Today I am ready to rescue my brain.
A long peaceful morning in bed, reading. I came across, and read almost in its entirety, The UltraMind Solution, by Functional Medicine clinician, Dr Mark Hyman – in terms of ‘powering up‘ and the MEDS Project it was the perfect reminder of:
a) the gut / brain connection (I studied and practiced the Brain Maker diet with extraordinary benefits in 2015/6; also the GFCF diet revolutionised life for my daughter in 2009+)
b) how the symptoms associated with (‘my’) autism / depression / CFS / anxiety can be radically treated through diet and supplements
c) how carbs (especially gluten-based) really affect me (and many of us) badly – see The Obesity Code, I Quit Sugar, Grain Brain, the GAPS diet… – causing inflammation and brain fog
d) how methylation might really help me (ie injections of methyl B12, and supplements of B6 and folate)
e) how we can recover a healthy brain via using food (and behaviours like exercise, meditation, sleep!) as medicine.
I realised this: I am ready to rescue my brain, and repair it. I am tired of being tired! I know it’s hard to make these dietary and lifestyle changes. But it’s NOT as hard as living life in an exhausted fug.
My symptoms have been pretty bad recently:
- ‘plumptons’ on the rise again – my term for my pre-intentional speech (like tourette’s)
- kidneys (adrenal /cortisol glands) ‘on fire’
- brain fog and poor executive functioning
- social exhaustion – but no energy to push back and prioritise self-care, so simply going along with the masking in social situations
- an extensive list of things undone – like really crucial ones…..
This is partly because I’ve been busy falling in love and launching my business over the last 18 months. It’s time to regain balance in terms of putting lifestyle changes in place that work for my neural wiring and my gut’s proclivity to get full of candida. The ‘clown show’ on the telly (see image) was a shock and a wake up call. I am not ‘that person’! The archetypal ‘poor soul’? No. I am truly blessed. I want to re-access my power so that I can get on with my work in the world. I have an amazing profession. Time to rescue my brain (via my body).
Today I am ready to rescue my brain.
Actions for tomorrow (Monday):
- Look up new meditation app (“if you like Headspace”)
- Plan to purchase a Fitbit again
- See if I can book another round of nutritionist/kinesiology support and treatment with the amazing Maria Bez at Nourish again (last time was 2016 I think – life changing – it’s just I slipped back to my old ways in the last 18m)
- Make colour code for MEDS daily chart – and then design a new daily checklist for here
- Decide on which protocol to follow (of the books below)
- Research: how do you get referred for methyl B12 injections (if apporapriate) in the UK?
- Set this coming week as a prep week and write and list of things to do / prepare
Interesting resources and videos:
GAPS according to Dr Axe – good overview: https://draxe.com/gaps-diet-plan-protocol/
GAPS diet founder on foods to eat: https://youtu.be/6zY8B6InxP4
Mother on using GAPS diet with her autistic daughter: https://youtu.be/BQyOMpbXbfI
Same mother’s guide to the first week (Intro Phase) of GAPS: https://youtu.be/6WAld1B3RV8
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Meditation:
15 mins silence.. I need to find a new app – I loved Headspace but need something new. Will Google “if you like Headspace”…
Exercise:
10 min walks to and from car/pub for lunch
Movements to Music – gentle and meditative
Diet:
Coffee – no breakfast
Lunch: Huge roast lamb, potatoes, yorkshire pud, veg in a pub. Diet coke.
Evening: at 10pm! 😐 …. 1 egg and 2 mushrooms with cheese, sauerkraut (new, for gut bacteria) and a can of lager… oh for heavens’ sake…. then I woke throughout the night. Eventually got up at 3am to have some porridge oats and recalibrate..
Sleep:
Screens off: 11.30pm – that is too late – the melatonin window has long gone.
Lights out: 11.30pm
Wake up the next day: (after very broken night) 9.20am
Total sleep: 7hrs?
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Books referenced:
