elimination diet week two recap

It is so hard to believe that Babyface and I have made it through 14 days of vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, alcohol-free, caffeine-free living. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. We adapted really well. Other than the desperate desire to have a meal consisting of cheeseburgers and beer, we weren’t even really craving much. That all being said, I am glad that this phase of the elimination diet is coming to a close. Starting yesterday, we reincorporated dairy and we’ll be moving through a list of items for the next few weeks to see if we have any negative reactions. Let me tell you, I thought I loved cheese before, but now? I have a whole new appreciation for the stuff.

Things I’ve noticed in the second week:

• I’ve been very, very prone to dehydration headaches over the past two weeks. If I don’t drink 80+ ounces of water each day, I can guarantee I’ll have a headache the next day. It never used to be that way. I wonder if I’m just not eating enough water-heavy fruits and veggies?
• Gluten-free and vegan cooking is FUN. It’s like some puzzle you have to solve and when I do, I feel totally triumphant!
• I don’t care what you say, I’ve yet to see/find a good vegan and gluten-free substitute for pizza. You can come close. And you can do something that at least satisfies the pizza craving, but nothing will top pillowy pizza dough made with gluten and gooey, browned cheese on a pizza.
• I wouldn’t say the way I feel has drastically changed, but I think it has changed enough that I might have some sore of reaction to one of the food groups. If nothing else, this two weeks has at least “detoxed” us from processed foods. Even the organic and all natural ones are not really all that great for you. And this elimination diet has served as a nice blank slate. I could see us doing this for a few weeks every year just to recharge our whole food batteries.
• I think we picked a pretty rotten time to go eliminating stuff. October is always crazy hectic for us. I think maybe January would be a good time to start the year off with a fresh diet.
• (For my five male readers, you can skip this point) My cycle has regulated itself this time ’round. We’ll see if it keeps it up.
• My general disposition has been much happier than it was previous to the elimination diet. Obviously, there is no way to count out all of the variables, so who knows if this has to do with my food or something else.
• The longer I go without a scale, the better I feel about my body. I wrote a whole post about this for my Anytime Health post this week, but basically, I think me and my scale might be taking a permanent break from one another.

Do you do any sort of recurring (yearly, monthly, etc.) detox?

I think most people naturally go into detox mode after the first of the year. So many sweets, rich meals and nights ODing on alcohol during the holidays that it’s natural to pull back by the time January comes around. I know I am always so sick of that stuff by then. Seems like a naturally good time to really clean up your diet.

Like this post? Check these out:

confessions...

elimination diet wrap-up

vegan roasted red pepper pesto

a guide to gluten-free grains

what i ate wednesday: in the groove