Dairy free. And I don’t miss it.

Seriously.

If you’ll recall, about a month ago I decided to quit dairy, at my doctor’s recommendation, to help try to deal with some of the symptoms of PCOS. Here’s the start of that conversation.

So here we are one month later-ish, actually more like five weeks but who is counting, and my life is pretty different. Mostly it is sooooooo much better.

For starters, I feel AMAZING. I can’t even tell y’all. My biggest worry in late 2012 and early 2013 was the severity of my fatigue in the afternoons. Had I cared a lick about PCOS, I would have read all the research that shows fatigue is a major symptom of progressing PCOS. But I didn’t care then, I care now. And since I have quit dairy, I don’t even want to nap in the afternoons. Not to be dramatic [yeah right], but there are times when it gets to be around 4pm and I will stop and think, “this is a miracle. I feel like it is 10am.”

In particular, I was driving home one day from the grocery store- after having met with one of my small group members then shopped for dinner then was prepping to lead small group that night. On a normal Tuesday like that, I would have been almost in tears over how tired I felt. But as I drove home, around 5pm, I just couldn’t quit telling the Lord how amazing this is and how grateful I am that He opened my eyes and healed my body of the afternoon slumps.

Do I miss cheese? Barely. I have had it once- the day I turned in my new book Speak Love I ate pizza with friends.

Because here’s the thing, y’all. I can eat cheese all I want. And ice cream. And sour cream. And milk. I could keep having dairy three meals a day and for snacks.

BUT I DON’T WANT TO.

This isn’t a diet where there are all these things I want that I can’t have.

Instead, I know all the things I can have, I just don’t want to feel the way they make me feel, so I’m not going to eat them.

The same is true for my migraine triggers- dark chocolate, pork, red wine. I could have those anytime I want, but they give me a migraine, so if I choose to partake, I know what I’m signing up for.

I don’t think everyone else should quit dairy. I have just learned, in the last month, that dairy and I have never gotten along as well as I thought we did, so the relationship, for the most part, is finished. I thought I was quitting dairy for February, but if I am going to feel THIS good living without it, I don’t want it back!

My skin is brighter and has more color. My afternoons are productive. My clothes fit better. My body is happier.

I don’t know what God has done, but my heart is different, my mind is different. I’ve come alive to the truth that our bodies can heal themselves of a lot of things [like when you get a cut or a bruise], if we will give them the nutrients they need. And my body has a lot of healing to do. About three weeks ago, when I first felt so significantly better, I called my OBGYN and said, “you know all those things you’ve been telling me for years about PCOS? Tell me again. I’m listening.” And she did. So I’m making lots of new choices that I don’t particularly love, but I am going to learn to love- like upping my veggie intake and staying away from sugars as best I can. I’ve watched a few documentaries, namely Hungry For A Change, that have me thinking a lot about what I put into my body.

So.

That’s the update. I’ve added some more info/recipes to my PCOS Pin Board and also a That’s Delish Pin Board. I’m gonna show you my favorite recipe later this week.

. . . . .

Have any good links to healthy food blogs? I’d like more dairy-free recipes if you know where to find them.

Do you have PCOS? Any tricks of the trade to share?

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[By the way, tomorrow we’ll discuss the final rose ceremony for our boy Sean. So prepare your hearts for that. We’ll also discuss Women Tell All a bit because AshLee? Tierra? These are things we need to talk about.]

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