I had planned to join with others in the UltraSimpleDiet during the week of September 15, but it turned out that conflicted with Rosh Hashana, which I celebrate.  So at the last minute, I decided to start Monday, Aug. 31st.  This meant I did not have a week to prepare and didn't have all of the supplements in hand.  Nonetheless, I ventured out on Aug. 30th and bought soy milk, silken soy, borage & flax oil, lots and lots of vegetables and whatever supplements I could find.  Already had flaxseed and some of the other stuff. 

I decided to do this because I have a history of gastrointestinal upset, associated with perimenopause and hormones, I think.  I had gotten it under control for a while, but it had been starting up again toward the end of this summer.

It was easy to eat the foods as prescribed.  When visits to the ice cream store and parties with lots of food and drink came up, I just told myself, "I can do anything for a week", and this worked. The soy milkshakes tasted better as the week wore on and were invaluable in keeping my energy up.  The vegetable broth, which I did not expect to like, was very soothing.  Lemon and hot water in the a.m. was also nice.

I had headaches to varying degrees during the first three days and also felt very, very tired.  As I work full time and also have kids at home, options like the afternoon nap were not available to me.  I did try to get to bed reasonably early and did take the time to journal and reflect.  I would have liked the UltraBath but don't have the facilities for it at home.  I practice yoga regularly and I made sure to include that most days.

Day 4 was the turnaround day for me.  I began to feel better.  No headache, more energy.  I was humming along now!  As the week wore on, I got sick of drinking broth and also tired of brown rice, but perservered.  If I had more time, I would have tried more of the other recipes for variety.

At the end of the week I took the "test" and scored much lower.  However, it's somewhat misleading, as I was recording what had happened during one week as opposed to what has happened over months, so I had alot more zeros.  This test will be more useful in a month or so, I think.  I lost 6 pounds which surprised me greatly, as I had never been hungry during the week and weight loss had not been one of my goals!  My hips lost half and inch and my waist probably an inch and a half.  Best of all, my entire gastrointestinal system feels like it had the week off!  It is relaxed and happy.  And so am I.

Today, my first day off, I found my taste buds readjusted.  I put half a teaspoon of honey in my morning tea (I had skipped honey all week), and it was sweet!  I chose foods I wanted to eat today, but those foods turned out to me lots of vegetables, fruits, fish and other good stuff.  

This was a very positive experience.  I learned the value of planning ahead, especially lunches and snacks for work, so I don't eat whatever happens to be lying around.

-Lyra