I’ve talked about food a few times. Obviously it’s an essential part of life, but there is no single diet that is perfect for every person. There are many arguments about the ‘best’ diet for FibroWarriors and I’ve done a lot of them.
As I’ve mentioned before, I was doing GAPS. I did it for a little over a year and while it helped me A LOT, I feel like it’s not quite right. I played around with The Wahl’s Protocol and it resonated with me a lot, but I quickly got distracted by the ketogenic diet. At first I was a little disheartened with the attitude of some people in the keto community. Many people are so focused on their macros, that they fail to look at the quality of the food they are eating. I refuse to believe that a food-like substance full of artificial sweeteners and flavours is better for you than a banana. But there are options for whole-food keto. People like Dr Wahls, Leanne Vogel from healthful pursuit , and Dr Will Cole all promote whole food keto diets (Dr Cole even does 100% plant-based versions, if that is important to you). So I gave it a go.
At first I was doing well on keto, but I found it wasn’t fantastic for my mental health. Not being able to simply eat a piece of fruit was driving me a little batty. Also, monk fruit and stevia both taste disgusting in my opinion. I can definitely see how it could be very good if done correctly for some people and maybe in the future it will work for me. So I went back to a combination of Wahls (but only on level 2 rather than the keto version) and GAPS. By this, I mean I follow Dr Wahls’ guidelines, while still having my bone broth and fermented foods that are recommended on GAPS. I finally cut the dairy back out (which was tough, because I LOVE cheese) and eat sweet potato regularly (and occasionally potato – OMNOMNOM!).
While I’m relatively happy doing this, and it seems slightly better than straight GAPS for me, I still feel like I’m missing something. So I’ve decided to try something new.
It’s called Metabolic Balance. From what I know so far, it starts with a comprehensive blood test and then a tailor-made food program is designed for you. I’m a little apprehensive about it, I’m worried it will be too restrictive and difficult. I’m concerned that there is a pantry and freezer full of food that I won’t be able to eat and I hate waste. It’s expensive and I’m scared it won’t work. That I’ll do all of this weighing and restriction (having flashbacks to keto) and at the end of it I won’t be any better.
But on the other side of this, is my naturopath. Juanita from Red Suva is an amazing woman. She really wants to help me get well. I’ve been seeing her for years and she has helped me with my PCOS and dysmenorrhoea, and the haemorrhagic cysts I got from the Mirena IUD. She put me onto GAPS, which has significantly improved my digestion and IBS and my skin has never been clearer. I trust her. And one of the reasons that I do trust her, is her willingness to say, “OK, that isn’t working, let’s stop and try something else.” She knows that there isn’t a cure (yet!) for Fibromyalgia and doesn’t claim to have all the answers. What she does, and does well, is care. She supports and encourages, sympathises when things aren’t going well, and on occasion kicks my arse (gently).
So because she thinks that this Metabolic Balance thing might help me, I’m going to give it a go. This morning my fantastic, long-suffering Knight in Tarnished Armour got up early and drove me to have my fasted blood test. Then he drove me home and made me breakfast. The blood test results will be back in a day or two, then the lovely Juanita will send them to Metabolic Balance for analysis, and then she will help me with the next stage.
Wish me luck!
