Feed Me Seymour! – Famished or Full on the Candida Diet

Coping with illness always comes with a roller-coaster of emotions. It’s natural to fluctuate between optimism and despair, a switch that can happen in seconds without any triggers or forewarning. That’s enough for any person to deal with on top of basic healthcare so any other stressors that remind you of how miserable you feel are just plain insulting.

Unfortunately, for those of us trying to deal with autoimmune issues, inflammation, or Candida overgrowth through diet, the insult is real.  As I mentioned in my previous blog on So Many Paths, So Little Direction, there are numerous specific recommendations to what should constitute an anti-Candida/autoimmune/anti-inflammation diet.  Even if you disregard the minor but irritating contradictions on specific foods like BUTTER you’ll see that the fundamental basis of each protocol is that you must consume a diet that is LOW CARB.

Those of you who have jumped on the low carbohydrate bandwagon know that the early stages of dieting can be maddening. First of all you’re at a complete loss on what and how to eat. Don’t even mention snacking or eating out at restaurants. Even if you do compile a handy-dandy list of Candida Diets Dos and Don’ts, you’re still struggling on how to feel like you’re eating regular fulfilling meals. Let’s face it, after day three that pile of steamed veggies and grilled meat isn’t cutting it any more.

If you have ever caught me gazing longingly at your chips and salsa or that basket of fresh baked bread, I apologize. It wasn’t me anyways, it really wasn’t. It was the Candida. 

For me, the first four weeks of my most recent diet left me in an almost constant state of feeling famished. Despite the richly nutritious and robust diet I was consuming I’d feel starving even right after meals. Oftentimes I resorted to just sucking on a spoon full of unsweetened raw almond butter to satiate the unreasonable cravings for dessert. It wasn’t perfect but it did the trick most of the time.

I’ve never had a sweet tooth before so I’ve recognized these wild cravings for what they are. It’s the Candida crying out to me “Feed Me Jeli”!

Oddly, there were also several occasions where I would try to eat a meal and would feel immediately uncomfortably stuffed within a few bites. I never understood where this sensation would come from. How could I feel full already? Was it the Candida saying “Oh god, not another bowl of steamed cauliflower!”? I’ll never know. But what I do know is how completely uncomfortably full I would feel… so unusually full that I dubbed it “Mr. Creosote full”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJZPzQESq_0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

 

After those first four weeks something happened inside of me and I stopped feeling wildly famished or full. I’m not precisely certain of what ended the wild ride but I was relieved. I’m sure my colleagues and loved ones were happy too as I’m not known to be abundantly pleasant when I’m hungry. I have been known to suffer from being “hangry” but fortunately for everyone I’m self-aware so I’m pretty good at controlling my temper.

There is one thing that may have helped me stabilize my appetite. Maybe it was coincidence, but the same day I noticed that I no longer felt like I wanted to gnaw my way through the wall of a bakery was the day I started to take a very strong probiotic. This is the first time that I’ve ever noticed a difference from taking a probiotic and trust me, I’ve been working my way through dozens of brands over the years. Recently, I even doubled up on the dosage one day to see if it would settle my noisy belly. It worked! So now I’m taking two per day until I get the Candida under control.

I’m still keeping an eye on things…

As you can see the inflammation is still there along with the pinchy, itchy, inflamed, crepe-like skin. I’m also still battling oral thrush. While historically I’ve been able to get symptoms managed after six weeks on the diet this looks like it might be a longer battle. I’m not feeling defeated but rather empowered. I’m enjoying my digital soapbox and I’m determined to win.