I’m Done With The AIP Diet — Conclusion

A lot has happened since my last entry about the autoimmune protocol diet in July — and it happened so fast, in a flash. I actually stopped the diet in September 2019 on my (new) doctor’s orders and started medication to treat the issues that caused my chronic inflammation. Throughout this whole process, I’ve lost a significant amount of weight*, but more importantly, the results of my bloodwork has significantly improved.

*DISCLAIMER: I'm not specifying the amount of weight I lost, nor will I post comparison photos, etc.,  because 
that was never the point of this diet -- it was to improve my overall health and treat my chronic inflammation. 
Weight loss was part of my doctor's recommendation to accomplish those goals, but every body is different 
and should be accepted and celebrated. I'd also like to acknowledge that it can be extremely difficult to lose 
weight -- I'm not just talking about discipline, but how the body itself reacts or resists efforts -- especially when
you have medical conditions (read on).

Now that’s out of the way, here’s the story. My doctor had me continue the AIP diet into September, but I started struggling. The AIP diet isn’t meant to be a long term diet, but I was reaching the 6-month mark and it was starting to get to me — I missed sugar, bread, citrus, dairy, you name it. I saw some improvement, but my progress started to slow. In September, due to a mix-up at my doctor’s office, the head doctor of the practice took on my case, looked at my blood work, and she said she wanted to start a more aggressive form of treatment: meds. She also gave me the go-ahead to get off AIP, because she said the diet could only help me so much, because I had several issues that explained why I had trouble losing weight for years. It was relief to finally hear that all of my symptoms and struggles weren’t my imagination.

So far, the medication has helped. I feel a lot better, though, I am still trying to accomplish one other recommendation from my doctor: stop stressing!! That has been hard, since I was laid off from a job I really loved in November and, well, facing the unknown during a job search, there’s a lot of ~feelings~ involved. But at least now, I can indulge those feelings with some sugar, wheat, citrus, chocolate, and caffeine. I even went to France and got to eat to my heart’s desire. Look at this salad, yum.

Not too much sugar, though — I still have to watch that (and shouldn’t we all).