Where in the story of my quest for health should I begin this blog entry?  Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say the journey's been a rough one.  But, by going through the struggles, I've learned the life lesson that the path one follows is as important, if not more-so, than the final destination.

Final destination?  Better health, feeling more like my old self, preventing internal damage from occurring or continuing and hopefully by achieving these goals, losing weight in the process. 

I began the Ultra-Metabolism Diet in early November.  I bought the book in late August, but it took me until then to digest the concepts and decide to apply them to my life.  You see, I was desperate.  I ached so badly I could barely walk up and down stairs, the rashes on my hands had worsened, I felt tired and brain-fogged too much of the time.  If this was how awful I felt at age 53, what did I have to look forward to down the road?  On top of all of this, my mother died of lung cancer in April, 2005 and my younger sister died of the same disease in September 2006.  I was scared, depressed and despondent. 

I did very well on the diet and felt better.  By February I had lost fourteen or fifteen pounds.  Then, I plateaued.  Even though I had been going to the gym regularly since January, I thought I might do better if I worked with a personal trainer two days a week.  But, the weight didn't budge and I still had bouts of feeling terrible, tired and weak.

In December, I found Dr. Detweiller, a Functional Medicine practitioner in a nearby town, thanks to the resources in Dr. Hyman's book.  This doctor's specialty is gastroenterology.  But, it was a six-month wait to get an appointment with him (what does that tell you about the value people see in his method of approaching treatment?) His receptionist was very kind and offered me the name of another doctor I might see in the meantime, suggesting if I didn't feel better after being treated there, that I should call back and get an appointment for the future.  It turned out that the doctor she referred me to is a Naturopath.  I did make an appointment with Dr. Rivard and with her help and encouragement, I stayed on track with the diet and exercise.  Still, no improvement in my weight loss or rashes; in fact, the rashes were getting worse!

So, I called Dr. DetWeiller's office in March and made an appointment.  I figured five months was going to pass whether I improved or not, so what did I have to lose by waiting?  Turns out, I have everything to gain now, except more weight.  I believe I am finally in a place where I can get some answers.

Dr. Hyman wrote an answer to someone who said that she hadn't lost weight on the diet and was discouraged.  He said that not losing weight tells him that there's some underlying condition that still needs attention before weight loss will happen.  That's exactly what Dr. Detweiller told me yesterday in his office!  He discussed some of the things he thinks are going on in my system (insulin resistance, fungal and bacterial infections, immune system malfunctions and other hormone imbalances, perhaps heay metal toxicity to name a few!) and ordered a slew of tests to see what's what.  I am also scheduled to have an endoscopy in a few weeks in order to see what's going on inside my stomach.  His exact words were: "It wouldn't matter what diet you were on or how much exercise you did, if these problems aren't addressed, you wouldn't lose a pound more." 

I felt like crying!  Finally, someone who listened and GETS IT!  It isn't all in my head.  It isn't that I am a closet eater.  It isn't that I say I'm working hard and lying about it.  It isn't that I should "just eat less and exercise more".  Egad!  I finally have some HOPE that I can lose this excess weight and feel healthy again. 

I had my appointment with my personal trainer, Scott, right after seeing the doctor.  I told him about the doctor's explanation for my lack of weight loss and he did a few hops in place, excited for me that there's an explanation for not losing weight.  He said, "You work harder than any of my other clients and I know how tough it is for you not to see results.  I didn't get it!  You were doing everything right!  You're gaining strength, but not losing weight.  It just didn't seem normal." 

Well, normal for everyone else has never been normal for me!   

This leg of my journey began when I found Dr. Hyman's book.  Without that, I would never have found my way to where I am now.  I pray I get the answers I need to see results on this program so I can feel well again. 

After two months away from blogging, I hope to get back here more often to document my progress.  I have hope again.