My insides are BROKEN. Step 1 ........

Hi. My name is Michelle and I am a gastric bypass patient. Along with this surgery, I have had a grand total of 13 invasive surgeries on my guts. It's a mess in there. I've abused this body to its breaking point and now, I'm paying for it. 

So, I'm going to run another experiment on myself. I'm a sciencey-type so this is a way of trying to sort out what exactly is causing my problems. Last summer I did something similar, cut out all gluten, dairy, caffeine, and sugar. The first week was murder but something wondrous happened after that, I felt GREAT. The thing that de-railed me? A 2 week trip to NYC on vacation.....because...well, FOOD everywhere and sooooo good. And vacation. You understand.

Once back home I just couldn't get back on that wagon. It wasn't for lack of trying. I don't know, it wasn't the same. So, I continued to eat a 'normal' diet and workout. In Oct. 2013 I ran the Spartan Super at Wintergreen. It was an ordeal, but that's another story. This story starts there. Post-race my gastro wasn't the same. I can't put my finger on it. But I've been suffering since then with pain, internal and external. I had my vitamin levels checked a month ago and I'm anemic ( which I knew ) and so I just beefed up my vitamins. Finally, in desperation, I made an appointment with a bariatric doc. Not my original, because he has long retired. Feels funny running back to these people, I don't even know if they will be able to help me. 

I'm a researcher. And just plain curious. Cancer, diverticulitis, IBS, Crohn's, etc. People who are diagnosed with these diseases will try anything for relief. How do you heal the inside? How do you bolster your immune system? What do your cells crave? Your intestinal tract works HARD, that's a huge expenditure of energy, which taxes the whole system. What if we give that system a break? Allow it to expel the harmful toxins like refined sugar and caffeine completely and focus on what it is supposed to be doing, sucking in those micronutrients. I'm at the point where I feel compelled to give it a try.

Today I bought a very expensive juicer. I bought organic produce. Starting tomorrow morning I will begin a 10 day juice fast. No solids. It will consist of 5 or 6 drinks per day ( up to 20 oz a piece) and lots of water in between. The mixtures will depend on what I have a taste for but will remain 80% vegetable and 20% fruit. I will take 1000 mg Vitamin D along with it. 

This morning I weighed 142 lbs. I feel bloated and sluggish. I crave 'sweet' and 'salt'. I am sad that there will be no coffee tomorrow. I expect to feel very bad for a few days but am hopeful that by day 4-5 I will be better. I will try to log all of my mixtures and daily status here because I just don't want to clog up Facebook. Some people don't really give a shit what you're eating. LOL.