It's Time.

It's time again for the Crazy Diet. This was the term coined by The Oldest the last time I went on this diet. I lasted a full three months - my goal.

So what is the Crazy Diet? Basically, no sugar (or sweetener of any kind including honey, etc.), no gluten, no dairy, no caffeine, no alcohol, and limited fruit and grains.

How can I tell it's time again? I just don't feel amazing. I'm always tired, I'm moody and irritable, my skin keeps breaking out and my hair's really brittle. My stomach has a tendency to cramp to the point where my back hurts something awful every time I eat a piece of bread or a pancake. I just don't have the energy and motivation I normally do.

I'm altering the diet a bit based on what I know I need, having spent several years listening to what my body is telling me. I know I'm gluten intolerant. Every time I eat it I feel kind of sick. But I also really, really love bread so I'm usually willing to suffer. Sugar affects me too - makes me super exhausted and I don't sleep well. Because starches like white potatoes and beans convert to sugar in the body, I'm cutting those for awhile too. And fruit, because while it's healthy, it's also sugar. I'm limiting dairy to only raw goat's milk and raw goat's milk yogurt, and only in moderation. I know from experience that I can tolerate raw milk just fine.

So what am I going to eat? Pretty much just meat and vegetables. I'll have a serving of grains (whole grains, gluten free) each day if it fits into a meal, or a serving of low sugar fruit (berries and citrus.) I'm going to stay pretty strict for 3 weeks or so, do a bit of a "system restore" on my body. After that I'll head mostly paleo, with meat and veggies being primary, but adding in a bit of natural sweetener. I know I need to give up gluten and sugar for the long term.

It's not an easy diet. But I feel so, so much better when I stick to it.