It is a miracle I haven’t given this up.
(In case you don’t know what “this” is, here’s the original post on the diet and my reasons for doing it.)
If I had a dollar every time I thought of just sneaking a roll or taking a huge bite out of the whole cheese block, I would easily have been able to buy myself a few new editions of Harry Potter and about 20 hot chocolates from 7-11, to boot.
But somehow, despite my urges almost every other hour to just give up and try again a different time (preferably during a season when there aren’t so many delectable goodies around), I’ve stuck with it.
I haven’t always been happy about it, but I’ve stuck with it.
It is a bit true what they say though, about the first 4-5 days being the hardest. Now, being almost halfway through, it is generally easier to say no to off-limits foods and just nosh on a piece of fruit instead. One thing that helped my willpower enormously was when I discovered some sweet snacks I could substitute in while on this diet, among them rice cakes with peanut butter slathered on top and these protein balls, which are basically made from peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and hemp seeds (don’t even get me started on how long it took me to find ingredients for said protein balls though…have you ever tried looking for a dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, corn-free bag of chocolate chips? Yeah, it’s ridiculous). So that’s helped enormously because now I feel significantly less deprived (although the sight of fresh-made rolls at my family’s Christmas party last Sunday nearly made me weep).
But the big question is–have I noticed a difference?
Well, yes and no. I know that many people don’t start noticing a super significant difference until about two weeks in, so I realize that some of these conclusions are surely preliminary. But I can say that my digestive system is certainly happier overall, and I can also say that I’ve managed to lose about 5 pounds, which, although it isn’t much, is actually pretty impressive considering that I hadn’t basically been able to lose any weight before while being on the Prednisone.
Also, my skin rash seems to be clearing up even more quickly than it was before, which is the main reason I’m still on all the medications to begin with. I haven’t gone back to my doctor yet, but I’m hoping that with all these positive changes, he’ll be able to give me a timeline on how long I’ll still have to be on the meds (whereas up to this point, it’s just been a waiting game with no end in sight).
So all in all, I have mostly positive things to report, at least on the symptom front. However, lest you think it’s all peanut butter rainbows and dairy-free chocolate unicorns over here, I will say that I’m still lacking in energy much of the time (despite eating more than I did the first week) and that my digestive system isn’t always singing songs of praise. And that’s not to mention the inconvenience of not being able to go out to eat and to have to call ahead to family parties to make sure I won’t have to bring all of my own food. Oh, and, you know, the fact that it’s basically the pits not to be able to eat basically any of the holiday goodness that’s all around me.
In the end, I’m hoping it’s worth the sacrifice. If I’m able to go off the meds sooner than I would have been able to otherwise, it definitely will be.
Here’s just hoping I can keep this up…I’ve already come thisclose about five different times in the past 48 hours to just adding in dairy again dangit…
