Trust your gut
Currently I’m embracing not eating food for the hope of enjoying food once again. That’s the journey I’m on right now.
Today is day 12 (of this 25 day saga), and all I am drinking is the Elemental Diet. This is an extreme option to completely rid your gut of unwanted bacteria. A GI Map test revealed that I have Candida, Leaky Gut and SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth).
My gut microbiome was all out of whack—with this excess of unwanted bacteria causing symptoms like bloating, brain fog, fatigue, hormone imbalances and abdominal discomfort.
The thing is…this is my third time dealing with a terrible gut flareup. I’ve had pretty bad gastrointestinal issues for years now. The first time I dealt with the SIBO diagnosis was in 2020.
I went the holistic route, got a naturopath doctor who put me on what seemed like hundreds of different supplements, all with very specific instruction, transitioning through phases of new supplements every few weeks until I was healed. I also had an amazing health coach to support me: Madalyn at Wisebite Wellness.
This financial investment resulted in a lot knowledge. And all the time, energy and finances were well worth it. But after getting off track with my newly developed lifestyle and diet habits, plus a substantial amount of stress, I was diagnosed with SIBO again almost two years later. So I opted for the easier way out this time, antibiotics.
Turns out that was not as easy as I thought.
Three rounds of antibiotics for both types of SIBO led to yeast infections and more antibiotics. Unfortunately, my story is very common. But this third time, I tried something more extreme, The Elemental Diet. I drank what resembled baby formula for 2 weeks straight. 8 times a day, plus water. And not a drop of any other liquid or solid food.
Thankfully this worked, relieved me of my symptoms and took off my extra 10+ pounds of inflammation with it.
Have you ever heard of the book, “The Body Keeps the Score?” Well I am here to tell you it’s true. My life is a testament to it.
When you don’t trust your gut in your day-to-day, big and small life decisions, your gut will turn on you. It needs to get your attention somehow to tell you that you have been ignoring your instinct, and operating out of an inauthentic place that isn’t serving you.
The only way to get back on track is to LISTEN and HEAL your gut. It takes patience and endurance. But with the right amount of discipline and determination, your body will be resilient. And it will emerge stronger than ever.
The mind/gut connection is a powerful one. If you’re anything like me and had to learn the hard way…you know it’s a long road, but when you come out the other side, the alignment in your body is powerful and your mind and gut feel one in the same.
The emotional rewards are just as fulfilling as the physical ones: Not undervaluing your worth or questioning your judgement anymore, and trusting your intuition.
Only you have to live with the physical consequences of your decisions. Even if you let someone make them for you, you are the one that suffers long after that someone is gone.
So cheers to the healing process — a slow and painful (sometimes distasteful) process — but a path always worthing choosing. Because YOU are worth choosing.
