Candida Diet Update November 2013 – Holiday Snaps!

3 Weeks of strict diet allowed for a few diet sins on Holiday! 

Last Month: I had a big set back because my candida problem returned with a vengeance after I had given into foods sweetened with refined sugar while in Germany. This resulted in big eczema wounds on my arms and legs just weeks before my booked holiday abroad. This was a real blow to my self esteem and completely ruined any warm holiday anticipation (Read more about last month’s update here if you’re interested).

This month: I spent the entire month in semi fasting – virtually ‘no carbs’ mode which led to me losing even more weight than I had before and feeling utterly miserable. I was super worried how I would survive on holiday with all the typical sugary, dairy, wheaty hotel food *sigh*.

Biggest Change: I went from eating “sweet foods” to “no carbs” and then stayed at an All Inclusive Holiday Resort, Uh-oh!

What I typically ate this month: Brown Rice & Veggies  & Fish

Breakfast:

• Before my holiday: Ground brown rice pudding with rice milk
• On holiday: Tinned sardines, slices of cucumber and tomato, scrambled eggs, pancakes and brown bread with butter (yes, yeasty bread, can you believe it!)

Still proud of myself for not eating coconut yoghurt with fruit, bread rolls with jam, croissants and cakes for breakfast.

Lunch:

• At home: gluten free breads (tried tons of making different ones, including coconut bread and combinations of Millet and Teff, Psyllium and Almond or Quinoa) with green soups (water cress or spinach) or bone broth.

• On hols: Big salad including carrot, olives and raw cabbage with grilled white fish and tons of rice aka Paella.
  

Still proud of myself for not eating pizza and burgers at the pool bar (ok I admit it I did eat one burger *sigh* – it was on a good day and I hadn’t had one in five years – that’s my excuse anyway).

Desserts:

• at home: nada
• on hols: most days none, except on the last 3 days: rice pudding with milk, passion fruit creme, orange jelly and chocolate ice cream – and Yum it was!

Dinner:

• at home: brown rice or salmon/ cod with broccoli, fine green beans or peas
• on hols: all kinds of cooked veg, a bit of raw salad and grilled white fish and tons of sauteed potatoes/ chips/ croquettes with green Mojo sauce (gosh I’m addicted to that stuff – I must find out how to make it. I believe it has oil, coriander, garlic and salt in it.)

Still proud of myself for resisting the roast chicken and thousands of other meat dishes and the white pasta (it would have made my eczema worse due to the high acid content).

 What I snacked on:

• at home: cooked brown rice
• on hols: slices of melon

Still proud of myself for not eating the cakes and coconut macaroons that were free in the pool snack bar.

What I drunk:

• At home: water, ginger tea, dandelion tea and water with apple cider vinegar
• On hols: camomile tea, sparkling water, water with apple juice, coco loco cocktail, cappuccino

Lifestyle/ Activities:

• At home: Once a week workout and every two weeks yoga – much too little really but my eczema was so bad at times that I didn’t want to rip it open with exercise (plus I felt self conscious about it in case people might stare at it).

• On hols: Went swimming twice (wish I could have done it more often though) and did some aerobic and aqua gym and walked on the beach every day – much needed to work off all the extra calories from the foods I was eating.

Health Issues this month: (Don’t scroll further if you can’t handle a pic of my eczema!)

All month I’ve still been battling the consequences of last month’s overindulgence.

• I’m not going to lie to you – It was incredibly hard to get back on track. It was demoralizing and felt impossible to go back to no carbs. I was desperate though since my skin was so bad before the holiday that it looked like it would massively negatively impact on the holiday. In fact I wasn’t even looking forward to my holiday anymore it was that bad.

Eczema – on my arms and my legs, big raw areas – the horror (sorry for showing you this, but I’d rather be honest, I hope you understand).

• On the last few days of my holiday I developed a skin rash on my belly. I presume it was part due to the hot sun and also taking antifungals while stuffing myself on carbs, naughty me! Not as bad as on my last holiday though mind you.

• Between you and me, I had a bit of a wind problem the first few days on hols after dinner – I guess it was the tons of garlic that I ate and the high strength probio I was taking and the raw cabbage salad.
• Virtually no thrush.
• And all-in-all health-wise on holiday no turn for the worse, rather the opposite, which was a huge relief.

Due to the warm dry climate and relaxation my skin recovered super quickly. It was barely visible at the end of the hols.

Unfortunately some of it returned after the long flight and temperature change. Yes, it’s freezing cold and dark in Cornwall now, brrrrh!

What Supplements I took:

• at home: multi vit, evening primrose & fish oil, magnesium, chlorella, high strength probio, l-glutamin and gelatin to fix leaky gut to fix leaky gut
  that was causing my skin issues
• on hols: soil based probio (Garden of Life – 2x daily) and a mild antigungal (thyme, garlic & Pau darco capsules called Candiclear with every meal)

To recap what I learned/ How this Applies to You:

You can make big changes in how you look and feel in just 2-3 weeks.

Just look at the before and after pics of my eczema – what difference 2 weeks and a change of perspective can make!

If you feel unwell now then it’s a good idea to go back to a stage 2 type diet with lots of vegetables and fish and bone or veggy broth and regular bursts of brisk walking and deep relaxation (preferably meditation or guided guided meditation for stress control.
guided hypnosis). Even just for a day per week. It will make a world of difference how you feel in a few weeks. You might even be able to enjoy a few “naughty” foods over the festive period without doing too much damage. So it’s worth putting the effort in during the weeks before Christmas.

I know it’s hard. I have faith in you though. You can eat a little healthier, right. No need to go all extreme here!

Leave a comment below the sign up box to tell me how you’re getting on with your diet at the mo. What works for you, what doesn’t? And if you’d like to receive my next candida diet update, health tips or recipes by email, then sign up for updates below.

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