My whole life I have been on some form of diet - Atkins, calorie counting, fat counting, South Beach, you name it. And, every time I went on a diet it would work until I plateaued, and then I would either gain or need to find a new approach. This lasted until I had kids, and then everything spiraled out of control. I tried the calorie counting, again, and to eat fewer processed foods. It would barely work, between 1-5 pounds lost after working really, really hard (and, by working, I'm including working my behind off in exercise).
Recently, a little less than a month ago, I started having some horrible, horrible symptoms. In retrospect, over the last two years I'd had similar attacks, but on a much smaller scale. My throat felt like it was closing, swallowing was difficult (and I had to put forth an intense amount of concentration to do it), numbness, and heart palpitations that made me feel as though it was trying to beat its way out of my chest. Over the last few years, this would happen (not including the numbness and swallowing) and then would disappear and not show up again for many months. As it became more, and more, frequent I began tossing ideas around on whether or not it was heart related, anxiety, etc. A trip to the hospital confirmed nothing was actually wrong with me, but to stay away from caffeine temporarily.
That, that has been an insanely hard road to go down. Pain, irritation, on one occasion there was vomiting, but I did it. Yet I still did not feel better. A trip to the doctor gave me an indication that this is, more than likely, allergy related (testing next week), and I was given an epi pen in case of emergency. That did not sit well with me, at all. So I decided it was time to take some drastic measures so that I did not feel like I was about to die every night.
And that, everyone, led me down the path of clean eating. Since I am not 100% positive what it is that is triggering things (although I am almost completely certain it is MSG), it seemed to make the most sense to eliminate anything processed. The reason I came to this conclusion is because, after sitting down and processing, I realized that all of my "attacks" had food in common. I would eat, say, Doritos, and all of a sudden be pacing the floor wondering if I needed to call 911 or not. Between Google and my thoughts, I realized that I had almost every single symptom of someone allergic to MSG, which is in practically everything that is processed. And delicious. And addictive.
While doing my research, I found that scientists believe (although haven't entirely proven) that MSG usage can remove the ability to lose weight, no matter what the calorie intake and exercise effort are. As I kept eliminating more and more types of foods, and even drinks (sadly, Crystal Lite had to go), I started to feel better, but my symptoms did not completely go away until I said goodbye to all processed foods.
By goodbye, I do mean a legitimate farewell to bread, pasta, cheese (not all, but most), cereal, soup, sauces, sausage, lunch meats, etc. Even chocolate, the fancy kind, is off limits as the miniscule amounts of chemicals in it have sent me running for Benadryl.
Why am I taking the time to blog about all of this? Well, in all of the misery I have been having - such as withdrawal symptoms, and the sadness of leaving behind an entire life style- I realized today that my shirts are much looser around the waist. So loose, in fact, that I am able to pull them out several inches.
The craziness of all of that is that my calorie intake is not lower than it was while eating processed foods (it is approximately the same, if not a little higher in cookie with real butter), and my exercise amounts are down - hard to push through and keep going while dealing with the exhausting detox. Yet, with all of that my body still managed to being losing weight with minimal effort on my part.
So, my suggestion for any of you who have been struggling to lose, and do not know why it has not happened yet, give clean eating a try. It is hard, and a hassle, but the rewards (not just in weight loss) are well worth it. Hopefully, my body keeps it up!
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