GAPS Intro Diet - Day 8 (Stage 2)

So I started Stage 2 of the diet today by adding an egg yolk to my soup at dinner. My eggs are from a really lovely farm that sells their meat and eggs at the Carroll Gardens farmers market. The farm is "Animal Welfare Approved" and every week when I buy meat or eggs the farmer tells me about the animals and their philosophy of doing things 'the right way'.  The cost of meat is of course more expensive, but since I am eating cows I want them to be happy, 100% grass fed cows - better for me and better for the environment.  They also sell chickens - $41 for a chicken!! I bought a half last week because I just couldn't mentally spend that much and it really was one of the most delicious chickens I have ever eaten. The eggs are super delicious too and since the chickens forage for bugs and only really eat some feed in the wintertime the yolks in the eggs are the brightest neon orange color I have ever seen.  So how did I enjoy my dinnertime soup with the egg yolk mixed in?  I did not enjoy it. Believe me, I don't have issues eating eggs raw so I don't know why I didn't like it, the taste just seemed off to me. I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't finish the soup. I am going to try again tomorrow and hope it tastes better. Tonight I also felt like I was on the verge of a craving, I am just getting bored of eating soup for three meals a day, so maybe I will cook meat, vegetables, and drink a cup of broth on the side and see how that goes.

Reflecting on the first week of GAPS I must say I am pretty pleased with the diet.  I was bracing myself for the nausea, flu like symptoms, headaches, etc. that I had read other people experience during the first days of intro. My only consistent symptom seems to be the physical exhaustion - and it is not really the kind of 'fall asleep in the middle of the day' fatigue.  I am just fine sitting at a desk or on the couch and I don't have problems thinking (except late at night when I am trying to write these posts!), I just have physical exhaustion when standing/moving/walking. Other than the fatigue, I had the headache last Saturday, some muscle cramping, increased thirst, and my skin has broken out. Oh and apparently I have been informed that I have GAPS breath - aka my breath smells like a bunch of vegetables and the smell doesn't go away with brushing or mouthwash. Hmmm...lovely. Though it sounds like a lot it really hasn't been that bad. My stomach has felt great - stomach loves stage 1 intro.

I am planning to try the sweeter vegetables that have given me trouble in the past - i.e. carrots and butternut squash (I have some waiting for me in the freezer) maybe next week. I have been totally fine with onions this past week which was another item I avoided in the past. My guess is I will do just fine with a few pieces, but if I tried to make butternut squash soup that would not go over so well. We will see.  I am also excited to eventually try honey.  Eating honey is like an instant reaction for me, but I have been doing some reading about how some beekeepers feed their bees sugar water and a large majority of honey is so highly processed that it isn't really honey anymore and I am wondering if a raw, more organic honey would have less of an impact on me. I am excited to try it - eventually. 

Oh and another positive note is that I have lost almost 6 lbs this week on the diet. Seems incredibly fast, but I am sure it is the low carbs, plus being satisfied by the soup due to the high fat content that has helped. I have had problems in the past with eating a full meal and still being hungry or never being satisfied with my food - always wanting something else.  I am thankfully not experiencing that at all on GAPS.  I did expect to lose weight on this diet, for my body to normalize itself a bit since the past couple of months have not been good for the digestion. For me, poor digestion = weight gain. So I am glad the scale is going in the opposite direction.

In fact, in regards to the fat consumption, GAPS is the opposite of every diet I have ever been on and the opposite of what I was taught about fat, especially about animal fat.  My weight watchers points would probably through the roof every day given the spoons of 'pate' I put into my soup so it is crazy to think that I have been eating what is seems like such a high fat diet and still having weight loss. We are taught that if you eat fat you get fat, when that is not necessarily the case I guess. Sometimes my soups are so glossy with fat that they look the same glossy way that chocolate looks when it is melted - not quite the same taste though!

Today's Menu

Breakfast: Zucchini Soup with Chicken

Lunch: Zucchini and Broccoli Soup with Hamburger

Dinner: Zucchini and Broccoli Soup with Beef Stew meat + egg yolk, Sauerkraut

Snack: Hamburger and onions

Detox Bath: Baking soda

K - Yes, starting GAPS with 6 straight days of work is probably going to be tough on C. However, I am sure it will be really helpful if you are preparing his food - it is hard to come home and be hungry and feel like you don't have anything to eat immediately.  Day one I learned to always have soup defrosting in the fridge or in a saucepan. So C won't have that problem at least. My thermoses - if primed properly with boiling water and left to sit for 10 minutes will keep soup hot (it will still burn you) for 8 hours, warm up to 12.  Pack lots of food the first day - more for the mental aspect since you can't just run out and grab a snack. Plus I don't know how hungry he will get.  I am curious how it will go for you all too and what kind of reactions you might have. I think if you keep the carbs up you won't be as fatigued as I am, though I think (hope) this is a 'healing' response for me.

I am treating myself to a massage tomorrow - so excited!