Happy New Year to you all. I hope you had a fab festive season whatever you were up to. I seem to have been that busy, coming back to work feels like a rest! I am raring to go – must have been all the beef I’ve eaten in the past week. I always eat more meat when the boys are around and it suits me even though I don’t feel like a natural carnivore inside.
Anyway, I am putting all this energy into my plans for this year. I can’t help it. I just love new year with all that time stretching before us waiting to be filled with new and exciting, or even comforting and familiar things. I see it as an annual chance to have a think about what I’ve been up to and where I want to go next personally, emotionally, physically and professionally. Too often, we find ourselves drifting through life and this new year process stops me from doing that. If you fancy a drift this year, that’s fine, but I don’t so here are at least some of my plans in case you’re interested (and it helps me to write them down too).
Purehealth
Lots of stuff on the horizon although the first job is to finish the new Adrenal Plan. I SO wanted that finished by the end of the year but didn’t quite get there. So, that is number 1, followed closely by a new Thyroid Plan and possibly a new Anaemia factsheet as I have learned a lot of new stuff about B12 anaemia particularly recently that I need to get down on paper for you.
Last year, I managed to overhaul the Allergy and Intolerance section of the website, deliver a huge free allergy 101 factsheet and write the incredibly complex Barrier Plan for multiple sensitivity, auto-immune and inflammatory conditions. I also completed theCandida Plan and the Gut Plan for those of you wanting to do the proper detox, kill any yeasts and sort out your gut and liver. (Incidentally, you can use the Gut Plan to do your annual biochemical gut and liver detox – it’s the same process; I just haven’t written it up yet as the detox – another job to do!)
The case review and test reports really took off last year as people have found they are quicker and cheaper way to get my opinion on a situation and what to do about it. I plan to streamline the process somewhat this year now I know you like them, as they take me currently about 2 hours to do each one, arrgh!
TGF
In TrulyGlutenFree world, I plan to liaise more with mainstream doctors who are coming round to gluten illness at long last. I aim to hold the first of our TGF get-togethers. It’s a lonely business being so hyper-sensitive to all things grain (and much else besides) and I think it would do us good to have a regular meet-up. I am working on a new extended resources section of the TGF website to help with sourcing recipes and getting more support from other experts around the world.
During last year, most of my time was spent learning, trialling and developing the Barrier Plan, and re-writing a lot of the gluten illness material. I blogged pretty much most days, I think, there was so much to say! The good thing about the year was the recognition of gluten illness as a spectrum in mainstream medicine and the call that was included in the BMJ of all places for more recognition of non-coeliac gluten sensitivity especially. Halleflippinlujah.
Me
Personally, health will be my priority in 2013. I more than halved my general symptom scores and sensitivity reactions over the year from an average 64.5 a month in January 12 to around 25-30 in the last 3 months of 2012. Fab news. But a way to go yet.
I need to continue to work on the barrier plan to heal my hyper-sensitivity (thanks to me not being diagnosed coeliac in my early years when I should have been, hence the ranting on the TGF site!) and to gain more muscle strength and fresh air by getting more exercise. Some of you will remember just how strong I was from all the massages I gave you! No need to be quite that strong again but I don’t want to be an 8 stone weakling either 
I also plan to make my restricted life as easy as I can and have started by revising my kitchen equipment. Oh dear. What a shame. So far, I have bought ceramic shallow pans, an ice cream maker, new chopping boards and a breadbin for my own cakes/bread/crackers. If I get a chance, I will do a post on them or add them to the Stuff We Like page on the site so you can see what and why I am choosing certain items. My Thermomix I have to say revolutionised life because I can now grind my own nut/seed flour and make bread/cakes/sauces etc in double-quick time.
Finally, I need to take more time off. I am very naughty working from home. I love my job and it doesn’t feel like work so I end up at my desk 10-12 hours most days in some way or another. I can get over-tired and stressed sometimes, as we all can. If I want to heal, I need to be a bit more careful. SO difficult to stop when I am enjoying chatting with you though 
. I will try my best.
Professional
Business-wise, the aim is to write more features in mainstream and alternative medicine media as well as continue to support and communicate with you all as I do now.
So, not much to do there then, huh? A nice start to the year will come with me being a judge for the freefrom skincare awards. You know how much I like to rant about toxins and allergens in toiletries and now I get asked to do it by someone else. What fun!
What are your plans this year then now I’ve bared my soul for you!? Write them down in comments and then you’re committed to them more..
How frustrating that you were ill over Christmas- I know the feeling but hey ho New year sees a new start and I know I am doing better than 2 years ago- Is that because i have healed or I have less gluten going in to me – Time will answer that. I think I am defintiely more sensitive and I am still figuring out quite what is a reaction and what is withdrawal and what is heling- they so often seem intermingled. And then there are the new reactions- the red itchy swollen eyes, the widdling every hour- Is that cause some barriers have healed, my body is trying to excrete the gluten or is it a reaction?
These are some of the health issues I hope to solve for myself in 2013.
I have already started a strict vegetable/fruit test to check that the ones i eat on a frequent basis don’t cause a reaction- I seem to be ok for a week or 2 and then go down hill then will perk up and so on. I am hyper sensitive to corn and anything derived from it so am quite sure this is the problem- or is it that I give in every so often and feed my hens instead of letting partner do it?-
2013 is the year of monitoring for me- reactions and all possible causes.
I hope to get back to entertaining more and travelling.
To giving myself more rest time. I have rekindled my joy for reading- never used to have the concentration span to read books when i ate gluten – so I have made progress – plan on reading a book a month at least.
The project perhaps, as a full time gardener, i am most excited about though is doing up my front garden. I am researching plants that could be of use to me as alternatives to ones thataren’t so good for me such as dahlia tubers instead of potatoes, amelanchier berries in june, pepper alternatives. So much to look forward to – so much to learn! So much to stay positive for!
Here’s to a healthy 2013 Christmas!
How fascinating that gardening sounds, Caroline, let us know what you plant. I too have rediscovered reading – and theatre actually – which is a nice non-food distraction. I got a kindle last year, after swearing I would never like them, and have read an awful lot more since.
I wonder how often you are doing the hens then as that could really make a difference, even if it is every 2 weeks or so. If that level, you would never be clear of the grain and hence not get rid of your symptoms related to that. Itchy eyes sounds like possible grain dust to me….
Thanks for sharing and good luck with the year then. Fingers and toes crossed.