What is AIP Creepage?
AIP Creepage is a thing. At least, it’s a thing that I’m naming.
It’s a phenomenon that happens to many (if not all) of us. It certainly happens to me.
creepage noun
slow, imperceptible movement
AIP Creepage is what I call the very human phenomenon of the lowering of a performance norm or expectation in relation to your personal Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) way of life.
In simple terms, it’s when you’ve been following your personalised version of the template – both the diet and the lifestyle factors, but for any given reason your performance in terms of sticking to the letter of your personalised protocol – what you know works for you – starts to slide.
It can be a slippery slope. A very slippery slope…
But here’s the thing – creepage is human nature.
It happens to the best of us.
It’s even normal.
Just how much AIP creepage you allow is up to you…
If we plot many human behaviours on a graph – with performance on the y-axis and time on the x-axis*, iot is very common to find that over time performance can drop. You might even say it was normal.
There are many reasons for this – you can lose focus; life can get in the way; you can develop new and different priorities; you can fail to see the sort of results you would like and experience a drop in motivation… The list goes on!
But – and this is important – if you catch your drop in performance early, it can be significantly easier to recalibrate back to your AIP baseline than if you allow your performance to continue to dip further. The bigger the blowout, the more of a challenge it can be to claw back.
Perhaps you can relate?
How Do You Prevent Creepage?
Well, the short answer is that it’s almost impossible to stop some degree of creepage. And this is because you can’t control all the variables in your life.
But you can certainly mitigate the damage and recalibrate!
Here are some tools I recommend…
Keep a Food and Mood Diary – the very best thing you can do to keep on track with the template, even when life throws you curve balls, is to keep a food and mood diary. This simple tool helps you to break down your personal AIP template into manageable chunks so that you can effect constant changes to improve your health. And, a food and mood diary keeps you honest. So you catch the behaviour dips early.
Become an N = 1 Experiment – Stay sharp by treating your body as your own personal experiment. An ‘N=1’ is an experiment with one participant. You. Pick the trickiest part of your health protocol and experiment with finding ways to incorporate it into your life. And, if you need help with this, check out my Wheel of Health. It’s my favourite tool to for reminding you what is important and to illustrate what to prioritise.
My goals may seem impossibly far-fetched when really they’re not.
Break them down into steps and see how I accomplish great things.
I can easily reach from A to B.
I can manage from B to C.
I can then make it from C to D.
And so eventually, I will find my way from A to Z.
― Richelle E. Goodrich
Join the next AIP Reset – AIP Reset is a 30-day online program to help you get back on track with your AIP template. It is designed to help you recalibrate when things have slipped a little too far for your liking, and it has the added benefit of introducing you to fellow experienced AIPers who understand what you are going through.
Connect with your tribe – And, if you haven’t yet found yours, consider joining the AIP Mentorship crew, your members-only Facebook coaching group where you can confidently continue to personalise your AIP caper and stay on track in a private space filled with like-minded fellow AIPers. This AIP adventure doesn’t have to be one of isolation. This is your inclusive, informative and encouraging corner of the world where you can be you – on good days and not so good ones – safe in the knowledge that you are surrounded by others who get it.
Take personal responsibility but remember to be gentle with yourself – Those who suffer from chronic illness, and especially autoiommune challenges, have a tendency to be particularly hard on themselves. The thing is, when you hold yourself to a very high standard, when you fall it hurts! So, it’s important to realise that AIP Creepage happens to the best of us.
When it happens to you, pause and consider what measures you can take to get back on track; then let it go.
Remember that perfection is overrated!
*do you feel like you’re back at school? Maths was never my thing!
If you’re struggling with a little (or even a lot of) AIP creepage, why not come and join the next AIP Reset?
You’ll be part of a #bloodyfabulous bunch of fellow AIPers (including me!) as we spend 30-days focusing on (re)find our AIP groove together.
The FINAL program for 2020 starts on Tuesday, 1st September!
