Thursday, July 28, 2011

The last 8 weeks

In the past 8 weeks I have had no...
 sugar
vinegar
fruits
coffee or alcohol 
*
I've been pretty much living off of
veggies

protein

tea
quinoa and brown rice
and almond butter.
*
My nutritionist has diagnosed me with Candida so I've been doing this cleanse to kill it. Candida is a yeast we naturally have but it can have an overgrowth causing nasty symptoms. The biggest ones I experienced were bad skin, intense sugar cravings and weight gain.    The month before I started I gained 5 lbs because my cravings were so strong and I was eating so badly.  

The first week I ate anything I was allowed without counting calories then I decided that while I was making such a huge sacrifice I might as well lose some weight. So far I've lost 18 lbs and I'm so happy on the cleanse.

Candida is very sensitive to sugar so it has to be starved so there is no cheating on this cleanse. It's been a huge adjustment and sacrifice, I even brought my own food to a bachelorette party and a wedding reception.  This is the reason for very limited fruit on the first step of the cleanse, even the good sugar from fruit feeds it.  

I've had a few unhappy moments when I realize that I can eat about .1% of the items at the store but my symptoms have cleared up and my sugar cravings are gone. I've even found two places I can eat out at!

*Please remember that I have done all of this under the supervision of a nutritionist.  Symptoms do not mean you have and overgrowth of Candida.  

6 comments:

Samantha said...

That's super interesting! How long do you have to be on that?

Dollface said...

Wow.. Ive never heard of that condition... at least all the stuff you are eating now is still tasty!!!! xxxooo

~Mrs. Guru~ said...

Wow, I am glad you feel better!

Katie & Ryan said...

I was on that diet for nine straight months for the same reason (my case was severe). I was able to add rice back in around month nine, and berries back around month eleven. I still don't drink any alcohol, or eat any other sugars (besides the berries) and eat very little carbs...it is so hard, but it made me feel a ton better. If you need any advice, suggestions or support, just let me know :)

Classy Fab Sarah said...

I did this for about a month earlier this year and it was completely miserable!! It was so stinking hard!

My doctor wasn't very supportive about the whole thing so I kinda went on it without the dr's help... it was SO HARD.

I'm hoping it's helping you feel better!

Sassy In The South said...

This is very interesting. When I went to the dermatologist at the beginning of the year, she told me that I had yeast on my face. Do you know anything about that? And, I am not saying that I have Candida, but I do crave sugar like CRAZY and I gain weight constantly...trying to do a lot better right now. I am so glad that you found this out and are feeling better!