As I left the doctors office with my results I did feel a little overwhelmed.  The fact that I need to make a few changes in my routine can always be a challenge.  The biggest thing I have learned from living life, is that change can be a good thing.  Change means progress, change means learning, change means a fresh approach on some old habits!

So I took a few days to read over the material and develop a game plan.  It’s not like I was going to walk out the door and jump right into a new nutritional plan.

I tend to always think of the 7 P’s when planning for many things.  In my teen years I had a close friend named Juan David.  His father was always hiring us for odd jobs around the house.  Stacking wood, painting a porch, cutting down trees, and digging ditches…..yes….digging ditches!  Juan’s father always explained to us, “You gentleman must follow the 7 P’s for a job to ensure success!”

• 7 P’s: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

One of the biggest things holding me me back was that I went food shopping the day before!  Yup, I had restocked on several food items that were 1,2, and 3s on the sensitivity testing for my IgG and candidiasis.  So, I could not and would not go home and throw all the food away.  It took about a week to work through the food we had bought and I had a solid plan for my new nutritional needs.

The first plan was to make sure I was getting in some clean nutrient dense foods in the morning time.  Everyday (well 6 days a week) I am up at 4:30am getting ready for a full day at Iron Body Studios.

I am currently following a macro nutrient plan designed by my studies of Precision Nutrition.  I am on a plan that involves me taking in 174g of Protein, 124g of Carbs, and 88g of Fat.  This formula of macros is designed for me and my needs.  This works out to be 1984 calories a day.  I do not track my calories though…I keep focused on my macros.

My plan was to begin making meat muffins for my morning eats!  I call them meat muffins because I use a traditional muffin pan to make them.  I will take 2 pounds of meat (either ground beef, turkey, or bison) and ball up 3oz and pack them into a muffin pan.  2 pounds usually yields around 10 meat muffins.  In each muffin I keep the recipe the same.  Celtic sea salt, organic black pepper; clean and easy.  Each 3oz meat muffin has approximately 21 grams of protein.  I usually take in 2 of these at the studio with a piece of fruit in-between clients, classes or small group training sessions.

I also make a whole food nutritional shake.  I don’t tend to use prepackaged shakes because of many additives.  Plus with my new nutritional needs it is hard to find a shake that fits the unique needs and sensitivities I have.  In my shake you can find:

• 16oz Water
• 1 scoop of VegaSport Protein powder
• 2 tablespoons of Organic Raw Cashew Butter
• 1 teaspoon of Maca Powder
• 1 Cup of Organic Berry Mix from Costco
• About 3 hand full of Organic Power Greens (Baby Kale, Spinach, Baby Chard)
• Blend in Ninja for about 5 mins.  I have learned to let this blend longer to make it very smooth.  I use a ninja and it takes a little longer to get a smooth blend when compared to a VitaMix.  I would love to get a VitMix in the future!

I drink about half of the shake in the morning while on the floor training clients, classes and small groups.  I then take this shake and keep it in the fridge for post workout.

The combination of foods I eat in the morning helps keep me fueled up and feeling great all morning.  I tend to train myself around noon when we close for the morning.  I do have good energy and nice training sessions.

One of the major things with this new approach to eating and following my Precision Nutrition guidelines for my needs was purchasing and using a food scale.  This allows me to get a good tracking system on the macros I am taking in.  I noticed that what I thought was a certain amount of protein actually was not the correct amount for my needs.  I was taking in much less protein.  With the addition of the food scale I am now taking in much more protein and feeling much better with my eating plan.  Using this scale also helped me to see how much carbs and fats were needed.  It is amazing when you get your nutritional needs in check…..you feel so much better with training, life, and sleep.

In addition to the food sensitivities; I also needed to get accustom to the Candidasis Level II nutritional treatment I was going to be following.  Really the candidasis treatment fell right in line with my current nutrition.  Its a focus on keeping out processed foods and sugar.  This approach is supposed to starve the candidasis and allow it to drop to normal levels in the GI.

One thing to note is that the Candidasis Level II nutritional treatment is a plan I have to follow for 6-12 months.  When the 6-12 months is over a re-evaulation is done.  Once re-evaluated you then make a decision on adding some of the foods not allowed back into your nutritional needs.  Honestly, I am doing great and not worried about adding back in the foods.  Many people these days would also be upset with the time frame for following this nutritional plan.  A majority of society seems to be fixed on immediate results and look for a solution over night.  In reality, an over night fix is not sustainable for the rest of your life.  My body has to be introduced to a sustainable nutrition plan and notes must be taken on the small changes.  I have been managing this condition for years and I am prepared for the long road to recovery.  If one year of following this plan means the next 20-30 years of no stomach pain and inflammation.  SIGN ME UP!  Life is not immediate results.  It takes dedication and consistency to see changes with the human body.  This is in any area of the human body;  rehabilitation, strength training, changing and adapting to new movement patterns, and defiantly with nutrition.  One wonderful thing is that the human body is resilient when respected, it will change and will heal itself if done properly.

A typical Sunday breakfast looks like this:

2 meat muffins(beef), bacon, small amount of grapes, apple, clementine, with baby spinach. (no more eggs!)

A typical lunch looks like this below:

Turkey, cucumber, baby peppers (red, yellow, orange) 1/2 avocado, clementine, on a bed of spinach.

This lunch has some sweet potato. It was a post workout meal. I only take in starchy veggies when within the window of 3 hours following a workout. Otherwise I stick to non-starchy veggies.

I hope this 3 part series has helped people to understand that help is out there for many conditions.  You do not have to always follow the standard treatment of many conditions, if you find a qualified health professional with the proper certifications to make the proper decision on a plan of care, there is hope.

I will continue to come back and update some of the topics happening with this post series.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask.  I will do my best to answer within my realm of care, practice and training experience.  A follow up may include an overview of how my training programs are being effected with the nutritional changes.  One quick note about my training.  I am keeping it simple.  My goal right now is my nutritional changes, my strength will be in focused on nutrition to heal my stomach and GI.  You can not have success if you focus on too many goals.  Find one…crush it..incorporate it…then build off it to support your next goal!  This is living a sustainable healthy life for yourself and others around you.

Roasted carrots and parsnips. Salt, Pepper, and olive oil. Roast until nice and brown. I have grown to crave these and will make them to go with my dinner.