13 August 2008 No Comment

I’m going through a lot right now. I’m overwhelmed. I feel defeated emotionally. I’ve been cheating on my diet. I was eating so well before, and now I’m trying to get back on track. I’m going through a divorce, am a single mom who’s about to go back to school in a couple weeks, moved this past weekend to a new city (my old hometown) after 18 years by the ocean, and I’m trying to do my freelance web design before my son wakes up in the morning since he no longer naps. I need to find a preschool for him quickly so that I have a set time to work. I had three clients contact me by Tuesday to check on my progress. I don’t want to use my personal problems as an excuse, so not all of my clients know that I’ve moved and that I’m going through a divorce.

Because I just moved and my kitchen is still half in boxes, it’s been difficult to cook (let alone find the ingredients I need. Also, because I’m near family, they want to go out to eat. It’s difficult to eat out when you have Candida because the dishes usually have something that’s forbidden, whether it’s vinegar on the salad or wheat flour on the breaded fish (the only fish on the menu). Going out to eat with friends and family is challenging. I also went to my best friend’s house for dinner, and she served spaghetti. I had to eat it because it was the only thing served.

I was raised to not be a picky eater. If you’re a picky eater, you make things difficult for other people. It’s rude and inconveniences your hosts. So now when I got somewhere, I have to cheat. I try to eat the least offensive thing that I can and don’t complain. Of course, I felt bloated after eating the spaghetti, as I do when eating food with gluten. My stomach was nearly flat when I was following the diet, and my digestion felt much better. Now I’m back to feeling bloated, and I’m trying to get back on track.

My mom brought me some home-grown Japanese eggplant, basil, tomatoes and zucchini yesterday. I made us chicken satay skewers with the almond butter sauce with a side of eggplant cooked in ginger, garlic, coconut oil and basil. (You can find the recipes on this website.) It was yummy. I need to continue eating like that. My three-and-a-half-year-old ate everything on his plate. He liked dipping the chicken in the sauce.

I realize the importance of the diet after straying from it for a few days at a time (first at Disneyland and again when I moved). I feel much better when I follow the strict diet. I love eating these gluten-free, dairy-free (soy milk), sugar-free (Xylitol) blueberry-almond muffins that I made. I love the texture of eating something bready again while knowing that I’m putting something good into my body.

I’m taking all of my herbs and attacking my nervous stomach issues. I know that the Candida diet and cleanse helped, but they didn’t help 100%. I’m trying to support my digestive health as much as possible. I’ll report back on my results since I just started taking the new herbs a couple days ago. Too many changes are driving me insane…