Oh my. Hello Monday.

A few weeks ago, my friend Martha pointed out that I have so much good going on. As usual, she is correct. (I'd give her a 95% accuracy rating.) Martha is one of the first people I met when I moved to DFW. What is best is, she stuck around even when I didn't say funny things and was too sick with autoimmune crap to socialize.

I "woke up" from isolation and cultivated more friends about 2 years ago. They are sweet, thoughtful, and my best allies. They stuck around when I had mono last summer. It was psychological hell to feel that tired and face time on the couch again. Actually, during mono, I was so tired, I slept on my bed.

Fortunately, my antibodies are gone now. They could come back, but I will do anything to prevent that from happening. As a first preventative, I gave up gluten. Next, I will give up dairy, except for cheese twice a month. Soy is last and I do not eat a whole lot of that anyway.

Last night, I messaged my friend from home and told her of my plan to publish my recovery. Years ago, I made up my mind that I would publish my secrets to help others. People definitely helped me recover. My friend's reaction to my written plan was, "You should!"

Eating 1/2 raw and gluten free is difficult to cultivate a consistent habit, but the lifestyle it is not expensive. Think potatoes, lettuce, veggies, rice, beans and eggs. By choice, I do not eat any meat except fish and eggs. The metallic toxicity in fish terrifies me, so I limit my fish intake.

Pre-packaged food is typically littered with gluten. I stick to labels that read "Gluten-Free". Whole Foods has a lot of selection of pre-packaged foods that are free of gluten.

See that picture below? That's me this morning. I used to weigh over 250 lbs. Recovery is attainable. It took me two years of praying, trying new things, keeping a diary as to what felt like it worked, reading articles, and monitoring my numbers with my PCP.

In a nutshell, my antibodies went away before I became gluten-free. Two years ago, I lost 90 pounds (some of the lingering 20 pounds has finally started to shed). Additionally, I take Magnesium, 260 mg, vitamin D (dosage varies by season), and vitamin B. I keep my mood up through exercise. I am currently working to get off of Levothyroxine.

Once the antibodies rage, I believe a person is always at risk for a flare up. Recovery and improvement take time and a consistent fight. I am a lifelong player in the game of recovery. God, I am grateful beyond written words of expression.