Candida Diet: Week 1

Why am I starting the Candida Diet?  Read Part 1 HERE

What is Candida?  Read Part 2 HERE

 

 

 

Today marks my 9th day of being on my new diet.  Last friday, when I had officially decided that this was what I needed to do, Jess and I had one last HOO-RAH and went out to eat at Olive Garden.  As I sat eating my breadsticks, creamy alfredo, fried chicken parmesan, and slurping a cold sugary pina colada, I quickly realized that this food is CRAP. Yeah it is fun to go out to dinner and yes some of the food tastes good at the time but all in all, I LOVE homemade FRESH food WAY better.  And it was such an eye opener when we left and Jess could not stop groaning and saying he was SO FULL he wanted to DIE. 

I thought I would be so sad to start this diet, thinking of all the foods I was going to miss and how depressing it was going to be.  But after eating out that night I was even MORE motivated. I was READY to start my diet the next day.  Usually we always say, "I'll start on Monday" but I've tried that too many times with little success.  So this time I figured, why not start at the hardest time...

THE WEEKEND.

 

So here is an overview of what I ate this week:

Breakfasts:

- 3 Scrambled Eggs w/ salt & pepper only.  Paired with turkey bacon or a SMALL helping of hashbrowns

- My vegan pea protein smoothie w/ no banana  (The protein has a little sugar in it so I'll have to cut that out from now on)

- Antioxidant Berry Smoothie made with berries, spinach, & coconut milk

 

Lunches: (Most lunches were leftovers dinners from the night before)

- 2 Green Chile Pork Enchiladas (no cheese) w/ salsa

- Grilled Tri-tip steak w/ steamed broccoli

- Lemon & Smoked Sea Salt Tilapia Fillet w/ steamed zucchini

- Roasted Red Potatoes w/ steamed veggies

- Chicken Nachos made with just chopped chicken, guacamole, & salsa

- Chicken Veggie Soup

 

Dinners:

- Green Chile Pork Nachos w/ guacamole

- Roasted Red Potatoes w/ steamed veggies

- Sloppy Joes (no sugar added) served over shredded cabbage

- Grilled Steak w/ side salad topped with  homemade vegan ranch dressing

- We ate out this weekend at Costa Vida & Chipotle

   At costa vida I got a small chicken salad (no tortilla, cheese, or ranch) I did get VERY small helpings of the rice and beans but I am not sure if they make their rice with butter.  I also asked for extra pico to help moisten the salad since I couldn't get ranch.  I ate every last ounce of it and it was delicious.

  Chipotle is just the best fast food place on the PLANET! They are very dedicated to serving fresh, real food and catering to those on special diets.  ALL food is gluten free (minus tortilla of course) All food is dairy free (minus obvious cheese and sour cream) and everything is made without sugar (excluding their honey vinegrette)  I got a chicken bowl with SMALL helpings of the rice and beans. I also brought my own guac and chips so I didn't have to pay $4 for them  :)

 

Snacks:

The hardest part about this week was not knowing what to snack on.  I can't have fruit unless it is for breakfast and and on an empty stomach, and it can only be the LOW LOW sugar fruits.  So this week I snacked on:  Tortilla chips & salsa, homemade almond onion crackers, sliced cucumber, raw almonds & pecans, and tried to drink TONS AND TONS of water to keep me full.

 

Physical & Mental Changes I saw this week:

- I found that I only had meltdowns (crying and all) 2 times during these 9 days and they were when I had failed to plan and was so hungry that I felt nauseous and my body was craving sugar.  As soon as I got food in my stomach I felt fine.

- Noticed that my acne instantly started clearing up, my face is not as discolored and red and I don't have the painful, irritating cystic acne anymore.

- No episodes of painful digestion such as bloating, cramps, etc.  Stomach always felt happy and calm

- Biggest Change I noticed right off the bat is my ezcema stopped itching on my hand.  It INSTANTLY started to heal on day 2 of the diet and has continued to heal and slowly diminish.  Remember, I have had this on my hand for 10 YEARS, I've tried every cream both medical and natural to try and get it to go away. 

 

Check out these photos! Kinda gross but hey this is what I had to live with everyday.

 

Ezcema on my left hand: DAY 1



 

Day 5

 



 

Day 9

 

I'm terrified to start another week but I feel like I have a better grasp on the diet already.  I can't wait to see how I feel this week as I start my "CANDIDA CLEANSE" supplements.  The pill are designed to kill the yeast cells and when candida dies, they release TONS of toxins into your body that usually make you feel pretty crappy for the first few days.. not looking forward to that  :)  But it's all uphill from there!  I'll be posting some recipes in the next couple days and will also report about my week next Sunday.

 

WISH ME LUCK