Holy crap, I did it! Today marks the end of my 60 day anti-candida diet and I could not be more thrilled about it. I really have been thankful for the kind comments that some of you have offered me over the past few weeks, they have been so encouraging and I really appreciate your support. When I first started the nutrition plan, I felt pretty bleak about the days that were to come. I wasn’t worried about cheating on the diet (I can be intensely strong willed about completing things when I set my mind to it), but I was absolutely not looking forward to the process and definitely went through some food depression for a good portion of the 60 days.

I love food so much. And by “food,” I mean snacks. Therefore, when you don’t have delicious snacks to look forward to, you don’t care about anything. There’s an awesome party tonight where the cocktails and pizza will flow like wine? Big deal. Your best friend is getting married and you’re the maid of honor? Whatever, I can’t have cake anyway. You have a four day holiday weekend coming up? Goodie, I’ll just bring my own raw vegetables to the Thanksgiving table in a ziplock baggie. Christian Bale wants to meet up for coffee? I can’t have coffee, do they sell herbal tea? No? Damn.

In college, the only reason I would ever go to the university gym was to burn off a couple hundred calories so I could eat a second and third helping of snacks that night while watching movies with my gal pals. I didn’t want to get ahead, I just wanted to make up for the damage I knew I was going to do when placed in front of a Cheez-Its box. Last month I asked Todd the following question- If you had to choose between spending a night with all your closest friends (where you aren’t allowed any snacks whatsoever) or spending the night eating a smorgasbord of your favorite treats (but you have to eat them alone), which would you choose? Todd said, “I would pick the friends, of course.” What an idiot. I’d choose the snacks every time. Has anyone ever invited you over to their house to hang out and then offered you no snacks at any point in the night? Did you eventually panic and have to drive to the nearest Sonic to get you some popcorn chicken before you freaked on your snackless host? Then I believe we understand each other…

My point is, I missed my usual snacks during the last 60 days. I did find some new delicious ones to add into the old rotation, and I know that I will only be partaking in my unhealthy old favorites on rare occasions now, but at least I have something to look forward to. In case you are pondering a few questions about how the diet went, I’ll answer those questions right now and satisfy your curiosity:

-No, I didn’t have “so much more energy” while on this diet like everyone asked me if I did ten times a day. If anything, I felt a little more tired from my food depression…

-No, I don’t know if the diet worked yet. I won’t really know if this diet helped with my health issues until a few more months go by. This past year I’ve had just a few days to a few months between issues, so I won’t know if it really helped until I feel good consistently for a long time.

-Yes, I did shed a few pounds. Now I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.

Anyway, I’m going to keep a pretty vegan diet for the most part for a while to make sure that I still feel good for a long time. I’ve planning on breaking my anti-candida diet with a veggie loaded gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free pizza followed with a few round of chips and salsa and a fruit based desert. These last two months have been extremely tough, but tonight is going to taste SO good.

So, I am officially at the halfway mark of one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. For the last 30 days I have been doing what’s called the “anti-candida diet.” No, it’s not a trendy new weight loss fad, it’s a nutrition plan that uses food to combat a myriad of particular health problems. I’ve been dealing with some reoccurring health issues this past year that, while not life threatening, have greatly reduced my quality of life. Traditional Western medicine and several doctors that I’ve seen haven’t been much help and the treatments they suggested were only temporary relief at best, so I sought out a recommended certified holistic health counselor to help me try a new option.

If you aren’t familiar with the details of the diet, you may have the same reaction that many people have once I tell them what’s on the “do not” list of foods- “So, like, what can you eat??” All sugar and gluten are out. All fruits (except lemon, limes, and granny smith apples) are out. All nuts (except almonds) are out. All meat (except salmon) is out. Dairy is out. Grains are pretty much limited to brown rice and quinoa. Alcohol, coffee, and tea (except herbal) is out. Most vegetables are in, but before you get too crazy excited about that, these are a few of the veggies that are a no go: corn, tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes, and soy. Those guys are in EV-ER-Y-THING. Well, at least I can have all the seeds I can possibly handle, high five me up top!* And, this is a 100% no-cheat-never-ever type of plan, so don’t even think about it…

I honestly wasn’t planning on sharing any information about the diet on the blog for two reasons: one, I can imagine that it’s not exactly the most interesting thing to hear about other people’s dietary restrictions, and two, I don’t really know if this diet will work or not, so I can’t really recommend that anyone else do it or don’t do it. But, I have to say that in searching the internet constantly to try and find new foods to try, I’ve found comfort in finding other people that are also struggling through the diet with hope for change. Or, even better, those who have had inspiring results by changing their nutritional behavior.

While this diet is definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I’ve slowly learned what I can and can’t have and have made a few really good meals along the way. Since I’ve also had a LOT of failed attempts as well (especially in the snack department), I thought I’d share a few of my winners so far in case you or someone you know needs some encouragement on this diet:

• Guacamole (omit tomatoes)
• Brown rice chips (I almost cried in relief when I first made these! I bake for 3.5 min per side)
• “Spicy Doritos” Cheezy Dip (omit nutritional yeast)
• Apple Crisp
• Chocolate Mousse (crazy ingredients, but a life saver for chocolate cravings)
• Kale Chips
• Chocolate Frosting Shots (so good with toasted almond slivers)

I live for snacks. For reals. I still have another 30 days to go before I’m done with the diet, but I’m hoping to be able to indulge in a few holiday treats with the rest of humanity by the time Christmas gets here. I’m dying for my favorite hometown pizza and chicken ball!

* If you look up anti-candida diet lists, they are probably different from my list as they can be pretty varied. My health counselor suggests a pretty strict food list that is on the cautionary “better-safe-than-sorry” side which I appreciate. I mean, if I’m going to do this, you want it to have the best chance of working, you know?