I had a few emails this week from people who are starting with Dr. Jack on his partnertohealth.com program soon! Hooray for them! I am so happy you found your way to doing something so wonderful for yourself!! It’s exciting and scary all at the same time. But it definitely is the start of something great!!! Adios Hashimoto, been awful knowing you, and we won’t miss you when you are gone!
A few people asked me about things I did that helped me. I am no one to be giving advice since I am in the middle of things myself, but there are a few things I learned along the way. I hope they help you.
1. Water Bottles: Buy a measurable water bottle and keep track. I had this ginormous water bottle when I started, or at least I thought it was. One day, I got out the measuring cup and checked it. Ummm…. looks can be deceiving. I found out it did not hold as much as I thought it did. I bought an insulated one from Walmart that keeps water colder and doesn’t sweat. It holds about thirty ounces and I can keep track how many times I fill it. I also use a particular glass at home so I know how much I am drinking. Water is a habit. Drink lots, it helps to move things along.
2. Read the manual… A LOT, and buy a notebook. When Dr. Jack starts talking, trust me you want to take notes. He gives a ton of information and you want to be ready to get it down. I take down notes quickly and then go back and rewrite them so I understand what he has said to me. That way, I can get the information into my head, and understand it better.
I read the manual he sent so many times I lost track. And I requested to watch his webinar several times. I highlighted it and reread parts, then went back and highlighted in another color. I keep on reading it still, because every time I do, I learn something new or solidify what was there. It helps me stay on track.
3. Whenever Dr. Jack tells you to do something, just do it. I am going to write a whole blog about that. I have a whole story to go with that….. I just can’t talk about it yet.
If you don’t understand why you have to do something, then ask him. You will find that he never tells you what to do. He gives information, and leaves it with you. However, anytime he has done that? I found that by the time he was done talking, I had already decided he was right, and I decided for myself what I should do. It is a lot easier to follow when YOU are the one in control. The education he provides is unreal. Soak it all up. It seriously changes how you will look at food or yourself forever.
4. Get a few great recipes at a time and work on them to keep them program friendly. New food keeps you interested. Some people can eat the same things all the time, I am not one of them. Even salads I change up with new things or different combinations to keep me interested. Dr. Jack provides recipes, and many are yummy or I change them to suit what I like that is still on my plan.
5. Have a set of go to meals. I have four breakfasts I really like and I rotate them. Early on, I started making chicken vegetable soup. It was quick then during the week for lunches or dinners when I have to be out the door or am running late. Yummmyyyyy. .. I like it so much I have had it for breakfast on cold days. I always make some kind of soup or stir fry on the weekend so on those nights I am running to job two, I quickly have something to just heat up and go. I like leftovers for lunch sometimes. I make a dish for dinner, stash a serving for a lunch next day or the day after. Then I always have a choice when I am packing food.
6. Communicate with him any concerns you have. Dr. Jack has solutions for everything. I had a UTI that lasted only one day, a cold sore that lasted only two days. There is a lot he can help you with that will just make life so much easier. There are so many natural solutions to things.
7. Copy the food list and stick it on your smartphone or in your purse. Easier at the grocery store. Highlight things you like but try to add in new things that you have never tried. Example? baby bok choy… where was that all my life??? I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE it!!! I tried it in a stir fry one night and I was hooked. Crunchy and yummy. My daughter makes an Asian type soup with Organic chicken broth and the baby bok choy and little meatballs from organic turkey, as well as other ingredients. Delicious!
8. Carry supplies. If you know you are not going to be home for a meal, be prepared. I carry food for certain things and in my purse there are always two servings of the nutritional shake he recommends, as a “just in case.” If I am starving, I have a snack right there, and if I don’t have food, there is a meal. You can actually find things at stores to eat, you just need to choose carefully. That’s why you need the list with you.
9. Don’t reward yourself with food. Food is fuel, not a reward. If I am making my family something delicious that is not on my plan, I make myself something equally delicious that is just as pretty and tastes great. I don’t look at it as a reward. I look at it as I have spent time and energy preparing something nice for them, so I do it for me, too!
10. Trust Dr. Jack completely, but trust yourself completely, too. It’s a team effort. Each one has a big part in it. He won’t let you down and you can’t let him down either. He puts a TON of energy into the education you receive. You have the benefits of all of his research, his education, the conferences he attends all over the country, his constant search for answers for his patients, and all he does to keep us all healthy. You will get so much information from him, it is unreal. I could listen to him talk for hours because every time I hear him talk? I learn something valuable. I wish he would offer an online class in just things he knows. I would be the first student signed up.
Beginning anything new is tough. The first few weeks might seem challenging. But, in a little while, you are on auto pilot. It gets easier and easier and easier. And then one day, not that far off, you get up and if you are a Hashimoto patient, you realize that some symptom is gone…. then another…. then more….. and then there is NOTHING that will stop you from sticking with it. Three months in and I didn’t have a symptom left! And now?? It’s gone the other way! I am a ball of fire!!! You can do it!!!! it is SO worth it!!!