Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Good and Bad
I'm feeling pretty alright. I do crave sweets, but not uncontrollably. And I have been pretty tired the past few days, but that might also be because I've been up late and working a lot. At ball hockey tonight I wasn't really able to do much running, but then again I worked at the aerial park all day, so I had a very physically demanding day. Still, I figure if I'd been able to have my usual pre-game perogies I would have been able to run more, and put a bit more effort into it. On the up side however, I think that I've noticed an improvement in my interstitial cystitis already. I mean, it's not gone or anything like that, but the symptoms don't seem to be as bad as usual. It's only been 4 days, but this is a very good sign. I'm thinking I should definitely try to get tested for food allergies/sensitivities though to see if there are certain things I should avoid even after I start eating a normal diet again. For now my trouble is trying to figure out a way to limit the amount of fatty foods I'm consuming. Avocados, nuts and nut butters, and full fat goat's yogurt are healthy, but all contain a lot of fat, so that bothers me a bit. I just keep reminding myself: it's only for 3 weeks!
Monday, 27 June 2011
Stevia vs. Sugar Cravings
So I found a recipe for quinoa flakes sweetened with stevia instead of sugar to kind of try to take the place of my morning oatmeal. Unfortunately I didn't have the stuff to do it this morning, so I made it for myself for lunch instead. It tastes fine and everything, but the thing is, it tricks my body into thinking it's getting sugar, and then makes it crave sugar more than before I ate it, since it's anticipating it already and then doesn't get it at all. I'm also feeling really tired today, but that could be because I have had an exhausting weekend. I'm hoping my energy level picks up again tomorrow, especially in time for ball hockey. Right now I feel very sober; thinking clearly and all that, but also somewhat confused. Like I am only half aware of what is going on around me most of the time. On the plus side, while I have gotten a few blemishes since starting this process, they aren't nearly as bad as the ones I've had in the past month, and the rest of my skin seems to be going back to a relatively nice complexion. Hopefully after a good night's sleep I will be feeling a lot better tomorrow. Especially in time for ball hockey!!!
Sunday, 26 June 2011
The Beginning
So I actually started my diet on Saturday, not Sunday. I just wanted to get it started (mostly so I could get it over with). So far it's been a lot better than the first detox diet I attempted. I didn't end up with a migraine at the end of the day, and while I did find I was peeing quite a lot at the end of the evening I attribute that to the herbal pills I took right before bed - 2 of one and 4 of another.
I can't say that I've noticed any read side affects so far. I mean tensions were high at work and at home yesterday, but I can't say that was definitely because I wasn't eating sugar. There just seemed to be something in the air. Tonight, after work, I could have really used a glass of wine, but other than that I'm feeling pretty ok. I mean, of course I'd like to eat something sweet, but I'm not having any out of control cravings or anything. And there are lots of things I like that I am allowed to eat. I'm just worried I'm going to be eating nuts, eggs and avocados for three weeks and get really fat! Starting tomorrow though I think I'm going to try quinoa with stevia for breakfast, instead of an egg. We'll see how it goes!
I can't say that I've noticed any read side affects so far. I mean tensions were high at work and at home yesterday, but I can't say that was definitely because I wasn't eating sugar. There just seemed to be something in the air. Tonight, after work, I could have really used a glass of wine, but other than that I'm feeling pretty ok. I mean, of course I'd like to eat something sweet, but I'm not having any out of control cravings or anything. And there are lots of things I like that I am allowed to eat. I'm just worried I'm going to be eating nuts, eggs and avocados for three weeks and get really fat! Starting tomorrow though I think I'm going to try quinoa with stevia for breakfast, instead of an egg. We'll see how it goes!
Friday, 24 June 2011
Candida Cleanse
Ok, this blog is going to be more personal than my other blog, because I am embarking on something that I wanted to keep track of for my own sake, and possibly share with others if they're interested.
On Sunday, June 26th, I am going to begin a detox diet to try to eliminate what I believe is a Candida infection. From what I've read, Candida is a fungus that lives in everyone, but can cause a lot of different ailments, especially in women. As anyone who knows me well knows, I have a chronic disease which manifested itself when I was 18 years old. In the past 7 years since my symptoms began, I have been trying to figure out what caused this disease, but to no avail. Interstitial Cystitis (or IC), as it is known, is a mystery to the medical world. There are several different theories on what causes it, and several different ways in which it manifests itself. In fact, there are even theories that IC actually encompasses at least 7 different diseases. So essentially no one really knows exactly what it is that is wrong with me.
More recently, I also developed a chronic tonsil infection, which is seemingly no more than a pain in the ass. From time to time my tonsils fill up, and I get stones coming out of them. It's actually a fairly common thing - lots of people experience it and don't even realize it. But, since curiosity runs rampant in me, once the doctor told me what was going on, I looked it up. Turns out, chronic tonsil infections like mine can be linked to a number of immune problems. One theory about IC is that it is an autoimmune disorder of sorts, so if my tonsils and my IC are immune related diseases, I started to think they could be linked.
In the last month or so, I went from having a beautiful complexion, to a nasty breakout. Again, I went looking for a reason. I actually have thought for a long time that my breakouts have been caused by different things I eat, such as wheat and dairy. And since Bill had just made a cheesecake, which I ate several days in a row, right before breaking out, I had reinforced my belief in this theory. So again, I perused the internet for evidence of this link, and I found more than I had anticipated.
Not only did I discover that a tonsil infection, which is caused by candida can lead to acne, but that it also could be the cause of my incredibly itchy skin (without any signs of rash or bug bites) and my interstitial cystitis. Now, finding the answer was one thing - finding a way to fix it is entirely another. I took my new found information to the health food store, where I was directed to a balancing detox kit, and given some information on foods to eat and foods to avoid. $100 later, I went home with some pills and some new food, and once again turned to the internet to find stringent guidelines on what to eat and what not to eat. What I found was this. It's a step-by-step guide to squashing a candida infection, and it is not going to be easy. But, in the hopes that it may clear up my acne, tonsils, itching and interstitial cystitis, I am going to give it a try. It sort of seems too good to be true, but I think it's worth the time and effort to see if it will work.
The hardest part about the whole thing, is that for 3 weeks anyway, I can't have any sugar of any kind. Not even fruit. I bought some agave nectar thinking it would be ok, but it's not - at least not for the first 3 weeks. I will probably pick up some stevia to sweeten things as it does not feed candida, but I will otherwise be having a sans-sweets summer. Kind of sucks because I really wanted to have my traditional ice cream in a waffle cone at the Canada Day fireworks, but hey, I can get ice cream any time of year. I want to deal with this now.
I don't want anyone thinking I'm on a strange diet because I want to lose weight, or anything like that. I am actually quite comfortable with where I'm at right now, and worried because I don't want to lose muscle tone or my curves! If anything though, I might actually gain weight, because there are a lot of fatty things that are allowed on the diet (eggs, fish, avacado, nuts, etc.) But really 3 months is not that bad of a timeline, and the worst part only lasts 3 weeks. The last time I attempted a cleanse, I got a migraine and actually aggravated my IC after only 1 day, and at that point I decided cleanses weren't my thing. Now I'm hoping that keeping this blog will help to keep me motivated, and I'm really interested in tracking my progress and experiences over the coming months. So starting Sunday I hope to update fairly regularly, as I'm sure especially the first few days will be a very interesting adjustment.
Here's hoping this all works out!
On Sunday, June 26th, I am going to begin a detox diet to try to eliminate what I believe is a Candida infection. From what I've read, Candida is a fungus that lives in everyone, but can cause a lot of different ailments, especially in women. As anyone who knows me well knows, I have a chronic disease which manifested itself when I was 18 years old. In the past 7 years since my symptoms began, I have been trying to figure out what caused this disease, but to no avail. Interstitial Cystitis (or IC), as it is known, is a mystery to the medical world. There are several different theories on what causes it, and several different ways in which it manifests itself. In fact, there are even theories that IC actually encompasses at least 7 different diseases. So essentially no one really knows exactly what it is that is wrong with me.
More recently, I also developed a chronic tonsil infection, which is seemingly no more than a pain in the ass. From time to time my tonsils fill up, and I get stones coming out of them. It's actually a fairly common thing - lots of people experience it and don't even realize it. But, since curiosity runs rampant in me, once the doctor told me what was going on, I looked it up. Turns out, chronic tonsil infections like mine can be linked to a number of immune problems. One theory about IC is that it is an autoimmune disorder of sorts, so if my tonsils and my IC are immune related diseases, I started to think they could be linked.
In the last month or so, I went from having a beautiful complexion, to a nasty breakout. Again, I went looking for a reason. I actually have thought for a long time that my breakouts have been caused by different things I eat, such as wheat and dairy. And since Bill had just made a cheesecake, which I ate several days in a row, right before breaking out, I had reinforced my belief in this theory. So again, I perused the internet for evidence of this link, and I found more than I had anticipated.
Not only did I discover that a tonsil infection, which is caused by candida can lead to acne, but that it also could be the cause of my incredibly itchy skin (without any signs of rash or bug bites) and my interstitial cystitis. Now, finding the answer was one thing - finding a way to fix it is entirely another. I took my new found information to the health food store, where I was directed to a balancing detox kit, and given some information on foods to eat and foods to avoid. $100 later, I went home with some pills and some new food, and once again turned to the internet to find stringent guidelines on what to eat and what not to eat. What I found was this. It's a step-by-step guide to squashing a candida infection, and it is not going to be easy. But, in the hopes that it may clear up my acne, tonsils, itching and interstitial cystitis, I am going to give it a try. It sort of seems too good to be true, but I think it's worth the time and effort to see if it will work.
The hardest part about the whole thing, is that for 3 weeks anyway, I can't have any sugar of any kind. Not even fruit. I bought some agave nectar thinking it would be ok, but it's not - at least not for the first 3 weeks. I will probably pick up some stevia to sweeten things as it does not feed candida, but I will otherwise be having a sans-sweets summer. Kind of sucks because I really wanted to have my traditional ice cream in a waffle cone at the Canada Day fireworks, but hey, I can get ice cream any time of year. I want to deal with this now.
I don't want anyone thinking I'm on a strange diet because I want to lose weight, or anything like that. I am actually quite comfortable with where I'm at right now, and worried because I don't want to lose muscle tone or my curves! If anything though, I might actually gain weight, because there are a lot of fatty things that are allowed on the diet (eggs, fish, avacado, nuts, etc.) But really 3 months is not that bad of a timeline, and the worst part only lasts 3 weeks. The last time I attempted a cleanse, I got a migraine and actually aggravated my IC after only 1 day, and at that point I decided cleanses weren't my thing. Now I'm hoping that keeping this blog will help to keep me motivated, and I'm really interested in tracking my progress and experiences over the coming months. So starting Sunday I hope to update fairly regularly, as I'm sure especially the first few days will be a very interesting adjustment.
Here's hoping this all works out!
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