Today I eat nothing but fruits and vegetables.  Today I’m am a vegi-fruitarian.  Or a fruity vegetarian.  One or the other.   I can eat all the fruits and veggies I want as long as it isn’t bananas or starchy.  No potato for me tonight.

Here’s what the all the days on this diet look like, since I guess I forgot to go over that earlier.

Day 1: as many fruits as I can handle, but not bananas.

Day 2: as many veggies as I can handle, but nothing starchy, so no peas, corn, potatoes, etc.  But I do get a baked potato with butter for dinner.

Day 3: a combination of days 1 & 2, but no potato for dinner.

Day 4:  fruits and veggies, plus a couple bananas.

Day 5:  veggies again, but also fresh tomatoes (up to 6) and meat (10-20 oz)

Day 6:  veggies and meat again, but no tomatoes

Day 7:  back to day 3 again — fruits and veggies, but no bananas and nothing starchy.

The whole time, nothing to drink but water and unsweetened decaffeinated tea/coffee.  I can use a tiny little bit of artificial sweetener, but should avoid it if I can.  I can use a tiny little bit of oil, but should also avoid that if possible.  Nothing bread.  Nothing dairy (except the butter on day 2).  The point is to cleanse my system of as many things as possible, but my primary goal is to detox from sugar, white flour, and caffeine.  After I’m done, I’ll be avoiding those things as much as possible, which is going to stink, but not nearly as much as this week does. 

So!  There you go!

Last night I slept for a solid 12 hours and I feel SO good.  I’m kind of hungry right now, but I’ve only eaten a grapefruit so far this morning and I should go get something more than that.  I’m thinking fondly of the other half of the acorn squash I didn’t finish yesterday, so I might go chomp on that.  Today I have to get a lot of stuff accomplished before our friend arrives this evening.  We have  a chiropractor appointment in a couple minutes and then I have to do the ironing that’s draped all over the couch and clear up all my sewing stuff that’s on the dining room table, along with a couple other projects.  It’s going to storm this afternoon, by the looks of the sky, so staying inside and cleaning up some projects should be a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Time for me to get ready for my appointment!

7:28am
I’ve never had broccoli for breakfast before.  It’s better than I expected!  Of course, it might just be that I’m happy not to be eating fruit right now.  Oh!  I forgot to mention in my other post that last night going to bed, I had a terrible stomach ache.  I thought I was going to be sick.  Eventually I asked Justin to get me some Tums and it helped.  I really think I had too much acid in my stomach.

8:11am
I picked up some MiO “Liquid Water Enhancer” when we were shopping Tuesday.  It’s flavoring for water.  I love that it says “A little MiO goes a long way.  Always dilute.”  There are 24 servings in a 1.62 oz container.  I betcha that’s strong stuff, straight from the bottle.  It’d be like eating Crystal Light like a pixie stick, except in liquid form!

9:57am
I’m really not as hungry today as I was yesterday.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m much more busy at work today or if vegetables are just that much more filling than fruit or if I’m just being cautious about eating too much because of the stomach pain I ended up with yesterday.  But I ate a bowl of re-warmed steamed broccoli for breakfast and I’ve had a bag of cauliflower out on my desk for the last hour or so, but I’ve only eaten most of one floweret.  I’m still on my first bottle of water (it’s a 20 oz bottle, by the way) and I need to be drinking more than that.  But I have to close it when I have documents out on my desk and that’s what I’ve been doing most of the last hour.

10:35am
I’m kind of tired.  I wonder if I’m not eating enough today or if I’m just not getting enough sleep.

12:45pm
Going to the Lunch and Learn was a *great* idea.  Over in my regular area, they got free lunch from a barbeque place, with pulled pork and chicken and mac & cheese (I’m guessing, since that was the menu last time), and I avoided that temptation completely.  And I was able to avoid the subs, chips, and fruit over at the talk without problem because I showed up with my salad in hand.  And I wasn’t the only one who ate a salad, either, which also helped a lot.

Now, I didn’t end up eating much of my salad because there’s a lot of iceberg lettuce in there and that’s super-dry without dressing.  So I ate the cucumber and pepper slices and the julienned carrots and listened to the lecture.  And now I’m back at my desk eating acorn squash.  And I admit, I miss the butter.  But it’s still really yummy.  And some people asked “Did you forget about the free lunch?” and were really confused by my decision not to go, but GREATER GOOD, people.  It’s all about the greater good for my health today.

(second update starts here)

1:38pm
Tired again.  But it might be because I’m comparing two documents to find any changes.  It’s not exactly enthralling work.  I want chocolate. Not thinking about it.

1:54pm
The ergonomist was supposed to come evaluate my desk sometime between 1-2 o’clock today.  Where is she?

2:26pm
Gah.  So tired.  Stupid, stupid tired.  I want carbs.  I want sugar.  I want bread.  I want a thick slab of Nutella on bread from the Atlanta Bread Company.  I want pasta from the Cheesecake Factory, followed by their signature item.  I want a Snickers bar from the vending machine down near the bathroom.

Time to walk over to the *other* bathroom and get water from the bubbler over there and then come back to my desk via the outside door.

2:54pm
I really need to build a nap-time into my afternoon somehow….

4:06pm
Decaf, unsweetened chai tea just isn’t quite the same as those great chai lattes.

Apparently sleepiness is one of the symptoms of carbohydrate withdrawal, right up there with grumpiness and intestinal distress.  I’m going to get my “monthly gift” this weekend, too, so all those symptoms will just blend together and it’ll just feel like a really awful period.  One where I can’t soothe myself with chocolate or freshly baked bread.   Fun!

5:07pm
It’s a really good thing I don’t need to work the next couple of days.  My brain is just not functioning the way that it’s supposed to work.

I’m heading home here in a couple minutes and then I’m heading back out to band practice to get ready for Sunday morning’s services.  Do that for a couple hours and then come back home, where I might just collapse into bed for the night.  So don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me again tonight.

(third update starts here)

10:58pm
I know!  I should be sleeping! But practice was canceled and so I sat around poking at my computer, looking up ways to cook veggies, and then Justin started the baked potatoes and then I went down and cooked zucchini and DINNER WAS SO GOOD YOU HAVE NO IDEA.  And then I watched Tangled and it was adorable.

But let me go back to dinner!  Okay, so for dinner tonight I got to have a baked potato with butter and I already love baked potatoes, so TREAT!  And I usually cover them in things like cheese and sour cream and bacon, if I’m lucky, and who knows what else.  Stuff!  I had forgotten how good a baked potato can be just with butter!  Delicious!  And because I didn’t want to have just a baked potato for dinner, I sauteed up some zucchini squash.  I apparently cook with way too much oil because I sprayed the pan with Pam and it worked just great.  I chopped up some onion and sauteed that in the pan until it was translucent and then I crushed two cloves of garlic (with my Pampered Chef garlic press!) into that, and then I put in a thinly sliced zucchini and 1/2 cup of water, turned up the heat a notch, and put the lid on the pan to let it just simmer in that for a little bit.  Mmmmmmmm.  So good!  And so easy!  Justin does not like squash so I got the whole pan to myself!  On one plate:  baked potato with butter.  On another plate:  sauteed zucchini with onion and garlic.  Happy me!

Okay, and now I’m going to go curl up in bed and sleep for hours and hours.  Don’t expect me up early tomorrow.  I anticipate sleeping in until at least 10 o’clock, maybe later.  I’ve been very tired and I’m just going to rest.  We have a friend coming over for dinner tomorrow (won’t that be interesting when I can only eat fruits and veggies tomorrow?) and I want to be alert for our evening of playing cards.  But I will get on here eventually and post some more.

Love to you all!

Today I shall eat nothing but vegetables.  Today I am a vegetarian.  Today I walked into work with a bag filled with carrots, cauliflower, steamed broccoli, acorn squash, cucumbers, and a salad.  And a no-salt, no-sugar herb mix because sometimes I’d like a little bit of spice. 

Last night, I was in bed a little after 9:30 and probably asleep shortly after 10, which is a far cry better than the 11:00 or so the night before.  I’m hopeful that between getting more sleep and having less sugar in my system, I’ll be more alert than I was yesterday.

And now for a few random thoughts:

Sheets!  Our new sheets arrived in the mail yesterday!  They’re a beautiful pale green and fantastically comfortable.  We had to get new sheets because I have heels like a hobbit – calloused up to high heaven so badly that when they rub at sheets, I eventually wear a hole through.  I wore those sheets so threadbare that they tore through and then the tear spread so badly that by yesterday, there was at least a 2-foot long gape in two different directions.  From now on, I have to wear socks to bed.

Food allergies!  I have food allergies to tree nuts, fruits that have a pit in the middle, and (probably) soy.  I can have certain nuts in moderation (almonds, cashews, but not walnuts) and I can have the fruit if I cut away the part touching the pit or if it’s been processed (cooked, canned, etc.).  The last time I had soy milk, my throat swelled up and I broke out in hives and it was really frightening, so I’ve been avoiding that.  I’m starting to have concerns about apples, since my lips feel raw after eating one, but if I eat one cut and sprinkled with lemon juice, it’s not such a problem, so maybe it’s just how I’m eating them.  Anyway, I mention it so if you wonder why I’m not eating something (like nuts or nut butter or soy products), you’ll know why.

And now I’m going to go get some breakfast (broccoli, I think!) and get started on my day.  I’ll try to keep up another play-by-play and update it throughout the day.  It’s another day on the Cabbage Soup (minus the soup) Diet!

9:14am
I want carbohydrates.  I want carbs so stupidly much.  But I’m trying not to think about it and drink water and eat this orange.  I’m not hungry.  I just want something other than fruit.  And I’ve only just started!

9:54am
Good gosh!  I’m STILL tired?  This is just absurd.  Also?  Strawberries are DELICIOUS.

11:01am
I don’t understand how my stomach can rumble like it’s hungry when I’ve been grazing on fruit all morning.  Okay, so I didn’t for like 45 minutes there because the thought of eating more fruit was making me nauseated, but I shouldn’t get rumbling stomach hungry after less than an hour of not eating.  Time to eat some apple.  Also?  I am STILL tired.

11:22am
My kidneys should be clean by the end of today, that’s for sure!

12:31pm
I went out for a walk for lunch because everyone started warming up their food and it all smelled SO GOOD!  I had to get outside and away from what everyone was eating.  It’s a beautiful day outside – perfectly warm, soft breezes blowing, clear skies.  And walking was so much better than sitting still at my desk.

Tomorrow I’m going to a “Lunch and Learn” lecture about diabetes where they’re providing a small lunch.  I don’t know what the lunch is, but I hope it’s as easy to avoid as lunch was today.

Time for grapefruit!

(second update starts here)

1:01pm
Well, I emailed the organizer for the lunch event tomorrow and the menu is sub sandwiches, chips, and fruit.  All of which sound SO GOOD right now.  But I’ll pack my own lunch tomorrow and stick to the plan.

1:53pm
Strawberries = more filling than grapefruit.

The citric acid is starting to get to make my mouth sore.  I mean, I had a sore that I already knew about yesterday because my teeth were rubbing at it.  And then I found out that my gums are sensitive to acid this morning.  But now I’m starting to get that feeling like after eating too many Atomic Fireballs candy.  That whole: “Where did the lining in my mouth go?!  Give it back!!”

2:59pm
I need to drink more water.

3:34pm
I am really, really tired.

4:40pm
I ate all the pineapple that I brought with me today.  I’m pretty sure I’m really going to regret that.  And I’m still really tired, so I’ll be heading to bed early tonight.  I have to keep my concentration up for 45 more minutes and then I can go home.

(third update starts here)

9:18pm
I’m heading to bed in a couple minutes.  But I’ve finished bagging up cauliflower and the steamed broccoli is cooling in containers on the counter before I put it into the fridge.  I’m waiting for the acorn squash to finish up baking and then I’ll be all set.  I’ve got a pre-made grocery brand salad in the fridge that I’ll take for my lunch and it looks *delicious.*  I just wish I had a ginger dressing that I could put on it.  Not today, but I’ll have to note what’s in the salad so we can try it again later with a dressing.  For dinner, while I was getting all the veggies ready, I had more cantaloupe and strawberries and water.

I fell asleep in my chair in Justin’s office earlier this evening, waiting for sheets to finish washing, so I have more energy now than I did earlier.  But I’m guessing that as soon as my head hits my pillow (freshly washed new sheets! story there that I’ll tell later) I’ll be out within minutes.

Ready to do this all again tomorrow?!    I’m excited about all the conversation we’ve had going on today!  It really helped a lot.

Love to you all!

Today I shall eat nothing but fruit.  Today I am a fruitarian.  Today, my gums are killing me because apparently I have some sores there that I wasn’t aware of until the citric acid hit them.  (I never knew there was so much acid in cantaloupe!)  Today, I walked into work with a bag full of cantaloupe, oranges, grapefruit, apples, strawberries, pineapple, and a pear.

Today I did not drink coffee of any kind.  Today I am drinking water with a little bit of sugar-free flavoring in it and maybe some decaf tea with no sweetening of any kind.  Today I am more tired than I have any right to be.

Tonight, I will go to bed earlier so I can feel more rested.

Last night, we spent an absurd amount of money buying a cartful of fruits and veggies.  Last night, I spent an hour pealing grapefruit and oranges and slicing pineapple and apples and getting food ready for today.  Last night, I ate fried chicken for the last time in a while and it gave me gas and made me feel really gross.  And then I ate handfuls of peanut M&Ms, since I won’t be able to eat them again, either.

Today, I’m starting to learn how to fill my body with healthy food and learn not to crave the unhealthy food so much.  Today, I’m not entirely sure if that’s going to be possible, but I’m committed to giving this experiment a solid 7 days of effort.  So today I shall eat nothing but fruit.