... you lose some

All in All the Paleo diet is going so very very well! The health improvements are monumental and the food is so yummy that it almost feels wrong. LOL

I have also pinpointed some foods that give me inflammation and bloating. Definitively connected cause and effect by first eliminating then introducing the foods.

Not surprising:
Grains/ Sugars give me brain fog, moodiness and slowness.
Dairy gives me immediate pain and bloating! (soft cheeses, milk, ice cream, sour cream, yogurt)

Completely shocked:
Tomatoes give me GI distress and joint pain.
WHAT?! I love tomatoes! L-O-V-E tomatoes... sauced, fresh, dried, stewed.... yum.

How did I learn this terrible news?! Since I cut out pasta, the tomatoes are not served as often (spaghetti was a staple dinner before).  And fresh tomatoes just aren't good around here this time of year so I haven't been adding them to the salads. I was easily able to make a direct correlation between my gastric issues and when I ate the tomatoes. :(  And now the intermittent joint stiffness makes sense too.

I was completely sidelined by that revelation since tomatoes are fine on Paleo. Now, I need to follow this one step further and cut out ALL the nightshades for a month. What if it's not just tomatoes, what if it's the whole family? Potatoes, Peppers, some spices, they could all be affecting me this way making my gut "leaky" and spastic. I have come this far with my food education, I will do this next step too. After the clean month I will try potatoes first and then the spices. HOPEFULLY all will go well and I just have to worry about my beloved tomatoes, why couldn't it be turnips that bugged me, I could easily leave out turnips!

Knowledge is power.

Through this process I have learned so much about my own body. Now I can choose to feel good! Just by knowing which foods make me feel bad and making conscious bites.