Pregnancy is easier than THIS

Pregnancy really could be easier. Labor looks like a piece of cake.

My problem really is the cake. I am allergic to SUGAR! I took an allergy test and it came back with sugar listed right after lima beans. (You can bet I'm not crying over that last one.)

It is medically official.

And it's not a walk in the park!

Sugar is everywhere!!

EVERYWHERE - LIKE OXYGEN EVERYWHERE!! It's not just the usual suspects of candy, cakes, and cookies. It is hidden in so many foods with so many different names. Anything with sugar cane, sucanat, malodextrin, sucrose, fructose, glucuse, sugar, syrup, treacle, invert sugar, brown sugar, maltose, and xylose must be avoided. Crux of all of this - processed sugar.

This is some pretty difficult waters to navigate since if you don't me, you don't know that I am sugar addict - that sugar SNOB requesting ONLY the corner piece of frosted cake and prefers her cookie dough straight up - skip the baking. 

I have been contemplating this new challenge while I finish my last package of Weikel's cinnamon rolls topped with the ooey-gooey goodness of sugar frosting, a Texas favorite of mine, before I make a decision to go forward with this wack-o lifestyle change.

My doctor, bless his heart, offered to share his frosting recipe made from AVOCADO. (?!?) I politely said, "Oh, that's new to me." I thought actually that this is criminal on so many different levels and this guy must be smoking something. (He doesn't. It's not paleo, which is another saga.)

Choosing sugar free has tremendous health benefits. I may be able to avoid diabesity and make a big impact on my family. My organs would thank me. Maybe I would not have to work out so much if I quit polluting my body with this toxin. Best of all: Bye-buh, muffin top, it was NEVER nice knowing you.

The downside of it all - lots of cussing and curing and swearing and praying - all at the same time to get through this.

Well, there it is - a line drawn in the sand.

Status unhealthy quo or Going in with a fight sugar free-dom.

I have to decide which side I will cross.

I'm crossing the line for freedom.


Question:

If you have decided on sugar free-dom, too, what helped you decide?

How did you feel when you decided? What has helped you to keep persevering?

Yeast Free Diet - Hard Core Challenge

Honestly, I have to go a little bit further than just gluten and sugar free for the next 90 days.   I'm going yeast free.  What's a yeast free diet?     Why the heck would you want to torture yourself?  So glad you asked.

 

The first question is easy.   Here's what I avoid the next 90 days:

No yeasty, starchy, bready foods or veggies

No sugary foods

No vinegar, pickled, or moldy foods

No alcohol

No dairy

No High sugary content fruits or dried fruits

 

These types foods basically breakdown into sugars and provide fuel for the growth of yeast in a person's system.   Avoiding this stuff is not so easy.     On the bright side, I can eat meat, most fresh fruits and vegetables, and nuts.

 

The answer to the second question is:   I am just bored and just thought this would be fun. (Ha!)  

Everyone has good and bad yeast in their systems, but, I have an overgrowth of bad yeast in mine and that causes havoc on my system, although outwardly I cannot tell.    My gastro-intestinal system constantly fights this invader which prevents my body from fully absorbing vitamins and minerals which creates a chain reaction of (obvious and hidden) problems and, then, leads me into my chiro/nutritionist's office exasperated and frustrated about what is wrong with me?  

 

Yeah, not a real sexy answer but that's it in a nutshell.  

 

I have done this 1 1/2 other times before.   The first time I managed to get 60 days under my belt that was becoming looser and looser.   It all ended at the end of the school year party with a bender of meat lover's pizza and several slices of cake with tons of frosting.   I remember it fondly, except, all that cheese, flour, and sugar just made an atomic bomb for the yeast's population to explode.   That day yeast hit the lotto.

 

The half attempt this past summer was a joke that lasted about two to three weeks before vacation.   When we got to Vegas, I completely lost all self-control at the buffets' ice cream bars.   Visiting the Coca Cola store and sucking down 16 different types of international soft drinks, high fructose corn syrup is money in the bank for the yeast to never leave. What happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas - it followed me home.   I never really hopped back on the GS-free wagon.   I just sort of jogged along side it and sometimes would climb on for a little break.  All the while, the yeast never went away.  

 

What I learned from these attempts is that this restrictive diet works and my system starts functioning better.  The first time around the pounds came off  easily  - ok, well some days were a struggle to not gouge my eyeball out with a spoon in search of ice cream.   I took lots of naps to get my mind off of food, but then I dreamt about it, BUT, it was easy since I did not have to workout like an Olympic athlete.  

 

Weight management since this summer has been impossible with a slow upwards creep.  It was this creep-iness by the beginning of the school year that made me realize I need to persevere and hang tough this time while marking off these 90 days on the calendar.