Addendums To Food Guidelines

It's been a few weeks since my detox diet. Things are going well. For the most part, I'm sticking to my plan of "When in doubt, eat a fruit or a vegetable" and "Avoid wheat, dairy and sugar". Those are my two simple rules for a happy tummy.

However, Life has a way of making you bend the rules. I'm trying to stick to my plan of healthy eating ("healthy" as defined above, my own personal definition for my own personal tummy) 75% of the time (that's not an exact figure).

Because sometimes strawberry ice cream is exactly what I need. Not frequently, not even often, but definitely sometimes. Especially when your period comes a week early and random stuff keeps breaking and you just want to cry over nothing.

Because life is not fun without dessert. I have determined that I don't feel well if I eat dessert/sugary things during the day (the occasional medicinal piece of chocolate excepted). But after dinner, dessert is often (and sometimes, frequently!) very welcome. Even if it's just a bite or two, even if it's just berries with a bit of sugar sprinkled over.

And even that after-dinner-only rule can be broken, for instance, when your office throws a small wedding celebration for a co-worker and his same-sex husband who just got married over the weekend. It feels rude to not have a piece of cake, especially for something so fantastic and worth celebrating. I wanted to be sure to show my whole-hearted support of this event!

So, you see, there are exceptions. Mostly I am doing well. I have my big fruit smoothie (with rice milk and protein powder) in the morning. Vegetable-bean soup for lunch, or rice cakes and avocado. A salad. More soup or quinoa or vegetarian chili or whatever for dinner. And maybe a Tofutti Cutie for dessert.

And I feel pretty good. Not so sluggish. Not so brain-dead. Happier, less anxious, less prone to tummy aches. Sleeping better (usually). Less irritable (usually).

But when life throws you a perfect piece of wedding cake, sometimes the cake wins. Even if my tummy hurts for a few hours afterwards. A small price to pay to tell a friend that his union is worth celebrating.

So, it was definitely worth doing (the detox. And the cake.) The guidelines I've set up for myself seem reasonable. I'm trying to make sure I recognize every ingredient included on the label if I'm eating something packaged. I don't have too much problem avoiding wheat, generally speaking. Surprisingly, the dairy keeps tripping me up, but I think that's only because I don't have an immediate reaction to it like I do to wheat or sugar, so it's easier for me to let it slip. I think moderation on the dairy is fine. I like dairy substitutes just fine, but I also like real cheese sometimes.

I am, however, having trouble taking my multivitamin, if only because it makes me want to throw up. I can't handle B-vitamins! I'll try taking it after lunch, instead.

Anyway. That's the update from the food front. I plan on doing the detox thing four times a year, once each season. That means I will do it in October, January, April, and July. Just to keep me on track.