Day 1 of 6

My first mission of the day was to get everything I'm going to need over the next 6 days before the caffeine withdrawl kicks in! I got everything except the courgettes from my local organic shop. Courgettes are not in season and I got some Australian ones from the supermarket. Then I headed to the fish market for makerel and Akaroa cod. I also got some swordfish for Friday because I'm supposed to be going out for dinner with my mum. My plan is to have her over here for dinner instead so that I can stay on plan. Then I headed over to the butcher to get organic lamb chops. I also got some fizzy water and some Argentinean Mate tea - er.. I know there is caffeine in that. It's my 'just in case' purchase (just in case I have to be on-the-ball and don't feel up to it).

I grabbed a pear on the way out the door, grilled a fish and baked a kumara for lunch, grilled up a lamb chop mid-afternoon (eaten with some raw carrots) and am doing a mix of veges and makerel (baked) for dinner. I don't imagine there will be a lot of culinary inventiveness over the next week, but it doesn't have to be awful. I'm thinking of making a meaty soup tomorrow. It's winter, the season for soupiness.

I'm feeling fine. Well, a bit more fragile than usual, but it's easy to handle when I know why I feel that way. Today, of all days, the supermarket decided to completely change their layout. Everything is not where I'm used to finding it and I was feeling unreasonably angry about it. Then I reminded myself that I can expect to have a short-fuse for the next few days and got over it. So, why I am I doing this to myself?

The main reason is because last time I did an elimination diet it had a lasting positive effect on both my arthritis (which I actually never notice anymore) and my weight, which continued to drop over the weeks after the diet and settled at about 3kg lighter. Post-diet, I had nil food cravings and since then I have not had the overwhelming urges to eat sugar or binge that I used to have. I've also managed to maintain a far healthier diet, so it's all good. It seems that, for me, doing an elimination diet once or twice a year should be a good health maintenance habit. The fact that my arthritis has improved so noticeably has given me a lot to think about in my Health Scientist brain. I'm veering toward the theory that arthritis (even osteo-arthritis) has a metabolic component and is not just a case of wear and tear.

My brain feels a bit 'foggy' and I intend to take it really easy over the next two days especially, which are supposed to be the hardest. This may involve a large amount of dedicated lazing around. ;))