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!

Day 5: My First Restaurant!

As the title suggests, we ate out tonight.  And at not just any restaurant.  At Jakes Bar & Grill in Downtown Portland.  Our all time favorite place.  Jason's parents took us for their anniversary and we had an amazing time with them and Jason's brother and his wife.  It's an upscale place so the pace is much slower and the food took about an hour and a half to actually make it to our table.  Well, the dinner did, which was the only portion I allowed myself to take part in.

First the appetizers come, and this was slow torture!  Jake's calamari is one of my all-time favorite restaurant foods.  And they ordered two plates of it.  So I sat there inhaling the amazing smell, trying to convince myself that this was just as satisfying as the actual tasting and swallowing.  It almost worked.  Almost.

I ordered a simple filet of salmon (no butter, please!) on a caesar salad, which was the closest thing I could find to what fit in the diet.  A dressing of anchovies, eggs, etc. can't be all that bad, right?  And so tasty.  Of course I had them leave the croutons off.  I couldn't believe how quickly I got full off this simple meal.  I had one very small portion of the salmon and as much as the lettuce as I could eat and still had enough salmon to bring home for a salad tomorrow.

And then, of course, the dessert arrived.  They brought Ruth & Michael a special anniversary dessert which was a chocolate truffle cake with strawberry fabulousness sauce and real whipped cream on top.  Argh!  It really does help that I'm allergic to dairy and that I'm fighting some kind of tonsil infection right now because it was so very tempting to have just one teensy tiny little bite.  I was so good!  (Pats self on back)

So, no wine, no celebratory champagne, no bread rolls fresh from their oven, no calamari, no amazing mashed potatoes or starchy anything.  And my salad was genuinely delicious, so that was nice.  We also had so much fun laughing and talking story that it all passed very quickly, once I had my dinner anyway.

The rest of the day is kind of a blur.  For breakfast I had my usual egg scramble with quinoa, then almond slivers for a late snack and Jason's leftover curry & quinoa for lunch, more almond slivers later and Jake's for dinner.  I came home and tried my new dessert, which my mother so kindly called to tell me about after reading about my chocolate cravings of yesterday.  I bought soy lecithin granules, raw chocolate powder, and frozen gogi berries.  I put the soy lecithin granules (only type of soy allowed on this diet) and water in my Magic Bullet and blended until smooth, then added some chocolate and stevia.  It was actually very tasty!  I was too lazy to mess with the frozen berries but I'm sure I'll try them tomorrow.  I also tried a little bit of this with millet puffs and some more stevia which was also tasty.  That liquid stevia (non-alcohol base) is such a lifesaver.

Well, that's all she wrote.  Off for bed!

Day 4

I want chocolate.  Someone remind me why I'm doing this?  Hurry, quick before I go raid the bag of chocolate chips in my pantry.  The damn box of chocolates was still on the trainers desk and the trainers were oohing and ahhing as they ate them.  And today has really been my first day of sugar cravings, but boy do I have it bad.  I really just like munching on things in the evening after dinner and tonight I really missed it.  I know, I know, it's better if I don't munch in the evenings and this is really good for me.  *sigh*

Today I had an egg scramble breakfast again, a green apple and skinned almond slivers for a snack (about 1.5 hours apart), homemade miso soup for lunch, some blue corn chips as a late snack at work, then my husband's very spicy, very delicious red curry w/chicken for dinner.  I actually ate 6 different times today but one of my big goals with this diet is to make sure I eat when I'm hungry, I am definitely not trying to starve myself or keep calories to a certain level.

My upper back was quite sore today but that was probably from my awesome workout yesterday.  I did great doing my cardio today, didn't get tired or lightheaded at all doing 40 minutes of intense intervals on the elliptical.  I did take 3 ibuprofen afterwards so I could go back to work for my evening shift and not be miserably sore.

Today wasn't such a struggle for time.  I woke up half an hour earlier and that seemed to make all the difference this morning.  That and my husband stayed home for awhile and helped get Zaden up, dressed and fed.  It felt downright leisurely actually.  A good day overall, besides the intense cravings.  Now I'm going to bed so at least one floor will be separating me from the bag of chocolate chips.

Day 3

I wanted to make sure I write about how spacey I've been today and a great example is how I just sat here and stared at my computer screen for the last minute straight.  Wow.  I think the lack of complex carbs is really getting to me and I'm starting to feel the evil sting of cravings.  Someone brought a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates into the gym and put. it. on. the. trainers. desk.  Yeah.  Where the trainers work.  Where we have to sit at the computers and have it winking at us, tempting us, all day!  So wrong.

I did not eat any chocolate today.  Or any of Zaden's leftover toast, or even his leftover apple with peanut butter.  I'm starting to realize just how many calories I'm not consuming simply by not 'cleaning up' after him.  I also came home to the delicious smell of a homemade pizza Jason made for he and Z.  Now that was miserable and made me realize how much I'm missing hot meals.  Aside from breakfast pretty much all my meals have been cold this week.  Time to start making some miso soup and maybe have Jason make me a modified curry (his curries are amazing).

Today's meals:

Breakfast
3 eggs w/tomatoes, scallions, sheep milk cheese and quinoa.

Lunch
Large spinach salad w/tomatoes, scallions, sheep milk cheese, wild canned salmon, avocado and an amazing dressing (garlic, italian seasoning, flax oil, apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper).  It was so delish!

Snack
A few carrot sticks in hummus while rushing to get to my last client of the day

Dinner
Tasty Bite Channa Masala.  Yes, I actually found pre-made food that is in-line with the diet!  I was desperately wanting something warm and flavorful but really didn't want to cook.  Might have some more hummus and veggies too.

I did an insane workout today with Mike at work and his group of crazy-in-shape guys.  For the first time I didn't get through the whole thing.  I had to stop a few exercises short because I was afraid I was going to puke.  Actually, it was about the 20th time I thought I might puke or pass out so I decided to sit down.  Yes, this is fun for me.  I absolutely love it, as crazy at that sounds.  You'd have to be there I guess.  The reason I was having such a hard time was that I had clients booked all the way up until class started and didn't take the time to have my snack.  Big mistake.  I know better now and will definitely not miss my snack next week.

One thing I haven't mentioned is how thirsty I've been since I started this diet.  It's hard to describe because it's not like the normal thirst, it's more like I'm just craving water.  All the time.  And of course I pee constantly.  I'm supposed to drink a lot of water to help with the cleansing so it's all good, I just thought it was interesting.  I was also a little constipated yesterday (sorry, TMI) but started taking more of the fiber and digestive enzymes and I seem to be back to normal.

The muscle aches have continued into today so I've taken ibuprofen twice.  Once so I could get through Mike's class and again so I could finish training my clients this evening.  I also had a few instances where I had difficulty focusing on a client, counting their reps, or remembering what I was just going to say.  I'm going to look around and see if there are more ways I can get some healthy carbs into my system so I don't lose what brain power I have remaining.  Time to take my Pekana Remedies and head to bed.

Day 2

Ok, Day 2 successfully completed.  For breakfast I made an awesome 4 egg scramble (I was sharing with my son) with green onions, tomatoes, sheeps milk cheese, cilantro and some quinoa.  Today was a carbohydrate day so I tried to add some in every meal.  Normally it wouldn't be tough at all to do this but as my allowed carbs are pretty limited it's actually a bit of a challenge.  Zaden loved it and so did I, so I'm sure I'll be making it again, probably tomorrow as I'm doing another carb day.  Tomorrow is my crazy-intense workout with Mike at work, who's an MMA fighter and puts together the meanest circuits I've ever seen.

About 20 minutes before breakfast I took my Thorne Research supplement which is called Formula SF722 (I think I got that right).  My naturopath tells me it's the strongest yeast killer she's seen and kills it in all of it's life stages.  Along with breakfast I took my digestive enzyme and fiber pill.  I took my Pekana remedies shortly thereafter.  You're supposed to take them an hour before or after a meal but I just didn't have the time this morning.

At work around lunchtime I had my snack of carrot sticks and homemade hummus, along with my digestive enzymes.  Hello garlic breath!

After my workout, around 3 I had a granny smith apple to tide me over until I could make my lunch.

For lunch (which I ate around 4:30), I had black bean & avocado salad on a large bed of fresh spinach, with some blue corn chips on the side (my attempt at adding carbs to the meal).  The dressing was amazing: flax seed oil, apple cider vinegar, cumin, oregano, salt & pepper.  Yummy!  I'll try to post a picture of it.

By 6:30 (while training clients in my home gym) I hit a wall, big time.  I started to feel very achey in my neck, rhomboids, and lower back.  Even my hips started hurting, and I was suddenly very tired.  This could be due to some early PMS symptoms, general exhaustion or the detox.  Otherwise I felt fine all day.  I took 3 ibuprofen and once they kicked in I was left with just the exhaustion.

For dinner I threw together another salad just like I had for lunch but with some salmon and leftover cod added.  I know, odd combination, but I needed the protein.  I took a repeat of the breakfast supplements and am about to go take my Pekana remedies.

I also took my measurements today and look forward to seeing if they start changing.  My next goal is to get some good 'before' pictures taken as well.

My biggest challenge so far is organization and time to prepare everything.  It's definitely a learning curve and I feel like I'm hitting a wall.  More than a little stressful.  Especially when I'm feeding a toddler, chasing him around trying to get him dressed, putting his bag together for daycare, etc. etc.  I have 3 loads of laundry that are waiting to be folded from Sunday, a very messy kitchen, a living room with toys all over it, and all I care about is that I have food for tomorrow!  I definitely need to find some kind of a balance here.

Time to go take my hot epsom salt bath, definitely my new favorite part of the day.  And since it was recommended by my naturopath, who am I to say no?  :)

Day One

This is a record of my new diet, which I've been contemplating for the past 6 months.  It's based on Donna Gates' book "The Body Ecology Diet" but I've also used a 2 hour audio guide and pdf by a health guide named Almine.  Her guide is called "How to Facilitate the Healing of Chronic and Systemic Disease: A 5 Month Program Incorporating Belvaspata."

The point of the diet is to rid the body of all harmful bacteria such as Candida, as well as heavy metals and mold.  The reasons behind my wanting to do this diet are somewhat complex so I'll simplify it as best as I can.  I will also be replacing all my mercury amalgam fillings in a few weeks so they can no longer leach poison into my system.

The diet involves some very strict dietary changes on my part, as well as a series of homeopathic medicines called Pekana Remedies.  These medicines cleanse the body of heavy metals safely and quickly.  Without them this would simply be a diet that kills yeast.  The problem with that is that yeast and bacteria are the body's defensive response to the presence of metals in the body.  Our immune systems respond to the presence of these toxins by promoting the growth of yeast which then surrounds and encapsulates the metals, buffering our cells from them.  They are then stored in our fatty tissues where they can remain for our entire lives.  This sounds great but these pockets of metal and yeast then steal large amounts of nutrients from the body that we sorely need.  They also create a myriad of symptoms in the body such as illness and chronic pain, tight muscles, etc.  Thus, a heavy metal detox is essential, and once this occurs the body no longer needs the overgrowth of yeast and harmful bacteria.

Here are some of the dietary restrictions:

No:
Breads
Gluten
Most grains
Sugar of any kind
Fruit (except granny smith apples, tomatoes, and lemons/limes)
Soy in any form except fermented (such as miso soup)
Oils (except flax and coconut)
Dairy (except ghee and kefir)
Corn or white potatoes
Mushrooms
Red meat
Soy
Caffeine

All of these items either promote the growth of yeast or add unhealthy toxins or hormones to the body.  Luckily some of my favorite foods are allowed.  Avocado, curries, quinoa, all spices, tomatoes, eggs, wild-caught fish, organic chicken, all vegetables, hummus, and goat cheese.  I can eat legumes, buckwheat, amaranth, blue corn chips and many other foods I'm less familiar with.

So, why do this crazy diet?

As a child I was given heavy doses of antibiotics very often to deal with chronic sinus infections and later, acne.  I was also given quite a few mercury amalgam fillings which have had about 25 years to leech toxins into my body.  I also took Acutane to treat acne as an adult, and later was given large doses of the hormone Progesterone to sustain my pregnancy with Zaden.  Since these combined suggest I most likely have a very high amount of Candida and other harmful elements in my system I feel this diet is very important for me.

I have a 20 month old son and since giving birth I've had problems with recurring infections that I believe signal the presence of Candida in my system to a largely unhealthy degree.  I would like the option of having another child eventually and would love to have the most pure environment possible for he/she to develop.  I'm also hoping that I can avoid having any more miscarriages.  (I had 2 before my son Zaden).

My mother has been doing this diet for close to a year now and the changes I've seen in her have been dramatic, to say the least.  She's lost about 20 pounds, went from a size 12 to a size 6, and looks at least 20 years younger than other women her age (she's nearing 60).  She plays tennis with more energy than I could have imagined possible.  Hearing her talk about it was inspiring but when she came to visit a couple of months ago I almost fell over in shock when I saw her.  She positively glows!

I also believe that ridding my body of these toxic elements will help me to live disease and illness free for the rest of my life.  I've done a large amount of research on the topic and while the dangers of living the way I have are rather horrifying, the possibility of having a body that runs the way it should is enough to push me to make these rather extreme changes.

And of course there are the aesthetic reasons too.  As a personal trainer I've always wondered what it would take to get my body to a very lean shape while also maintaining my muscle mass.  I'm fascinated by the possibilities and so excited to see how my body changes over the next 5 months.  I also have chronic acne and my naturopath tells me I have rosacea.  The skin on my face is very red and I even have a few broken capillaries on my cheeks.  She believes both will be easily solved by doing this diet.

I had my first successful day on the diet today.  Today was a 'protein day' and tomorrow will be a 'carb day'.  For breakfast I had 2 scrambled eggs with tomato, green onion, and cilantro, all cooked in coconut oil.  I felt like this meal was lacking something and was really missing my usual slice or two of toast.  That's going to be a tough adjustment for me.  For a snack I had homemade hummus and sliced carrots.  For lunch I made a seriously delish spinach salad with wild caught canned salmon, tomatoes, scallions, and sheep milk cheese.  I used a recipe from the Body Ecology book for the dressing, which had flax oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, and Italian seasonings.  So good!  I had another snack later of hummus and blue corn chips (which I shouldn't have had until my 'carb day', but it was so convenient and I was in a hurry.  Dinner was pan fried cod and steamed green beans.  I got very full from about 6 oz of fish which really surprised me.  The dinner didn't adhere to the 80/20 rule which states that 80% of my dish should be vegetables because there just weren't a lot of green beans left after my husband and baby got done with them.

I also had some pretty nasty stomach cramps this morning for about 5 minutes, which I have experienced before with an aggressive attempt at killing the Candida in my system.  One dose of digestive enzymes and I was cramp free in about 5 minutes.  I haven't experienced any intense sugar cravings yet but I'm sure they'll pop their ugly heads up very soon.  Evenings are the worst for me but when I decide to dive into something this thoroughly I generally have no problem sticking with it.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get another trainer at work to take my measurements and a couple of 'before' pictures of me.

I'd also like to state that from now on I hope to have much shorter posts, keeping track of what I'm eating, how I'm feeling, and my physical changes.  If anyone has any particular questions please let me know and I'll be happy to answer if I can.