Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Our first video! Welcome to Wellness Wednesday!


Hello World, I'm Dr. Chelsea Drda and I'm blessed to be a chiropractor along with two of my family members, Dr. Mark Frank and Dr. Celeste Holstein at the Frank Clinic of Chiropractic in Zephyrhills Florida. Today is Wellness Wednesday and I'm here to speak to you about my journey with weight loss and health transformation.

I'm sure some of you have read my previous blog post about how I lost 60 pounds and 10 pant sizes the healthy way. I come from a family that is very active and eats well, but even still growing up I was always overweight for my age. Dr. Frank first told my parents that I was likely allergic to dairy when I was around 13. I stopped drinking milk, but I “couldn't” give up cheese or ice cream, they were just such huge staples in my life. So of course I had chronic sinus issues and asthma and was completely miserable. It impacted my focus, limited my ability to participate in athletics, and took away all of my motivation. It went on for so long that I thought that's just what my life was supposed to be like, I didn't know I could feel any better. Finally, after a series of severe allergy attacks leading to weeks of recovery, I hit the breaking point and decided to make a change, so my diet has been dairy free for about 4 years now.

Once I cleared the dairy from my system, I still had some issues with my stomach, and I decided to see if eliminating gluten would help. Since I eliminated gluten from my diet 18 months ago, I have been so much happier, healthier, and energetic. I don't ever feel deprived, I always have something delicious to eat that is excellent fuel for my body, and I am not miserable after I eat.

The biggest thing I want to impress on you is that what I have seen with myself, my family, and my patients is that allergy testing does not always pick up on food sensitivities. Allergy testing is most sensitive to anaphylaxis, the throat closing, tongue swelling, inability to breathe reaction that we see with peanut allergies, and isn't tuned to picking up sensitivity reactions. The other issue with sensitivity reactions is that they tend to vary from person to person, but the classic indicators are weight gain or inability to gain weight, chronic sinus issues, acid reflux, gas and bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, stomach ulcers, fatigue, ear infections, tonsillitis, and thyroid disease.

The good news is, eating a cleaner diet without gluten or dairy is actually a lot easier than you think, and it doesn't have any side effects! The biggest obstacle for most people is cooking at home and I know that for busy families it can seem like a daunting feat. If you need a structured plan, the easiest format to follow is the Paleo diet program. You can buy a book if you want to, but there is an abundant wealth of free information on the internet. The basic premise of the Paleo diet is eliminating wheat, dairy, processed foods, and refined sugar, instead increasing your intake of well-sourced meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and healthy oils like olive, avocado, and coconut. I'll post some resources for you to look into after this post.

Just remember that it doesn't have to be fancy or complicated, eating well can be very simple! I'm not a professional chef and I didn't spend much time in the kitchen growing up, so most of what I do is self-taught. You have no idea what you are capable of until you start doing it, and I was amazed what I can create without taking a lot of time and will please everyone. I have also found that cooking at home is cheaper for most families than eating out every day. So over the next couple of months, we are going to be talking a lot about different recipes, tips and tricks and other things I have found helpful with implementing these kinds of diet changes.

Your homework is to substitute one paleo meal into your meal plan for this week. I want you to try something simple and easy with a short list of ingredients. I don't want you to get burned out cooking the fanciest existing paleo recipe that is so nutrient packed and amazing that it takes you 6 hours to prepare and you quit after the first day. So keep it short and simple and we will revisit this next week.

I hope you'll tune in and I'll be seeing you next Wednesday, have a sparkling day everyone!

*Any health topics that are covered should not be considered medical advice. If you have specific questions please contact your doctor or make an appointment with us. You should check with your doctor before making radical dietary changes, particularly if you have heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or are pregnant or nursing.*

http://paleoleap.com/paleo-101/
http://thepaleodiet.com/what-to-eat-on-the-paleo-diet/
http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/
https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/04/the-beginners-guide-to-the-paleo-diet/
http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/paleo-diet



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