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.