HI PEEPS,
So, as I want to tell you guys more about me, I decided to do a 3 part Life Update. First part will be
FOOD AND EXERCISING,
second part PERSONAL LIFE and JOB
and last FOODBLOGGING AND PHOTOGRAPHY.
This here is part one and I hope you enjoy reading it.
FOOD AND EXERCISING
I shouldn’t start this with that topic bit since it influences both of the others I kind of have too. So it was in November last year when I recognized a strong pain in my chest. Predominantly on the right side. If you are like me you first panic then you google your symptoms figuring out that you might have cancer, panicking even more. So I went to see a doctor, who told me that it might be a chest inflammation due to over training. I thought mhh well I haven’t been in the gym for a couple of weeks. Without asking anything further, I started taking pain killers (think it was IRFEN) that should eliminate the inflammation. I took them three times a day and things haven’t changed for good. In contrary, I started experiencing strong stomach pain and a chronical reflux. At the hospital, they told me that the Irfen has attacked my stomach mucosal so badly that I developed a chronical reflux. What was next is that I got another pocket full of pills this time to suppress the reflux. Things got worse every day when I said: enough! I stopped all the medication and detoxed my body with fresh fruits, veggies a lot of rice and potatoes. My stomach seemed to relax while my chest pain still was that strong that I was not able to work out. Not even yoga worked at this time. I was desperate not to say miserable questioned everything and everyone in my life.
At the beginning of December I talked to a friend who asked randomly whether I use contraception with hormones. I actually did (tried two types of combined oral contraceptive pills for 1 year: nope, Intravaginal ring (NUVA)for 2 years: nope, hormon plaster for 3 months: nope, mini hormone spiral: what I currently had for 1 year) she told me that sometimes hormones can be quite naughty and causing different kinds of pain in our bodies. I always experienced a headache, permanent bloating, lower sex drive, but I started thinking that this would be ‚just me‘. On the 2nd of December, I decided to take out the spiral and going totally hormone- free.
1 month later I am not lying by saying this is the best Decision I’ve ever made! Things are moving slowly but my chest pain is much less. My Headache is gone and I lost 2 kg just because of water retention in my body caused by hormones. My skin got so much clearer and so did my head.(Little side note: I have friends, who are totally happy with the pill and they said they even got better skin) Every one is different but for me all of these things just didn’t work out. This sounds a little crazy but I sometimes had the feeling I am somehow not that present always in a state between dreaming and being awake.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
For me, this is a huge thing to share but I strongly believe that there are more young women into this, not knowing what hormones can do to your body. I wish that I knew, at least, some of the stuff 5 years ago. I am completely honest with you here as I am telling you that I don’t have a satisfying solution at the moment. I am not a doctor nor have I done excessive research on the topic. I just feel that sharing is better than worrying. I am happy to discuss your thoughts and feeling maybe we can share some insights.
Alright, I slightly got off the subject but it is important to know as a background.
Now Food.
So many of you asked me about my eating habits or how many calories I eat in a day. Although I am a food blogger and I am in daily contact with food I don’t try to stress myself too hard on these things. I mean it is just „food“. With all these smoothie trends, hclf, vegan, paleo coming up I feel a little stressed out and I don’t know if you guys do as well? I mean It would be a full-time job for me to prepare the perfectly balanced food everyday. And this is just NOT REAL! I have a busy life and I try to keep my food as convenient as possible. The only extra effort I do is when I create a blog post for a recipe. Not gonna lie, this will take me more than half a day. (more on that in Part 3)
When watching my friend Melinas Youtube video I could relate so much to her and I even admired her more! Not to stress about food is one of the most relaxing experiences you can actually give yourself.
2 years back from now, I heard the word plant-based for the first time. Until that point, I ate pretty healthily (no meat because I simply don’t like it, no dairy because I am a lactose-intolerant) but still I felt bloated a lot of times and I feel that I could do better for my body. To be honest, I am a very skeptical person and I said: „as if some green smoothies in the morning, some Maca, Acai or whatever powder and more veggies could make a difference“. I did not force myself into something, I simply tried to incorporate more fruits, more veggies, added a little Acai and Maca here and there. Without noticing, at first, I felt that my digestion really improved and I was less tired and more motivated for any kind of activity. And just after half a year, my digestion was almost like „normal“ and I hardly experienced any bloating. (More about bloating at the end of this blog post) I was interested in transforming the plant-based concept to the sweet side and I baked, created, failed, succeeded for days, months and now years.
WOW THIS IS ACTUALLY FUN AND YUMMI!
Probably the most impressive thing then and still know is, how you can make the most incredible desserts completely plant-based, sugar-free and dairy-free. It is not like you have to give up on something or to compromise plant-based for Yummi. As good as it was in my mouth, it was in and for my tummy.
I did not change my whole lifestyle in one day but I try to add more and more of the things I liked and I also experienced things I never tried before. I noticed that I enjoy green smoothies (but just with a sweet fruit in it) or that I enjoy bananas (mostly frozen as Nicecream). These things were on my plate let’s say once in 3 months. Now I love to have them weekly. Same story with sweet things. I first just tried raw desserts or plant-based baked treats occasionally, now I have them weekly whenever I am craving something sweet. I really like to incorporate home-made food in my diet as much as possible.I am not talking about amounts of food on purpose as I feel it would not help you to know whether I eat 200gram or 500grams of Pasta or 1 or 2 granola bars a day. Every individual has it’s own perfect routine and you are going to find out yours. Just trust your body and it will tell you what it needs.
And what do I eat when I don’t eat home-made treats?
I continue living my life 😀 Haha, no seriously you can basically find „healthy“ stuff everywhere. It always depends what your definition on healthy is. And here is where I relate again to Melina, because, YES, I out some oil on my potato fries and YES even salt. I eat store-bought bars, even when they have sweetener or whatever in there. “
There are days when I don’t have the time or chance to make a green salad with an amazing avocado orange dressing drizzled with nuts and all to good things on earth and I would just end up eating a bag of potato chips. “
Do you love watching What I ate in a day video? Me too! But just remember these videos are always „made“ by someone. Even when I do such a video I am thinking about what I actually should film. Guess this is kind of normal right, and has nothing to do with unreal or real. I might do a video once when I have a really really bad eating day 😀 You would love it! OR NOT 😉 Whatever.
So, to make a long story short: My breakfast at the moment is Oatmeal (because I love it) in all variations! I make mine with water and a sweetener, mostly coconut nectar or stevia or coconut sugar or just what I can find in my home. I am topping the oatmeal with some nuts for healthy fats and a lot of fresh fruits for vitamins. I don’t put in superfoods since the heat of the oatmeal would destroy their nutrients. If I have a smoothie for breakfast I usually combine it with a small oatmeal because I single smoothie wouldn’t keep me full until lunch. Lunch for me can be basically everything. Usually, I combine starches with veggies such as rice (plain, cooked in coconut oil, risotto), potatoes (mashed, baked, sliced, as a salad), pasta in every form and variation but mostly with pesto! Veggies you can take whatever you like! I try to eat as seasonal as possible and I mostly watch out for sales in the super- market. And yes almost forgot I sometimes have Oatmeal again for lunch, because yeah I like it and I feel my body likes it as well.
Dinner again can be anything. Sometimes I feel like having a second oatmeal, sometimes I am craving french fries and a vegan burger. Other days I just want banana Icecream with chocolate bar and sometimes I’ll have a huge salad with homemade Pita bread.And since I want to be completely honest here, I also have days where I eat crazy, like that night when I ate a whole banana bread for dinner.
You can find the recipe here. Thank me later.
„So now that you eat vegan all of your bloating is gone?“
It is not as simple as that. But I got more educated about it and I know my digestion better by now. I don’t have a universal formula that keeps you from ever being bloated again, I can just share what works for me.
U start my day with a glass of water and 1 tbsp of Blackstrap molasses. I have no idea what it does but it actually helped me, kicking off my digestion in the morning.
I avoid drinking during „eating“. This sounds weird but actually works quite well for me. I drink 1 glass before eating and then nothing while I am eating.
I avoid resting in a horizontal position 1-2 hours after eating. Also a small walk (5-10min) helped me a lot.
If you have more insider tips please let me know 😉
I bet you are all tired of reading now right? I think I am doing the Exercise update in a next blog post.
If someone wants to hear that 😉
thank you for sharing your story! I cut out birth control after I had my son, however, I had to get back on it for other medical reasons 🙁 I wish I didn’t have to take it, but there are other things at stake and I guess I’ll just have to live with bloating…can’t wait for the next post!
Hmpf…such a good article.
I am worried about birth control already for a couple of years and my worries are getting stronger and stronger…But Always when I talk about it with my mum or a friend they tell me not to worry. I feel like birth control is damaging my body…I don’t know why. I am so afraid It will cause infertile(?)…My period is so little (it’s Always been this way) I don’t know I really want children it’s my biggest wish sooo…And my skin is super bad too (for yeaaars and I’m 23 now) And I’m bloated all the time.
I don’t know where I want to go with this comment but reading your post made me panic again. I think I should follow my gut feeling, don’t I? Ugh.
I’m sorry I bothered you.
I love your blog!
XOXO
Steffi (www.squatsandbrownies.com)
Hi! you should definitely listen to your body! Of course friends and family are good for advise but in the end it is your body and you have to make your own decisions! I experienced a lot of bad things that stopped when I stopped taking hormones…Best thing might be to try it and see how your body reacts. Hope that helps. Don’t panic you’ll find your way!
Sehr schöner Blogpost liebe Lara. Ich habe die Pille 2008 abgesetzt, nachdem ich sie über 10 Jahre lang genommen habe. War eine sehr gute Entscheidung, auch wenn ich nach dem Absetzen schlechtere Haut und mehr Haarausfall hatte. Freut mich sehr, dass es dir nun besser geht was das „bloating“ betrifft. Ich esse tagsüber fast ausschließlich nur Obst, mittags einen großen Salat und abends eine warme Mahlzeit (natürlich vegan) und fühle mich sehr wohl damit. Ich achte darauf, dass ich kein Obst esse zu einer fettreicheren Mahlzeit und seitdem habe ich auch keine Blähungen mehr. Dein Bananenbrot muss ich unbedingt nachbacken, wow sieht das genial aus. 🙂
Great post about no fuss healthy! Glad to hear you are on the mend! I’m looking forward to part two and three!
Thanks so much! Hope you liked part 2 as well so far 🙂
I love this post so much! It’s all about listening to your body and nourishing it with the right foods. Bloating has also been a huge problem for me, so I’ve been trying to drink BEFORE I eat LOL!
Hi Lara, I was organising my bookmarks and found one of your recipes there, but I wasn’t actually familiar with your own site and what you represent. I looked around and I really like it! well, actually, I LOVE it! and needless to say, your instagram is full of amaaaahhhhzing pictures!
Are you happen to be from Bern or from around here? mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut haha 🙁
anyways, keep up the good work and enjoy your holidays!
Thanks so much! yes I am actually from Bern 🙂