Candida is a Bitch!

I have completely changed how I eat over the last couple of years.  I went from eating the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) to a vegetarian, to vegan, then to nutritarian.  Now I have to restrict my eating even more because of Candida overgrowth.  I have had this Candida problem for so long now that I also suffer from Adrenal Fatigue.  There are many symptoms that come with both of these conditions but the ones I suffer from are:

1. Fatigue 
1. I find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning even if I did have a good nights sleep, which is usually about 4-5 hours a night
2. I'm also usually tired throughout the day.  I feel like I could take a nap but never can.
2. Headache
3. Depression
4. Irritability
5. Dizziness
6. PMS
7. Joint and muscle pain
8. Nail fungus 
1. I've lost part of my big toenail and part of my middle fingernail
9. Fingers peeling
1. My thumbs peel every 2 weeks.  This can be very unsightly not to mention painful when the new skin is exposed and old skin is ripping off.
10. Intense sugar and salt cravings

So that's a lot of crap to deal with on a daily basis and has motivated me even more to not just lose weight, but to get healthy!  

I recently started a cleanse and ant-candida diet.  Let me just say it's not easy!  I have to give up some of my favorite foods now like peanut butter, sweet fruits, and starchy vegetables!  I know it won't last forever though and even after 4 days of this, I can actually tell a slight difference.  My muscle and joint pain actually has been tolerable the last two days.  Most of the time my back and feet hurt so bad that I can't concentrate on other things which also makes me extremely irritable.  Last couple of days though I have actually not noticed it as bad.  So I know there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm actually following the candida diet on this website .  I've been doing the detox drink which is just water, lemon, apple cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper.  I'm not going to lie, it's nasty and it burns going down!  But it only lasts a couple of minutes and if it will make me feel better, I'm going to do it!  

I also bought the Body Ecology Diet book and am excited to learn more about this.  I'm sure a book review will be in a future post! 

Since I can't have any sugar and am really craving sweet foods, I searched last night to find something that would be a good alternative.  Let me tell you this stuff is awesome and you should make it even if you don't suffer from Candida!  Sunbutter chocolate bars from Sketch-free Eating.  Very simple to make, coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, stevia, vanilla extract, and carob powder.  I topped mine with more raw sunflower seeds and unsweetened shredded coconut!  Yummy, balance has been restored! lol :)  

Trying new things and giving up the old

Cheese was really hard for me to give up when I decided to be a Nutritarian.  Parmesan was probably the hardest of the cheeses to give up because it adds a distinctive texture to dishes.

Today I made homemade Vegetable Pasta Salad with homemade garlic bread.  I started with this Minestrone Pasta Salad as a base and then altered it.  I used bowtie pasta because that's what I had.  I added baby kale to the pasta water about 1 minute before it was done.  I also added fresh mushrooms and onions.  Instead of using italian dressing with oil in it, I used this recipe from Vegan Coach and let me tell you, it's delicious!  Instead of using regular Parmesan Cheese I made a recipe for Cheesy Sprinkle from Plant Powered Kitchen.

I think I'm in love with the Cheesy Sprinkle recipe!  I took a loaf a bread I got on sale from the bakery and added garlic and sprinkled the Cheesy sprinkle on top and broiled it for a few minutes.  Yummy!  Now I have plenty of Cheesy sprinkle and italian dressing for salads for the rest of the week.

The Scale is Evil!

I don't know about you guys but I think the scale is Evil! When I am doing well it gets my hopes up to find out the next day I am not doing that well.   It messes with your head! The scale is not your friend!!! I lost 1.4 lbs this week now I should be happy! I exercised my butt off as well!  I am proud of myself but I figured all the hard work deserved more than 1.4 lbs.   So I start to think of ways I can get rid of it! I could set fire to it.  I could blow it up:) I day dream about all the ways I can hack away at it.   Stupid thing it is so small and it controls how you feel for the day or week sometimes! I like to think I am better but who knows! After I think I will give the scale again to my hubby to hide from me then I get a panic attack.  What the heck is wrong with me?  I really want to start focusing on how my clothes feel! I still want to weigh myself but its more for if what I am doing is working! I hate to go 3 months and realize what I think is working does not.  I probably have all the excuses in the world.  So my words of wisdom get rid of the scale and weigh once a month:)

week one 7.4 pounds lost!

Today I am really excited because I lost 7.4 lbs since last Monday! I know it could be water I don't care the scale went down.  I did it with yogurt and a muffin for breakfast. Lunch was a PB & J sandwich and carrots and hummus.  Dinner was usually chicken and veggies. I usually had turkey pepperoni and cheese as a snack.  If I did get hungry I just add another yogurt.  So far it is working for me so I am going to stick with it!  It is simple and that is what I need in my life right now. I do exercise everyday as well!  I won't lie though I am scared I might mess up! I mean I do all the time that is why I usually can't keep my weight off!  I do have a lot of people though that are encouraging me and helping me.  I am so blessed:)

I would say week 1 success:)

Slow and steady wins the race

I hit another milestone today...151 pounds is gone (and never coming back!).  I have to admit that this is a very sweet moment for me because it seems like it has taken me forever to get here!

When I first started Weight Watchers the weight was coming off pretty fast (although at the time I didn't think so).  I watch shows like Biggest Loser and wish I could have numbers like that every week.  But I know I can't because I don't put the work in like they do.

I am very proud of this moment though and I realize that in order for me to keep the weight off, it's going to have to be slow and steady.  I'm ok with that because I have also completely changed my lifestyle, from what I eat to what I do.  I even do Pilates while I watch TV so that I can get in some extra exercise.  I would have never done that before!

I told myself a long time ago that I would set goals and rewards for myself because sometimes the scale is just not enough (we all know it lies!).  When I hit my 150 pound goal my reward was to buy the TRX training system for home.  It's been in my Amazon wish list for awhile but now I can buy it!

2008 on the left (with Charlie), 2011 in the middle and 2013 on the right

Homemade Treats for My Best Friend

If I am going to make my own food so that I can be healthy, why wouldn't I do the same thing for my best friend?  I want us to be healthy together so we can do what we both love...have outdoor adventures.

Today I made homemade chicken jerky and Peanut Butter Banana Treats.  The chicken jerky was easy.  It was an already cooked piece of chicken breast that my husband didn't want anymore.  So I just sliced it real thin and put in the oven on 200 degrees until it was dried out.  Charlie approves!

I adapted the peanut butter banana treats based on Whole Foods Market's recipe.  I made my own oat flour and peanut butter in the Vitamix.  I also added ground flax seed because it is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which are good for his skin and coat.  I also added granulated garlic because well, it's flea season again and it also is an immune booster.

Tastes do change over time!

I can remember a couple years ago when my bfff Kristie told me she was going to follow the Eat to Live program.  I thought she was crazy and I thought to myself, "I could never do that, I can't give up cheese!"  I remember she even let me try some of her Almond Milk.  I would have never bought it unless she let me try it, because let's be honest, it sounds weird and gross or at least it did to me.  :)  Now I exclusively use Almond or Rice milk.  Thanks for hooking me up btw!
I am living, walking proof that tastes can and do change!  I never liked fresh mushrooms and would sometimes tolerate the ones in jars.  Now I eat fresh mushrooms almost every day!
There are a couple things that helped me be willing to try new things:

• My pickings were slim--I had eliminated meat, dairy, and most processed foods.  Once I did, I realized that was the majority of what I ate!  So I had no other choice but to find new foods to eat because I still love food and was still hungry!
• I wanted to get healthy--I suffered from GERD, migraines, and sleep apnea.  I was in pain all day, everyday.  Pain is a powerful motivator for change!
• I wanted to lose weight--I was tired of letting life pass me by because I was too heavy to do anything.  I used to hate summer because I couldn't wear shorts and would just sit and sweat.  Ugh that is no way to live.  Now the more weight I lose, I hate winter because I'm so cold all the time, but I would never gain the weight back.  I'll take summer now!  :)  I'm not saying that I rock the summer wear but at this point I feel good about the 146 pounds I have lost and if anyone wants to look at the fat I have left, go for it, because it will be gone too, sooner or later!
• I wanted to feel good about my choices--I do feel better about the food choices I am making because it physically and mentally makes me feel good.  How can you not feel good about eating healthy foods?  The more colorful they are the better they make me feel!

Today was a rough day with all kinds of stuff going wrong (took Charlie to the vet for a bad leg, washer flooded the laundry room, and I got a migraine on top of it all).  Normally I would have just said let's order a pizza.  I actually considered it today but then thought about how bad it would make me feel.  

So I had a spaghetti squash that needed to be cooked.  I poked it with a fork a few times and threw it in the microwave for 10 minutes.  While it was cooking, I cut up two onions, 10 cloves of garlic, a pound of mushrooms, and a handful of cherry tomatoes.  When the squash was done I cut it open and let it cool.  Meanwhile I sauteed my garlic, onions, and mushrooms.  I scooped the seeds out of the spaghetti squash and then used a fork to get the "spaghetti" out, which I added to my pan.  I added a can of diced tomatoes and some fresh parsley and let it all cook together for about 5 minutes.  This was so yummy for my tummy!  

With everyone around me getting sick, I kicked up the dose of the garlic because I know it helps build your immune system up.  I have yet to get sick this year or last when everyone else was passing around the flu and nasty colds!  Plus garlic helps when you are suffering from arthritis!  The parsley is also an anti-inflammatory and helps you build a healthy immune system!  Not to mention the health benefits of mushrooms and onions...according to Dr. Fuhrman, we should be eating G-BOMBS everyday!  What are G-BOMBS?  Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, and Seeds. Check out his article to learn more about why you should do your best to eat these foods everyday!