Diet Update - Stage 1 is OVER!!!

Friends, I have been waiting for this day now for 29 days....

STAGE 1 OF MY DIET IS OVER!!!

PRAISE THE LORD!!! For those of you who haven't been following, that means that the hardest part is over, and I can start re-introducing more "normal" foods back in. (*note- There are lots of different opinions of how to do the Candida diet - some say Stage 1 should last 2 - 4 weeks, others say 3 months. I went with 4 weeks because it was the longest I could go before we have to travel again.) I could not be more excited!!! This week I will re-introduce sweet potatoes, white potatoes (hellloo mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, and french fries! I have missed you SO!), other veggies I haven't been able to have (like black beans, peas, etc) and I may even let myself have small amounts of some condiments. I'm probably going to be introducing things faster than is recommended - but since we're leaving for a 6 week trip overseas soon, it's better that I re-introduce things now and see how I handle them when we are not traveling.

Moving forward, my plan is to stay Gluten Free and Casein Free (dairy free), and also try to stay away from refined sugar. I feel like these 3 things were causing me the biggest issues, so that's what I'm going to focus on. I know that won't be easy (no bread, no cheese, no ice cream!), but it WILL be easier than what I've been doing for the past month! As far as yeast, soy, vinegar, preservatives, and natural sugar (in fruits, veggies, etc) I'm just not going to be as concerned. (Especially since I am gluten free - without bread I doubt I'll be eating much yeast.) I have to include more normal food when we're overseas (and I can't read labels in Thai or Hindi) so I'm just not going to let myself stress about it. Stress is one of the worst things you can do with these issues, so I am just going to do my best and try to trust God!

I have to say that I feel EXTREMELY proud of myself for making it through the full 4 weeks!

Diet Update - Swallowing the Bitter Pill

Okay, it's more like swallowing the "digestive bitters" and about 30 pills a day. Ugh.

Just thought I'd share my supplements with you guys - in an effort to help you understand all this diet entails. As you can see, I am taking a little bit of everything, for a little bit of everything. People keep asking me if I think the diet is helping... but I can't figure out if it's the diet or all these pills!

I will say that the symptoms I struggled with before are gone (praise God!) but they've been replaced with "die off symptoms" from the parasites and yeast so I can't say I feel that much better. Until the exhaustion, achyness, stomach issues, and skin issues (apparently your skin is affected first when your body is flushing toxins out of its system) go away, I don't think I'm going to feel that much better. And until my other issues are resolved (which I talk about later in this post) and I am able to eat somewhat "normally" again - I won't feel like this was a success. My quality of life has got to improve before I can say this was "worth it".

Diet Update - What I'm Eating

When I tell people about this diet, and all the foods I can't have, the #1 question I get in response is...

....so what can you eat?

So I thought I'd take a minute to fill you in on what I've been eating the past 2+ weeks. Just to refresh your memory - this is a list of all the things I can't have ::

Diet update - DAY 14!

Sorry for the lack of blogging friends! I really intended to keep you up-to-date with how this diet thing is going, but it has taken every bit of my mental/emotional/physical energy and willpower just to keep it up! I'll do my best to update you now - but bear with me. Since starting this diet my brain has kind of been on the fritz (I'm guessing from the lack of carbs). I get super forgetful and kind of frazzled - so I apologize in advance if this update is all over the place!

Today marks my 2 week mark - DAY 14! I can't believe I've made it this far. It's recommended that this diet is done in 3 stages for 3 months, but with our upcoming trip overseas I could only do it for 6 weeks. The first 4 weeks are the most strict, so in 2 more weeks I'll be allowed to start (carefully) reintroducing some foods (like POTATOES!) I seriously cannot wait to have a sweet potato and mashed potatoes again!

I would be lying if I said this hasn't been a rough 14 days. I forgot to mention the 2 other things I was diagnosed with before starting this diet - a seratonin deficiency (which can cause depression and problems sleeping) and adrenal fatigue (which causes all sorts of crazy problems with your emotions/anger/etc). So, you can just imagine the kind of mess I am with these emotional problems PLUS this diet!

Almost every day since starting this diet I have felt like I'm on a rollercoaster. I go from being "ok", to being so frustrated that I cry (because I can't have things I want to eat, or because my food is so bland I just don't want to eat at all). Or, I get angry, because I'm starving and there's nothing "easy" or "quick" to fix. Maybe that sounds childish, but on a typical day I have to deprive myself around 50 times a day from what I want. Meals, snacks, drinks, gum - they are all subject to my diet.

Every commercial that comes on TV gives me cravings for things I can't have. And leaving the house is even harder - you just don't realize how many times a day you are exposed to FOOD! I literally see thousands of things I can't have - between restaurants on the side of the road and food in the grocery store. I have had the "sample ladies" at Publix trying to convince me to try their food. I had to walk past the donuts and coffee at church on Sunday morning, and turn down friends' invitations to go out to lunch. There is even chocolate candy at the check out line in Hobby Lobby! I told Rusty that I'm afraid someday he's going to get a phone call from Publix, telling him I've "snapped" and that he'll find me crying in the floor of the chocolate aisle eating candy and drinking a coke!

I think the most frustrating thing to me though, is the fact that I ate healthy BEFORE this diet. I keep reading about how most people with this issue live off fast food and sweets, and everyone keeps telling me how much better I'm going to feel when I eat the "diet food" (ie - no sweets, no processed food, etc). But when I explained my normal eating habits to my chiropractor the other day, he was floored!

See, I used to be the girl who ate fast food multiple times a week and candy all the time... but 3 years ago I started making some drastic changes. While we may eat fast food when we're traveling, or overseas for "comfort food", it is not a staple in our diet. When we're home and in a normal schedule, we usually don't even eat fast food once a month! I cook at home 95% of the time. We bake chicken, turkey, and occasionally fish, shrimp or beef with FRESH vegetables (not canned). I cook with olive oil and fresh garlic. We don't eat bread with dinner and I only make sweets for special occasions. I also don't drink caffeine.

To be honest, I'm angry that I'm sick - considering how hard I was working to take care of myself. And I'm angry that this diet makes me want candy and cookies and other "bad for me" things (just because I can't have them!) considering the healthy choices that I typically make about sweets. I'm afraid I'm going to splurge on all this when I get off this diet (which could cause a relapse). Part of me wishes I'd never changed my diet from all the fast food and candy - because it seems I have more health issues now!

I'm also really angry about everything I'm missing. Because of all the "special" food I have to eat (that all has to be cooked by ME), I am pretty much under "house arrest". I can't eat any meals out, and all my food has to be refrigerated... which means I have to be home for 3 meals a day. I also get tired really easily (probably from the lack of carbs) and sometimes my medicine makes me sick. So, we're having to miss SO much! We had to cancel our annual trip to the Auburn vs Arkansas game - which is a "Jackson Family Tradition" we look forward to all year. We also had to cancel a trip to a conference in Georgia we were excited about, and today I'm missing a bridal shower for one of my dearest friends. And we won't even talk about the fact that I can't go to Auburn, or home to visit my family! I just want my life back!

Okay... okay... enough of my venting (see, I told you I'm on an emotional roller-coaster!) Sorry! I didn't mean to make this all "Debby Downer"! But for those of you who've asked how I'm doing - there it is!

But - the GOOD NEWS is - I've made it through 14 days without cheating even ONCE! *high five!* And although I've found a lot of food I hate, I've also found some meals that are actually ok. For those of you that are curious, I'll try to share a blog on what I've been eating in the next couple of days.

Of course, the GREAT NEWS is - I have some of the BEST friends in the whole world! I'm afraid without them, that I would only be having "down" days. But it's hard to stay down all the time when so many people are encouraging you! I've had girlfriends calling to check on me, lots of friends and blog readers emailing suggestions, recipe ideas, and encouraging words, (seriously, you guys are the best!) tons of people praying for me, and one friend even sent a gift!

As I mentioned earlier, we had to cancel our annual trip to the Auburn vs Arkansas game. We'd been planning all sorts of fun for the weekend and looking forward to it for over a year, so we were both seriously bummed about missing it. But the day of the game (as we were moping around) a present came in the mail!

Now, if you know me, then you know that I LOVE surprises!!! And this one was especially thoughtful...

And it came with this note...

Seriously?! How could we stay bummed after a gift like this? It was a great reminder of how blessed I am to have friends like Katie in my life! (thanks Katie!)

Now that I'm this far in, I am bound and determined to finish this diet! Please just keep praying that God will give me the strength and will-power to stay on track, and that He will HEAL me of all these issues! And, while you're at it, please pray for my husband, who has to put up with my rollercoaster of emotions during this diet!

Tomorrow is "D-Day"

Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments on yesterday's blog. (*Side note - Someone brought to my attention that my comments were disabled for a while on that post, so I got most of your comments via facebook. Sorry about that! The comment issue is fixed now!) I'd almost talked myself out of sharing that in the blog-o-sphere, but I'm glad now that I didn't hold back! You're encouragement has really blessed me, and it's good to know that there are other people out there who have been through this and had success with the Candida diet. It also helps a LOT to know you guys will be praying for me during this whole process!

Tomorrow is D-Day - the Dreaded Diet Day!  > insert groan here <  

I've been eating this week like I was sentenced to death on Saturday - trying to have one last taste of some of my favorite foods. We couldn't afford to eat out every meal, but I did manage one last Chick-Fil-A run (with honey mustard and sweet tea! Thanks Mom & Dad!), one last Decaf White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks, one last Apple Cider with caramel sauce, cinnamon, and whipped cream, and Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing (I've been dying to try the recipe!). I'm also going to have some McDonald's french fries with sweet chili sauce this afternoon, a Sonic Cherry Limeade, and then Rusty is taking me out to my favorite place - PF Chang's - for my "last meal". I'll probably scarf down a Hershey Bar before bed (as I am not allowed to have chocolate on this diet - not even a taste!) and that will be the end of "life as I know it"!  :(

Can you tell food is one of my love languages? My Dad called the above list my "Bucket List" of food! Haha!

If I'm being honest though - I really haven't enjoyed myself much. For the past few weeks, nothing has really tasted good to me, and I've been dealing with nauseous feelings that come and go (a lot). I've also been EXHAUSTED. Even when I'm not sleepy, my body is tired. Sometimes the smallest tasks leave me worn out and terribly run down. Rusty keeps telling me that will all go away with this diet, and that is really helping to motivate me!

We went shopping yesterday at Whole Foods to prepare for the coming week. After 3 stressful hours, a month's grocery budget, and a lot of frustration, we finally had a week's worth of food. I can't tell you how difficult it was to shop with these restrictions! If I have learned anything, it's that SUGAR and PRESERVATIVES are in almost everything we eat (yes - even at Whole Foods!) SOY and YEAST were also super frustrating to try to avoid. I read label after label and actually came home with a stye in my eye from it!

I think the most intimidating thing was knowing I can't make a mistake. If I eat the wrong thing, I can set myself back WEEKS in healing. So, unlike a normal "I'm going to eat healthier diet", I can't treat myself with a little bite of chocolate if I kept up my diet all week. And if it were just the Gluten Free and Dairy Free diet and I ate the wrong thing, I might get sick once. With the Candida diet though, we are trying to starve out yeast. If I eat something that will "feed them" by mistake, then my weeks of sacrifice could all be for nothing. I could essentially go back to "square one". So I was super careful when it came to selecting foods!

The expense was definitely one of the worst parts though. As a couple who lives the way we do (very frugally) it was hard to swallow the prices for some of these items. I am usually a WalMart shopping, Great Value Brand buying girl, and "organic", "gluten-free", "non-GMO", "dairy-free" items are about 4 times the price! I'm hoping some of what we bought this trip will last several weeks though... *crosses fingers*. I think it's interesting that insurance will pay for me to go to 11 different doctors, and to take about 30 different prescriptions (none of which helped me at all!) - but it doesn't cover the kind of food I need to eat to actually get better! I just have to keep reminding myself that God has always taken care of us, and He will provide what we need... even if it is not in our "normal" budget.

Just FYI - I've had several friends message me wanting to know more about this diet, and asking for direction/suggestions, so I'm going to try to be detailed with my diet updates. I may share some of my weekly menus, which gluten free/dairy free/candida diet approved foods are less disgusting than others (haha), and how I'm shopping for them with the hope of (maybe) helping someone else out! If there's anything else you specifically want to know - just ask in the comment section.

For those of you who aren't interested in this topic, I'm planning to keep posting other (fun) things in the coming weeks too!

No sugar - No gluten - No yeast

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you know I've been dealing with a lot of health problems in the past 18 months. I call them my "mystery illnesses", and they just keep popping up - one after the other. It's been frustrating to say the least (especially when only one of them has been diagnosed, and no one can give me anything to heal - or even manage - my symptoms).

Well, last week I had a procedure done called a "hand cradle scan". Those of you who don't believe in homeopathic/natural medicine are going to think the idea is kooky, but the team of doctors I saw (yes, real "MD" doctors) said this procedure has cracked some of their most difficult cases. I won't go into detail about it all (because it does sound pretty kooky - even to me) but you can find out more here. Basically, this "hand cradle scan" tells you essentially everything that's wrong with you. From vitamin and mineral deficiencies, to parasites, to food allergies (or sensitivities), and even more serious issues like meningitis!

And, without listing everything she found wrong with me, I'll share the most important issues that we have to address -

1- Parasites (we were right all along!)
2- An intolerance to a certain protein in cow's milk & goat's milk
3- Gluten intolerance
4- Yeast Overgrowth

Now, #4 is not a "yeast infection" - but a "yeast overgrowth". It's hard to explain, but because of a lot of factors (like digestive issues, or taking antibiotics or prescription steroids, among others) you can develop a yeast overgrowth in your body.  This yeast can get into your intestines, tissues, and blood stream (which mine is in now). It can also attack your organs, and in serious cases it can kill you. The more I've read about it (since getting this diagnosis) the scarier I've found it is! People have gotten deathly ill because of yeast, but it is rarely (if ever) diagnosed or treated properly. And, just in case you're still thinking this is nuts (as I was) - I also had a biopsy done by a dermotologist and sure enough, there is proof of yeast in my tissue!

The only way to rid yourself of this yeast, is to "starve it out" with a special diet over the course of several months. It's also recommended that you take a prescription that will help (which I am).

Of course, since mine is connected to my digestive problems - I also have to address those. And, since they found parasites and some vitamin/mineral deficiencies, I'll also be taking another prescription AND some herbal remedies to help with those.

If you're wondering what that looks like specifically - for the next 3 months I'll be taking over 20 pills a day (did I mention I hate swallowing pills?!), and following this strict diet:

Candida Diet + Gluten Free diet + Milk Free diet

NO sugar (which includes artificial sweeteners, honey, syrup, etc)
NO gluten (which is in almost everything)
NO yeast (which means no bread, crackers, cookies, cake, etc)
NO fruit (too much sugar)
NO milk
NO aged cheese
NO vinegar (which means no condiments, which means no ketchup - AGH! - no salad dressing, no mayonnaise, etc)
NO fermented foods (which means no pickles, relish, or soy sauce)

And here comes the worst part....

NO CHOCOLATE!!!

Are you crying yet? Because, I already have.... several times (if I'm being honest). The list goes on to explain I can only have a few veggies (most of them have too much sugar or too many carbs), no preservatives (which are seriously in almost everything!) and pretty much nothing I didn't make with my own hands (ie - nothing pre-made, nothing processed, nothing "easy"). I'm sure there are more "no-no's" I'm forgetting, but you get the jest.

There are a lot of things I'm concerned about.

#1 - sickness. I know this diet is supposed to be healing me, but apparently there are some "die off" symptoms (for both parasites and yeast) that can make you super sick for the first few weeks (nausea, headaches, exhaustion, etc). The thought of being even sicker is not very appealing to me (especially when I can't have anything that comforts me when I'm sick - like ginger ale, crackers, etc).

#2 - weightloss. I've gained a little bit of weight since we got married that I wouldn't mind losing (it would be nice to fit back into some of my suits and dresses from college!) however, I've been told to expect MAJOR weight loss from this diet. A friend of mine who had to follow this diet (who was already little and didn't need to lose any weight) loss 55 pounds in a month! I am terrified I'm going to look like a skeleton by the time this is over!

I have other concerns too - like - How are we going to be able to afford all these "specialty foods" I have to eat? Will I be able to keep this up? What will happen when I start to add my "normal foods" back into my diet? What will happen when we travel overseas and I can't find the right foods? What if I do this (miserable) diet and it doesn't heal me?

And then there's the social aspect of it all. I have been so THRILLED to be back down South and able to meet my girlfriends for lunch, dinner, coffee, etc. In the last 2 weeks or so I've cooked dinner twice for friends, eaten dinner out with 2, had coffee with another, and Rusty and I met a couple of friends for dinner. It's been wonderful to spend time with people I love over yummy food! What happens when I can't do that? How will we have a social life? (I know, this sounds silly, but I'm just venting here.)

There are more questions, and fears that keep popping up - but the bottom line is, I know I have to try this. I'm tired of being in some sort of pain/discomfort every day. I'm tired of waking up with new (crazy) symptoms several times a week. I try to put on a "happy face" but the truth is - physically I'm miserable! I've been to 11 different doctors in the past year and a half, and had over 17 doctor's appointments. NONE of them have been able to heal me (or even relieve any of my symptoms). We have spent thousands of dollars on labs and procedures and prescriptions that did NOTHING. We're at a point where these illnesses are affecting every aspect of our lives (including our work). I have to do something.

If I ever want to be healthy, I have to do something. If we ever want to be able to start a family, I have to do something. If I want my marriage and my ministry to thrive, I have to do something!

So, this Saturday, October 1st, I am going to start this awful diet. I figure, it's either going to save my life, or it's going to kill me. For those of you who want to pray - please, please do. I contemplated not sharing these details on my blog (because, it's not always fun to be so "vulnerable") but the truth is, I don't think I'll make it through the next few months without your prayers. Right now, I feel extremely overwhelmed. I am going to need your prayers for willpower, strength, and health. Please also pray that this works (quickly) and doesn't interfere with our plans to visit our partnerships in India and Thailand this November/December. I'll do my best to keep you updated once a week with how it's going.

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If you're reading this and you have experience with this diet - advice, encouragement, or any recipes to share, please leave a comment! I would love anything you have to offer that might help me through this!