3 Months In and I Couldn't Be Happier

I'm not sure exactly where to start this post because it's been an embarrassingly long time since I last wrote.  Every time I think about sitting down to write there are so many things to cover that I get a bit overwhelmed.  So I'll just take this a small step at a time and get it done!

I have lost ... wait for it ... 18 pounds and 9.5% body fat!  I now weight 130 lbs and am at 16.6% body fat.  Those two sentences keep running through my mind and I still can't wrap my brain around it.  I had no idea this was possible, nor probable on this diet.  If you read my earlier posts you will note that losing weight was a side benefit of this whole adventure and not something I was depending on.  Hoping for it, yes but definitely not convinced it would happen.  When I worked with a trainer in my early 20's I got down to 135 lbs and about 19% body fat.  Since then those numbers have been like the holy grail of fitness for me:  Always reached for yet ever unattainable. 

I am now in the best shape of my life without a doubt and weigh less than at any other point in my adult life.  The last time I saw 130 pounds was probably when I was 16 and riding my bike 30 miles a day to get to work.  Here's a picture to show what I looked like 2 weeks ago (I've since lost a few more pounds and those jeans are now a bit big on me):

Here's a 'before' picture to compare:

 

That's me in my size 12 jeans at Thanksgiving, which was less than 3 months before I started the diet.  You can really see the difference in my hips and legs, and in the thickness of my waist.  Well, I can anyway.

Common staples of my diet are:
Breakfast:
- Erewhon Brown Rice Crisp cereal mixed with millet puffs, unsweetened almond milk (Blue Diamond), and about 10 drops of stevia.
- 'Superfood' Shake: Sunwarrior vegan brown rice protein, Alfalfa Juice Powder (which is a super green powder that's crazy healthy, similar to spirulina), Galactan (a high-fiber probiotic and intestinal support powder), Shelled Hemp Seeds (delicious and high in Omega 3's and protein), Northern wild blueberries (very low in fructose, extremely high in antioxidants), unsweetened almond milk and stevia.
- I will substitute these occasionally with a big egg scramble with red peppers, onions, scallions, natural chicken sausage, and goat cheese.

Snack:
- Still eating my green apples with raw almond butter, as well as almond slivers, or blue corn chips.  The other day I made sun-dried tomato hummus and ate that with red pepper slices, cucumbers, and blue corn chips.  Every once in awhile I'll have popcorn with melted ghee in the evenings to curb my craving for evening snacking.

Lunch:
- Rotisserie chicken chopped up in a big salad.  Lettuce, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, goat cheese, scallions, and steamed green beans all get thrown in.  And of course the salad dressing I've described in earlier posts is still my go-to.
- I love chopping sweet potatoes into 'fries' and cooking them up with ghee and salt.  It's so good it really does feel like I'm cheating.  I'll do this when I'm shorter on time and throw an all natural chicken sausage into the pan when they're almost done.  Got to have my protein.
- Today I skipped my super shake for breakfast and ended up having it for lunch after my workout.

Dinner:
- Chicken stir-fry with mixed veggies cooked in olive oil, brown rice, acorn squash, or sweet potato to go with.  Sometimes it's just the stir-fry if I'm too lazy to make anything else.  Oftentimes Jason will cook up a big stir-fry for him and the kids and just pull out a portion of it before adding in his usual sugary sauces.  It's pretty plain that way but it hits the spot.
- Occasionally we'll have fish such as cod instead of chicken and I'll eat that with a big pile of veggies.

I really need to change up some things very soon before I start to hate everything on my list.  I can eat the same thing every day for a long time, but then I can't touch it again for about a year.  I'd like to switch things up before that happens so I can continue to eat these healthy foods for a long time.  Doing so requires time and effort however, and motivation.  Time of course is always the issue, as you can tell by how long it's been since I've last blogged.  As I sit typing this I'm having to calm my inner nag.  She's telling me my kitchen is a disaster, the baby's toys are everywhere, the carpets need to be vacuumed, and I have to be awake in 7 hours.  Oh, and I need to get my food ready for tomorrow because that 6am session comes very early and I won't want to do it in the morning.  

The last couple of days I've been struggling with feeling bloated, as well as thinking I might be gaining some weight back.  It's probably just my fear talking because I'm terrified of going the wrong direction now that I feel so great.  My husband thinks I'm nuts, so maybe I am.  I'm going to try on some clothes and see how they fit and do a couple of measurements to compare to the last ones that were done.  That will tell me conclusively if my imagination is getting out of hand.  I also started taking candida pills that are a very powerful medicine to kill yeast.  This could be causing some kind of stomach issue that's making me bloated.  I'll ask my diet guru of a mother if she dealt with the same thing.

Well, it's now officially way past my bedtime so I'm signing off.  As always let me know if you have any questions and comments are appreciated.

Ciao!

Tiffany

6 Weeks - The Cravings are Gone and I'm Feeling Like a Million!

It's been over 6 weeks on this diet and for about a week now I've felt so amazing!  I'm down to 139 lbs (measured after a workout in the middle of the afternoon) and I've never felt thinner.  I have tons of energy, really have no need for caffeine (other than a craving for the comfort and yumminess:) and I just feel so great in my own skin!  Every time I look in the mirror, I can't believe it's me.  My stomach is finally flat, the bloating is gone, my pants and shirts are all fitting loosely, and I'm getting comments from everyone.  It's all happened so fast!  A week ago I was perpetually bloated, dealing with stomach cramping off and on, and feeling like I was doing the diet all wrong.

I realized tonight on my drive home that passing the table loaded with carbs at work doesn't faze me at all.  The smell of all those croissants and scones was fabulous as I walked by this morning but the incredible temptation to grab one and shove it in my mouth is a thing of the past.  Just last week I was dying and couldn't believe I would have to walk by that table 30 times a day.  I was literally putting my hands up as blinders and staring at the opposite wall so I wouldn't have to look at them.  And I still haven't cheated!

Another triumph:  this past weekend I finally used a gift card my friend bought me 3 years ago!  It was for Lululemon who makes the most fabulous workout clothes ever created by man.  When I got the gift card I was recovering from a miscarriage and wanted to lose the weight I'd gained, then I had another miscarriage a few months later and needed to recover from that.  Then 6 months later I got pregnant and finally decided the gift card would be a treat for myself when I finally lost all the baby weight.  Well, now I'm 3 pounds UNDER where I was before I got pregnant.  Woohoo!  I bought a pair of skin-hugging pants and a gorgeous blue workout top to match.  These pants are literally the most revealing I've ever bought, but are also so flattering.  And by revealing I don't mean low-rise, I mean they somehow manage to hug every inch of my hips, butt and thighs while still making me look great and being incredibly comfortable to boot.  I've been getting all kinds of compliments and let's just say my hubby is very appreciative.  :)

Now I want to reassure you that I am not egotistical and full of myself (or correct me if I'm wrong), as it's been a really, really long time since I've gotten regular compliments on how I look.  What's great about all this is how appreciative I am of my amazing body.  When I was this size before I always found every flaw, couldn't stand the cellulite, wished my butt were smaller, my hips thinner, etc.  Now I look in the mirror and absolutely love what I see.  What a revelation!

As soon as I take my body measurements again I'll put it in the blog.  And I need to get some pictures up, maybe of my new outfit.  Can you tell I don't get to shop much?

I also went to my naturopath again on Monday, which was fortuitous as I was coming down with a nasty sinus infection.  She gave me a couple of things to kick my immune system into gear and a super-strong natural antibiotic.  I also talked with her about how I felt like something was missing from my diet.  The topic of fermented foods came up because I'm still stumped on how to integrate more of that.  She told me how to make my own sauerkraut but I think I may just buy some to start off with and see how it tastes.  I'm also being better about drinking my home-made water kefir.

To address the 'something's missing' question we decided on a smoothie in the morning for breakfast.  On her recommendation I bought Sunwarrior Brown Rice Protein that's raw, vegan, fermented and has 98% assimilation.  It's even sweetened with stevia which makes it a perfect food for my diet.  Also for my smoothie I bought Whole Life Superfoods Alfalfa Juice Powder, which looks just like powdered spirulina but apparently tastes a lot better.  It's made right here in the Portland area and is another 'perfect' food.  Another purchase was Premier Research Labs Galactan, which the label says is 'Immune-Promoting Fiber & Probiotic Intestinal Support'.  Basically it's a very powerful probiotic that's also rich in fiber so it helps with digestive health all around.  And last but not least, Shelled Hempseed made by Nutiva.  It's high in omega-3's and has 11 grams of protein per serving.  I mix all this in with about a cup of unsweetened almond milk (Blue Diamond brand) and about 10 drops of stevia.  It's not the most delicious thing I've ever had but I think it tastes pretty good for how unbelievably healthy it is.  Jason thought it was horrible but I think my taste buds have changed a lot and the more natural a food is the better it's tasting.

What I ate today:

Breakfast: Erewhon brown rice crisp cereal mixed with Nature's Path Puffed Millet cereal, unsweetened almond milk and 10 drops of stevia.  This might not sound good, but it's delicious!  I also made the super-food smoothie described above.

Lunch: Large salad with romaine, rotisserie chicken, steamed green beans, red pepper, tomato, feta, scallions, and my favorite olive oil dressing that I've talked about in earlier posts.  SO yummy!  Just writing about it makes me want some and it's almost 11 o'clock at night.

Snack: Large green apple w/almond butter.

Dinner: Above-mentioned breakfast cereal (I know, weird) and more rotisserie chicken.  I had the chicken first and then still felt like I needed some carbs so I went for the cereal.  Nothing like food I don't actually have to cook.

I also got in a 30 minute cardio session tonight after work but didn't have time for strength training.  I did Mike's crazy circuit yesterday though, so I'm feeling really good about my workouts this week.  I made it through the whole workout with energy to spare even though it felt like his hardest one yet.  My back is sore today!

Ok, I think that's enough of an update for now.  I keep thinking I'm going to be able to write shorter posts but there's just so much to share.  Thanks to whoever's reading this, it's always nice to get your comments and questions.  Love!

1 Month Down

So March 14th marked one month of this diet and let me tell you, it's a rough ride.  The last few days have been a bit easier, but adjusting to my food sensitivities on top of the normal dietary restrictions has been very challenging.  Only in the last couple of days have I finally felt some of the abdominal bloating going down, which is a huge relief.

One of the biggest issues is that it's just so hard to tell if all this effort is making any difference.  I just kept feeling more and more bloated, was cranky and frustrated a lot, and was starting to have some nasty abdominal cramping (probably due to constipation).  It felt like I was doing everything that my body did not want me to do, eating foods I'm not used to, messing up my whole operating system.  All the food and supplements were making me feel like a stranger in my own life.  I know that's dramatic, but I didn't realize what a pattern I was in, and now everything is so different.  I can't just eat, I have to prepare something every time.  Chop lots of vegetables, get the oven or stove going, find recipes that work for me, etc.

I did find some quick things that are working great.  A milk alternative that has me in absolute heaven is made by Silk and it's unsweetened almond milk.  It's just almonds, water and vitamins.  Tastes very blah on it's own but I add some stevia drops and it's delicious.  I've been making a mixture of brown rice crisp cereal (unsweetened) and millet puffs and I love it.  It's fast, easy and makes me feel like I'm cheating.  :)

I'm being much more diligent about taking my digestive enzymes and fiber supplement and I think that's helping a lot.  But the biggest challenge so far has been to just stick with it and not cheat or quit altogether. I got very sick last week for about 3 days with the flu and did have to bring back in some carbs.  I had some toast with soy-free Earth Balance spread, a couple bowls of ramen, and some bone broth chicken noodle soup.  This was all I ate for 2 days as I couldn't stomach anything else.  Since then it's been very challenging not to sink right into eating all those foods again.  It's such a slippery slope!

2 days after being sick I was still dealing with really painful cramping in my stomach, like a knot that just wouldn't relax.  That night was 'girls night' where I got to go out with my new girlfriends from work and to say I was excited by this would be a big understatement.  It's been so awesome being back in the working world, being with other adults and getting to know the feisty, hilarious women I work with.  We went to a pub and somehow I knew that if I just ordered a plate of fries and had a cocktail that the cramping in my stomach would go away.  And I was right!  One greasy plate of fries and a cosmopolitan later and the pain was 100% gone.  No idea why this worked.  Two more cosmos and an ill-advised shot of vodka later and I was feeling REALLY good.  :)  It was the most fun I've had in years!

I managed to get back on the wagon as soon as I started feeling better, but I've noticed that a little bread here and there doesn't seem like a big deal, or maybe just one cookie.  I haven't slipped up, but it's been close sometimes.  I was in the grocery store the other day, PMS-ing hard-core and wanted to buy a big bag of cookies and some potato chips with every cell in my body.  I think I stood there for about 5 minutes going back and forth with myself.  Walking out of that store without any contraband was SO hard, but I did it.  Phew!

I did find a sugar-free chocolate bar at Trader Joe's that's made with maltitol, which I don't know anything about.  It was the most divine, wonderful taste I've had in over a month!  And it gave me terrible gas and bloating.  I read today that maltitol can cause a severe laxative affect, so no more of that for me.  It's sad really because it was freakin' tasty.

As far as physical progress goes, I need to do a weigh & measure again to see if I've made any changes.  I don't think I've lost any weight, but I do feel much leaner and love the way my body is looking.  I find myself making up excuses to look at my butt in the mirror just so I can feel that little thrill at getting my old body back.  Funny how I appreciate it SO much more now that I've lost over 20 post-baby pounds.  I went shopping with my sister today and actually enjoyed being in the dressing rooms.  Yeah, you read that right.  I enjoyed it.  Flexing my abs, admiring how thin my arms are, trying on clothes, the works.  Now I'm no skinny minnie here, but I can't tell you how glorious it feels to be comfortable in my skin again!  To look in a mirror and be able to recognize the girl standing there.  It's a very powerful, positive thing that may be shallow on the surface, but I couldn't care less...it feels great!  My husband is also showering me with compliments, telling me how beautiful I look lying in bed or getting ready for work.  How's that for a much-needed ego boost?  Yeah, baby!

Day 18 - ALCAT test results

To catch up those of you who maybe didn't read my first blog entry, I'm undertaking a restorative cleansing diet the goal of which is to rid my body of yeast, heavy metals, and toxins as well as to become as healthy as possible.  The food is very restrictive as far as not being able to eat what I normally do and I've introduced a lot of foods that I don't normally eat as a result.  I can no longer eat bread, wheat, gluten, sugar of any kind, oils besides coconut and flax seed oil, or fruit except for green apples.  There are other restrictions as well but those are the big ones.

I believe I mentioned in a previous blog that when I went to see my naturopath before starting this diet, I also had her draw blood for the purpose of taking the ALCAT test.  They take many types of food and test them with your white blood cells to see if there is a reaction.  They then place all the reactive foods into three categories: red, orange and yellow.  Red are foods I'm extremely reactive to, orange are foods I have a moderate intolerance to and yellow is indicative of a mild intolerance.

On my new diet I have been eating some foods very often as they are tasty, easy enough to prepare, and encouraged by Donna Gates and Almine, the two authors I am using as guides.  These are:

Avocado
Coconut
Spinach
Carrots
Flax seed oil
Quinoa
Salmon
Black currant concentrate
Broccoli
Scallions & other onions
Tomatoes
Eggs
Green Apples
Raw almond butter
Sweet Potatoes
Curry
Feta
...and some others that aren't coming readily to mind

In the Severe Intolerance column is:
Avocado
Basil
Beet
Cashew
Coconut
Date
Ginger
Hops
Lentil Bean
Nutmeg
Peanut
Pineapple
Rosemary
Sesame
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Tarragon

So, as you can see, this throws a major curve ball at my diet.  I can't have spinach, coconut or avocado which are the three most prevalent foods thus far in my diet.  I also am moderately intolerant to carrots, chocolate, flaxseed, quinoa and salmon among many other items.  I'm just listing these because they were also major staples of my diet.  And in the mild intolerance category I am restricted from using Black Currant, Broccoli, Curry Powder, Halibut, and limes among many other items I won't list here.  Also all things I was relying heavily upon to supplement my meals.

VERY frustrating to say the least.  So I had a long discussion with my doctor about bringing back in some foods that are not strictly allowed on the diet so that I won't starve to death.  We discussed bringing in brown rice, using ghee and olive oil to cook with, and using millet as my main grain choice instead of quinoa.  I had a big spinach salad the next day because I'd bought so much of it and didn't want it to go to waste, and was mildly surprised to note that I had major stomach bloating and painful cramps afterwards.  This shows me that the test isn't wrong and I really shouldn't be eating spinach.  So I've gone out and bought romaine lettuce instead and had a big salad with that today.  No bloating or cramping.

I'm hoping that now I have the test results to guide my food choices I can get rid of the persistent painful stomach bloating and cramps that I've been dealing with since starting the diet.  I thought they were due to the big changes in my food and possibly the naturopathic medicines I'm taking.

I made a huge pot of Millet & Sweet Veggies 2 nights ago, which is from the Body Ecology book.  I've been using the millet in my egg scrambles in the morning and mixing it with other meals to give me some carbohydrates (much needed, especially on my heavy workout days).  It's very bland in taste but I might not even need to use brown rice because it's almost exactly the same in texture and flavor, and it's also very filling.  I'm also sold on it because for the first time since I started this diet I got through Mike's entire circuit workout yesterday, and I'm attributing that to eating a good source of carbs my body can actually use.  Not only did I get through it, but I felt great afterwards and stayed to do some MMA sparring with them.  Got some bloody knuckles and bruised feet to prove it, too!  Ok, I didn't actually break the skin on my hands but there's streaks of broken blood vessels.  Looks pretty mean though.  :)  And I'm hella sore today, which always makes me happy (in that sick, masochistic way we trainers have).

So my new goal is to slowly incorporate the results of the ALCAT test into my diet.  It's so frustrating that I can't have curry or avocado, two of my absolute favorite foods that I was thrilled were included in the candida diet.  Oh, well it's just another 4.5 months.

Day 14 - Attempt to make healthy cookies - FAIL

As the title suggests, I finally got everything together in my attempt to make some healthy cookies.  I used a recipe from the BED book but had to change it as the recipe doesn't strictly adhere to the diet.  It uses rice baking mix and along with not knowing what that is or where to find it, I also can't use it because rice is verboten.  So I substituted with quinoa flour.  Bleck!  I also used the suggested stevia powder instead of the liquid drops I like so much better, and will definitely try the drops next time.  The saving grace in these cookies is the ghee (which Jason went out and got for me today once I described the severity of my cookie craving) and the almond butter.  They're called Norma's Almond Butter Cookies and the recipe was pretty simple.  They crumble and fall apart instantly so if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can prevent that from happening next time, please tell me.  Otherwise, they need to be sweeter as they taste way too much like quinoa and not enough like almonds.  Very, very filling though.  I forced down two of them because that's just how badly I need cookies right now.  And now I'm rather uncomfortably full, which reminds me that I'm still not very good at the concept of eating until I'm 80% full, leaving 20% for digestion.

Otherwise I was pretty good today.  I had a new take on the quinoa instant cereal which I liked much better than my previous attempts.  I used another recipe from BED, but this time from her website, and added my soy lecithin 'milk' and a very small amount of black currant concentrate.  For snack I had my usual apple & almond butter and then was desperately hungry by the time I got home from work and snarfed down some leftovers and a small serving of the smoked salmon we got at Costco yesterday.  Yum!

For dinner Jason made sauteed broccolini and green beans, mashed sweet potatoes with coconut oil and nutmeg, and bought an organic rotisserie chicken from Fred Meyers.

I should mention that I was at a Bridal Event today at Crate & Barrel representing my health club as a trainer.  And I don't know why I didn't anticipate this but there was cake everywhere!  Little delectable pieces in all flavors and everywhere I turned people were offering them to me.  Not to mention the free shots of espresso, the gourmet finger foods, wine and champagne!  And I said no to all of it.  Wowsers!  I had my apple and almond butter while hiding in a corner of the store, but man was that tough.  It wasn't hard to say no, it was just hard having it around and knowing how amazing it would taste.  Giving myself a huge pat on the back for getting through that gauntlet.

Day 13 - Challenges, Recipes, and This Week's Meal Plan

I've been slacking on writing in the blog, but let me tell you, knowing I'm going to be writing it has been a major incentive to stick with the diet.  I fully realized this when I was grocery shopping today and the smell of the fresh-made doughnuts almost made me whimper with longing.  Dramatic I know, but so true.  I thought about having to write down that I had cheated with a doughnut made it easy to walk right on past the bakery section, within inches of the doughnut case.

It's been almost two weeks and the sugar, chocolate and bread cravings haven't let up in the slightest.  It really doesn't help that it's around me constantly.  Someone eating a sandwich from the bistro at work, the bread, animal crackers, pasta, etc. at home, and the aforementioned torturous trips through the grocery store.  Costco had this huge container of cinnamon rolls just sitting out there dripping with icing...so mean!  And of course I think to myself that I wouldn't buy that or eat it normally, but the fact that I'm now not allowed to just makes it worse.

Also, yesterday I had some pretty nasty stomach cramps again.  Very painful.  I took an extra dose of digestive enzymes and some fiber and they went away, but not for about 3 or 4 hours.  I know it's something going on with my intestines but can't figure out exactly what.  I'm eating all good foods and my stomach just doesn't seem to like it.  Also, it's very difficult for me to take the Pekana remedies an hour before or after eating so sometimes I take them right before on an empty stomach and hope that's ok.  Breakfast is the hardest because I get up and eat after I get dressed and ready to go.  I guess I could take them as soon as I wake up but then I'd have to schlep downstairs, count out all the drops from each bottle, drink it down and then head back upstairs to finish getting ready.  Somehow I just can't seem to remember to do that.

I heard from someone that they would very much like the recipe for the Italian dressing I use on my salads, so here it is:

Italian Dressing
taken from "The Body Ecology Diet" by Donna Gates

1 cup organic, unrefined oil (I use flax seed oil)
1/2 cup raw, organic apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs)
1 tsp. sea salt or to taste
1/8 tsp. white pepper (I use black)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard (don't use)
2 tsp. Italian-blend seasoning
1 clove garlic
* I also add a bit of cumin

Combine all ingredients in a jar, cover tightly and shake vigorously.  Adjust to taste.  Chill thoroughly.

I make a small amount each time and am hoping to find a carafe I can make the full amount in and have in the fridge when I need it.

Also, here's my menu planning for the week:

Monday
B: Egg scramble (2 eggs, scallions, cilantro, quinoa, sheeps feta) or hot quinoa instant cereal
S: green apple w/raw almond butter
L: salmon salad (spinach, smoked salmon, feta, tomatoes, avocado, scallions, Italian dressing)
S: almond slivers
D: broccoli, green bean & chicken saute

Tuesday
B: egg scramble or quinoa cereal
S: apple w/raw almond butter
L: Millet & Sweet Veggies (BED recipe)
S: almond slivers
D: salmon or cod w/Green Bean Salad (BED recipe)

Wednesday
B: egg scramble or quinoa cereal
S: apple w/raw almond butter
L: Cucumber, Wakame & Red Pepper Salad (BED recipe)
S: almond slivers
D: broccoli, green bean & chicken saute

Thursday
B: egg scramble or quinoa cereal
S: apple & raw almond butter
L: salmon salad or leftovers
S: almond slivers
D: curry w/chicken & quinoa

That's all I have so far.  I had such a hard time this week putting together meals and finding the time to eat well that I decided to try really planning out my week and cooking as much as possible this weekend so I have less to do during the weekdays.  I was up at 5 every morning this week to train clients at 6, working the rest of my morning shift, then rush home to put Zaden down for his nap, squeeze in a workout while he's down, prepare and eat my lunch, then get him up and hurry back to work for my evening shift, then home late to get dinner ready.  Not to mention cleaning the kitchen, getting things ready for the next day, etc. etc.  Jason is helping out enormously and even made me dinner a couple of nights.  My sweet hubby!  It's actually difficult to put down here what a tough week it was, and how exhausted I felt all the time.  All I wanted to do was bury my head in a book (my favorite means of escape).

I also wanted to mention that my workouts seem to be much harder than they used to be and I'm assuming this is because of the lack of complex carbohydrates.  This is especially true for my once-weekly workouts with Mike and his group.  Both classes so far have brought me perilously close to throwing up and I wasn't able to finish.  I feel like I did a bit better this last week so maybe my body is adjusting slowly.  And I did an intense cardio and strength workout yesterday and felt great.  The true test will be next Wednesday though, when I work out with Mike again.

Also, I continue to be more 'spacey' than usual.  I notice it when I'm trying to write a client's workouts for their next day and end up staring out into space, unable to focus long enough to put it all together.  One thought leads to something totally unrelated which leads to something else and all of the sudden I'm thinking about some random thing I did in Hawaii five years ago.  This also can be attributed to the lack of carbs.

I haven't taken an epsom salt bath since those first couple of nights and think I should probably start that back up again.   Other than that, I will continue to strive for a balance between work, being a wife and mom, taking care of myself (this diet and working out), and keeping my house in order.  It feels very overwhelming at times.  As always, any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to put them here.

Day 6

Breakfast: Millet puffs, soy lecithin 'milk' made w/water, vanilla, & stevia.
Snack: A few blue corn chips and later, almond slivers
Lunch: The remaining red curry leftovers with quinoa, and leftover soy lecithin 'milk'
Dinner: Pan fried broccoli and green beans with coconut oil, red pepper flakes, and sea salt.  Small leftover portion of salmon from last night's dinner at Jakes.  So delicious I was rolling my eyes and wishing I'd made 3 times as much.  I didn't even need the salmon, the veggies were just that good!  I now have a new favorite dish and I'm sure it will come up in my blog many more times.  I should give it a nickname.  Maybe, Green Yumminess ... or maybe not.

Dessert: An attempt at hot chocolate with thick soy lecithin milk, raw chocolate powder, stevia and vanilla.  I think I just made it too sweet and haven't been able to get the taste out of my mouth since.  Bleck!  Maybe some more experimentation is in order.

In Donna Gates' book, "The Body Ecology Diet" one of her main principles is that you should eat until you're 80% full, leaving 20% of the room in your stomach for digestion.  Sound concept, makes total sense.  Yeah, I haven't exactly perfected this.  All the food I'm making is so tasty I just keep eating and eating, thinking to myself that it's all healthy and I deserve it for putting so much work into it.  And now I'm writing about it in the hopes that I can pressure myself into actually doing it.  I'll let you know how the self-guilt-trip works out.

Also, my mother requested I note that I've stopped taking the Thorne Research Formula SF722, which is the supplement that aggressively kills yeast in all it's life stages.  This was highly recommended by my naturopath, Dr. Renee Schwartz, but is discouraged by Almine.  She suggests not taking anything that will kill off the yeast because it's so important the body rids itself of the heavy metals before getting rid of the yeast whose job it is to protect the cells of our bodies from their harmful effects.  Makes sense.  The real reason I stopped taking it was because I'm supposed to take it 20 minutes before I eat and I never remember.  But now I no longer feel lazy and forgetful.

I also wanted to note that I don't feel much affect of the diet yet and am at the 'wonder if it's doing anything' stage.  I don't think I've lost any weight, which is fine, and I see no difference in my skin or the state of my sinuses.  I do think that my stomach is far less bloated than it usually is at this particular time of the month, and is looking more toned and lean in general.  Great news for my post-baby belly.

That's it for today.  As always, feel free to post comments or ask any questions!