the Diet: how it's going

Because I know it's keeping you all awake at night, here's a little update on how the diet is going.

Here's the truth: it's not very fun.  I miss a pretty much everything I am now allowed to eat, but I try hard not to complain about it.   In spite of the challenges, I haven't cheated.  Here I am, 23 days in.  I am not sure what the next few months look like, but I'm feeling good about how it's going.

There have been some "die-off" symptoms.   Basically that means that things get worse before they get better.  It's expected and normal when following this kind of regimen.  Mine haven't been terribly severe, though, and I am very thankful.  From what I've heard, they could be a lot worse.

Basically, I'm focusing on eating plenty of vegetables, fermented vegetables, and protein.   That last one, being pregnant, is a huge one.  As for beverages, I'm only drinking water and stevia-sweetened drinks.  

Here is an example of what I might eat in a day's time.  These photos are from yesterday. Keep in mind that the red plates are huge!

Breakfast: two scrambled eggs with basil, fermented garlic-carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and water. 

Lunch:  turkey slices (from Applegate Farms), a hard-boiled egg, red pepper slices, fermented zucchini-ginger relish, several tablespoons of sunbutter (to dip my vegetable in), and stevia-sweetened limeade. 

(I usually have a large green salad for lunch, topped with protein foods and such, but there are some days when I feel I just can't face another salad.  This was one such day.)

Snack: If I'm hungry, I'll usually have some sprouted sunflower seeds.  I haven't been very hungry lately, though...at least not in the afternoon.

Dinner:  Quinoa hash (red potatoes and soaked, cooked quinoa are the star ingredients here), green beans,  fermented turnips/beets) and water.

Sometimes I have a little stove-popped popcorn in the evening, but grains, grain-like seeds, and starchy vegetables must be eaten at least 4-5 hours after a "protein meal" (eggs, meat, etc.).  So I have to be careful about timing such indulgences.  Recently I bought myself some blue corn chips (allowed on the diet if you can tolerate them), and really enjoyed them.  Eating those chips felt so...normal!

In short, although I'm doing alright, I find myself feeling very self-conscious about the whole thing.  As in, "Oh my goodness, I'm a freak!"  But I know that many others have walked this road, and as I'd said before, I believe that it's for the best.  So here I am, doing the best I know how...and trying not to think too much about those juicy, ripe summer peaches.