Small Victories and Going Primal

Since I last posted, my health has improved pretty significantly. I've had several small yet very significant victories:

  • Since my absolute lowest weight, I have gained 9 lbs.
  • Although I still use the supplemental oxygen pretty much all the time, I have been off it for a couple hours at a time to work in the garage or in the back.
  • Related to the above, I started cleaning out the garage and sold Dad's Goldwing, which had been sitting and deteriorating.
  • I am planning to go back to work in early May.
  • I have been able to make progress exercising in my room. Right now I do bodyweight exercises a couple times a week and interval sprints on the exercise bike every week or two. Each session yields more exercises per set than the last.
  • Over the weekend, I cleaned my room thoroughly including doing all my laundry and bedding.
  • I've rediscovered how much I love to cook and have been cooking quite a bit.

I'm sure part of my success has been due to following the Primal Blueprint, particularly the dietary aspects. In a nutshell, I avoid all sugars (except for fruit in moderation), grains (even "hearthealthywholegrains"), and industrial vegetable oils. I try to eat meat from grass-fed animals as much as possible and have found that my GI system tolerates fermented and cooked vegetables much better than raw.

I don't know that simply being primal is the entire answer; I have felt a little off the last couple days after completing a 3-week round of antibiotics, so I fear there may be something lingering. I see my new GI doctor at UCLA on Monday of next week. Things really went south when my digestive system was wrecked eight years ago, so I think that if that can be truly and properly addressed, I will eventually make my way back to good health.