April in Review

As we come to a close of yet another month I am marking the 2nd month since my dietary changes. My body continues to appreciate the good foods I'm putting in it. However, a downside was discovered when I realized I had lost a few pounds since March when I started this change. My entire life I've struggled to obtain a healthy weight, finally reaching this goal about 5 years ago. A year later the migraines rapid invasion slowly began to steal those hard won pounds (this will have to a post for another day).

Four years later I just don't have any pounds left to spare without serious health implications. It is simply not acceptable to keep losing weight. As I began to realize what was happening about mid way through the month I decided to do something I've never done before - think about calories. Since I'm not working I can devote a good deal of time to learning about calories and my body. I didn't realize all these wonderful healthy foods were SO LOW in calories. No wonder. I tried to find a way to continue to eat the way I was and increase the calories - there just wasn't a way beyond a dramatic increase in the amount of these foods that I eat. But, as any migrainista can attest, nothing spoils an appetite quicker than severe pain and nausea. Eating 3x as much volume will not work - at least not unless/until my pain situation changes.

What I decided to do going forward is to add dairy back into my diet. I can meet my caloric need for a slow weight gain by adding just a big of cheese, some milk and not worrying about what small bit of dairy some dishes may call for. I don't think I'll ever go back to having as much dairy as I did before but I don't see that I can do this without some.

Additionally, I made a list of my foods and their calories so that I can track how many I take in each day. Until all of this is habit and my weight is well on the way back to normal I am committed to this daily tracking. Hopefully this heightened awareness will help me to have high calorie, easy dishes on hand for use on my really bad pain days when my food intake lowers. Things like Amy's Pesto Pizza. If you haven't already tried it, I highly recommend it - very good!

Overall I'm happy with the progress made this month. As I continue to learn more about foods and health I am constantly surprised by how much I didn't know. Food is such a big and important part of our lives as human beings, and yet I made it through 31 years without much thought or knowledge about it.

Here's to healthier more balanced May...Cheers!