Day 20: This isn't working anymore...

There are lots of rules you can break; so thats what happens a lot...
avo
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Day 20: This isn't working anymore...

Post by avo »

I started the 100% strict Sample Diet on May 6. It is now 20 days later, May 26.

When I first started the diet, things were great. Acne went away almost completely within 3-4 days, no constipation or bathroom problems, lots of energy. But then things slowly went downhill. Looking back, bathroom business became gradually less frequent and more difficult, even after cutting-out nuts and dried fruit. Slowly but surely, new pimples arose, in new places (chest [which never was a problem previously], knees [weird], many tiny bumps on forehead and general nose/chin/face area). I can safely say it is as bad as it was previously, if not worse, they are smaller-sized pimples and whiteheads and bumpy skin, but more numerous and widespread than it ever has been (but not 'severe').

If you don't mind at all, just ask and I can be more descriptive about 'bathroom issues,' if you think it will clarify or indicate what may be the problem. PM me if you want.

Now, I've been thinking about it a lot, and have some basic theories on what's going on. I'll give you things that I have been doing differently from those first few days, maybe we can connect some dots. I've been adding EV olive oil or other fat to every fruit meal, which I skipped when first starting diet. I stopped eating late (1o-11p). I've cut out dried fruit and brazil nuts (only about 5-7 days ago). I started using honey (first, a liquid 'raw clover honey,' threw away that and got some real unheated set honey), usually less than 1 T a day. I no longer eat a cucumber-tomato salad. I started combining avocado and banana as a meal. I try to drink water, if I feel thirsty, probably about 2-4 glasses a day. Um, I eat smaller meals, more often. That's all I can think of right now.

I have a feeling that juicing fruits will be recommended, instead of eating whole. But I'd really rather not, if I have another option.

Thanks in advance for your help, I hope we can get to the bottom of this.
avalon
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Post by avalon »

Hi Avo,

Without quoting all that you changed, more appropriately, why did you change the diet? Why did you stop the tomato/cucumbers/nuts and drief fruit. Why did you add honey? Was all this incrimental or rather sudden?

I know you can't really go by what I know, but as Wai says, after the first 2 weeks you can experiment...but if things start happening after you've added oil or any one of those things...it could be any one of those things, or several in combination, and logic would be to start again with the Sample diet. If it works again, and you change it, change only one item at a time to see what happens...

Best wishes,

Avalon
huntress
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Post by huntress »

Avo, I understand your frustration and I'd like to help you out. Can you list down the foods you eat since after cutting out the dried fruits and nuts?
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Yes, please list as detailed as possible what you eat during a day.

That your bowels move less frequent is normal, because there is less 'trash' in the food you eat. Since most of your food is digested and used, less excrement will be produced. Your body, i.e. bowels, might need some time to adapt to this new situation, especially after years of cooked foods and lots of fiber.
avo
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Post by avo »

avalon:

I stopped the tomato/cucumber salad, because 1) I don't like it 2) it is not tomato season, they are unripe, unflavorful, expensive 3) I'd much rather have high-calorie sweet fruits. As far as I know, I'm allowed to skip the tomato/cucumber salad and still be on the Sample Diet.

I cut out nuts/dried fruits because 1) they didn't seem digested well 2) they made bowels dry and hard to pass 3) I can't find sun-dried fruits 4) I believe they made my acne worse.

Isn't adding fat to fruit a necessary component? When I wasn't doing that (the first few days), technically I wasn't following the Diet. As far as I know, I'm allowed to skip the tomato/cucumber salad and still be on the Sample Diet. Same with brazil nuts. Also, dried fruits is not a necessary part of the Sample Diet. I can very well eat fresh ripe fruit instead of dried (and possibly cooked/heated) fruit. And honey/sugar is allowed on the Sample Diet. So, by the looks of it, I am on the Sample Diet.

These were all gradual changes, made to improve the results I was getting, not worsen them. Things started going downhill before I made most of them, around the time I started adding olive oil and stopped cucumber/tomato. I'll add cucumber/tomato back in, but I don't see how that will help anything.

Oscar:

It's not that I just go less often, but my bowels are very difficult to pass. Oh, and I've been doing strictly raw food for 3+ years now, no cooked. About the fiber, I consume about 60-70grams of fiber a day, with just fruits plus yolks. This is almost exactly the same amount of fiber as I ate those 3 years of being a raw fooder, no big change at all. Also, why would things start out great, but then worsen over time? If my body was adapting, it should have been the opposite; start out bad and improve over time. :?

I'll post typical foods I eat nearly everyday, some that I have once in a while, and then 3 example days (as it is never really the same each day).

Daily -- Bananas, avocados, mangos, melon (musk-, water-, canary-, athena-), olive oil, egg yolks.

Occasional -- Apples, papaya, peach, cherimoya, oranges, coconut, honey.

Ex Day 1 (each food listed is about 90-120 minutes apart, or when hungry)

1/4 Watermelon
1/4 Watermelon
1 Mango + 1 T Oil
1 cup Banana + 1 cup Avocado (both mashed)
1 Banana + 7 Brazil Nuts
½ cup Banana + ½ cup Avocado
2 Small Oranges
1 cup Banana + 4 Yolks + 1 T Honey + 1.5 T Oil

Ex Day 2 (before I stopped nuts/fruits)

1 Cantaloupe + 2 T Oil + 1 T Honey
1 Mango + 1 T Oil
2 Avocados + 2 Bananas + 1 T Honey
1 Mango + 1 T Oil
7 Brazil Nuts + 4 Dates + ½ cup Raisins + 1/3 Coconut
2 Bananas + 4 Yolks + 1 T Honey + 1 T Oil

Ex Day 3

1 Athena Melon + 2.5 T Oil
1 Mango + 1 T Oil
1 Banana + 1 Avocado + ½ T Honey
1 Mango + 1 T Oil
½ Papaya + 1 T Oil
½ Papaya + 1.5 T Oil + ½ T Honey
4 Yolks + ½ cup OJ (just experimenting :))

and Yesterday, for good measure:

2 Bananas + 2 T coconut oil
2 Mangos + 2 T Oil
Banana + 1 T Oil
1 cup Avocado + 1 ½ Bananas
½ Papaya + 1 ½ T Oil
½ Papaya + 1 ½ T Oil
2 ½ Bananas + 4 Yolks
avalon
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Post by avalon »

Hi avo,
So, by the looks of it, I am on the Sample Diet.
I Hope you don't think I was 'questioning' any of your choices. Not at all. I just wanted to know the reasoning behind your changes. My wording was incorrect because I didn't mean to imply you were off the Sample diet. Thanx for the info.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Hmmm...so far I haven't got a clue, but I'll keep thinking. :?
Maybe RRM or Nick have an idea...
avalon
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Post by avalon »

I'm only thinking outloud...

I'ver heard it said, if you eat the same food every day you run the risk of developing allergies. Maybe try alternating foods every other day- or longer????

from a site on food allergies and acne.
How Do Food Allergies Cause Acne?

Food allergies are the number one cause of acne, and the worse the acne the more likely food allergies are involved. Eating a food to which the body is allergic leads to a continuous toxic reaction. In such a case the immune system fights the food as if it were an invading organism. This can cause inflammation in the skin (and many other conditions), as well as the need to eliminate the toxin.

What Foods Cause Acne?

There isn’t just one food that causes acne. Any food allergy is capable of causing acne...
avalon
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Post by avalon »

Now that I''m not thinking out-loud, it sounds naive...

You never know though, just switching things around might help. Don't eat bananas evey day etc. ...or that kind-a thing. Sometimes the easiest answer is the easiest answer...ehh and then...never mind :roll:
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RRM
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Post by RRM »

avo wrote:Slowly but surely, new pimples arose, in new places (chest [which never was a problem previously], knees [weird]
That sounds like an allergy, and my wild guess is that its the oil
Can you try leaving the oil for a while?
To be able to deal properly with the lack of fat, you need to double the frequency of food intakes... sorry... :(
Chin-Chin
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Post by Chin-Chin »

Ah no lucks! Maybe you can try a different type of oil. Some people on this diet are eating coconut oil.

I suppose that you were not allergic to olive oil before? But allergies can really come out of the blue and all of a sudden. I started having a metal allergy a few years back and had to give away all my jewelery :cry:
avo
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Post by avo »

No problem then. I actually have tons (buckets/pails) of organic extra virgin coconut oil sitting around. Also got a few coconuts (that I'll put through a juicer) and avocados and nuts (but I'm still gonna avoid these), so no big deal with the fats. Though I do love the taste of fruits and OO, coconut oil is much different tasting. :(

Is it really possible to be allergic to olive oil? I haven't had olive oil for several years, I only began once I got into this diet. If it matters, the olive oil I've been using is not organic, just Carapelli EVOO. You think it's the olives in general, or should I try an organic, unrefined brand? Maybe it's some residues in the oil? I eat almost everything organicly grown, avocados, melon, papaya, OO, coconuts being the exeptions. I have also been doing strictly organic produce for the last several years, maybe I can't handle whatever is in the oil?

It's funny you mention allergies to to foods eaten daily. I almost never ate bananas, mangos or melons over the past several years. Only avocado and egg yolks are things that I have been doing for a while.
avalon
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Post by avalon »

This is your Quest avo! Sadly we, who believe, as you, can only pray your answers come swiftly.

TAKE UP YOUR SWORD AND LIFT IT HIGH! Sream out your Battle Cry :shock: Everything you need to know, you know already. From here, we can not know if it is the 'oil' or the 'banana'. We can guess, but- Only you can know for sure.

We, who believe, as you support your cause! Don't hold back and don't hesitate to strike out that 'oil' or 'banana' or whatever goody you've hidden in the rear of the refrigerator.

I wrote my reply like this because that's how you have to look at it. Your quest. Take your list, and start by removing one thing. And then another...

God Speed.

Avalon
avo
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Post by avo »

I hate quests. :( Leave quests for the heros.

I guess now would be a good time to explain that I have been battling what I call 'a mild cold' for more than a week. Not really a cold, but just a sore throat and runny nose. Otherwise I feel perfectly fine, if I didn't have to keep blowing my nose or swallow too often. This is the primary reason why I stopped the nuts/dried fruits, as I thought I may have been reacting to them. It was pretty bad for a day, much better now, but still lingering very slightly. It makes perfect sense now if I am allergic to the olive oil, dates and times correspond pretty closely. My mum said that it sounds like an allergic reaction, though I blamed it on the dried apricots and nuts.

Though somewhat off-topic, I am concerned that coconut oil is way different from other oils. Meaning, I've read that it is not stored as fat by the body, but instead used directly for energy and that those who use coconut oil experience weight loss instead of gain. This concerns me, I already eat some coconut, and I definately don't want to increase metabolism or fat burning or anything like that. See the MCT thread if you can help explain or demystify this.
Chin-Chin
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Post by Chin-Chin »

Well, start by replacing olive oil by coconut oil as a temporary measure. Maybe it's not the olive oil :shock: But in case it is, you'll then know for sure.

I'm sure that olive oil is not the only viable oil that exists on earth. They lived a long time in China and Japan with no olive trees you know?

So, no need to be fatalist on a Friday night/Saturday morning. Lighten up and swing it as you go, and keep us informed if your condition gets better!

Good luck!
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