I was able to do quite a bit today, though it drained me quickly. Even though I am feeling better I am definitely still in recovery.

Shingles aside, for a moment, can I just say how thankful I am to have found this plan? How perfectly timed the entire change in eating and habits was? Praise the Lord! I am so grateful for the option to go high fat, ditch the wheat and sugar, use caution and much fermentation with the dairy, get AWAY from unsatisfying diet food, and most of all, ditching the inflammation? It is wonderful!

I am taking stock of myself here, approximately two weeks in. My bloat and bowel issues? Gone. I noticed they were gone because the antiviral messed with my guts and made them come back - I hadn't even realized how regular and mellow my stomach and intestines had been until something gummed up the works again! Hunger cues? Fixed! I don't really get hungry on this diet, and that's the way it is supposed to work. But that burning desire to eat the whole house, munch constantly, scarf every carb in sight? Gone. Sore throat, runny nose, headaches? Gone.

Really, other than one minor headache during detox and the shingles, I have been doing remarkably well. The protocol has cleaned up my system, cleared out the junk, given my body time to repair itself and my brain much time to absorb and mull over how great this all is and what permanent changes to make to keep it this way.

And darnit, I'm excited to lose weight again! Not complacent, thinking I can't control this or content with not being at goal but not being 'huge' again. I'm making plans for what new clothes I want to buy, imagining new hairstyle to try, new items to knit to spiff myself up, how I'm going to look when I visit my family. I'm content to put off another baby for a bit, as my husband needed me to, in order to lose more weight. That is huge! I'm enjoying feeling good after eating - not sick or constantly wanting more. I'm definitely looking forward to eating fattening, lovely, real food in P3.

The injections don't bother me, the meal plan is simple, the maintenance plan is so perfect and doable for my life it's remarkable. God has been so good to me in answering my prayers regarding diet, exercise, and food. I wasn't ready for so long, but now that I am in a better headspace and willing to move forward with this, I'm raring to go!

This stuff needs saying just as much as the dry, daily nuts and bolts or the complaints. I have to cheer at how good I feel and how well this works, even in the midst of a horribly painful illness. I can't ignore that this has been wonderful for me and these lessons must be taken with wisdom. Grains and processed, sugary junk aren't my friends. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucrolose? Give me headaches, spike my insulin, and make me crave sugar even worse than sugar, itself! Going gluten free isn't enough - I really have to watch my starches carefully and fill up on fat and protein, with a delicious side of low-sugar fruits and vegetables, and leave the grains to the very occasional splurges and heavily fermented, well broken down porridges. They just don't play nicely with my body's chemistry.

I am itching to get to 190. You cannot believe how ready I am - even now I can see so many inches lost and bloat just melted away. My belly is flatter, my face is bright, my energy (sickness aside) is solid... I want to get down the scale and stay down it more than I remember ever wanting it in my life. I have not cheated a lick, crumb, swipe. Not a bit. And my desire to, for the most part, is nil. I am so looking forward to the way of eating at the end of the protocol I don't even miss my previous indulgences that I could never quite control. Very occasionally I want a bite of pizza. But I can make up something healthier and tastier and more satisfying at home - why not? And if I have pizza once a season at a restaurant? That's a choice I can make (and my guts will have to live with it). But when there are so many tastier options that don't fight me all the way into the toilet? Why would I go back?

I have to keep reminding myself that this is best and not forget why I ditched my previous standard American diet for good. Why just calorie counting wasn't working. Why grains are bad for me. Why simple substitutions like coconut flour for all purpose is going to make as tasty a goody but with far less negative impacts on my health. Why 190 pounds on my frame wasn't a place I was willing to stop forever.

It is good to sit back and take stock on occasion. Especially when I am uncomfortable, like with the shingles, tallying all the wonderful blessings I have had and can still look forward to is a wonderful way to spend my time. Almost as wonderful as imagining myself thinner and healthier, in a particularly cute dress ;)