Day 5

Still struggling with sugar issues.  Yesterday afternoon and early evening.  Ended up going out to the farm again for a while.  It's so relaxing out there.  I love it.  Also was able to clear my head about a lot of things.

Anyhow, This morning, the scale is down to 231.4.

Not feeling any physical symptoms or pain anymore.  That stopped a few days ago now.

I'm feeling fairly sluggish in the mornings.  Yesterday was bad, but I was trying to wake up earlier to go fishing.  Today I was able to sleep until I was done sleeping.  Got up around 8.  It's now 10am.  I'm still lounging around in a housecoat, but I'm thinking I want to get up and get out of the house for a while.  No idea what I want/need to do, but just want to get out.

Overall, I'm feeling okay.  There is still a little bit if "stuff" going on with Terry and Tammy, but I'm working on putting that out of my mind.

So, today is good so far.

************UPDATE*************************
Still having sugar craving fits.  I get downright angry when they hit me.  Wow.  I hope they pass soon.  It didn't last as long tonight - only about 2 hours.

Other than that, I'm doing okay.  Still feeling weak and tired, but that will continue until I get this all worked out.  I am debating getting my runners on and going for a run tomorrow.  Nothing really major.  Just get out there and give it a go again.

Getting ready for bed soon - it's already after 9.  Here's hoping its a warmer day tomorrow.

Day 4

Wow, what a rough night last night.  Not just night.  It started around supper time.  I was absolutely jittery.  Couldn't stand it anymore.  I think I figured it out though.  It's sugar withdraw, and it's bad right now.

I had no idea.  I am anxious, restless, stressed, every little thing will set off my temper.  It is so not good.

But I made it though last night.  This morning, I'm feeling tired.  Like I didn't sleep well at all.

I sure hope this all passes soon.

Day 3

Still have some abdominal pain.  Okay, a lot of pain.  Some gas too.  But it is what it is.  I'm walking it off. 

I am feeling a little better now.  Just had some quinoa for breakfast.

I've been noticing my calorie intake is very low over the past few days.  It's been a roller coaster of a life this week, but I've really gotta watch out for that.  It will only send my body into starvation mode, and make everything so much more difficult to figure out.

**************UPDATE*********************
I've been spending most of the day sleeping.  Doesn't really surprise me though.  I haven't been eating enough to have a high energy lifestyle these days anyway.

Day 2

Okay, so I actually slipped up and had about 1/4 of a cup of rye and coke last night.  Instead of throwing in the towel, I just stopped and decided it was so not worth it.

But the things I saw last night.  Wow.  Had NO idea.  I guess it's time for me to run and run fast from those people.

Anyhow, on the fitness/diet front, all is going well.  No withdraws, but I knew that.  I was up all night last night, so today is really off kilter.  Between being up all night, and an old friend getting back into my head...

Physically, I'm feeling exhausted.  I hadn't eaten in almost 20 hours, and only slept for less than 4 when this hit, so no wonder.

TMI - I still have pretty bad diarrhea from the alcohol on Wednesday night.  Only mentioning it because it's a digestive reaction to something I injested.  Vodka mudshakes, and Crown and Pepsi.

So that's where that all sits.

******UPDATE********
I started to have abdominal pain later in the day - right after supper.  Very low, below my belly button.  I had some Walleye fried in Stewed tomatoes, on jasmine rice.

I'm not jumping to conclusions, but I don't know.  The tomatoes?  I don't think so.  Not that soon after eating.  Litterally, I got up from my first serving, and had pain.

The alcohol Wednesday?  More likely.  Was it the vodka mudshakes?  Or the crown royal?  I'm thinking the latter quite honestly, but seeing as I have no way of knowing for sure, I'll just make a note of this.  I'll be sure to keep an eye on it for when I start to test foods in a few weeks

Cleansing Phase - Day 1

This go around it's going much better.  I am already used to what I can and can not eat.  There are no withdraws this time either. 

I went off of this process last night.  It took me 3 days to make that decision.  3 days and the "straw that broke the camels back" as well. 

That's another story though.  Here I'm just looking at the progress and how I'm feeling.

So far so good today.  I feel great actually.  No where near as stressed out as I was earlier this week.  No where near as bad as I was feeling yesterday either. 

I am feeling good.  I'm going to go out and get a few ingredients to make some more home made ice cream.  I ordered an ice cream maker, but it won't be here until the 29th.  So in the meantime, I'll be making it by hand.  Let me tell you, it's tricky making ice cream that falls into these food guidelines.  I have found multiple soy and coconut based non-dairy ice cream recipes.  Then top it off with the fact I can't have sugar or honey.  Despite all of this, I am figuring it all out.  I have found out how to substitute agave nectar for sugar - there's a great website with instructions on how to substitute agave nectar for almost any kind of sweetener. 

I am looking for a new job.  Not really active at it today though.  Today I am taking a day off.  Still re cooperating from the crap yesterday, and all of last week.

So that's my day so far.  In general, it's a good day, despite the heavy downpour of rain outside.  I feel good.

Cleansing Diet

This is a medical diet provided from my naturopath.  I am testing for food allergies.

FOOD GROUP	ALLOWED	AVOID
Meat, Fish, Poultry, Legumes, Eggs	Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Wild Meats, All Legumes, Dried Peas, Lentils, Cold-Water Fish like Salmon, Halibut, Mackrel, Trout	Beef, Cold Cuts, Franfurter, Pork, Sausage, Canned Meat, Eggs, Egg Substitutes
Dairy Products	Milk Substitutes like Soy, Almond, or Rice Milks	Milk, Cheese, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, Ice Cream, Cream, Non-Dairy Creamers
Starch	White/Sweet Potato, Yams, Arrowroot, Rice, Tapioca, Buckwheat, Millet, Gluten-Free Products	All Gluten Containing products
Bread/Cereal	Any made from Rice, Quinoa, Amaranth, Teff, Millet, Buckwheat, Soy, Potato, Tapioca, Arrowroot, or Gluten-Free Products	All made from Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats, Kamut, Spelt
Vegetables	All Vegetables	Made with foods to be avoided, or in a cream sauce
Fruits	All Fruits	Fruit drinks, -ades, Cocktails, Oranges, Grapefruit, Strawberries, Bananas, Dried Fruit preserved with Sulfites or Sorbates
Soup	Clear, Vegetable-Broth, Homemade Vegetarian Soup, Chili made with Ground Poultry	Canned or Cream Soups. Any made from Gluten Containing Grains and Flours
Beverages	Water (spring or filtered), Herbal Tea, Freshly Prepared or Unsweetened Diluted Fruit or Vegetable Juices	Milk, Dairy-Containing Products, Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, Postum, Pop, Sweetened Drinks, Citrus Drinks, Alcohol
Fats/Oils	Cold, Expeller-pressed, Unrefined, Flax, Olive, Sesame, Pumpkin, and Walnut Oils, Coconut Butter, Salad Dressings made from those foods	Margarine, Shortening, Lard, Butter, Refined Oils, Salad Dressings, Spreads
Nuts/Seeds	Almond, Brazil, Filberts, Cashews, Flax Seed, Pecans, Pine, Pumpkin, Sesame, Squash, Sunflower, Walnuts, Nut/Seed Butters from these	Peanuts, Pistachios, Peanut Butter
Sweeteners	Agave Nectar, Brown Rice Syrup, Fruit Sweeteners, Organic Blackstrap Molases, Stevia	Brown Sugar, Honey, Molasses, Maple Syrup, Corn Syrup, Fructose, Sugar

Needless to say, the list of what I can have is so much easier than the list of what I can't have.  I am supposed to be on this strict diet for 21 days to cleanse my system.  Then I can start the testing by introducing one food - eating a little bit with each meal that day.  Then back on the cleansing diet for the next 3 days, the whole time tracking any effects the food might be having on me.  If on the morning of the fourth day I still have no reaction, I can test with the next food I want to re-introduce.  

So basically, I'll be on this for at least a couple of months.  Realistically, I should view this as a lifestyle change, and when all is said and done, I can "add" some foods to this list.  

Yesterday, I was 9 days into this diet.  For reasons I won't go into here, I went off last night.  I made a conscious decision to do this, knowing that today I will be restaring my diet countdown from day 1.  At least this time it will be easier.  I won't be going through the severe headaches and pains I was in for the first 3 days like last time.  It was bad.

So for the next few months, I'll be on this journey.  And blogging here to help me track my moods and any side effects.

On to a new Challenge!

I have not blogged much since I ran the marathon in San Francisco this past October.  I am a little embarrassed.  I haven't done much running.  I hurt myself pretty badly in that race.  I ended up loosing 5 toe nails, but that didn't hurt.  The sore hip I pushed for the last 10+ miles is what hurt.  I rested to heal.  Every time I would start to run again, my hips would hurt, or my toes would ache.  I finally figured I'd just take the rest of the winter off from running.

Unfortunately this means I've gained weight. 

I've been struggling with this for the past month.  I have a BodyMedia GoFit device now also.  But it wasn't enough to light a fire under my butt.

So I've decided I have to do it myself. 

I have downloaded the Body For Life program.  I think I'll do it.  It will push me back into weight training.  It will allow me to condense my cardio into a 20min workout 3 days a week. 

I figure, if I give it my all, and reach the goals that are set out with every workout, then I won't feel bad about not training for my next race yet. 

So these next 12 weeks are all about the Body For Life program. 

What are you going to do with the next 12 weeks of your life?