How did I get here?

The obvious question to ask a college student embarking on the GAPS Intro diet is—what the **** are you thinking? (I should know. I ask this of myself on an hourly basis.)

Here's my story. I inherited a nice long slew of health issues from my mom—who, to her credit, has made our family's health her number one priority and has fought for both of us every step of the way. In all senses I would not be here without her now. When I was seven, she started me on Thyroid replacement hormones, how to look for partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and how to eat according to "hunger and full". The supplements and hormones expanded from there. By the time I left for college, we mostly had gluten out of the house and were eating generally fresh/organic.

I went in to my Freshman year at 150 and came out at about 170. It was a brilliant year—the best I've had at college. But the summer after, a mix of a terrible job, an existential crisis and cooking (mostly poorly) for myself put me in a downward spiral. By the end of the next year I was pushing 190.

I spent this past summer studying abroad. Partway through things were really getting out of control; my blood pressure had plummeted and rendered me incapable of getting out of bed, I was missing cycles, I was missing weeks of classes. On the bright side, after tight finances and lots of walking I was somewhere between 140 and 150; but it wasn't a healthy, fit place so much as a sickly place. When I got back to the States, I knew something had to give if I were to continue college. My mother's wisdom instructed me to look into the primal movement, and it struck a cord with me.

I pulled out my year-old IgG allergy results, sat down with our dining hall management, and worked out some exceptions for the semester. I would provide breakfast and lunch for myself, and they would provide a plain piece of meat for dinner and let me add veggies/fruits from the rest of the dining hall. Mark's Daily Apple was (and still is) my surrogate home. I started with the best of intentions, but the semester quickly caught up with me; by the end I was only about 50% consistent. Not only this, but my roommates were frustrated with my inconsistency and decline since Freshman year. I left for break exhausted, depressed, and with plans for a new apartment.