The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Hummingbird update

Mark and AnnaSeveral of you have asked for a followup on my health. I'm pleased to report that after 2.5 weeks on imodium combined with a very low fiber and fat diet, I'm doing a lot better.

As proof of healing, my body is slowly letting me add more fat into my diet, which in turn allowed me to increase my calories back to the recommended level as long as I eat in small meals every two hours. Almost instantly my energy and brain power returned.

The next step is to slowly wean myself off imodium. I'm taking this week by week --- last week I cut back to 67% of the previous imodium dose and today I'm down to 50%. Let's hope that sticks!

In the meantime, I'm gradually adding the "safest" fruits and vegetables back into my diet to replace the juices and teas which I'd been using as sources of vitamins and minerals previously. It's a slow add --- for example, last week, I started by trying half of a peeled plum as the day's total additional dietary intake. That worked, so I increased to a whole peeled plum the next day, which also stuck. Soon, I'll try peeled and boiled-to-death carrots, then perhaps some raw lettuce or citrus (with membranes removed).

I appreciate everyone's well wishes and I hope you know that I couldn't have kept my spirits up without you. Kayla and Mom particularly --- you have been rocks in the turbulent sea of my life this summer and I get so much out of your frequent doses of love. Thank you all for being on my team!



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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I am glad you are the mend! Ellen in Oregon (I read your blog every day and have instituted lots of your ideas - thank you for posting such helpful knowledge.)
Comment by Anonymous Wed Oct 12 16:57:38 2016
The longest I've ever been sick was a few years ago when I had pneumonia, taking well over a month to recover...nothing too big in the scheme of things really. But the biggest surprise for me was, as you say, the loss of brain power. That was surprisingly hard and gave me an empathy for people who suffer from chronic illness. Glad you you are on the mend and hope the gut thing is leaving for good.
Comment by Doug in NW GA Wed Oct 12 22:34:48 2016





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