Nutritional obsession

So after a lot of dithering, here we go. This really is a ‘hello world’ post, a bit of background which I might add will be ever-evolving. That’s the nature of science and research, pretty much my obsession. My Gut.life is focused on nutrition and my journey of exploration to find out the answers unfolded by science.

And I might add, it’s not been as difficult as some of the people around me, but I’ve certainly learnt from their experiences and that’s part of the point of all this. To document and hopefully help others either through real stories or current research. What I say should only be taken for what it is, writing on a page. You owe it to yourself to do your own research but hopefully, I might help point you in the right direction or join some much-wanted dots you have been thinking about.

I will mention many of the places I go for knowledge to join my own dots, and I might add those dots are constantly moving around. Anyone that claims to know all the answers is also usually being a little naive. And often a little too dogmatic for my liking. We should all be open-minded with the ability to listen to all views and only then make a judgment at that point in time with the facts that you have gained. Because very likely in a few years, something else might very well change that view. You need to make no apologies for changing your mind or suggesting new advice. It’s becoming a little tiring to see people get ‘trashed’ because they changed their mind.

Nutrition has become such an important subject when you compare to so many things throughout your life, we are all ‘experts’ when it comes to food. We often seem to know what makes us feel good or not. But later on when the wheels start falling off, we ‘might’ start to question if we were really right. I think that’s the important factor, constantly questioning if what you are doing is the best for yourself and even your family (and yes I know we are all different).

Some of us are more expert than others, depending on where your standing and how much stuff you have absorbed over the years of simply being alive, plus of course if you have been privileged to take some sort of formal training, be it certification, medical or whatever. But always remember, your expertise is only based on what you know right now, tomorrow, something you might learn will remind you that you really might not have had all the pieces of the jigsaw.

I want to put that out there, that that’s how I think. I’m constantly searching for the truth that can help myself and hopefully others right now. Because who knows what the future holds, science and technology are moving so fast, it’s making our heads spin.

I have personally had my own challenges, I was nearly 110kg or 17st, our UK NHS website says I should be between 65 to 70ish kg (10-11st). So clearly I was a long way off. I have yo-yo’ ed so many times over the years. Usual story, but this time had been the heaviest. I was starting to become just ill all the time. I had a permanent cough, I was finally diagnosed after a year of going to different ‘specialist’ for asthma. No shock there. I was tired all the time and was losing my ability to think properly. My sleep pattern didn’t exist, but my snacking pattern was probably the only consistent variable. I felt a mess.

Then there was the constant back pain and joint aches. They would move around like a game of whac-a-mole. Not to mention the heartburn, OMG! the heartburn. It is still a vivid memory, going to the doctor for acid-reflux and coming away with a prescription for Omeprazole and two large bottles of Gaviscon. I’m sure many will be able to relate. Knowing what I know now used to make me angry, because in hindsight, it was actually quite a simple fix, and the advice I got was from an institution only trained in the area of medication and symptomatic treatment. But anyway, that’s for another post. I digress.

I am now in that ‘recommended’ 70ish kg area. I say that loosely, I fluctuate within a 2kg, which of course is normal. But, as anyone embarking on the journey of weight loss, it is staying at that chosen range, that is the hard part for most. Its become even more a holy grail than even losing the weight in the first place.

This site is really a collection of experiences, stories, research, opinion and just plain thoughts of how I got here, what I am learning on the way and hopefully, it will be of some benefit to others.