Hashimoto’s

What Does a Nutritionist Do and Why Would I See One?

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healthy woman

What is a Nutritionist?

An accredited nutritionist has received tertiary training in the field of nutrition (in my case an Advanced Diploma in Nutritional Medicine). They will also be a member of a governing body, holding them to a high level of professional conduct and ensuring they adhere to set targets for continued education each year.

However, “nutritionist” is not a protected term here in Australia, meaning anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Make sure you ask what training / qualifications they have. Continue Reading →

The Art of Eating Out….on AIP!

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Petty Cash

(Above image features my fave reintro foods – coffee and eggs!)

Before cleaning up my diet (pre-Hashi’s diagnosis back in 2013) I would eat out at least 4 times a week. And that was just dinner. Factor in work lunches and weekend breakfasts and that’s a lot of eating out! Fast forward to when I started AIP, and eating out had to be one of the first things to go. I just couldn’t deal with the stress of explaining to another person what I could eat and couldn’t eat when I was still trying to grips with it myself, and that look in their eye of “urgghhh….another customer with so-called “food allergies”!”. Continue Reading →

How to Go Gluten Free for Gluten Intolerance

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how to give up gluten

 

As a clinical nutritionist it’s my job to help people make dietary changes to improve their health and symptoms. But changing your diet can seem really daunting, particularly if you are doing it to help manage chronic disease. I know, I’ve been there (read about it here)!

I initially made changes to my diet about 6-7 years ago,  when I was diagnosed with autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (read about that here and here), so the tips I’m giving here are what worked for me, plus a few things I learned along the way. Continue Reading →

Tips for Blood Sugar Regulation

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sugar-3057660_640

 

If our blood sugar levels aren’t regulated (a rollercoaster characterised by sugar highs followed by the crash) we can experience symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, anger (the hangries!), sugar cravings, inability to concentrate, dizziness, palpitations, anxiety, “the shakes”, etc. Personally, before my Hashimoto’s diagnosis (and starting AIP) I’d experience these feelings on a regular basis and would “resolve” them by eating a processed carb or a piece of fruit (yay, back on the sugar roller coaster!). However, this wouldn’t actually resolve the issue and unless I ate a balanced meal I’d be experiencing that sugar crash again. I’d even experience panic attacks which, looking back, I think was due in part to poor blood sugar management.

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A Rather Exciting Announcement…..

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le bump

le bump

 

Well, I’d say I owe you guys an apology…..it has been 9 months since my last blog post!!!! I do have my reasons, the first being that we started renovating our house (which is still on-going) so trying to stay my shade of AIP without a kitchen didn’t make for particularly creative meals, and intermittent internet just made the whole thing too annoying to attempt. Buuuuttt…..my renovations aren’t anything to do with the exciting announcement. No. The exciting announcement is, that after 4 years of trying, about 1 year of AIP and 4 IVF treatments we are finally pregnant, and in fact due very soon, towards the end of March! Continue Reading →

Are Chickpeas Sexy? Lets see…Post AIP Redux!

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Lovely Legumes

Lovely legumes at Alfalfa House, Enmore, Sydney

 

Ok, so this post has been on my mind a bit lately. I first published it over a year ago and, nutritionally speaking, I was in quite a different place back then. Wholefoods were very much my focus, but I hadn’t considered foods beyond “wholefoods good processed foods bad”. I hadn’t yet decided that I was going to start the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), and I wasn’t Paleo either, and I’d probably eat tinned legumes about once a week or so feeling quite virtuous for doing so. But things have changed somewhat since then! And yesterday I received an email asking my position on legumes as a post AIP elimination phase reintroduction, based on the original version of this post. So I thought now would be a good time for an update!  Continue Reading →

Sophie and Kirstie Talk Hashimoto’s and Anxiety….Part 2

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Hashimoto_anxiety_2

 

 

Here’s part 2 of mine and Sophie’s chat about anxiety, panic attacks and how we manage them today (if you missed part 1 you can check that out here). This week, Sophie and I, along with Tara from Paleo Cajun Lady and Kate from Healing Family Eats recorded an episode of The Autoimmune Connection dedicated to living with anxiety. It was really fun to record and if you check it out I hope you enjoy watching! Continue Reading →

Sophie and Kirstie Talk Hashimoto’s and Anxiety….Part 1

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Hashimoto_anxiety_1

 

 

This is a rather special little side project that I’ve been working on with fellow Hashi’s kid, Sophie, from A Squirrel in the Kitchen. We both guested on The Autoimmune Connection (the Youtube channel from fellow AIPer Christina at A Clean Plate) recently, and bonded over our mutual feelings of anxiety! Comparing my story with Sophie’s, I think they each offer a very different perspective, and I hope our stories are helpful in someway. I know we both found this experience a cathartic one. There will be an episode of The Autoimmune Connection on anxiety coming up soon, so, if you fancy it, check that out!     Continue Reading →

‘He Won’t Know it’s Paleo’ AIP Cookbook – Interview and Giveaway!

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He Won't Know it's Paleo!

Bre’anna with husband Chris 

 

Today, author, blogger, wife and mum Bre’anna Emmitt from He Won’t Know it’s Paleo  joins us for a chat! Thanks so much for your time Bre’anna – and huge congratulations on the publication of your first cookbook He Won’t Know it’s Paleo! It is a beautiful book with gorgeous, inspiring recipes that, as you say, “bridges the gap between a standard diet and the paleo Autoimmune Protocol”, and in such a delicious way! For those of you that don’t know, the name of Bre’anna’s blog came about after Bre’anna started preparing paleo meals for her husband and family – and it was 6 months before she told her husband!

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The Great Sydney AIP Picnic!

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Yesterday, Sunday 1st March, was our first public gathering of the AIP Supper Club! It started as a beautiful evening back in November with Jo from Joanna Frankham Health Coaching  and Rory, The Paleo PI. We shared (AIP compliant!) food, stories and information and realised what a lovely thing it is to pass time in the company of people who get who you are, what you are doing and why you are doing it. And we decided we wanted to share this experience with other AIP peeps!

 

 

Rory, Jo and Kirstie

Rory, Jo and Kirstie

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