First coffee

This morning is the first day of Phase 3 - when we get to slowly work back in foods we cut out. Phase 3 lasts forever - the idea is to maintain eating healthy, whole, unprocessed foods and continue to minimize things like sugar and yeast which lead back to Candidiasis. I have been craving coffee - specifically a latte - the entire 49 day duration of this diet.

This morning was like a ritual - first I washed the parts of my coffee machine which had been sitting there gathering dust, refilled it with fresh water, threw out the leftover grounds from 7 weeks ago and ground fresh ones. Usually, I take my latte with a large teaspoon of sugar - I told myself that since this was my treat, if I wanted the sugar I would have it. I finished making the latte, took a sip - it was sweet. The sugars in the milk were so intense to me after 7 weeks of not eating sugar, it was amazing!

I couldn't finish it - the latte was actually too sweet for me. I think I will have to use about half the amount of milk next time, make a cappuccino so that the milk to coffee ratio is lower. I cannot believe that. I mean, as it is, I drink a latte that is mostly foam - I only used about 1/2 cup of milk anyway. 7 weeks ago I would have been adding sugar.

I desperately want to cling to this, this amazing heightened sense of taste where milk is too sweet - and I know that the only way to do it is to make sugar a rare thing in my diet. The funny thing is, with such a heightened sense of taste, I can't imagine wanting to eat anything super sweet. I think about how I used to be able to go through a bag of M & Ms or eat an entire chocolate bar in one sitting - right now I can't imagine eating more than a very small piece, if that. Sugar seems overwhelming - exactly as it ought to be.

Next Day Update: I had an espresso in the afternoon as well and LOVED it. Normally, I'm not very affected by caffeine and can drink a few coffees in a day without noticing much effect - although I generally avoid it in the evenings. Yesterday, I was bouncing off the walls with energy from the caffeine, and didn't manage to get to sleep until about two in the morning. I had a shot of espresso this morning, and with less than five hours of sleep I am like a superhuman energy machine. It turns out withdrawing from caffeine has made it much more potent.

So much of the ability to do something is just telling yourself you can.

I knew Thanksgiving was not going to be easy - and this late in the game I was prepared to be a little relaxed this weekend about the Candida Diet. For starters, Nigel and I went out for sushi on Thursday at a place that uses brown rice. It was brown rice unlike any I've ever seen - very dark, almost black, and really flavourful. The sushi was gorgeous and we tried hard to avoid non-Candida Diet ingredients but I think a few may have snuck in. I definitely tasted a small amount of sugar. This is why, in the early stages, it was so important not to eat out.

Then I made Thanksgiving Dinner at my house on Friday. I made lots of veggies and a beautiful turkey. The only things on the table that weren't strictly Candida Diet friendly were cranberry sauce (made from scratch, but with sugar) and gravy (I used some corn starch to thicken it.) I didn't have any cranberry sauce but I did have a bit of gravy. The next day I made soup and ate a lot of it this weekend.

Monday I had dinner at my aunt's - she made ham (definitely not Candida Diet-friendly as it's full of nitrates), potatoes which were fine except for the inclusion of horseradish (not allowed because it has vinegar in it), and coleslaw (again, vinegar.) I just relaxed a bit, had small portions, loaded up on veggies, and drank club soda instead of sugary pop. At this point, the Candida's gone anyway - it's just the last couple of weeks to keep it gone.

I also made a dessert twice this weekend, which I loved - sliced apples, mixed with berries, lots of cinnamon and nutmeg, topped with powdered walnuts mixed with coconut oil. I baked it and it made a lovely, fall-themed, refined-sugar free dessert. Good for breakfast too.

Nigel and I had an interesting chat on Thursday about what the social implications have been of this diet, for both of us. There are some things that are odd about eating like this, which I wouldn't want to make permanent. I think it's generally good to eat a variety of fruits, even sugary ones, as well as mushrooms, vinegar, a small amount of aged cheese, oatmeal, and coffee and tea. I plan to resume eating all those things. But so much of what this has taught me is the importance of planning, cooking, and eating natural foods. With the exception of Thursday's sushi, I haven't eaten out now for nearly six weeks. It was only hard for the first two - then it just became a habit. A few people have said to me that they could not do this - frankly, I don't believe it. It's just not that hard. So much of the ability to do something is just telling yourself you can.

It's really a misnomer to call this a "diet." I don't like the word with its implications of starving, fads, and extreme measures. It's really partly a cleanse (to get rid of the Candida) and partly a way to re-train yourself about how to eat. It's so weird that choosing to eat this way (clean, home-cooked, whole foods) is making me seem strange. For both Nigel and I at this point, eating processed foods all the time, eating food that's full of sugar - that is what seems strange.

Feeling fantastic

I felt pretty fantastic this morning, eating a beautiful, simple breakfast of mixed berries on yogurt. A veggie and chicken wrap for lunch, and I think dinner will be spaghetti bolognese. Minor changes to make these foods Candida Diet friendly: no sweetener in the yogurt, soft cheese instead of aged cheese in the wrap and no mayo or mustard, and the tortilla is made of brown rice, corn-based spaghetti and no mushrooms in the sauce, or parmesan on top.
It's great, enjoyable food though, and I'm feeling so healthy now. Although I wasn't even aiming to improve my headaches, I have only had one headache in the entire month I've been eating this way - awesomely unusual for me. My digestion is now much better and is especially good when I remember to drink lots of water. I'm still getting the odd stomach ache, but when the candida diet is over I'm going to switch out some of the yogurt I've been eating for oatmeal and see if that doesn't help. Among the symptoms I've noticed decreasing are PMS, tiredness, afternoon fatigue and crankiness, cravings, and acne.
I also think my immune system is up because I keep thinking I am coming down with a cold and then fight it off in about a day. I have also, so far, lost 13 pounds in just under 5 weeks - a nice average of 2.5 lbs a week. Whats more, I've met an objective even more important to me - I've gotten rid of the cravings for junk, taught myself how to eat mostly healthy food and enjoy it, and not feel deprived so that I can keep this up, keep losing weight and getting healthier over the winter.
I would recommend this to anyone, with one warning - if you want try this, you must know or be willing to learn how to cook.