I was recently reminded that I had previously been diagnosed as being hypothyroid i.e. my thyroid is not functioning correctly and is under producing thyroid hormone or it could be producing enough but I am not able to utilise it sufficiently.  I went to the Doctors because of the following symptoms: difficulty losing weight, poor memory, a low and decreasing pulse rate and just feeling tired a lot of the time.  A blood test confirmed I was hypothyroid and I began taking thyroid hormone tablets – well, when I remembered I did!  I hadn’t taken the thyroid tablets for a long time and I am feeling better after just 3 months worth of taking the tablets regularly.

I know, from studying nutrition, that what you eat can make the condition better or worse so I went off in search of a decent book.  As with all things in nutrition, there are conflicting opinions about how best to help you so I bought a book I had been recommended and I am going to stick with it.

I also have quite a few symptoms of being insulin resistant such as : general fatigue, constant hunger, craving sweets, frequent urination and difficulty losing weight.  So I am starting the the section in the book about trying to combat insulin resistance.  The protocol Dr. Kharrazian recommends is to do a 3 – 5 day fast of only consuming green tea, plus a lot of water mixed with lemon or lime pulp and maple syrup.  You then introduce specific types of food.

This is day 2 of the fast and I do feel very tired but I suspect that is in part having given up tea and coffee.  Apart from being tired I feel alright and this has been easier to stick to than I expected.

I use limes rather than lemons but you could use either.

I peeled the limes and put them in the blender with enough water and maple syrup to make a base.

I leave the base in a jug and every time my glass is empty I add some base and top it up with water.  Similar to how you would make a cordial or squash.

I worked from home today so it was easy to keep the water and base cold in the fridge and top up regularly.

The quantities are not specific except for asking you to drink 2 gallons a day which I think is 7 litres (it’s an American book so I have assumed USA gallon).  You add enough maple syrup to take the bitterness away, rather than making a very sweet drink.   I haven’t managed that much though, I have had 4 litres of water with 3 limes and about 150 ml of maple syrup plus 2 mugs of green tea.

I really like the taste of it so it is very easy to drink.  You have to sip throughout the day and make sure you sip some every 10 – 15 minutes.  I did think it would be improved by a good slug of gin and I might even serve this as a cocktail the next time I have friends round.

The 3 – 5 day fast is important so you take a break from food to let your digestive tract have time to start recovering.  People with insulin resistance often have multiple food insensitivities and intolerances,  which is another symptom I have actually.

The lime juice alkalinises the blood and green tea helps produce the hormone lipase which helps burn body fat.  The book asks for Grade B maple syrup as that is sweeter so you need less but I couldn’t find any.

It was sunny and warm today so when Harvey came home from school we went for a walk  in the woods over the road from the house.  We are so lucky to have this on our doorstop.

Shame my English rural scene was photo bombed !

I love walking through these woods.

There are several ponds and ditches in the woods which Milton usually drinks from as we go round but he wouldn’t drink it today and it was a very orange/brown colour.  I wonder what happened to that.

I love this huge oak tree we pass on the way home.

I will repeat the lime/maple syrup/water drink tomorrow but I am out at the theatre in the evening and meeting a girlfriend first for supper so I will be breaking the fast a bit early.  But I will try and break it with foods on the permitted list for the next 2 weeks.