Candida cleanse, week 1

The candida cleanse has officially begun! I changed my diet again a week ago, and have not eaten wheat, corn, dairy, eggs, any kind of sugar (exceptions include green apples and lemons), fermented foods, bread products, and miscellaneous products such as mushrooms, most processed foods, and sauces. This new cleanse mirrors the Kris Carr cleanse in some ways, but cutting sugar (including natural sugars in fruit) as well has provided a new and interesting challenge. I'm allowed a moderate amount of starchy veggies and grains (brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc), and this cleanse allows for meat. So, how's it going so far?

because it's pretty :)

During week 1, I experienced many of the "die-off" symptoms described in my packet, such as fatigue, slight fever, cold symptoms, and irritability. It didn't help that it was a stressful week at work, but it's kind of hard to ignore a mild fever which crops up out of nowhere. Luckily the cold symptoms lasted no more than two days, and I've been feeling much better. As my menu is somewhat limited, I've been eating a LOT of different vegetables, some grains such as quinoa and brown rice, chicken, almonds / almond butter, rice cakes, celery and hummus, etc. Spinach salad with olive oil, a splash of lemon, and chia seeds has become a lunch staple. If you don't know about chia seeds yet, learn about them here. I LOVE them - they are an easy addition to a meal and they really fill me up.

Is my skin fully clear yet? No, but I've noticed other things which are changing. My fingers and toes which used to be chronically cold are warm to the touch. I slept deeply for a few nights in a row. My eyes continue to get brighter. I'm nowhere near out of the woods yet at only 1 week in, and am anticipating that I'll likely end up on this cleanse much longer than I originally thought. In the meantime though, between the previous cleanse and this one, I'm fitting into clothes I haven't worn in years. Since January, I've lost over 12 pounds! I can also feel some of these lifestyle changes beginning to stick. The juicing is old hat at this point; I can eat roasted broccoli, salad, and baked sweet potato for dinner and not feel like I'm missing out too much. These are good things to recognize, as I enter a season of birthday / holiday celebrations. I sat out the first round of cake / wine this past weekend, and will enter round 2 this coming weekend. I'll even have to bring my own dinner on Easter. Eyes on the goal, Elizabeth! I keep reminding myself. :) Sugar is such a hard addiction to kick.

It was nice to sit in the doctor's waiting room today while I was waiting for more chiropractic help - some of the other women in the office talked to me about their own experiences with candida cleansing. To think I'd never heard of this a few months ago, and now my symptoms make sense and have pulled me into a different type of healthy-living community. I love journeys - don't you? Who knew I'd end up here.