Day Five's Food

Day five is over, yay!  It was a rough one but I got through it.  At least I am more then half way done now.
It is like coming off a drug, terrible for 24 hours, okay for 24 and then TERRIBLE for 24 hours.  Once again I could not eat a lot again today as the lingering nausea is getting me.

4 Apples
2 Eggs
Lemon Ginger Tea
Warm Black Bean and Turkey Salad

Come on I have to have eaten more then that.  If I did I do not remember.  Hmmmm I know my tummy is upset but I'm not getting healthy this way.  No wonder I still have no energy.

The Scale or Lack There of.

You will probably notice that I have not once mentioned my current weight or measurements or daily stats.  The reason for this is not a oversight but simply that I don't fall into the numbers game.  BMI you say.  If I were to shrink down to the BMI idea of what I should weigh I would be sick looking.  I know I need to lose weight, probably upwards of 20 pounds.  The BMI suggests I need to lose close to 50 lbs.  I would not look healthy at such a weight, lets face it, I have curves that aren't going away.  My hips have fat yes, but they also have large bone structure. 

Having vented my rant above I have opted to carry out this diet/detox with out the dreaded scale and measuring tape.  This is for my health and not aesthetic reasons.  Not that I don't want to look good!  My motivation is not a smaller dress size, a smaller number on the scale or even a glance from a handsome stranger.  This all began because I felt crappy and couldn't kick it.  I am doing this to feel good, to be healthy and to take care of myself.  My dress size will land where it lands, my weight will fall into place and God help me a handsome stranger will look my way but these aren't my motivations, their just perks.

For these reasons I have opted to show my progress with my vitality, smile oh and a few photographs so you can all catch a glimpse of how fantastic I am when done.  :) 

Death Warmed Over!

Apparently I am suppose to be feeling great!  So much better then I have ever felt.  Well folks I can honestly say I feel like hell, pure and utter hell.  Let's see if these symptoms ring a bell, migraine, stomach upset, dierreah, restless, insomnia, lips numb, and feeling as though hit by a bus.  What does it sound like?  To me it sounds like the reading I have done on people coming off drugs or alcohol.  Wow and I thought sugar was a food. 

This is day five, when am I suppose to start feeling better?  How about not better, right now I will settle for how I felt on sugar, worn out.  I'll take worn out, give me that over this.  Good thing I wasn't scheduled to work today.

Ephipany...okay maybe not that big but I was shocked.

I have had an epiphany, actually I was reading "Sugar Blues," by William Duffy.  All my symptoms from Monday and part of Tuesday match his exact experience and time line for when he removed sugar from his diet.  Turns out my migraine was likely sugar withdrawal, Duffy likened it to that of cocaine detox.  Well that explains a lot and is quite scary.  Some thing we ingest, in the majority of our food in North America, compared to cocaine. 

Let's face it I knew that sugar was not good, that it was fattening and could cause diabetes when consumed in high amounts but never could I imagine the life altering effects consuming it has on the human body.  I knew we weren't to have a lot but never would I think that we shouldn't eat it at all.  At least they warn us about the serious effects of coffee and there are some benefits to drinking coffee, more then getting through the morning at work.  However no one ever told me that sugar isn't even a natural substance, that it can alter my hormones, sleep, eating patterns, fat consumption, mood and energy levels and much more.  There are warning labels on cigarettes why not on products that contain sugar.

The scary part is that sugar is in almost everything, salad dressing, salsa, chips, ketchup, and yogurt just to name a few.  It wasn't too long ago that the media was on with grave concerns about the amount of salt in our foods and it's effects.  I'm just as worried about sugar, where's it's expose?

Day Four's Food

Okay so this is even harder then I anticipated.  Today I followed a recipe from the book to learn it had sugar in it.  All the recipe's seem to have one forbidden food or another.  Mostly yogurt...hmmmmm.  Now I know I'm not the doctor, the author is but wouldn't you give recipes to support the detox your promoting?

Now that my angry, annoyed, fed up and craving rant it done, we'll get to the reason for this post.  What I ate...

Two hard boiled eggs
Four apples, still on a apple kick I guess
Smoothie (ascai berry juice, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, plain yogurt, green drink mix, fibre, and flax seed oil).
Warm black bean and turkey salad
Mint tea
Green tea with goji berry.
Green grapes
1 glass o.j. (no sugar added I checked and I can have fruit...whew!)

Still not enough food which is probably promoting the cravings but today was a recovery day from being ill.  Couldn't eat too much.

Annoyed!

Okay, so now I am just annoyed, for dinner I was making the warm black bean and turkey salad, which I quite enjoy.  The recipe calls for salsa but do you think I could locate a salsa without sugar in it?  Of course not.  Can a preserve like that even be made without sugar in it? 

Well I made the salad with the salsa so that is a bunk.  The funny thing is the recipe came from the book, the book telling me to rid my diet of sugar.  Hmmmm.  That must mean there is a sugar free salsa out there somewhere or the author made a horrific mistake.  Too bad as the salad is fantastic.

Warm Black Bean and Turkey Salad

1/2 cup each red and green pepper
1/4 cup onion
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1-1 1/2 dried dill
lean ground turkey
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup salsa
3 cups mixed greens salad.  (I used mixed baby spinach.)

The Hormone Diet

The Hormone Diet

Day Four Begins

Well the migraine is gone, thank goodness. However I still battle my nasty infection which I am treating with probiotics from the health food store. My only issue is they don't work as fast as medication from my doctor. I know that overall they are healthier for me but I do have concerns about the long term effects of the infection on my body, especially when it lasts this long. It seems to be a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

My appetite is creeping back slowly so I ventured to the grocery store for some healthy food. I bought the ingredients I need to make the warm black bean and turkey salad from "The Hormone Diet." I have made this once before and really enjoyed it.

I have some questions which I am sure I could search out but will put to my followers as you seem to be a wealth of information at my finger tips. I love baked sweet potatoes but of course unhealthy Laura has always put butter or margarine on them. Any recommendations for what can replace these forbidden toppings? I just imagine that dry they will be, well dry!

Day Three Complete

Okay so who knew there was sugar in chips?

So day three didn't begin well with my being sick and all. It wasn't as easy as I was anticipating though. I figured the nausea would kill any cravings but I was wrong. Really, really wrong. I woke up dreaming of McDonald's and almost walked to Tim Horton's across the street for a doughnut...or two. That is how strong the cravings are even though I was sick. This is new territory for me, I can't remember ever dreaming of food.

I wonder if the migraines have anything to do with diet? Haven't read anything on that yet but I can't imagine their not. Will have to look into this further. Okay so migraine and vomiting, you wouldn't think I would be able to eat. Wrong!!! I always find a way. How ever I could not muster swallowing all the vitamines and probiotics I am to take.

All in all, I did not do too bad. I of course didn't eat a lot which is why I sit here hungry but really the stomach is just too upset. I miss toast of all things, toast. Maybe that is why I couldn't eat my eggs this morning, no toast.

Today's Food
Chicken noodle soup (the noodels were a no but I was ill it was the only thing I could imagine my stomach taking.)
Quinua with chick peas, red and yellow peppers, broccoli, bok choy, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and dill weed.
Four apples (apparently I was on a kick)
And sadly chips...dorito's with sugar...yes, sugar is in the ingrediants list. Why has no one told me this? LOL. Oh well that's life. Live and learn. And I'm out of cliche's.

Day Three a.m.

So I woke up this morning feeling like someone was drilling a stake through my left nasal passage. Hmmm, sinus issues, yet another reason for this detox. I try to start my day right, despite the annoyance in my nose, I boil two eggs for breakfast but don't know what to put with them. Can't have bread, no ketchup either, it's loaded with sugar. I guess tomatoes will have to do.
As I shut the pot off and remove the lid I almost vomit and retreat back to bed. I don't know where that came from but looks like day three will be easier then anticipated. Hard to eat the things your not suppose to when your nauseous. Heading back to bed, will try eating healthy again later.

Day Two

Okay so day two started off well, but quickly went down hill. Coffee is an essential this will be much harder then I thought and I knew it would be painful. I also realized that I eat without thinking. My friend Lydia (shout out) went to The Word on the Street book festival at Queens Park, I grab a sucker from one of the booths and had polished it off before I clued it that it is a forbidden food. It would have been easier to forgive myself had it been something other then sugar but alas it was the devil food.

I had a couple other slips but they were not so mind less, I was starving and had Tim Horton's gift card and no money. There was no food at home to be had so I opted for a bowl of chili and a bottle of water. So I knowingly cheated but at it could have been worse, there was no sugar and no second cup of coffee which normally I wouldn't think twice about.

Day Two Food:

Two boiled eggs
Large Coffee with Cream (This was a cheat but I felt I need it to function.)
Left over tofu with vegetables (same as day 1's)
Sucker (Damn, not smart)
Chili with whole wheat bun (A cheat but I maintain it could have been worse)
Smoothie (Same as day 1)
Quinua Salad- Quinua, red pepper, bok choy, tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice and dill weed.

This day was hard, I crave sugar a lot more there I was aware, it seems I always have to have it. Not giving in is difficult as I always just eat it as I crave it. I remember as a small child I would just stick my finger in the sugar jar and eat it straight up. As a teen I remember ran sacking my house looking for any kind of sugar or chocolate.

My friend Lydia told me something interesting, apparently we crave the foods we are allergic too. Now I know my body is having a poor reaction to sugar, is it an allergy?

Any tips for stopping the craving?

Day One Food

Okay so day one didn't start great, I began with a date square and a large coffee with cream. In my defence I didn't know I would be plunging into this detox today, it wasn't until I hit the health food store later in the day that I realized things would have to move a lot faster then I thought.

What I ate:
Large Coffee with Cream
Date Square
Left over Tofu with veggies-greed and red pepper, bok choy, onion, broccoli and carrots.
Nectarine
Smoothie: Acai berry juice, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, black berries, 3 table spoons of plain yogurt, half a banana table spoon New Roots Fibre, table spoon of green drink supplement and a tea spoon of whey protein.
Ahhh, cooked more tofu with veggies.
Cranberry Apple Tea
Cheeseburger Doritos...which obviously fall out of the healthy eating spectrum. Unfortunately they were here.

So what did I learn from day one? That I am not eating enough food which is probably a good portion of why I binge. So I need to eat more. We'll see how day two chalks up.

It Begins

I recently learned that all my aliments: chronic bladder infections, yeast infections, asthma, allergies, hives, fungus under the toes, fatigue, depression and of course my extra weight are a result of my diet. Something as simple as diet can cause serious issues yet it was something I had spent my life being oblivious to. Of course I had known it was necessary to eat healthy but never imagined the extent of damage my diet was causing.

Luckily one day I had CP24's Wylde on Health on T.V., it was playing in the back ground as I got ready to go out. The fine doctor was interviewing Dr. Natasha Turner, author of "The Hormone Diet." I was quickly intrigued by this woman's story and how she had struggled with weight and poor health until she discovered her hormones were not level. All she did to correct the issue was change her diet. WOW!

I picked up, "The Hormone Diet," at my local book store and was quickly intrigued by what I read. Soon I discovered that all of my food and stress hormones are out of whack. I lack serotonin, dopamine and GABA (I had never heard of GABA) among other hormones. Not to mention I was also suffering from inflammation. Turns out that my poor diet was a direct effect of my hormone imbalances. I binge on sugar because I lack serotonin, crave carbs because I lack dopamine, and the list goes on and on.

Before I was finished reading the book I got a terrible yeast infection that the medication prescribed by my doctor was not helping. I was at my wits end and went to the health food store to find natural ways to treat the issue. Not knowing really where to start I sought the help of the woman who worked at the store. As soon as I explained my issue she nodded knowingly and asked me: do you eat a lot of sugar? Do you have fungus around your toes? How often do you get yeast infections a year? Do you feel tired? My answers were; yes, I binge on sugar. Yes I have fungus under my two big toes. I feel tired all the time, in fact I feel terribly and run down. Her response, "I suggest you cut sugar from your diet. You have to cut sugar or you will never get rid of the yeast from your body." Huh? Cut sugar??? How would that be possible? Of course it made perfect sense and so began my new adventure.

First I will start with a detox where I will remove, sugar, yeast/wheat, caffeine, and red meat from my diet. Each item will be slowly reintroduced to discover which foods are causing issues in my body so that I know which foods I will need to remove from my diet intirely. However I already know sugar will be on that list. It will also be the hardest one for me to remove. I decided to start this blog for a couple reasons, to inspire others and to track my progress. It is sure to be a challenge that will present frustration, cravings, cranky moods and slips, this blog will follow them all and hopefully my success. The adventure begins now. At the top are some before pictures, I can't wait to see the after pictures as the book promised weight loss and even loss of cellulite.