Hi everyone! This is Coach Christy and I recently returned from the most amazing trip to Utah. The hubby and I ran around Zion and Bryce Canyon walking up slot canyons, climbing rock mountains, riding electric bikes, and zipping around in an ATV. It was one of my favorite vacations!
BUT, the week after? . . . NOT so great as I found myself in a symptom flare. My "in remission" disease symptoms were triggered, all because of the choices I made on vacation.
The hardest part about traveling in rural America, is the food. With restaurant choices limited, most food options included sandwiches, pizza, or something battered and fried. Salads consisted of iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese sprinkles, 2 croutons and a few swirls of creamy French dressing served in a styrofoam bowl. 🤮
So, I ate all my trigger foods every meal (gluten, dairy and eggs). Mind you, we rented a house so I could have made better food choices by purchasing groceries and cooking at "home" but didn't because it was vacation, right??
But, funny thing is that I never have felt bad while eating these foods. I actually felt GREAT on vacation and thought my hard work in healing my gut and keeping my autoimmune reversed had finally paid off. No tummy issues, no scratchy throat or post-nasal drip so common with food sensitivities, and my bowel movements were nearly perfect (I know, not a great subject to share publicly, but again it's one of our early early warning signs that something is off in the gut). All that made me even more confident my trigger foods were no longer an issue.
After 7 days, we came home feeling rested and blissful and I immediately got back on track with my diet. But, what I totally ignored was that I already had a flare brewing.
I dismissed the subtle early-warning-sign symptoms that are easy to dismiss. For Meniere's Disease, those show up for me as more pronounced ringing in my ears and muffled hearing.
Then 3-4 days after our return (and after having cleaned up my diet again), my hearing began to get even worse (which for me is a sign my inflammation has increased). Then it happened . . . a full-on VERTIGO attack! One just like the old days, which hadn't happened to this degree in over a decade. NO!!!
So I stopped, laid down, let is subside and had to take it easy on myself over the next 2 days. Today (8 days after returning from vacation) I'm happy to report I'm feeling better and am so thankful for this lesson.
This is a good reminder that food triggers are not just immediate, and inflammation caused by them can often linger a week or even more. I see this not only in myself but in clients as well.
For me, I don't feel this was a setback, but a strong reminder that the choices I make are important and that my body relies on me to feed it what it needs.
Thanks, Body! As always you are amazing and I appreciate that the symptoms you share with me are truly a biofeedback gift. Thanks for quickly returning to normal, and I promise to care of you better than before. 💗