Elimination Diet Day...?

Well, I was sick with a pretty bad cold.  The bad symptoms didn't last too long, maybe 4 days.  The congestion held on for another week and a half.  But I have such problems with having enough energy to do things, and being sick just wipes me out.  I've been too tired to really focus on doing the ED, because it is very labor intensive.   So I decided not to stress about it and just do what I could.  I've been having my green smoothies almost every day.  I've made several meals that lasted me several days, but I don't really remember what they were anymore. One of the reasons I do a Daily Diet Update every day is just to help me keep track of what I've done!  I've also been eating plenty off the diet, but still researching and thinking about what I want to do when I get back on it.

Biggest thing I've finally decided:  I really don't like kale.  I've really tried to learn to like it, but I just don't.  I don't like it as chips, I don't really prefer it in soup, it's fine as baby kale in smoothies because I don't really taste it.  I find mature kale to be too much though, even in a smoothie.  But I think that except for smoothies and the occasional hash where it can be nicely blended in, I'm just not going to be having a lot of it.  I will still get plenty of the cruciferous compounds in my smoothies.  Broccoli sprouts and baby kale are about 2/3 of the greens I put in there and, when I can find them, dandelion greens fill out the rest.

Health Update:
I have some improvements to my health, even after being mostly off the diet for the last 2 weeks.  My stomach seems to be slowly healing.  It doesn't react to things quite as strongly anymore, and I notice that my back isn't getting yanked out of place by the diaphragm cramps quite as much.  Another thing I've noticed is that my hips are hurting less, and I have fewer cramps in my legs when I'm laying down.  I've definitely lost 5 lbs since I started, and I fluctuate another 5 lbs depending on the day.  I was sleeping better, and my digestion was very much smoother, but that improvement has reduced during the last few weeks.

I'm planning on starting back on the diet tomorrow.  I'm not going to do the fast, that really made me feel very bad the last time.  Just gonna get started on porridge and tacos again!

Plans for the week: Make sweet potato chips (with guacamole!) and fries.  Make turkey jerky.  Plan out what I wanna do with a leg of lamb next week.

Week 1 Health Update

Yay, I made it a week!  And it wasn't even too hard.  I was really hungry the first few days, but I'm not having much in the way of cravings at all.  The food I've been making is so tasty and satisfying that I'm really not missing anything.  I think that getting into the right mindset has helped a lot also, and knowing what to expect.

225 lbs
42 inch waist

I lost 5 lbs the first day, just from the colon clearing effects of the liquid fast, but I haven't lost any more this week.  Probably because my girl time is starting today.  Cramps, booo!

I've been sleeping deeper when I sleep, but I still wake up a lot at night.  My stomach feels like it might be healing a bit and I think I have more energy, though it's hard to tell when I'm using it all up every day!

Looking back on this week, there are a few things I wish I'd done to prepare better.  I had to unexpectedly be out of the house most of the day on Friday, and I hadn't made any snacks to take yet.  I barely had time to make a green smoothie and grab a bag of dried fruit, but all that sugar left me feeling pretty bad.  I wish I'd made some of the seed granola (ED book) beforehand, and had some tortillas and guacamole prepared so I could have taken a light meal with me when I had to leave quickly.  So I worked hard on Saturday to make the granola and other stuff that's easy to grab if I have to leave quickly again.  I also put one of my 4oz jam jars full of granola in my purse, so I can have a snack if I get stuck somewhere.  I'll be thinking of other small things that aren't too sweet that I can keep in there also.

Health Update: Starting the Elimination Diet

Well, today is the day.  I'm starting the Elimination Diet again.  The primary reason is to lose weight and flush the toxins that have built up from being sick and eating poorly for so long, and I'm hoping some other things will clear up also.  I thought I'd share progress once a week on how I'm feeling and how much weight I've lost, along with (semi) daily meal plans.

230 lbs
42 inch waist
Other concerns: I have trouble sleeping deeply, I have an ulcer that's reoccurring from years ago that I'm trying to get healed, still have energy problems.

My plans for this week are to have a smoothie every day, drink lots of green soup, focus on basic hearty fare like the harvest squash soup from the book, along with taco type things made with brown rice tortillas, refried adzuki beans (recipe coming), rice, a little chicken and some guacamole.  I don't do well with fasting, it greatly compounds my energy problems, so I won't be doing the 2 day pure liquid and pureed soup fast that begins the diet.  I will be doing as much of it as I can with the smoothies and green soup, but I will also be eating the tacos too, so I can keep my energy up.