6 months ago.....this journey began.

Today marks exactly 6 months since I started this journey.  

Half a year.  

I have lost count of the days and weeks now.  

If you are a math person...you can figure it out.  

When I started this journey I had a "small" window of time in my mind.  

60- 90 days tops.  

There was no way I could do any more than that.  

Living without all those foods that I loved and adored so much.  

They would be back in my life at some point.  

It was just a matter of when.

But God had other plans for me.....

This was not a 60-90 journey He had me on.  That was my own idea.  Our ways are NOT His ways....and quite frankly, I rejoice over that!

I laugh as I go back and now read through my blog from the early days of this journey.  Each day back then was such a big accomplishment!  Each week was counted and marked on the calendar.   The number of times I wrote "I can't believe I made it to day....."  is amusing now.  Funny how we forget how hard things are in the beginning.  

In the past 6 months I have accomplished more than I could ever have imagined possible. 

It seemed that so much was TAKEN away from me with this diet.  

Yet, in reality.....so much has been GIVEN to me.  

Knowledge of how yeast takes over our bodies and makes us sick.  

Knowledge of how God designed our bodies with in such a way that when the balance gets disturbed even slightly, illness will come in. 

Knowledge about pH, corn, soy, peanuts, aspartame, Splenda, MSG, processed foods.....too many things to list!

I have had plenty of "nay-sayers" along this journey.  You always will anytime you do something "against the grain" of society.  (Pun intended!) 

I was a major "nay-sayer" myself for years.

It didn't do me any good.  

I have had people tell me that Doctors, Nutritionist, and other specialists do not agree with this whole "yeast causes most chronic illnesses" theory.  Or the fact that corn, peanuts, and soy are  genetically modified and corn is universally contaminated is just ridiculous and not backed up by research.  

I can't take your blinders off for you. 

I just know that the proof is in the pudding. 

Most doctors don't know about the study of mycology because it is NOT taught in medical schools. 

I can tell you that the study of mycology is NOT taught in nutrition degree programs because, you see, I am a Registered Dietitian. 

What?  

Yes....I have a degree in Nutrition.  

I have all the fancy letters behind my name that qualify me to tell you what is healthy and what is not. I had worked as a clinical Dietitian for years before I had children.  

This degree has served as NO great benefactor in this journey.  

Listen to me good here......NEVER was I taught ANYTHING about yeast overgrowth, mycology, foods being genetically modified.......NEVER.  

Period. 

I had plenty of chemistry, biology, physiology, microbiology....but no mycology.   

I did not know about all this because I was NOT taught this in school.  

Just as doctors are not taught this in medical schools.  

I urge you, dear brothers and sister, to not put all your "faith" in the medical system. 

There are wonderful doctors out there.  

I have been to quite a few! 

Doctors have their place and we need them.  

But if you "know" you have something wrong with you and you keep getting the run around or the "your thyroid is fine", "your celiac panel is negative", "your blood work is all fine so nothing is wrong".........don't give up! 

Yeast overgrowth will most likely NOT show up on the "traditional" tests that are run by all doctors. 

I can tell you that after 20 years of Irritable Bowel Syndrome - to which no doctor could cure or tell me why I had it- eliminating yeast for the past 6 months has cured this. 

Cured !  

I no longer have gut wrenching pain, diarrhea unexpectedly while shopping in Target....yes, people....in public places with no ability to stop myself from going to the bathroom.  I lived with this for 20 years years!  
It's kinda embarrassing!

20 years of suffering bowel pain, endoscopies, upper GI's, medications , and doctors literally telling me "diet had nothing to do with it".  

All the time spent last year in bed, in pain, the crippling arthritis, the fatigue,the fibromyalgia,  the being passed from one doctor to another each trying to treat the "symptoms".  The mini-strokes to which no one could account for the cause.

No one EVER looked at yeast being the root of the problem.  

NO one.  

All the blood work I have had done- at just let me tell you that when you have mini-strokes they run just about every blood test and body scan on you- none of those test revealed yeast overgrowth.   

It was never once considered.  

Diet was never once mentioned.  

Never.

I feel as if God has allowed me to go through all this for a greater purpose.  ( As He never allows anything just to "happen").  My purpose is to help tell others about how they can get to root of their illness.  

There is always a root.  

You can't just clip the branches.  

The root won't die....you will continue to be sick.  

My 6 months journey has not been easy.  

It was not intended to be that way. 

If it was easy...I would not have needed a Savior.  

I would not have needed God's strength and power.  

I am so thankful that God did allow my blinders to come off on July 23, 2010.  

I am ever so grateful for God sending Deborah Kirby to my house to show me what the root of all my illness was.  

I still think it's odd. 

 Yeast.  

Just yeast.  

All these years of suffering over yeast.

I have gone through my blog and taken some posts that hit some of the highlights and lowlights of this 6 month journey.  I have found many of them amusing now that I am this far into it.

Have I mentioned that my spit actually floated on day 170?

Yup.

It floated one day.

I celebrated with having a massage.

It was a glorious day.

This whole time I had been thinking "what will be the first thing I eat when my spit finally floats?".

I didn't even care about food that day.

I didn't run to Dunkin Donuts like I thought I would.

I didn't want to "mess" up what had taken me 170 days to accomplish.  

My spit floating on day 170 did not end this journey.

I have concluded that I will be on this journey for life.

God knew that all along.

Good thing He didn't tell me back then.

Some things we just don't need to now ahead of time.

This is one of my favorite posts.  It's from Deborah Kirby to my hubby.  I could have NEVER done this for 6 months without the support of this man!  He has encouraged me, cooked for me, created new recipes.....I owe so much to Jeff for being such a driving force behind me making it this far.  He is God's description of a "help mate". 

Jeff,

I just wanted to write and give you a solid pat on the back for your support of Karen through this process. It richly blessed me to read how you are aiding in cooking "legal" food. As I told Karen, I do believe this is a first! Most all women that embark on this journey are left in the kitchen (even those that are not normally found in there as "cooks") to scrounge out legal foods for themselves and their families. So hat's off to you, Jeff!

Blessings!

Deborah

A little of my journey:

**Day 6 may just be the day I hurt someone!!!  Oh, my I am cranky!!! No patience with the kids, irritable, headache, hungry, feel panicky.....think I will go lay down for a while to see if it will resolve...

**Wow- I can't believe tomorrow is day 7- I never would have thought I would have made it this far!  

**8/1/10 Day 10 is restful! 

Last night I was frustrated, tied, and hungry so I got teary and down.  We had dropped the boys for a kids night out at digital arts program then we went to REI to try some more bikes for me.  I also tried on some hiking shorts for when Jeff and I go to Seattle at the end of this month....the size 16's would not go over my hips.  It just made me mad and cry! 

I wanted to eat the world but my wonderful hubby stopped at Trader Joes and got some pecans and green apples to eat.

**8/13/10 Why is it 10 times as hard in week 4 than in the beginning?!! I am wanting to eat carbs SOOOOO bad it is driving me nuts!  It incredible hard right now to not lick or "taste" something of the kids.....I have not given in....but please tell me why it's harder now than the 1st week!!!  Are the yeast just getting killed off deeper down?  arggg. I feel like I am going out of my mind!!!!

**This Thursday will be 4 weeks exactly that she sat with me at my kitchen table for 2 hours teaching me about God's design and plan for our bodies.  I was ready to listen.  I was ready to take all that information and do something with it. God brought me to this place. His heart had been aching watching me "perish" with illness right there before His eyes.  He has the answers.  He has the cure.  He used Deborah to feed me His truth and redirect my path to a life of "living" instead of a life of "dying".  

**In 27 days I have gone from not being to get out of the bed, hold a hairdryer, unable to do basic chores and tasks...to now walking, biking, and yes, even running!  My fibromyalgia and arthritis is about 80% gone. GONE!  In 27 days.  I am sure that if I had my diabetes test again...it would come back negative. 

My journey is far from over...I am sure I will have to be on the "fungus killin'" phase for  at least another month or longer.  But, it will end.  It's not forever..."This too shall pass".  It's until I get rid of all the toxins that my body has had thrown at it all these years.  

**9/7Day 47 for me......still want the food I am not supposed to have.....beach =ice-cream.....but not for me!  We have not eaten out yet....the hushpuppies are going to be hard to pass up....but I have made it 47 days without cheating, I'm not going to mess it up now!

**I wish the cravings would go away!  I still have to fight them.  I can resist and know I am not going to even take a little bite....but the desire is still there.  I keep wandering what the first food I will eat will be once my spit floats!  

**8 weeks ago I was at a point where I could hardly get out of bed.  It hurt to walk, drive, turn the blinker on in the car, open the refrigerator, hold a hairdryer, brush my teeth, get a pot out of the cabinet, pour milk for my children......I hurt all over.  I was in constant pain.  I had no energy at all.  Most days from March- July getting out of bed was either not possible or only done for brief periods of time.  Going to the store would do me in for the day.  It was not much of a life at all.  Especially considering I have 3 children at home to take care of and teach.  I finally reached my breaking point with the strokes.  I had been on so many medications to help me sleep, cope with pain, fix my fibromyalgia....but none of them worked.  I have tried close to 25 different medications in the last 3 years.   Most all have failed to do what their "intentions" were.  In fact, most have only made my conditions worse or caused another problem in which I would need another medication for!  Back to 8 weeks ago when I met with Deborah.  She taught me all about what the fungus was doing to my body and what I needed to do to get rid of it.  Diet. Yup.... all diet.  Not another doctor, another pill, a magic solution, no quick fix, no special prepackaged foods to buy......just diet.  All sweets, sugar, breads, carbs, soda(whaa-I loved my Coke 0!), fermented foods, cheese, processed foods, corn, peanuts, soy.....all gone.  Bye-bye.  How on earth was I going to do this?  I lived for my sweets, my diet soda, my bagels and cereal.  I craved them all the time.  As it turns out, all these foods have been feeding the yeast/fungus all these years.  It's like giving cancer what it needs to grow bigger instead of trying to shrink it.  So, I got my list of what I could eat and went forward. 

** I am on day 56 and still going strong!  3 weeks ago I climbed 7,002 feet on Mt. Rainier.  Wait?  I couldn't get out of bed 3 months ago.  That's right.  With all the foods that were "taken" away......I have been "given" my life back. God gives and takes away.   Literally.  I was able to play in the ocean with my kids last week.  I now own a pretty pink bike and can ride it!  I am back in the world again.  Has this diet been easy?  NO!!!  I still want the foods I can't have.  But me being able to walk, move, and be almost pain free is much greater than anything those foods could offer!    All that pain I was in is 90% gone!  90%.   

**10/20I am on DAY 90 of yeast free diet!!  Yes, that is right!  90 days without carbs, bread, pizza, soda, sweets, french fries, birthday cake, processed foods, splenda, nutrasweet, corn, peanuts, soy.....still not yeast free inside yet- but making progress!  All my muscle pain is gone, my arthritis is gone, my blood clotting disorder disappeared, my chronic fatigue is gone, diabetes-gone!!!  It has not been easy- but well worth getting my life back

**Yeast overgrowth is a MAJOR source of all illnesses!  

Mycology (study of fungus) is not taught in med schools so your doctors most likely are not in tune with this. My pain and suffering were all due to yeast.  90 days= 23 pounds gone. Climbing Mt. Rainer. Playing with my children. Riding bikes. LIFE!

**I can't believe I have been on this yeast free diet for 16 weeks now.

Golly!  That is a really long time.  Sure am glad God didn't let me know before hand I would be still be on it 115 days later!

Gone!  

98% of all my pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, 30 pounds, restless leg syndrome, diabetes, blood clotting disorder (figure that one out?!), size 16-18 pants!

**I have to admit.

I NEVER thought I would still be on this diet at Christmas.

When I started it on July 23, I had the likes of about 90 days in my mind.

Christmas day fell on 157 days.

Yup.

One hundred fifty-stinkin' seven days. Not happy.

 January 23, 2011:  6 months into diet.  

35 pounds lost. 

Down to only 2 medications.  

98% pain free. 

Gone from a size 18-20 to a 12. 

Taking piano lessons for the first time in 20 years.  

Training for my first 1/2 marathon which will be on my 45th birthday- 1 year after my mini-strokes.