I really want to encourage you and to make your Endo journey a much quicker and easier one, so I thought I would share some of my worst mistakes and hopefully they will help you to avoid them.
1. Believing that I had to be “good” with the diet
I really believed for many, many years that my diet was a form of discipline and that if I just followed it right and adhered to its strictness that somehow it would reward me with optimum health. Now I found out that I just need to follow simple health tips from the tophealthjournal.com news site. It was all about sticking to a list or a recommended “diet” and I paid little attention to what I was eating but was more concerned if it fit into the “golden rule” of things I should avoid or eat. I was so fussy about this list that I would literally have a print out of it and had it in my handbag to ensure I always knew what I could eat or what I should avoid. Sometimes I even gave this list to others to show them what I could eat so they were more prepared for me.
What I learned: avoiding certain foods and being disciplined is not what being healthy is all about. It is about choosing foods based on their nutritional benefit. Even the healthiest of foods can be low on nutritional benefit. Having an 80/20 approach to eating is far less stressful and realistic. When we aim to focus on an “ideal diet” 80% of the time, we are doing better than most.
2. Not moving my body
Exercise was never a big priority for me. I just didn’t feel like it did that much. I had bad experiences with it, with Endo pain and just got used to not having exercise in my life. I found excuses not to do it and would just wean off it very quickly.
What I learned: I never realised that exercise was an important part of our body’s health. It also helps Endometriosis on many levels as it loosens adhesions and allows for all the nutrients and oxygen to get into the lower abdominal area.
3. Placing all my faith in supplements
I was addicted to buying supplements and would even get a good feeling just buying them. My whole cupboard was full of them and I kept finding new things to buy and try and was excited by the prospect of all that was out there. Somehow, if it was in a pill, it must be better, right?
What I learned: I can get a lot more benefit from foods and herbs in their dried or fresh form than from many supplements. Yes, there are some that are irreplaceable but most things I was taking were unnecessary and I could easily get them in my diet or in a herbal tea. The body absorbed it far easier and it cost me far less money that way too!
4. Doing it the long way
Perhaps you may be feeling like nothing is working. That somehow you must be doing things wrong. I felt this for the first while too. I wanted instant results and change. The body needs to peel back layers and years of imbalances and this takes time to do with foods and supplements alone.
What I learned: the fastest way to see results is to do fasts. Liquid fasts, juice fasts but some form of fasting. It proved to me just how easily we can see results.
5. The little things aren’t the end of the world
If you get online and you start researching every little ingredient and every little thing, you will want to avoid every food and every supplement on the market. You can always find something wrong with it, if you look hard enough. This used to stress me out and I would worry about doing my body harm with little ingredients and herbal formulas containing something I was worried about.
What I learned: as long as I am avoiding the big 5 (sugar, wheat, soy, maltodextrin, strong phytoestrogens) within my diet and supplements, I will be okay. I don’t need to stress about every little thing and if one of these occasionally creeps into something I am eating or taking, it won’t kill me. I might feel some effects and I can then adjust accordingly. The body is incredibly adaptable and will be okay with a few of these on occasion.
I hope this helps you to avoid making the same mistakes I have made along my journey. Just stick with it and you will get there. It does take time and listening to your own intuition. Just trust that your body wants to heal and get better and it will do its best to guide you on how to do that.
Are there mistakes you have made on your journey? Things you wish you could have avoided? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.
This Post Has 12 Comments
Thanks for this post – I too am “guilty” of many of these points, but I am trying to move past this behavior as I don’t think it’s helpful, but it is hard!
By the way, are you no longer avoiding dairy products? (They are not on your list of avoided foods above (sugar, wheat, soy, maltodextrin, strong phytoestrogens) ? It would be awesome, if you could do a post on heavy bleeding – it seems that many posts are about the pain, which can be horrible, I know. But for me , the worst part is actually the heavy bleeding!
You are so not alone sweets! We can only do the best that we can with what we have. Sometimes we also need a break from it all 🙂
Great post Melissa 🙂
The whole journey is very well done!
Would love to catch up when there’s an opportunity!
Louise
Big hugs Maria. I miss you too hun! I am developing a new shorter version of the course, so hold up – it might be just what you need 🙂 Love you hun!
Melissa,
Hi! Awesome list! I am guilty of all of the above. Looks like I have a LOT of things to work on. I am especially concerned because I am going to be 48 Aug. 2nd – ack! LOL! Also, it looks like I may be about to enter menopause for real. I am also sad because my awesome endometriosis/fertility doctor is closing his practice. I have one last appointment with him in early August. Not sure what to do after that. I really do not care for the GYN doctors in my area because when they hear the word endometriosis they say “You need Lupron or a hysterectomy! You are in danger of developing ovarian cancer!” That freaks me out because my beloved Nana died from colon cancer and before I was officially diagnosed with the endo, when these GYN’s spotted my bi-lateral cysts on their ultrasounds, I kept on hearing the word “it might be cancer” flung around. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of anxiety and crying on my part. I do not want to ever go through that again or any other woman go through that. I really want to help others like you do.
Miss chatting with you! After I am finished with this lovely class (NOT) I need to take for work , I intend to throw myself back into your class, take a whole bunch of notes, and get very serious about implementing it into my life.
Melissa, thank you for everything you do for me and for everyone else. Sending you lots of love and hugs! You are such a dear friend to me! I am so blessed to know you!
Love,
Maria N. In Mass
I should have said that I try not to think of it that way anymore. lol I was thinking like that for a long time. The more I have learned what goes into my food though, the more I want to make better choices for my health.
I have definitely made some of these, especially trying to be perfect with my “diet” although I try not to think of it that way and instead just try to give my body the foods it needs to be happy and healthy. 🙂 Thank you for this post, it was absolutely wonderful and exactly what I needed to read.
I agree. I was getting very obsessed with diet and supplements. It can be all consuming in your search to feel healthier. Now I’m just eating really healthily- no gluten, hardly any sugar. Lots of green juices and organic veg. I do yoga often and walk every day. It seems ridiculous that we don’t realise how important it is to move our bodies and put healthy fuel in. For intelligent people we can be really stupid sometimes! I feel so much better and positive now. My skin looks amazing. At the same time I’m not stressing over it all – choosing healthy options had become second nature. – and I will be having a millefeuille when I go to the south of France in a few weeks time!
So far I’ve made these butam learning to adjust. Stress can be just as bad as anything in irritating endo; and overstressing about the diet can also inflame the condition. I like your 80:20 approach! Practicality is so important. And learning to not see everything as toxic may take me some time…
This is so refreshing Melissa! So nice to know yet again I am not alone in this. I use to ‘freak’ out sometimes with food. Accepting this illness & adenomyosis as part of who I am has been a tough one. Just kept going back to the thought of ‘I just want to be normal again’. Finally stopped this maddening, negative thought circle. Appreciating each day for what it is. One day only having the energy to do one load of laundry & emptying the dishwasher as success, or being able to clean the whole house, buy groceries, cook dinner & work out the next day. Everyday is different & embarrassing that day at that moment has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Believing in myself that I am a good mom, friend. wife, daughter, advocate is all that matters. Great article! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks Debbie. The post was actually inspired by some things you had said in the group 😉 I loved how you made it obvious that we need to not worry so much about what we eat but enjoy life too.
Awesome post Melissa! I often see people stressing way too much about what to take or what to eat or not to eat. Our bodies really don’t need the extra stress. Of course it’s not an excuse to go eat tons of crappy food every day. But balance is SO important! This list is awesome!