Life Without Food

Food is/was such a big part of  the social part of life, at least in my circle. We gather, we eat. We watch tv, we eat, we play board games, we eat, we travel, we eat. In fact, any road trip, with my family (mom, aunt, sisters), starts with a sausage biscuit or the like. We pack snacks to eat in the car, we plan where we will eat at our destination, we have snacks for the hotel room, and sometimes we even buy food as souvenirs.

It's been over two weeks since I eliminated wheat, eggs, milk, soy, nuts/peanuts, and fish/shellfish and while I have figured out what to eat at home, eating anywhere else is still a bit daunting.. This past week, we had an overnight trip to Dallas for my mom's doctor's appointments, and beforehand I was totally obsessed with what I was going to eat while I was gone.

I made out of this world protein bars (a post on that later), packed avocados, rice cakes, apples, pears, tangerines, oatmeal, prunes, sunbutter, water, as well as a knife, spoon and bowl. I was prepared for the apocalypse.

We ended up at a mexican restaurant for dinner and my planned meal of fajita meat went out the door when the manager, who was graciously working with me, informed me that it was marinated in soy. I couldn't even have the corn tortilla chips because of what they were fried in. The manager ended up having the kitchen whip up what turned out to be THE BEST meal I have had in quite a while. Fresh avocado, basically how I do it at home, with cilantro, lime and salt, but they brought me the most amazing corn tortillas, plus their phenomenal salsa and fresh tomatoes! I was a bit stuffed when I left, but comfortably so. In the past, after leaving a mexican restaurant I would have been miserable after eating a least a whole basket of chips myself, plus whatever else I stuffed down in the main course.

Many people expressed sympathy when they heard the news of my impending food/life change, and yes, I admit, I acted as if I were going waste away on a deserted island.If this is life without food, then I'll take that meal every day of the week! :)

Eliminate the Negative

I am giddy with excitement because I am about to deactivate my facebook account. It feels akin to shedding all of my outerwear after walking outside in the cold.. It was necessary, and comfortable, but after awhile it becomes cumbersome. Then I start to sweat and itch and oh sweet relief when I am able to disrobe, wrap myself in a fuzzy blanket and curl up with a good book.

I've taken breaks before, but there are always those who say, "You have to go check out what she said on FB." or "Just log in and look at their vacation photos." With deactivation, there will be no logging in. The heavy coat, scarf, gloves, and boots will be packed away in the attic and I will run barefoot and carefree across the lawn.

Okay, so what is so bad about facebook? Nothing. Facebook can be an awesome tool. The problem lies within my reaction to Facebook. When 20 seconds of scrolling through my news feed leaves me depressed for half a day, there is a problem. When there are people I genuinely like in "real life" whose posts on FB make me want to push them in a lake, there is a problem. When I have 30 seconds of free time at a red light and my first action is to tap the app, there is a problem.

I will miss certain people, but will hopefully be able to keep in touch with non-locals through email and text. And if you just can't live without your daily fix of my wordy wordiness, bookmark my blog and stalk me!

6 Years Ago

The last time I posted here was January of 2009. Crazy! Life was a very different animal altogether back then. Although I was about 20 lbs thinner and 6 years younger, I like 2015 much better.

So many events have flown through my head in the few seconds I've sat here thinking, "6 years!?" and I wonder how different life will be 6 years from now.

Okay, so enough deep thoughts with LeeLee. 2015 is going to be much different than 2014 because tomorrow I begin the 6 food elimination diet. I am not dieting to lose weight, I have Eosinophilic Esophagitis and studies have shown the elimination diet helps. There will be a post later, when I feel like explaining, but for now it's enough to say that my whole way of eating has to change. Drastically. No Soy, Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Nuts or Fish/Shellfish.

I can't really wrap my head around it. No PB and J sandwiches? No PB cookies, No cinnamon toast, No Pizza?

3 months is the total elimination period, then I will reintroduce one food every 6 weeks. If I counted corrected, this basically lasts through Dec of this year.

So today begins the journey. This blog will be about more than just that, but with food being such a huge part of my life, I imagine, this new way of eating will be a big part of this blog.

Stay tuned!