Welcome back! 🙋Okay, I haven't written for a while so I guess you aren't the one who left. It's been a crazy summer. Quick update...As the world stayed home more, I started my masters. I finished two classes this summer and still have my sanity (Some of you have known me for a while and are questioning if I ever had it). We spent more time playing outdoors with our son and less time being busy with things that no longer matter as much in the grand scheme of things.
Just when I thought I had a handle on life, my husband's foot started hurting...a lot. He's had gout before and had been drinking too many sodas again so we did the usual giving up sodas for him and waited...and waited...and waited. The pain was getting worse. He went to the doctor who said it was tendonitis. We looked up tendonitis and did everything research said, and the pain continued to get worse. During this time, my husband started making changes in his diet because my losing weight helped my arthritis pain in my foot a lot. Nothing was working and he had to take time off from work because it was too painful to walk. Two more doctor visits (and no sleep for days) found that it wasn't tendonitis and is a very bad case of gout. The doctor's advice, diet changes are needed. It was like deja vu. 💡My life changed drastically the day I was diagnosed with GERD, and now my husband was going to get a taste of the same not fun, but needed medicine.
So, that's where we're at. My husband is now down 24lbs so far and is finally able to walk without too much pain. What does this mean? One positive is that I no longer have to buy tons of junk food that I can't eat and keep it in my house mocking me. Another is that I'm only having to cook one meal most of the time. Luckily, we're extremely blessed with a five-year-old who loves every fruit and veggie and begged me for raw green beans instead of cookies a couple of weeks ago. This kid is in Heaven with all the fruit and veggie options in the house.
Overall, my husband's anti-gout/anti-inflammation diet looks very similar to my GERD diet, but he can have some fruits, such as oranges and cherries, that I can't have and some veggies, like peppers and onions, that I can't have too. He can also have tomatoes, which is either a fruit or a veggie depending on if you are in science class or looking at options for a fruit salad.
So, new challenges! I'll be trying out new recipes and posting our successes. There will be a lot less meat (He should only have 4oz a day). This morning I kept it simple. My husband had a scramble with one whole egg, some liquid egg whites, a serving of chopped potatoes cooked down, onions, red and green peppers, and olives. It was loaded with protein, and we added one serving of a whole wheat, high fiber cereal that was actually really tasty. for 415 calories, he had 24g of protein, 8g of fiber, and tons of vitamins. Earlier this week, I made my chicken stir fry with ginger and honey, and it was a big success with both of the guys in the family. We've already frozen potions of it, along with some pinto beans and red beans with a little shredded chicken breast in them for lunches on days when there are no leftovers.
I'll be starting a Google Doc with foods that are good for gout/inflammation issues and will share it when I'm done so that others can benefit from it too. Look for that to come soon.
So, my first entry was called GERD's the Word, and now we are adding our new motto, Gout is Out. Yes, I am an elementary teacher and do have to rhyme or make alliteration with everything.😉
Oh yeah, I've also started the 75 Day Hard Challenge (today is day 8), but that's a whole different entry.
My two guys.
