FoooOoOOOOoD!

You are what you eat they say and I can say from personal experience that the right diet seems to be the answer to many of my individual health challenges.  I currently don't eat gluten or sugar.  This is a breeze compared to the two years I spent banishing a severe case of Candida after years of sinus infections treated with excessive antibiotics and steroids.  I eventually had sinus surgery which made all the difference concerning allergies and regular infections.  But I needed to battle the yeast in my body which from extensive use of steroids and antibiotics coupled with bad food choices created major fatigue, balance issues, difficulty swallowing and general tummy trouble.  I was desperate.  

On a friend's advice (THANK YOU SUMMER!) I chose the Body Ecology Diet and lived by it for two full years. Donna Gates is the mastermind behind this diet.  You can learn more about Donna and her diet concept on her website at http://bodyecology.com/.  She's got a great book and LOTS of products.  All I ever purchased was the book, you don't need to spend money on anything but food, good vitamins and probiotics in my opinion.  The basic concept of this diet is to starve the yeast living in your body, particularly in your gut.  You have to remove everything from your diet that is can live off of or you are creating an environment in which it thrives and you suffer.  You eat about 80% non-starchy vegetables on this diet as the foundation.  This concept alone has changed my whole approach to eating.  You are allowed only four grains: amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat and millet.  Sugar is out.  Stevia is pretty much the only sweetener allowed.  You are allowed extra virgin olive oil, ghee, coconut oil and sometimes organic butter but all other oils are out.  Meat, eggs and dairy must be hormone and antibiotic free and preferably organic.  It is best if meat is grass fed as well.  All vegetables should be organic and you need to hit probiotics and cultured foods hard.  As an unexpected side effect I lost 20lbs in the first 3 months on this diet.  Believe it or not, I really started to enjoy the changes in the food I was eating and eventually the eliminated my Candida symptoms.  This diet was a pleasure, not a burden, because I got my life back.

They say to never go back to gluten once you've beaten Candida.  I decided refined sugars needed to stay out too but I am allowing honey, maple syrup, agave, xylitol, stevia and occasionally molasses.  I cannot go back to where I was!  This gluten free, sugar free diet seems to agree with my energy levels and really helps me maintain a healthy weight.  I also try to buy organic as much as possible but I'm not always to one buying the groceries and lead a busy lifestyle.  I do the best I can and it seems to be working.

Training for a trip like the Climb Against the Odds or some of the races I've done requires a well thought out diet that supports the physical effort you put in.  I am still learning how to balance this all.  I'll be honest, sometimes I make poor choices like grabbing a bag of chips after a run instead of a high protein recovery food like greek yogurt.  Sometimes I am very good and feel great about my choices but I have to remain realistic about the challenges life offers. There's always a choice to be made and a consequence to follow.  I am working towards increasing the choices that benefit me and being patient about results.  I hope to talk more about what I'm eating during this process.  I'd love to share some recipes and discuss things like recovery foods.  I will also let you know about my favorite food brands.  Shelf ready foods are hard to come by on this diet!

Those of you who know me are very familiar with my ferocious appetite and my love of food.  You also know that I am resilient and determined.  This combination has created a flurry of new recipes in my cupboard, a systematic change of my food routine and having a cooler of food with me at almost all times.  This kind of lifestyle takes energy but the food you eat gives you the energy to spend.  I highly recommend it.  More to come!