Mixed success on the diet

I have been on a vegan, highly organic, diet for the last two weeks. I have also been gluten-free. What grains I did allow myself were whole and organic (mostly brown rice). And while I did not totally give up caffeine, I got it down to green (usually organic) tea in the a.m. only. Could I have been more restrictive in my eating habits? Sure. Could I have kept it up for any length of time? No way. I got as restrictive as I thought I could keep to.

I embarked on this quest in an attempt to fight chronic pain and inflammation, some digestive issues, and possibly as a means to lose a few pounds. I guess two out of three isn't bad.

I have lost about ten pounds in two weeks, and my tummy and I are on much better terms. Unfortunately, my pain situation has not changed much. Right now I am in enough pain to want to put my fist through a wall, just to have something else to think about.

I plan to stick with the vegan/organic thing for a few more days. I have enjoyed some serious tummy benefits, so I will probably fall back to this after Thanksgiving in one form or another.

But, to my fellow pain sufferers out there who were hoping for abatement through dietary restriction, it didn't do me a lick of good. Maybe you'd have better luck. It just didn't work for me.

A week of healthy eating

As mentioned in my November 3rd post, I have been trying to eat healthier to diminish inflammation and maybe drop a few pounds. I have not noticed an appreciable decrease in pain and inflammation. However, I have lost about six pounds in the last ten days.

I thought I was being pretty good. I hadn't allowed myself any dairy in the last four days. Or, so I thought. It turns out that my evening frozen coconut bar has skim milk in it! I discovered this yesterday. So, I did not allow myself one last night. Also, I've been having soy sauce on some of my food. The bottle that I have at home contains wheat. Since I'm trying to stay away from gluten, I need to kick that for a while as well.

Though I'm loving the weight loss, the primary goal was pain reduction. I plan to give this another week to see if there is an improvement. Then, I need to start baking and cooking for my church holiday fair, and for our own Thanksgiving gathering. So, I'll be off the wagon by Thursday the 20th. Starting December 1st, I'll be back on the wagon, but with the primary goal of weight reduction. (Holidays and dieting are a pretty silly combination, no?)

Trying to eat healthy, at least in the short term

Over the last few months, I have been feeling worse and worse. My back and other muscle pain has increased. My digestive system is not operating optimally. And, my weight is headed in the wrong direction. Plus, my insomnia is as bad as ever. So, I decided to try something different.

I just embarked on a two week mild detox. I'm easing into a vegan diet, with the added strictures of no gluten and no alcohol. I'd like to ditch caffeine too, but let's not get crazy here. As a compromise, I'm only allowing myself green tea for my caffeine fix. I'm also trying to eat organically whenever possible. I have a few cups of yogurt that I want to finish up before I cut the dairy out of my diet. Plus, I may have some bubbly to celebrate on election night (or to drown my sorrows). After that, I plan to spend two weeks on this regime.

I am hoping to reduce my general inflammation levels. I also might inadvertently drop a few pounds. I started on Saturday. So far, so good.