*Starch-Free Success Stories* Guest Blog: Heather Vaughn-Stanfill
Heather’s story has stood out to me for some time because I can tell she loves good food as much as I do! I admire Heather’s dedication to healing and I find that her boldness in reintroducing new foods gives me courage and hope. I can’t wait to hear about how your reintroduction of sushi goes, Heather 🙂
Heather’s post is part of the “Starch-Free Success Stories” series.Â
I’ve never been a fan of the quick approach of prescription drugs as a first go-to. There is a time and place for them, no doubt, and I’m very thankful that science and research have gifted us with modern medicine. However, after looking at the side effects of some of the medications to help with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), I just didn’t feel good about starting those medications in my 30s. If there was another way to try and mitigate some of the issues I was having, I wanted to try that first. I’m a firm believer that food is medicine AND if medication is needed as support, we can honor that, too. I wanted to give my body some time to try and heal from the damage I put it through both knowingly and unknowingly. Man, carbs are tasty! 🙂
When I first stumbled across the low-starch method I was intrigued for sure, but I didn’t want to give up all the foods I loved most. However, I jumped in with both feet and am so thankful I did. My gut needed to heal. I had been eating a pescetarian diet for 4 years before starting a low-starch diet and quite quickly realized I had to add some meat back into my diet as I was quickly losing weight and couldn’t figure out how to add enough calories to manage the pounds I was losing. It was a mental challenge, that at times was harder than the loss of starch. I also love to cook and spend time in the kitchen, planning, prepping, and preparing meals. I had to change my mindset to embrace this way of eating and not get stuck in a rut of eating the same foods in the same way. I did not start with a complete elimination diet. I started eating foods on level 3 Keystone for a few months, moved to a Whole-30 approach about 3 months later (still sans the starch), and then slowly started adding things back into my diet after 5-6 months. My body felt so much better already – I could not believe it! I was motivated to continue to work through missing certain foods or socializing with friends around food because the results were too life-changing. So, I pressed on. I was sleeping through the night without propping up on 85,000 pillows and a completely stiff lower back. I was getting up in the mornings and I would say 75% of the mornings, I didn’t think about stiffness as first thought. As I said before, big-time motivation!
About a year into this approach, I started experimenting with foods I wanted to add back in. I would eat certain foods that may test starchy, but were considered on the low end. I added in many vegetables in the low starch category and seemed to do just fine. I stopped testing vegetables with iodine and I began ordering foods in restaurants not as worried about the seasoning they may use to prep my food. I tried to make choices that limited my chance of being heavily starched and felt a lot of autonomy around my food choices. I still felt positive results so felt I could continue to slowly add other things back in.
I read an article and then a book about a guy who is instrumental in WebMD who has AS and he talked about being strict 90% of the time and then allowing himself some meals 10% of the time that were not strict at all. This story gave me hope. And, probably because I was never bedridden, I felt I could let my body try some of those things, too. I was hesitant to try new things, so I cannot imagine if you came into this diet unable to function in daily life how hard it would be to reintroduce foods to your pretty healthy feeling body. So, I get the food fear there and feel everyone has to make choices that work best for them.
When I started researching more about foods and gut health and spondylitis in general, I started thinking about my gut as something I want to protect. Some people may think it’s crazy all the hype about leaky gut and gut health, but I just feel like working in that direction can’t hurt and maybe it will help. Watching how my body has responded over the last 16 months has been proof enough to me that it’s worth continued exploration.
For the most part, I still try to stick to a low-starch approach in how I plan my weeks. However, I have started adding some foods from the AIP/Paleo approach and seem to be doing well. I don’t overdo those moments, but I also feel so much freedom in being able to make choices to add to and build up my gut. My 40th birthday is quickly approaching and I will be trying some sushi in California. I’m crossing my fingers that an occasional meal like that won’t cause long-term issues. I still completely avoid all gluten and I would say it’s very rare (like the sushi I’m looking forward to) I eat any type of grain. I try to limit my dairy intake where I can. I love cheese, so I try to avoid milk and cow yogurt and such, to save my dairy for cheese and sometimes sour cream. I don’t feel I’ve had a negative reaction to dairy, but I know it is inflammatory for everyone, so I just avoid it as much as I can because of that. I think the power of choice is so interesting. I also think this way of eating is very hard at first, but then, it’s almost nice in some ways to not be burdened by SO MANY CHOICES! I do believe that our gut needs as much variety as we can give it. For some, that may only be five foods, for those of us who can handle more though, I truly believe that is a healthy approach, too.
So many people start this approach and are scared, worried, and unsure. I hope these people stay encouraged. So many people are quick to jump on people who are trying to make positive changes because they aren’t making all the “right” choices. I like to think that any change is better than no change. If people need time to work through the emotional/mental side of a new nutritional approach, I think they deserve that. I also think it is a lot easier for me to make food choices in America where we have so many options. It isn’t always easy in other countries and I hope we can be kinder in those moments.
I think the second part of my journey that I won’t spend as much time chatting about is, eliminating stress. Not everyone is in a position to completely quit their job, but I did. I was a collegiate coach and I could tell the toll it took on my body was more than just physical. My wife and I decided to restructure our lives to help minimize stress. I started the LS approach in April and took early retirement from my job in May. So, I think the two things worked together to get me where I am today. I think maybe this is an area we often overlook because it’s often harder to reduce stressors than it is to make different food choices. But, I think it’s equally important.
The next thing I need to focus on is heart health and a consistent way to seek movement. I go in and out of a mental space where yoga gets a lot of my energy and then none at all. I know I am in a healthier place when my body is moving – so now, my next step is figuring out how to make movement more of a part of my health journey. Spending my life as an athlete and then career as a coach, you would think this would be an easy area for me, but it isn’t. I need to work through this because I think it is the third essential piece of the health puzzle.
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