Hello friends and family,
Welcome to my 30-Day Challenge of Change
After discovering the Freeze roll-on and the gummies, I still have hundreds of things out there that claim to be miracle workers in relieving or eliminating ARTHRITIS pain. I’d like to try them all, but my big plan is to avoid replacement surgery as long as I can.
In my quest to find the best products, here’s a few things about arthritis that I’ve learned along the way.
#1. Every 3rd person I talk to, has some form of arthritis. Young and old. I was shocked at this news. Most of them have just learned “to manage the pain.”
WOW, THAT’S A DOWNER!
#2. There’s a gazillion medical and non-medical, so-called cures and options out there, including the ultimate knee replacement.
PLAN TO TRY MOST OF THEM
#3. One fix or option definitely DOES NOT FIT ALL!
#4. Most of my family and friends keep insisting that I have knee replacement surgery. But the feedback on that option spans from excellent to making matters worse.
To me, that’s a CRAP SHOOT.
#5. The side-affects for me accompanying the knee pain, was this aching soreness all over my body and the FATIQUE, my old cancer friend. It is debilitating, exhausting, and it sucks all of the energy out of you
In so many discussions I would hear;
“Always use ice packs”. “Always use heating pads”.
“Always use both ice and heat, one after the other”.
Neither one worked for me.
“Stay in bed on rainy days because the pain will bring you to your knees.”
I never had a problem on rainy days.
“Get ready for sleepless nights.”
I never had a problem sleeping, I always sleep like a baby.
Getting in and out of the car is like a workout.
I was told I’d need a bigger car, because getting in and out of a small car is pure agony.
Walking up and down the stairs is a nightmare.
That was a problem for a minute, not so bad now.
Going to the store is like climbing Mt. Everest.
But the BIG ELEPHANT that no one wanted to talk about was the mental toll. I’m usually positive and upbeat, but this was seriously putting a chink in my armor. I didn’t want to get out of bed. It was seriously changing my whole personality. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I couldn’t focus on anything else because every time I moved I either winced or limped or cried.
Crying wasn’t due to the pain, it was about the things I couldn’t do. I couldn’t focus on Daisy List. I couldn’t clean my own house. I couldn’t wear any high heels, I couldn’t run. I couldn’t move fast, etc., etc., etc..
I had to get my LIFE BACK one way or another.
So, I decided to do my own little research, investigation and analyzing.
I tell you all of this because I’ve been absent from DAISY LIST for so long, but I’M finally getting back to ME.
And that brings me to today, October 1, 2021
There’s so much information about the relationship between Arthritis pain and food, I couldn’t help but look deeper into the diet aspect.
I started paying attention to all the lists of best foods vs worse foods, and I’ve decided to commit myself to a 30-Day Challenge.
A complete list of best/worst is too long and too varied, so I’m going to focus on 5-10 top ones. And for my challenge, I’ll focus on the things I absolutely want to eliminate for 30 days and see if I see a dramatic change in any flare ups. Here they are.
Worse foods
Gluten, bagels, bread, pasta, white rice, tomatoes, trans fats, blackened foods.
GLUTEN, what the heck is GLUTEN. OH BOY more research!!!!
How could I give up pasta, mashed potatoes, pies, cookies, rice, but I was determined. This Arthur guy was robbing me of one of the best times of my life, and I needed to do EVERYTHING in my power to fight back.
I started a chart to keep track of all the things I ABSOLUTELY could not eat for at least 30 days. I had planned to track what I ate and compare it to how I felt the next day.
Then I went shopping at Trader Joe’s for GLUTEN FREE food.
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Yep that’s me, can’t wait to get started on my new challenge!
When I realized I’d be eating only gluten free veggie wraps for the entire month, I was ready to give up before I even started.
Then I walked into Trader Joe’s!
Once inside, I got so excited, I almost forgot why I was there. I saw so many new and interesting things that I had never considered eating before. Completely forgot about Mr. Arthur.
On top of that, the people that worked there were so friendly and helpful I just had myself a good old time. NO TIME FOR JOINT PAIN!
This is Matt, my first new friend at Trader Joe’s, what a doll. Who wouldn’t want to shop there with people like Matt?
Then the food. OMG, I must have gone up and down the aisles 3 and 4 times. To my delight, I LOVE pumpkin, and guess what month says pumpkin better than any other. You got it, OCTOBER. I put so many pumpkin items in my cart, I had to put some back. I mean really, I couldn’t eat all of that in 6 months, much less for the next couple of weeks.
Here’s some of what I bought.
Let the CHALLENGE begin!
If you have any recipes, or new ideas on how to wrestle with Mr. Arthur, I would appreciate hearing about them and I will be glad to share with my readers. 
In the mean-time if you go to Trader Joe’s in North Brunswick, say hello to Matt, he’ll be glad to help you.