I have lost 8 lbs!

I have been on an Elimination Detoxification diet for about two weeks. It hasn't been fun, but I am persevering, simply because I want to be a better steward of my body, and I want to be a healthy mom who is around to see Christopher, my youngest, get married and have babies. He is only 8, so I need to take care of myself NOW so I can live a lot longer than my mom or grandmother did.

The diet was recommended by my naturopath.

	Foods to Include	Foods to Exclude
Fruits	Unsweetened fresh, frozen, water-packed or canned fruits (except oranges)	Oranges, orange juice
Vegetables	All fresh raw, steamed, sautéed, juiced or roasted vegetable focusing on low carb choices	Corn, creamed vegetables
Breads & Cereals	Non-gluten products made from rice, millet, buckwheat, potato, tapioca, arrowroot, amaranth, quinoa, teff	All gluten products
Legumes	All beans, peas, and lentils	All soybean products like tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy nuts, etc.
Nuts & Seeds	Almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame (tahini), sunflower, pumpkin, (all best consumed raw and fresh); butters made from these nuts and seeds	Peanuts and peanut butter
Meat & Fish	Fresh or frozen and water packed fish, organic chicken, turkey, lamb and wild game	Beef, pork, cold cuts, hotdogs, sausages, canned meats, shellfish, eggs
Dairy & Milk Substitutes	Milk substitutes such as rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and other nut milks	Milk, cheese cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, frozen yogurt, non-dairy creamers
Fats & Oils	Cold-expeller pressed oils such as olive, flaxseed, canola, safflower, sunflower, sesame, walnut, pumpkin or almond oils	Margarine, butter, shortening, processed and hydrogenated oils, spreads and mayo
Beverages	Filtered or alkalized water, herbal tea, mineral water, green tea	Pop, alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea, other caffeinated beverages, distilled water
Sweeteners	Brown rice syrup, blackstrap molasses, stevia, honey, fruit sweeteners such as agave nectar	White or brown sugar, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, candy, desserts made with these sweeteners
Spices & Condiments	All spices	Chocolate, ketchup, mustard, relish, chutney, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, or other condiments containing vinegar or sugar

I haven't found the diet to be too difficult. When I think about it, I miss chocolate, beef, coffee and cheese/cream the most. Rick and I were in the car this evening, and I suddenly had a craving for chocolate, triggered by the fact that we were close to a convenience store. My mouth actually watered!

I tried to add exercise into the mix, but injured my hip. For two days I was crippled, and it hurt to walk, to stand, to sit and to lie down. Nothing helped. So I don't want to do that again.

If I am to lose all of the weight I need to lose, I should be on this diet ( or A diet recommended by our NPD ) until December.

It's a small price to pay for being healthy.

Janet