Diet Update…and My Trip!!!
It’s been a while since I last gave an update on my diet. As a reminder, I’ve been doing an anti-candida diet (I’m in my seventh week) following the protocols and recipes from this book: After two weeks on the diet, I had about a 50% improvement in my symptoms (which were… sorry… TMI coming up… chronic diarrhea). I was feeling pretty great… and then I got sick. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure it was Covid. I had cold-like symptoms, pink eye, and lingering fatigue and headaches for about two weeks. And- my digestion went, literally, into the toilet. This has happened to me before- Covid just seems to find your weak spot and wreak havoc there. While I was happily following the diet for the first two weeks, the last four weeks I’ve been angrily following it. It doesn’t make sense to go off the diet now- “Oh, my digestion sucks, I guess I should start eating bagels and potato chips again!”- but as I’ve mentioned, this diet is very restrictive, and it’s not fun to follow it and not see improvements. So that’s the (sad) update. Now let’s talk about my trip! I’m SO EXCITED. On Saturday I fly to Texas. My son is playing in an orchestra at a summer music festival, and I’ll get to hear his last concert. On Sunday we’ll start driving his car to Chicago. We’ll drive Sunday and Monday, and arrive at my sister and BIL’s place Monday evening. We’ll spend two days with them, and then Paul and I will fly back to Florida on Thursday (leaving his car there, to be picked up in September when he goes back to start Northwestern). This trip has ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS. I’m flying on an airplane by myself! (Lots of reading time). I get to hear my son play, and then we’ll have a road trip together. THEN, I get to see my sister. Best of all, at the end of it, Paul will be coming home with me. The looming question is… what about my diet? Am I going to stay on it while traveling? Will that even be possible? GREAT questions. It would be possible to stay on the diet completely, but very, very hard and inconvenient. Last time I talked to my son, he was full of plans- we can stop at our favorite taco place in Austin and get tacos for lunch! And when we drive through Waco we can go to that coffee place where you got the Earl Grey you loved so much! I could say no to these things, and find a place to get a plain salad. And I could tell my sister to go to Whole Foods and get a bunch of specialty items for me, which I would eat instead of whatever they plan to make for us. BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE THAT PERSON. I don’t want to make the trip all about me and my limited food choices. And… I want to enjoy myself. Obviously. So I’m going to do my best. I’ll stay on the diet when possible, and other than that I’ll have some planned cheats. I’ll bring food along with me, and make the best possible choices while we’re on the road. My sister and I have already been talking (she knows me well after all these years) and she has some things planned that I can eat, and some dinner ideas where we can all eat pretty much the same thing (with slight modifications for me). It won’t be perfect, but I’ll enjoy myself (and the cups of Earl Grey that are one of my planned cheats!) and then when I get home, I’ll get back on the diet. So that’s my life updates! It could all be summed up by saying on Saturday I’m starting a really fun trip- with a packet of Imodium (JUST IN CASE). How’s your summer going? Any trips planned? Any poop stories? (JUST KIDDING on that last one- I mean, I’m not Kyria.) Top photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash