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In honor of Earth Day I'm going to: After a little reflection I realized that I've been too cute with some of my challenge goals. So, I looked over past challenges and made a list of things that worked/felt right and pushed aside the things that stressed me out or made me judge myself. None of these things are truly hard, I just need to be consistent and make a lifestyle shift. So here are my recycled goals... 5 servings of fruit and vegetables Fiber Probiotics Water/Tea 24oz Body Weight 3x a week (with cardio mixed in) Weekly Meal Planning Food Prep 2x/week Pack healthy snacks Mindful eating (going to try taking pics of meals for accountability/reminder) I will use my bullet journal to track my challenge. I actually have a chart that I made for a past challenge, but never used, so I'm going to recycle it and use it for this challenge.

Lightning Heals in the Mists of Avalon “Avalon will always be there for all men to find if they can seek the way thither, throughout all the ages past the ages. If they cannot find the way to Avalon, it is a sign, perhaps, that they are not ready." ― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon Wounded and tired, Lightning walks the battlefield in a haze looking for a place to bury her head and decide whether to continue to fight or just surrender. She walks on for hours, unable to find a safe corner to hide and too dazed to know when to stop. Eventually, the haze in her head turns to mist. Mist so thick she wonder's if it is real or if she is so tired that the hallucinations have begun. Unable to see more than a foot in front of her, she walks into something solid and loses her balance. Lightning falls and hits hard. Her head hurts, but it feels so good to lay down, even though she is surrounded by cold, damp wood. A boat. She realizes she has fallen into a small boat, even more, she notices that the boat is starting to move. Lightning tries to sit up, to see who or what is making the boat move. A thin, bony hand reaches it's way out of the mists and a rough, grizzled voice says, "Payment is required to travel to Avalon". As if on instinct, Lightning reaches into her satchel and pulls out a silver coin that she has never seen before. She passes the strange coin onto the stranger and instantly succumbs to her fatigue. Just before sleep takes over she wonders again, should she fight or just surrender. Maybe there is a third option: Heal. This is my first challenge with the Druids. As much as I adore my Assassins, I needed to put my hidden daggers aside and focus on healing. Last month a few too many "life events" hit me and left me trying to fight my way through the four weeks. I see now that I need to flow WITH the events and accept what is. I need to retreat (not surrender) to Avalon and heal so I can be ready for what comes my way. Potions First, I have to heal my gut. A combination of events caused my (mostly) dormant IBS to return with a vengence. It brought with it some bad indigestion and acid reflux that has left my insides broken. What seems to be helping me heal are probiotics and aloe vera juice. Giving up coffee (ouch) has also been a huge difference maker so I have been replacing my coffee with a substitute made out chicory. While I'm not a big soda drinker I do like it in the summer. Soda is another no-no when dealing with acid reflux so I have been drinking Kefir water when I want a little bubbly treat. Goal #1 Probiotics every day Aloe Vera Juice every day Chicory Tea (No Coffee) Water Kefir (No Soda) Feast I usually try to follow paleo/banting for my food choices. This time I'm going to shift things just a little and use the Perfect Health Diet as a guide. I'm not going to worry about macros or even measuring. I WILL write down what I eat to keep me accountable and make sure that I'm following the plan. Goal #2 Write down food and follow PHD Armor While healing my insides I need to continue to protect myself from the outside as well. I am still planning on completing a Warrior Dash in August so I am going to keep things simple and use the 4-week training plan listed on the WD website. No Assassin mini for me this time. I'm keeping it simple. Goal #3 Follow the 4-week Warrior Dash training Meditation I like to use active meditation techniques to help with anxiety. My favorite is coloring but I also really enjoy painting, yoga, and guided meditations too. I haven't been doing this with any consistency so I want to change that. The other thing that helps me with anxiety is prescription medication. When I started having acid problems the medicine seemed cause reflux so I stopped taken it. I need to get back to taking it regularly because it flat out helps me. Goal #4 Any kind of meditation (20 min) 5x a week Take pres. medicine every day Elder Druid Lots of adulting that is going to have to happen this month. Won't go into all the dirty details, I'll just make a list and try and take a deep breath. Insurance Claim Tile Bathroom wall Refinish 4 Kitchen Cabinets Make Dr. Appt Take DD driving (3x a week) Plan & Execute DD's graduation party Help son get out of the house 3x a week Cook with son 1x a week Set up NF t-shirts for the virtual run

Hi guys! Need some advice. I saw a 50% off coupon for this supplement from Alice foods (Amazon) and I want to try it out. Seems really great with high reviews! The coupon code is 50OFF4UP It says that it has NEW IMPROVED Formula (Over 10 Billion CFU Per Day) - New Improved Formula - At Least 11.5 Billion CFU per Serving - Dairy and Gluten Free - Made in the USA at the FDA Approved Manufacturing Facility - 100% Money Back" Any advice please? Thanks!

So for the majority of 21 years of living on this Earth, I have had the WORST digestion of all time; I was a baby with severe colic, struggled to worship the Potty God throughout my entire childhood (ie, going number 2 was a difficult experience, and doctors could not pinpoint the answer as to why, and chalked it up to that oh-so-ambiguous IBS), and tried every remedy under the sun to relieve my problems; I suffered from a confirmed (via stool test) candida infection last summer, got small intestinal bacterial overgrowth early this spring, and am currently restoring my stomach acid levels as I transition from 2 years as a vegan into a mostly plant-based paleo eater. Anywho. For the past month, I've been back to my childhood Potty God worshipping struggles- my pipes were backed up, to say the least. I attacked it with massive doses of magnesium, probiotics, fiber, and swedish bitters. Still no solution. This was very heartbreaking, as I am currently writing a book all about Digestion! But then, recalling my research, I managed to alleviate it with fantastic results! I feel like a new person. There's a weird sense of accomplishment when you are able to pass a damn good BM- easy, and oh-so relieving. I don't feel like there's something sitting in my gut. My body is like a well-oiled machine, absorbing nutrients and making do with the benefits they provide. What goes in, finally goes out. I am blown away by this victory! I am enjoying my food again, and not worrying whether or not it will make me feel even fuller and uncomfortable. This is all knock on wood, but so far, I am seeing tons of benefits. What I am doing involves zero laxatives, detox pills, herbal formulas, or complex rituals. It's just a combination of faith, good research, biology, and and determination.

Hello, everyone. I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but I am curious to each response. I suffer from IBS-C (irritable bowel with constipation), with occasional bouts of diarrhea. I've been diagnosed with IBS by a doctor, taken labs, enzymes, probiotics, food elimination/FODMAPS. While I've made great strides in improving my condition, the constipation and bloating are still a pain. Sometimes, sporadically, I get loose, and really just cannot pin down what in the world is going on. Much of my condition is psychogenetic, but even on the days when I am otherwise calm and happy, I still get 'plugged' up. Recently, I just ordered some L-Glutamine and Collagen Hydrosolate (it's like bone broth), so hopefully those will help. But otherwise, I try to eat a balanced diet. I am wondering what you guys have done to combat your own IBS problems? With probiotics, I have yet to find one that is dairy free- I've tried soil-based, but these only made my constipation worse (Prescript Assist, Primal Defense), but might try Megafood's Megaflora, as it's dairy free (I cannot tolerate ANY dairy whatsoever), so I'm wondering if this is another problem as well. Would love to hear your thoughts!

day 21 of elimination diet from the microbiome diet book. Psoriasis gone, blood sugar dramatically improved. Energy levels somewhat better...Welbutrin helps. cleaned garage today and took stuff to goodwill. Dishes and laundry but no walking, except in Costco! Med and supplements- 7:30 Synthroid, nasacort 8:00 two probiotics with 15 species total, Welbutrin, metformin, l-glutamate, berberine, digestive enzymes 11:30 cal mag butyrate, l-glutamate, iron supplement, digestive enzymes Food so far Smoothie with apple cider vinegar(ACV), blueberries, spinach, skinny gut protein powder, almond milk Smoothie two with ACV, cherries, cocoa powder, spinach, skinny gut protein powder, almond milk Dinner will hopefully be chicken stew with red wine, carrots, mushrooms and parsnips Happy to talk about microbiome stuff and my experiences so far.

After a few weeks of digestive misery, I decided to start supplementing with probiotics to help myself recover. I picked up Jarro-Dophilus EPS at the health store downtown. Browsing the shelves didn't turn up anything that's 100% Paleo. This brand contains soy (less than 0.1%), milk (less than 0.01%), potato starch, and magnesium stearate (which I recall seeing somewhere as something to avoid. Primal Body, Primal Mind, maybe?). I'm not complaining, mind you. This brand looks pretty solid and the percentages of questionable stuff is very minimal. I was just wondering what other people take and if anyone has found a 100% Paleo brand. Thanks for indulging my curiosity.