Sep 1, 2011

A Diet That Will Change Your Life

As many of you know I have had stomach problems as long as I can remember and they only got worse as I got older.

However, all that changed when I put skepticism aside and tried something new as a last ditch effort and many of you know all about that, too, since I have posted a few updates and notes about my restricted diet on Facebook, but what you don't know is that you're just like me.

That's right - I'm not the only person who should have a restricted diet.

The diet I'm on is as a result of seeing a Constitutional Acupuncturist, wherein he enlightened me to the fact that humans break down into 8 body types. Some of those body types shouldn't eat meat, whereas some should. Some shouldn't eat fat, whereas some should. And so on. The problem with this concept is that it cannot be quantified so Western Medicine ignores it. Big mistake.

For years I suffered from extreme stomach pain. It all came to a boil when I found myself waking at 6am daily in so much pain I couldn't get out of bed until noon or later. This put a huge dent on my life and ability to function.

So, when I went to visit my Dad in Florida, he took me to a health food store to discuss my diet with the resident nutritionist. After asking me a few questions, she determined that I was experiencing an allergy to soy. I am a vegetarian so I end up eating a lot of soy. It's in every single fake meat product, not to mention tofu and edamame. Moreover, if you read all the ingredients of everything else you eat, almost every single food item has soy in it from chocolate to fast food to soda to bread. I was doomed.

I decided what I would do then instead of eating soy for protein was drink protein shakes made from hemp and eat lots of green leafy salads.

I was also exercising daily with yoga, tennis, and jogging.

You'd think that I'd get better over night and loose weight. Problem was, though, that I began to feel even worse. I found myself constantly in need of Gas X, ginger, Zantac, and various other stomach aids. I was also gaining weight like crazy.

After a month of this diet and exercise plan, I packed on 10 pounds and went up 2 pants sizes.

I was miserable.

I also started experiencing an embarrassing need to pee constantly. I'd wake up every hour or so because I had to pee. After weeks of living like that I was going bonkers from lack of sleep.

I decided it was time to actually see a real doctor. Heaven forbid.

The doctor prescribed a pill for my pee problem. (See here: http://melissa2u.blogspot.com/2011/04/pills-are-bad-mkay-heathcare.html). If you didn't read that whole blog, in a nutshell, I had a horribly adverse reaction to the pill and had to go back to the doctor.

I explained the problem in more detail this time and she decided to recommend a specialist, but she said it was not the norm, nor was it generally accepted by Western Medicine.

She went on to explain that she was recommending a Constitutional Acupuncturist and that he would examine and alter my diet. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I was desperate so I figured, "What the hell? At least try it."

But see, here's the thing, for the most part I am a huge skeptic. I just don't believe anything ever. I need to actually experience something tangible for me to say, "Yes, this is real," or "Yes, this really works." I have read a lot about how acupuncture is bullshit and really just hypnosis. Well, hypnosis doesn't work on me, so I figured I'd know instantly if it works or not. Also, I'm terrified of needles, which is why I never tried acupuncture before as an experiment. Just didn't seem worth it.

In my first session, Dr. Kim explained to me how in Eastern tradition there are 8 body types and that each body type is allergic to certain foods, but we aren't lethally allergic so we never really notice that it's the food causing health problems. We may blame our environment or just sum it up with, "That's life." Moreover, Western Medicine and Society have brainwashed us into thinking that we can eat any fool thing we want. Oh, get gas, just take a pill! Everything in Western Medicine is solved with a pill. Ignore those signs that your body is trying to tell you something is wrong. Ignore the pain and the added weight despite exercise - just take a pill and feel better! But what they don't tell you is that the pill is just a band-aid covering up real problems underneath. Heaven forbid if Western Medicine actually fixed the problem because then you wouldn't be back for more pills to pay for that new yacht for the pharmaceutical company's CEO.

So, anyway, as most of you know, I'm completely over pills... Back to acupuncture.

So, right off the bat, after taking my pulse and reading my body, he determined a list of food stuffs I should avoid. Soy was not one of them, but green leafy vegetables was.

Within a week I was already feeling better than I had in YEARS. I was able to sleep through the night, wake up early, and get out of bed with no pain. I was able to eat breakfast again! It was like a miracle.

However, when I told people about my new restricted diet, all I got was looks of sympathy and pity. One person even said, "I'm sorry your life sucks so bad."

But here's the thing - not only does my life not suck as a result of the diet, it's tenfold better AND I'm not alone in this. Every single person who exists on this planet falls into 1 of the 8 body types and every single body type has a restricted diet.

After a month of weekly sessions and the new diet, I lost 10 pounds without a lick of exercise. I ceased eating leafy green vegetables and ate bread and cheese and soy again. Let me repeat that. For a whole month, I ate bread, cheese, and soy daily without doing any exercise instead of eating green leafy vegetables and exercising daily and I LOST 10 pounds.

My body type has trouble with green leafy vegetables but can easily burn through fat. Perhaps for some, as they say in Scott Pilgrim, "bread makes you fat," but not for me.

Also, throughout the coarse of my 9 sessions I discovered that my memory and endurance improved, as well as my mood. Ok, so maybe I can't eat chocolate or corn or tomatoes, but I'd rather be slim, feel good, be smarter, and more productive than eat whatever the hell I feel like. Constitutional Acupuncture has literally changed my life for the better.

I can't recommend it enough. I personally guarantee that if you have any health or weight problems it is directly connected to what you eat and drink and that with the proper diet you will feel better, be healthier, and live longer. The trick is - it's a lot of hard work and will power. We live in an instant gratification society. "I want what I want and I want it now." *snap* But that just isn't healthy. You are just like me. You should be on a restricted diet, too. I can't tell you which one; you'd need to see Dr. Kim or another Constitutional Acupuncturist to find that out. I have CHOLECYSTONIA body type. It actually means, in a nutshell, that I'm supposed to eat meat and fat. I hate meat, always have, but beans are a great substitute. So, I eat beans and cheese (fat) every damn day and I love it. You learn to get creative. And you learn to live without. I don't even crave chocolate anymore and it's really not worth the stomach ache it creates.

TL;DR: Constitutional Acupuncture changed my life for the better and I recommend everyone struggling with health and/or weight problems to try it and discover which of the 8 body types you have. You will be amazed.

1 comment:

robert said...

I did not know there were others who think that problems arise form diet to that extent we all, in some way endure. Think of cancer, autism ulcers.. the list goes on.

I realized my weight gain, years ago, was caused by an intolerance to mega carbs in our diet. Also found out that health is also related.
So now there are two of us in the us besides the non-western medicine practicioners.

I am still as my -65 lbs after two years. I am 2 yrs lean, so to speak.
and congrats on your path to enlightenment.