Progress Update - September 19, 2005

Thank you all for keeping abreast of my progress and for the positive feedback you’ve given me, it really helps to push through the struggles that comes with sticking to a new eating plan. It’s been two weeks and we’re getting settled in our new eating plan. When I started the plan I weighed 167.5 and now I weigh 162.5. My husband weighed 210 and now he weighs 206. I can see how you might loose weight on this plan because most of the stuff that we’re used to eating is a thing of the past.

Before we started the new eating plan, I gave my husband a dinner party. Afterwards, I asked the guest to take the entire food home with them, and the only things that were left were the peach cobbler and a big slice of German chocolate cake for my sister. Two days later the desserts were still here and I was struggling. I wanted so much to just taste a little of each and then be done, but I know it wouldn’t stop there. So, I looked out the window and saw one of my neighbors walking down the street and I begged her to come in and take the temptation out of my house because we’re trying to maintain an eating plan. She was very happy to do it, and I realized that I can’t have even a small amount of bad food items in our house because it’s too much of an enticement for me – I really have no control if it’s in my house and I’m alone.

My bad food items are candida, sesame see, cow’s milk, coconut, corn sugar beet, spinach, rye, carrot, coffee, goat’s milk, vanilla, baker’s yeast, sugar cane, salmon, wheat, sweet bell pepper, banana, lentil, herring, prawn, peppermint, cocoa, oysters, sardines, cherry, gluten, brewer’s yeast, green tea, barley, mussels, butter, lemon sole, pork, honey, herbes de province, and oats.

My husband’s bad food items are lentil, prawn, monkfish, tune, banana, gluten, peppermint, honey, lamb, orange, scallops, sweet bell pepper, barley, coffee, green tea, sugar beet, lemon, vanilla, oysters, sesame seed, oats, olive, herbes de province, goat’s milk, seabass, mussels, sugar cane, rye, carrot, baker’s yeast, egg yolk, halibut, lettuce, candida, wheat, beef, brewer’s yeast.

I try to fix items that we can both eat, but that doesn’t always work out because the choices of meat, fish, and poultry would be limited if we only ate the foods that are alike for both of us; therefore when I make beef for me, I make salmon for my husband and when I make lettuce for me, he has spinach, and so on.

For breakfast, I usually make cheese eggs for me, cheese whites for John, red or white potatoes and onions, rice cake with apple butter, and blend some fruit with rice or soy milk for a beverage. For lunch, John usually has spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, sardines, or anything leftover from last night’s dinner. I usually have, rice cakes, fruit, and leftover dinner. For dinner I usually make me a steak, pot roast, beef ribs and for John I usually make salmon, duck, pork, or pork ribs, or for the both of us I make chicken, turkey, mackerel, cod, trout, or crab legs, with baked potato, scalloped potatoes, or rice, and kidney beans, salad, broccoli, cauliflower, or any other vegetable we can have. For snacks we usually have fruit, nuts, rice or cakes. We sometimes have black tea with rice syrup. There are so many items on our good list that we like and we never thought we would, for example, rice cakes, rice syrup, rice and soy milk with fresh fruits, wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar with walnut or sunflower oil for salad dressing, and so many different nuts.

I just ordered Beyond C and zinc so we can start taking it daily and I’m I n the process of ordering John’s multivitamin and my prenatal vitamins and I can’t wait to see how we’ll react to taking the vitamin C daily. I’ve been researching the equivalent of 2 grams of vitamin C is to a teaspoon and have come up with different answers from online: 1 teaspoon = 4 grams, and 2.107 teaspoon = 10 grams, so if you have the correct answer of the equivalence please let me know. I’m hoping John’s bad cholesterol will start to decrease immediately after taking the zinc and vitamin C. Stay tuned for more good news …

Tara

A New Dawn - A New Way of Thinking

I recently had two miscarriages as a result of PCOS. I used clomid both times, but only used progesterone the last time, but it didn't help. My husband and I really didn't want to try to conceive a third time with the same drugs, and possibly get the same results. As I searched online to find solutions and alternatives to our tragedy, I found A New Dawn. After placing the order for the books and speaking to Ian Stoakes, the author, I decided that it was time for A New Dawn in my life too. I was very excited to find out that there were other solutions to my medical problems, and the decision to get better was in my hands alone - and not the medical profession. I just couldn't believe that it was as easy as eliminating the stimulus that was causing the inflammation in my body, and all my medical problems would be a thing of the past. After realizing what the stimulus was, I realized that I hit the jack pot.

I also suffered from chronic and severe uticaria and angioedema since April of 2000, and the culprit was always the preservatives and dyes in different food and household products that we used on a daily basis. One disease would cause my skin to swell up like the cartoon character, the Incredible Hulk, and the other would create a pattern of wheels all over my body. The doctors never gave me a test to see what particular food items were causing the problems, we just attempted a process of elimination, but it didn't really work. I was used to taking 28 pills daily and eventually, for the most part, the skin diseases came to a halt. I still suffer from them at times, and I've realized that my suffering was due to my diet, but I really didn't have a means to figure out what particular ingredients were causing the problem. After speaking to Ian, I realized that taking the EPC test would help my husband and I to finally have a healthy baby, but it would also help with my skin issues. I'm excited to finally realize that I don't have to be sick and deal with the pain.

My husband and I took the test on August 16th, and received our results on August 27th. Some of the food items on our results took me for surprise, and others I pretty much knew were off limits, but the test confirmed my suspicions about the food products that I've been avoiding for years. I will miss eating salmon, rye, spinach, pork, milk, sugar, and wheat; however, I've decided to embrace my new eating plan, and enjoy my choices to the fullest, just as I try to live life to the fullest. My husband is more of a go with the flow type of guy, and the items he can't eat are not really a big deal. He's able to adjust to this new eating plan so so much better than I have. Before we got the results back, he said, "it really didn't matter what he could or couldn't eat as long as we can have a baby, and his high cholesterol is decreased," and I was encouraged by his attitude.

After a couple of days of receiving our results, we cleaned out the cabinets and the refrigerator of any off limit food items, and gave them to our family members or friends. Then, we went shopping, and realized that our shopping list is so much shorter, and we spent less money since we didn't buy marinades, dressings, syrups, sauces, and other items that's loaded with artificial flavoring and preservatives. We now realize that it's much healthier eating fresh fruits and vegetables, rice cakes, nuts, and cheese. I've embraced making our own fruit juice, and using fruit as desserts, just as Ian have suggested. I'm trying to get used to cooking 3 times per day and making our own juice (I'm used to ordering out whenever I didn't feel like cooking, but that's a thing of the past now). I thought it would be much harder than it really is, but I'm realizing the vast benefits of choosing to eat healthier every day.

After a few days of being on the new eating plan, I noticed a difference in how my body felt. My legs, arms, hands, feet, and fingers are not swollen, and I'm sure that's because I'm not eating the same old things that used to cause inflammation in my body. I'm actually enjoying my new eating plan. I'm glad we found Ian Stoakes, he made it possible to get some relief for my many health problems.

Tara