Type A=Adrenal Fatigue

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I am surprised at how much time and energy it takes to prep a house for sale, in combination with all the other work involved in securing a loan for the next house to buy.

Since I am a type A, I have taken it upon myself to do pretty much everything. I have made a ton of phone calls and gathered documents for the correct people, and then made follow up phone calls.

We have painted and scraped and sanded and dusted and moved furniture and cleaned every surface possible. If selling/buying a house were my only duties, this would be a piece of cake. But, of course I have the two kids to take care of, as well as DipSticks, and the typical daily activities like cleaning, cooking, spending time with the hubby, etc.

On top of this, I have been dealing with the health issues that I have mostly been noting in my Dear Dairy posts. However, a friend going through similar issues made me aware of a condition called Adrenal Fatigue. I've been reading about it this weekend, and it sounds right up my symptom alley. A type A like me, especially one who deals with many stressors in a row, such as deaths, hospital visits, sick children, etc, can practically guarantee getting this condition.

Basically the body acts like it's under attack all the time, stressing out the adrenal glands, and causing your body to sort of break down and react in ways that can be confusing to both patient and doctor.

If you've been struggling with never ending fatigue, cravings for salty or sweet foods, memory issues, difficulty concentrating, difficulty processing daily activities without feeling overwhelmed, overall lack of hope or increased illness and allergies, then you may want to read up on Adrenal Fatigue. The book I'm reading is simply called "Adrenal Fatigue, the 21st century stress syndrome." I also picked up a book called the Autoimmune Epidemic too, because I have Hashimotos thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease, and apparently candida, adrenal fatigue, food allergies (dairy/wheat) and thyroid conditions, specifically autoimmune, are all connected.

I am very excited, and anxious to get to the bottom of all of this. If it sounds like I'm falling apart at the super young age of 36, it's because I think I am. But, the good news is, I am pretty sure it can all be fixed with a simple, but freaking painful, diet plan that will exclude pretty much everything I love. But, hey, if it's food or my life, I think that's a no brainer.

Mayonnaise recipe and meal of the day

I just had a great candida safe lunch.

I made homemade Mayonnaise (recipe follows) as well as some sauteed squash, turkey burgers and homemade french fries.

The french fries were just thinly sliced potatoes, tossed in a little bit of avocado oil and seasoned with pepper, paprika and garlic powder. (don't salt them until after they are done baking. Salt tends to bring water out of veggies) I baked them on 425 for about 15 minutes, turning them half way.

I put my own mayo on the burger and used a special candida safe bread made with millet and flax. The boys loved the food too, which is a bonus.

My mayo recipe is as follows:

Put the following 3 items into a blender or food processor:

2 eggs
2 T of freshly squeezed lemon juice (or less depending on your taste buds)
1 t Sea Salt

Blend all this until combined, and slowly pour in 1 cup of a good Safflower Oil (important that it's not any other kind of oil, unless you want to use avocado or walnut, or grape seed, but just not olive oil because of the weird taste, and not canola or vegetable for various other reasons)

Pour this oil in a slow stream through the top of the blender/processor until it's all incorporated.

This mixture will look just like regular store bought mayo, and once it has been in the refrigerator for a few hours will set up just like real mayo too. (keep in mind that this will only last a few weeks in the refrigerator. Make 1/2 of a batch if you don't think you'll use it in that amount of time.)

The best part is that it tastes great and cleans off your plate very easily. If you notice...regular mayo takes a bit of work to get off your plate with just water. Makes you wonder what it's doing to your arteries.

Good luck, and let me know what you think of it!

Cheat Day, defined

Are you trying to lose weight, or to eat a little healthier?


Have you been eating too many delicious DipSticks Gourmet Pretzels? :)


Years ago I attended, and then worked for, a nutritional counseling company called MPS Weight Loss and Wellness. It was a fascinating, new concept of eating whole foods, mostly whole grains, fresh fruit and veggies etc. No preservatives and all that good stuff. It worked big time! I lost lots of weight and kept it off for a long time. I gained a lot back with child number one, but was able to lose it once I started following the basic concepts again, and have maintained a consistent diet of these types of food until recently. (my candida battle doesn't allow many foods that were allowed on the MPS plan)


One term we used that I believe may have been one of the best things to come from that class was the notion of a "cheat day."


All too often we start a diet and end it in a few days or weeks (or in my case, hours) because we can't bare the idea of "never" being able to eat food X again.


So, with the cheat day concept it works like this:
As you crave specific foods, write them down prominently somewhere so that you can see it.


I put it on my refrigerator. I write things like Taco Bell, Lemon Meringue Pie, pizza, whatever I happen to crave at any given moment. Some weeks the list is a mile long, other weeks it's only a few items.


The act of writing this down does two things. It takes the immediate action of wanting (craving) something, and putting a time line on it. It makes you feel good knowing that you will definitely get that food again, just not until Saturday, or whatever day you have determined your cheat day to be. (it really helps to plan the cheat day around a special event like weddings, or holidays too)


And, most importantly, once you actually get to the cheat day, you will find that you only eat one or two things off of that long list. Thus, saving you tons of calories and regret. It works liked magic, and I suggest giving it a try for a few weeks.


You'll be surprised how easily you manage what you thought was too difficult to concur.