Ch Ch Ch Chaaangges

Accepting the condition with my adrenal glands has taken some time and processing. It doesn’t mean I HAVE to make changes but I think I’ll just go on being miserable if I don’t make changes. I’ve done a huge amount of research since last week when I first learned of this syndrome. Since there’s no way for a doctor to accurately test for it, the only way to know if I really have adrenal fatigue is to make the natural changes in my diet and daily life that support healthy adrenal glands. If I see a decrease in my symptoms, a very obvious positive diagnosis will be in front of me. (If I don’t see any change, well it’s still a win because none of these things are bad changes. I should have made them a long time ago but never had the right motivation.)

Anyway, I made my very first “green” smoothie today (as posted on my Facebook page) and really enjoyed it.

So here it is, my healthy to-do list: (In no particular order)

1. Limit high fructose corn syrup, unnatural sweeteners and added dyes and coloring.
2. Switch to whole grain products as much as possible. Even if whole grain isn’t available or affordable, avoid white flour/bleached or unbleached enriched flour.
3. Increase vegetable intake. The recommendation is for 6-8 servings of vegetables each day.
4. Drink water. LOTS of water.
5. Exercise 30 minutes a day for at least 3 days a week.
6. Meditation/stretching/quiet rest (not sleep) 15 minutes each day.

The list of things to do for “perfect” adrenal health go much deeper than that but I’m taking this with baby steps. A little at a time so it doesn’t become overwhelming for me.

I have a pretty decent game plan and Princess Daddy and I have talked (err, texted) in depth about alternatives to make sure I can still enjoy some of my favorite things. To give you some examples:

• The Whole Grains Council has a list on their website of fast food restaurants that offer a healthier/whole grain option on their menu. This includes some of my favorite Mexican and Chinese cuisine (by swapping rice and tortillas for their wheat versions) and an option at Jack in the Box, my go-to fast food joint.
• We have a KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment for our mixer to easily be able to make ice cream free of high fructose corn syrup, dyes and sweeteners.
• I started making spinach smoothies today (and will try kale too once we buy it) to get vegetables in every meal.
• I plan to have a salad with dinner to get another serving of vegetables in. We are going to buy a salad shaker to make our own dressings to stay away from the dyes and HFCS here too.
• We already use wheat bread for sandwiches but will need to switch to wheat pasta, wheat tortillas, brown rice.
• A couple of my favorite salting snacks: triscuits and popcorn are already whole grain. Score!
• I’m really, really, really going to do the couch to 5k training like I’ve been working on for months now. I signed up to do a 5k race in June so I really have to train for it. I love running. It’s great for my mind. So now I just have to commit.
• I have a bedtime yoga routine I got from a friend that works well to get my meditation in.
• I love water. I have to remember to stay away from soda. I only drink in on occasion but will have to be extra conscious about it now.

So… that’s about where I stand right now. What else do you have for me? Any tricks you have to stay healthy?

(Photo Source)