18 Months on GAPS

Saturday marked the end of my eighteenth month on the GAPS diet. I can’t believe I’ve been on GAPS for a year and a half. In some ways it feels a lot longer than that, but in other ways I still sometimes feel like a beginner.

I’ve been somewhat reluctant to write this post because I feel like my healing on GAPS has sort of stalled in the past couple of months. I realized that it’s just as important to share the challenging parts of the protocol as the happy healing parts, though, so here goes.

Acne

I wrote in my 15 months on GAPS post that GAPS dramatically improved my acne to the point that I was only dealing with a handful of breakouts a time. A couple weeks later, however, my skin started breaking out a bit more and has remained more broken-out ever since. I’m still pleased with the overall improvement, as my skin is still amazingly better than it was pre-GAPS, but I admit I’m disappointed that it’s worsened lately instead of constantly improving.

I’m not really sure what’s causing the recent decline in my skin. I think that it may be largely hormonal, as I definitely notice fluctuations throughout my cycle. I also mostly break out on my chin and around my mouth, which I have read is usually due to hormonal issues. (Although I don’t really know how true this is – anyone else heard the same?) I know I have some hormonal issues, as I still get painful cramps during my period. I bought some supplements to help my hormones, but I haven’t yet gotten into the habit of taking them regularly. (Isn’t that always the hardest part?)

In the meantime I’m pursuing a couple of topical methods to see if they help at all with the breakouts. I’m still determined to solve the root cause of my acne, but dealing with a lot of breakouts really hurts my self-confidence so I’d be happy to find some natural, non-toxic topical treatment that could help in the short-term.

Digestion

My digestion has also not been as good as is normal for me on GAPS. It’s still a lot better than it used to be, but it just doesn’t feel as settled all the time. This did seem to get better after I omitted eggs, however, so possibly that’s just been affecting me for a while and things will be better now.

I am disappointed about the egg thing, though, as I mentioned before. I feel like I should be able to eat more foods, not less, as time goes on. I think I will try a little bit of egg yolk soon, to see if that might go better than the whole egg.

Energy

I think my energy is improving. I’m still not what I would call energetic, but I seem to have a lot fewer days where I feel exhausted.  This is interesting, considering that my other two main issues seem worse lately. I wonder how to explain that.

Sticking with the Program

I think part of the reason I’m experiencing some setbacks may be because I haven’t been implementing all aspects of the GAPS program. I adhere to the food lists, of course, but more recently I haven’t been good about getting in enough fats and eating my fermented vegetables with every meal. For a while I was doing really well with taking regular detox baths, but I’ve also lapsed in that department lately.

I want to get back on track. I think incorporating all of the aspects of the program gives your body additional tools to heal so I’m probably shortchanging myself by slacking off. I’m actually on a break from my child care job for the next couple of weeks so I think this will be a good chance to try to reincorporate some of those habits I’ve been skipping lately. Wish me luck!

This post is part of Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday.

How is your GAPS journey going?

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13 Responses to 18 Months on GAPS

  1. Congratulations on hitting the year and a half mark! I know that has to have been quite a commitment on your part. I pray that you continue to see improvements in the areas you're struggling with. Pam
  2. Congrats on hitting such a big milestone! You both are a great inspiration of continuing through it. Have you thought about doing another round of intro? I'm on day 4 of intro and am really seeing some great improvements again this second go. I must admit, when Momica suggested it to me, I wasn't really wanting to do it again. But I had had some major excema all over my legs and arms which started when I increased my Bio-Kult too quickly and was making my kefir way too strong. It would never go away and now it has dramatically reduced already. Best of luck to you both as you continue!
    • Meghan says:
      Thanks, Mindy! I'm vaguely considering another intro. I'm not really wild about the idea (mostly because it's a lot of work and not particularly appealing food-wise) but I think it might be a good step for me. I will have to reevaluate after we move - I think it would probably be a bad idea to consider starting anytime before that. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I was wondering whether you'd started your second intro yet and how it was going.
  3. Vicky says:
    Hi Meghan! First of all - a BIG well done for completing 18 months on the GAPS diet! Amazing! My son has been on the SCD for 6 years now and hasn't looked back - it wasn't tough for him though because he was so ill before he started it and it changed his life!. Have you thought that dairy may be affecting your skin? It might be worth eliminating it for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference. I know my son sees a big difference in his skin! I agree with Mindy, trying the intro again may well be beneficial! I wish you well!
    • Meghan says:
      Thanks for your comment, Vicky. I've been off dairy at times in the past and it never seemed to make a difference, but I'm more healed now so it maybe it's worth revisiting. I will certainly keep it in mind. Thanks for stopping by!
  4. [...] 18 Months on GAPS from Whole Natural Life. It is always interesting to see how someone has done on GAPS. [...]
  5. Hanna says:
    Maybe you need to add some more carbs into your diet. Gaps is a low carb diet and Im not saying add a whole heap of over processed bread and pasta. Just go out, buy one potato and and cook it up with brekky, lunch or dinner to see if it makes a difference in your energy levels (plus they are packed full of vitamins and minerals)
    • Meghan says:
      Thanks for stopping by, Hanna. I won't be buying any potatoes since they're not allowed on GAPS (and I want to stick with the program) but I have been experimenting with eating more fruit and sweet veggies (like beets, peas, squash, etc.). GAPS certainly does not have to be low-carb but it often ends up being so. Given all the carb hysteria going on lately I thought I'd try experimenting. :) Thanks for your suggestion!
      • Hanna says:
        Not too long after posting that I read another bloggers post about how the GAPS diet made her feel after being on it for over a year (she started eating healthy non GAPS food). I personally dont like any diet that excludes healthy foods because unless your a nutritionist (i have a friend who is, so I get free advice) you dont know what your missing out on
  6. Gisel Gonzalez says:
    My son is autistic and has gut issues and I just started the broth, which I think is very good for him and myself ( I also have a leaky gut due to yeast and parasites.these two usually go together). We do allergy elimination treatments with a NAET practitioner in NYC. I would find a NAET practitioner and as this will make your immune system stronger..I never get sick and I don't sleep well and have lots of stress from dealing with my son's autistic issues and I am 45 years old; I attribute this to al lf the energy treatments that we do, NAET and BODY TALK and treating the yeast and parasites, it was rough at first, but now I no longer feel the creepy crawling under my skin..THreelac for killing yeast, tablespoon of cocnut oil daily for killing yeast, Candex Enzymes for killing yeast and NAET TReatments. HUMAWORM website has a yeast and parasite protocol. Healing the gut is tricky, you have to get rid of the toxic load that has your immune system compromised and then put in healing nutrients and foods to support your healing and energy medicine to align the energies of the body so you can get stronger. NAET will help support your bodies healing by making the energy of the allergens compatible with the bodies energy; that is asking the body to not attack the allergens and see them as foreign, this will inclue, foods, environmental, emotional,etc. visit . www.naet.com and find a practioner near you. THe other wonderful energy medicine is BODY TALK, you can see if you can find a practioner near you or learn it yourself by going to a Seminar..look this up online..it is great. Young living essential oils also have very pure oils that can help with balancing hormones and treating the bacterial infections. visit Young Living.com and another essential oil website is DO-Terra, also carry wonderful healing oils I use the Tee Tree oil on my pimples and then I rub castor oil (Castor oil moves blood) Actaully I use Castor oil packs for many ailments as well, look this up on line and last but not least visit the PURE HERBS website for their wonderful healing tinctures..don't stop working on healing yourself and pray for guidance, patience and give thanks for everything. B vitamins give energy and working out. Best of luck and God Bless, Gisel
  7. Karla says:
    Evening primrose oil might help. I believe it helped me with my formerly painful periods. If you don't have to take pain meds, it helps liver get healthier. Evening primrose oil (and herb borage, I believe) has fatty acid that is not so much in modern diets anymore.

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