats and fats
Hope this helps
thanks for all the great info, we will try to get our zinc levels tested to see where we stand.
and yes we try to get ripe bananas but sometimes we are not that patient to wait for them to ripen, haha but know they are better when ripe 🙂
and very interesting about what our flora imbalances are – we will look into that!
thanks!
Do u do extra virgin, virgin, refined, or unrefined coconut oil? What’s the difference sources tend to conflict as to which is best
And for the pulp crackers, how many days worth of pulp do u save up to use to the crackers? How often do u u make them? They look good!
we like unrefined coconut oil the best for taste and quality at the moment
pulp crackers last awhile, can store in fridge for long shelf life, I seem to be making them every 3 to 4 days.
What I meant was how many days of raw pulp do u use for a batch of crackers?
oh it varies how much pulp from how many juices, following our pulp cracker recipe is what I do – so I usually do about 3-4 cups worth of leftover pulp, that might be from 1-3 juices, all depends on what I am juicing.
Hi there! First of all: love your blog, follow you guys every day! I’m struggling with energy and digestion issues too – did however see great improvements since finding out I’ve got an underactive thyroid and got medicated for it. (Have you had a blood test taken? Could be worth a shot) Also, I have a small suggestion/question: Can you write a little bit more about why you’re (for example) are eliminating certain foods (like avocados) and why you’re taking certain supplements? I’m really interested in the science behind it all!
Cheers,
Lin
Thanks Lin, we will try to work on all that of why we are doing things; mainly we read articles about skin, health and digestive related and sometimes certain foods have a certain chemical in them that can be hard for some people to consume – why we tend to take certain foods out. We will try to expand on that more here soon. thanks
Because you are struggling with hormone balance issues, I want to encourage you to use some essential oils. I am a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist. Young Living is the brand that I trust. They have 3 products that I would suggest you look into: Progessence Plus, Clary Sage and Geranium. Clary Sage and Geranium are known as God’s gift to women. Due to the purity of Young Living, the oils can be taken internally as well as used topically. Dr Dan Purser helped develop Progessence Plus. I have several of Dr. Purser’s books, if you would like their names. I would be glad to help if you would like.
thanks Helen, we will look into those essential oils! 🙂
In the past week, we have finally been getting some winter weather here in MD, and even a little dusting of snow today (though there is more salt on the ground than snow now)! Reading that you are trying to cut your vegetables in different ways reminded me that I should try to do the same – I personally don’t mind the same veggies every day, but my boyfriend is always asking for something “different”. I think I just might have to pick up a spiralizer. Do you recommend any brand in particular? I hope for your sake that taking avocados out of your diet doesn’t help! I don’t know how I’d live without avocados. The carob chia seed mini cakes look so good, too. I’ll have to make them for a post workout snack!
Just a little humor– Lori, I thought you had dreadlocks, but it was your scarf! Ha ha.
haha love it 😉
One more thing, I (lori) realized I was still have ‘dairy’ in a way. I take the fermented cod liver oil butter blend from green pastures. Even though that butter is very high quality doesn’t mean my body will like it. So yesterday was my last day taking it. I am now just taking plain cod oil and fish oil. I shall see if I notice any differences with this change as well. I will keep you all updated on my findings.
Lori, just a thought-by eliminating “dairy” and avocado at the same time, if you get a response, you won’t know which one helped. Admire both of you in your quest. Elimination diets take time. Keep at it!
Good point Concetta. Thanks 🙂
Hi Lori & Michelle,
I just wanted to share a few things – on the bathroom issue its obviously better for our bodies the more we go (look into Aerobic Life Mag07 – take 1 pill 1x daily at night on Amazon)and consider having a glass of water with the juice of 1/2 lemon immediately after waking.
Also I suggest getting the eBook from Amazon (don’t know if you have Kindle – if not just get KindlePC for the eBook) “The Real Guide to Flawless Skin” by Stephanie Elizabeth – you can check out her website also at http://www.epicbeautyguide.com
she shares lots of tips in her book (diet, exercise, stress, supplements, etc and then she has a section that helps you further evaluate your skin – its a great resource)
hope this helps you both out- Chelsea
thank you for the ideas and book suggestion 🙂
Have you girls tried essential oils for acne? Lavender oil is great for this… http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/natural-essential-oils/health-benefits-of-lavender-essential-oil.html
Thanks Sonya I use essential oil, thyme, rose, and lavender for my face oil pulling and love them 🙂
I tried “gut healing” and candida cleansing but it didn’t seem to help my acne. The thing that helped me was avoiding fluoride and taking DIM Plus/L-Glucarate supplements for hormones. I have been really relaxed with my cleansing routine/diet and my skin looks better than ever. Tracy at thelovevitamin.com has wonderful information for different types of acne. I think mine was caused by fluoroderma.
Taking avocado out is worth a shot. I love them, but when I have more than half a small one in 24 hours my stomach really feels it.
Hi there! Ive loved reading your journey. I found myself being very restrictive (for different reaons) and just decided to eat as I feel and I’ve been so much better psychologically and physically! It’s nice not to think so much! By the way, I would bet money on you removing bananas from your diet for a while! I love them and eat them daily, but have to take them out for about 1-2 weeks some times. They are known to cause gas, bloating and CONSTIPATION! This is very true for me and after a few days of no banana I feel better instantly! I’ve done research and its actually very common for bananas to do this! Worth a shot maybe? Avocados are supposed to help with stomach and bathroom issues so I’m not sure they’ll help but I’ll be reading to find out! Good luck ladies, love the blog and honesty as always!
oh geez, I feel ya on the “when do we stop and just say this is our bodies…this is what we will deal with in life…when do we just stop and just eat and do whatever we feel like???” it can be really tough some times, but just as you two are motivated and inspired by others’ journeys to heal, so many of us out here in the “virtual” world are soooo inspired by you!!! on a lighter note…you ladies look AHHHMAZING!!! rock those abs, girls! xoxo
thanks Amanda!!! xoxo love ya
Hi! I’m really enjoying following along on your healing journey. I think it’s really important that we all listen to our own bodies! That being said, I know that everyone is different, but one thing that really worked for me is cutting out ( or limiting) coffee. The acidity was harsh on my stomach, and once I switched over to green tea, my face has become a lot clearer. I’m not sure if there is any scientific reasoning behind it, but I just thought I’d share it with you! It might be worth experimenting with.
Also, have you ever tried warm water with a fresh squeezed lemon in the morning? It usually helps move things along for me, and I’ve heard it be described as “scrubbing bubbles for your gut”!
Good luck to you both!
-Hannah
thanks Hannah 🙂
Yes we used to drink 2-4 cups of warm lemon water in the morning a few years ago and loved it. it is just hard right now as we workout first thing in the morning, so hard to get that in. but yes we love it!
No avocado?! Whoa… I hope that’s not the problem because I know how you guys love it! But I know a solution is the #1 priority. Good luck!
thanks girl, yes let’s pray avocados are not our problem 😉
i doubt it’s the avocado…you both eat a lot of foods that spike histamine response…check this out: http://chriskresser.com/headaches-hives-and-heartburn-could-histamine-be-the-cause
Thanks girl we sure hope it is not avocado!! We will check out the link.
Have you posted the recipe for the Butternut Squash Quiche yet? I tried to find to find it but don’t see it anywhere.
we will post what we did for that recipe tomorrow, sorry for the delay!
[Not judging] just wondering…you girls are very thin (fit, but thin. trust me I wish I was!)but aren’t you worried that cutting out all carbs will cause weight loss, which you certainly don’t need to do!
good question Linda, as weight loss is not a fitness goal of ours, we are very comfortable with our current weight so yes taking out carbs can cut a lot of calories but we feel with the addition of fats and more ‘animal products’ we hope helps keep us at the weight we are at. We probably will have some high carbs days.
Hey girls
Just want to say i love your blog and have enjoyed many of your recipes and have passed your site onto my friends. I see you are working on bone broth. i recently intoduced that into our diet and i love it. i got my recipe from wellnessmama.com. it is awesome and thought I’d pass that on. Keep up the good work girls!