Day 11 - Reflecting on first week

I've officially finished the first week so I am sitting down trying to record any changes that have occurred this week.  I have less pain and less bloating, but am still exhausted,  have stinky farts, and now reek of garlic (I like to call it parfum de garlique) and my boyfriend is making himself scarce. Hmmmm.....
Well overall it's an improvement, I think. I have been doing a lot of research, and remarkably I have convinced myself I have leaky gut syndrome. When it was first presented to me, I immediately dismissed the idea when I read the diet detox that came along with the treatment.  The symptoms, history, and progression all make sense. Now the diet doesn't seem so intimidating since I'm immersed in it. I am still hungry a lot of the time but it does seem to be getting easier.  I've eaten out once or twice and seeing pictures of desserts was the hardest temptation to overcome but my dinner guests have not ordered food that I would be too tempted to eat.  The stipulation when eating out comes down to surviving day by day- I can not have certain items within arms reach (at this time). Don't you dare order sweet potato fries, onion rings, anything with cheese or dessert. I must be a lot of fun to eat with. More to come later...
My biggest challenge today comes from stomach pain keeping my appetite to a minimum. Last night I sliced my finger open and went into shock which caused my stomach to cramp up.  I am still feeling the effects today, like a hangover plus a throbbing finger. If I don't eat I feel worse so my "go-to" is a liquid diet anytime I'm not feeling up to digesting. Unfortunately, my injury will cause me to miss participating in trapeze class or rock climbing for some time.  I will need to find something in the meantime to spark my interest while getting some exercise. Any ideas?
I want to tell you about the amazing cauliflower "sauce" I made by accident, but I must go to bed so you'll have to check back tomorrow.  I bet you can hardly wait.

Sardine lunch, not so tasty

Food Journal Day 8 Tuesday

Breakfast: protein shake with spinach, carrot juice, coconut yogurt, and blackberries
Lunch: sardines, avocado, leftover sweet potato wedges, plum
Snack: apple and kiwi with fresh squeezed orange juice
Dinner: salmon and yellowtail sashimi, seaweed, daikon, green tea

Food Journal Day 9 Wednesday
Breakfast: protein shake with spinach, carrot juice, 1 oz. pomegranate juice, blackberries
Lunch: pesto marinated haddock, grapefruit
Snack: cherries
Snack: cucumber slices with sea salt, roasted garlic, pickled ginger
Dinner: lemon baked salmon, gingered beet greens, cauliflower mashed "potatoes"

Food Journal  Day 10 Thursday
Breakfast: protein shake with spinach, orange juice, blueberries, pomegranate juice, aloe juice
Lunch: leftover salmon, wilted spinach, strawberries
Dinner: few bites of roasted vegetables, asparagus (catfish and dinner interrupted by slicing finger open with mandolin then going into shock- no appetite after that)

Having pain after breakfast smoothie, not feeling great, felt better after eating lunch but an hour after that started having grumbling and more pain, headache- smoothie was too sweet this morning, used OJ, all that was available when not at home

Food Journal Day 11 Friday

Breakfast: protein shake with spinach, cranberry juice, strawberries 
Lunch: protein shake with spinach, carrot juice, blueberries, cultured coconut yogurt
Dinner: lemon shrimp, roasted butternut squash, steamed broccoli

Day 7- a little improvement despite the sugar hauntings

It's Monday and I'm feeling a little better today although I feel like I have a Benadryl hangover but I didn't take Benadryl. It doesn't seem to be the flu, just a nasty cold. I prepped food this morning for the rest of the day and I'm hoping that is the key to my success.  Where I'm having trouble is the middle of the day, lunch time and snacks.  If I don't have something to eat that's ready, I lose any energy to make something and end up feeling hungry because I don't know what to eat.  For the majority of this past week, I have felt hungry during the day.  I have seen a trend already, I am substituting any sugar/carb habit with fruit.  I am eating a lot more fruit, also because it's easy, no cooking! So I'm being watchful of how much fruit I'm eating at this point although I think I need to be easy on myself and make the sugar transition slow.  I am going through sugar withdrawals for sure, my body is trying to convince me that I might die if I don't get my hands on a pop tart soon.  I dream about them at night, daydream about ripping open their shiny silver package and devouring both with such joy and ecstasy that my mouth waters in anticipation.  Weird, huh? Of all things, I'm obsessing about pop tarts.  I thought it would be brownies or chocolate chip cookies. I've required no such items be brought into the house at this time as I will have no will power not to attack the deliverer and rip it out if their hands, causing harm to them if they attempt to defend the said box of pop tarts.
I feel a little crazy.

I have opted for professional help in the food department, although I may need other professional help if the sugar cravings get worse. I have enlisted my friend Virginia to help me come up with ideas how to incorporate the vegetables and general ideas so I don't have to feel hungry and deprived. She is an amazing chef, check out her website http://thekitchenmistress.com/blog/. She blows me away every time I am lucky enough to eat her creations. You have no idea how ridiculous the camping experience is with her.

Last night I cooked dinner for my boyfriend's mother. Let's just say I was nervous to come up with something that I could eat and would not make her hate me/vomit. I was pleasantly surprised to find some inspiration on this blog http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/. She has mouth watering pictures that gave me an idea (see lemon linguine with basil pesto shrimp) to adjust to my diet.  I used spaghetti squash in place of the linguine and I made my own pesto with basil, garlic, olive oil and toasted pumpkin seeds.  I marinated the shrimp in half the pesto and added lemon juice and zest to the rest for a lighter sauce to cover the "noodles". I sauteed thin asparagus on my flat griddle and cut into bite size pieces before tossing it all together. It turned out delicious! Unfortunately, it was not very photogenic as my green sauce looked sickly so I don't have a picture to share with you.

On a different note, I am having some difficulty taking the supplements I've been prescribed.  My throat has begun anticipatory shrinking and my stomach is rejecting them by forcing them out the way they came in. Mostly it's the amount, 13 pills to swallow, twice a day but the worst part is the taste and smell. The GI Synergy herbal and fatty acid supplement includes garlic, so when I open the package I get an instant wave of nausea. Then, swallowing six pills one at a time, elongating the process so they don't get stuck in my throat,  my stomach rebels against me and forces burps with a foul stench that even my boyfriend can't pretend not to notice. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I do feel as pretty as I sound. It just keeps getting better and better. And yes, I will share with you all these disgusting facts, so that you do not have to feel like the only ogre if you go through this someday.

Food Journal Day 5
Breakfast: coconut yogurt with blueberries
Lunch: Thai soup with avocado, grapefruit (soup was from a box, not diet friendly but too sick to really care)
Dinner: steamed artichoke with lemon vinaigrette dipping sauce
Snack: homemade cherry bites ( see note on this below)
and yes, I felt hungry all day

Cherry bites: I mixed unsweetened shredded coconut with flax meal and coconut milk and chopped cherries, formed balls with an ice cream scooper (best cookie utensil) and baked for 15 minutes at 325 F for a toasty treat that is technically on my diet but pushing the line.  They are not very sweet at all but a perfect substitution for my cookie fix.

Coconut flax cherry bites

Food Journal Day 6
Breakfast: protein shake 
Snack: apricot, pumpkin seeds
Lunch:? don't remember if I ate lunch
Dinner: pesto shrimp with spaghetti squash and asparagus
Snack: cherry bite, herbal tea

Food Journal Day 7
Breakfast: protein shake with spinach, carrot juice, blueberries, coconut yogurt
Snack: toasted pumpkin seeds, 1/2 fresh squeezed orange juice
Lunch: leftover shrimp and squash dinner
Snack: golden beet with shallot salt
Dinner: pan seared haddock, gingered beet greens, roasted sweet potato wedges