Saying goodbye is never easy. In fact, it is one of the hardest things us emotionally frail humans are forced to endure.
I have said goodbye to a lot of things in my life, friendships, jobs, homes, pets, George Michael's heterosexuality, the 90's tv show Felicity...nope, nope, actually that one still hits a raw nerve.
But this week I have had to say goodbye to one of the best friends I have ever known. Wait. First, let me dim the lights and cue Sarah McLachlan's ' I Will Remember You'.
Ok, where were we? I say best friend, however, the reason for me letting it go is because it really hasn't been good to me at all. Sure they provided comfort, blissfully bitey times and an awakening to so many new experiences and tastes, but not without the bad stuff too...digestive bad stuff. I won't go into it, but let's just say it was one of those trips to the chemist where you keep your sunglasses on and buy hand cream and cotton balls to hide the real reason you are there, you know...rhymes with shonstipation...
Oh the pain is too much to bear, (no, not my downstairs problems, we have moved on). What will I do without a weekend cheese board with blue vein, fromart, goats cheese and brie? A slice of Gouda or a bite of Jarlsberg here and there, yes as hard as it is to decree;
I HAVE SAID GOODBYE TO BELOVED CHEESE!!
I am taking deep breaths and doing what grown ups do. Making sacrifices for the good of my health, so it's time to put down the kraft cheese single and embrace all things Paleo! YAY! I am, what sophisticated circles are calling 'a Paleoist'. I think I just made up a word?
The excitement of this cheesy epiphany has caused me to get ahead of myself, so let's take a step back.
It has been a busy few weeks here in Casa De Brooker. Nothing really spectacular or out of the ordinary but busy; oh yeah, I did do that one cartwheel upstairs on our new temptingly empty, springy carpeted living room and was pretty fricking chuffed with myself. ..but aside from that not much else to report on.
On the non-spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary front, I have been busily writing a bajillion job applications whilst dealing with the prospect I am unemployed and no one seems to think I am marvelous enough to hire. In the moments I get away from my laptop I am usually found raiding our kitchen pantry from boredom and trying to see if I can make a procrastination snack with only home brand cooking chocolate, peanut butter and cruskits.
There is a silver lining though, and hence my reason for this very post!
Whilst being unemployed does crush the soul and creates a black hole of dirt poor we are slowly sinking into. I also see a teeny, tiny grain of fantastic in my current predicament. I have had the chance to really focus on me. Which is something apparently everyday folk don't get a good go at, when stupid annoying things like jobs and children get in the way.
SO quick history lesson, I completed a program that saw me lose 16 kilos about 9 months ago and I had to ditch it for various health issues, thus gaining back 5 quite quickly, I KNOW sucks right....the life of someone with PCOS. *sad face.
Oh yeah, I have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. (boooo) It's the non 'cysts on the ovaries' kind, for the record my ovaries are pink and pretty and just dandy (yaaaaay).
SO because of the PCOS that raids my body, I started reading A LOT and conducting my own research project with all my spare time, and in a nutshell, paleo is awesome for fat PCOS sufferers wanting to get knocked up,..so paleo shall be my religion!! Please don't ask me what PCOS is kids, because I was kinda too busy in my doctor's office when she was explaining it to me, staring at that plastic vagina trying to memorize it, so I could check mine out later at home and see if it looked the same. Feel free to google it ..google away...PCOS, NOT MY VAGINA!!!
All I do know is a lot of studies have been done and sweet, innocent unsuspecting dairy is apparently a big iron poker to the flame that is my PCOS and said fatness.
Can I do it? Can I cut the cheese..wait, what?
Look I sure hope I can, I have already pretty much cut grains and sugars ("pretty much" legally covers me if you happen to come across me inhaling a sugar sandwich in a dark alleyway somewhere), so I am willing to give it a red hot go!
I will touch base and let you all know how it goes. I have the shakes already and I only started an hour ago. I had Parmesan sprinkled on my salad for dinner (pffff Parmesan doesn't count, it's a definitely a condiment, not a cheese).
I am so proud of myself at the moment I really am.
It is so completely worth making these small sacrifices for a bit of health and wellness.
But..if you do ever see me in a baseball cap and sunglasses ordering a pizza or cheese sandwich, just know it's me having an off day and give me a wave.
Emma Kate xoxo
Come on, talk to me...give me some inspiration! Have you ever had to give up something you loved? Can it be done?