On the cusp of something good

So for the entire year of 2010, I've been getting these really awful headaches. They absolutely cripple me. Nothing cures them, except sleeping it off until the next day, which, let's face facts, is not the most convenient cure when you're busy and a headache hits you in the middle of the day. I thought I had it all figured out, so at a doctor's appointment prior to moving to Montana, I discussed my little issue with her. She changed around some prescriptions, and advised me to keep a headache diary to keep track of my headaches, what triggers them, how long they last, where it hurts, etc. I, being a bad patient, thought I was above this, especially since initially the changed prescription seemed to help.

Well, recently, they've been coming back, are more frequent, and the patterns are unlike anything I noticed pre-move. It has been pretty frustrating. A college friend of mine, Kaleigh, is a nutritionist and recently blogged about doing a detox, and how they can sometimes help to pinpoint if certain foods are triggers for an array of maladies, including...frequent headaches.

So after a few e-mails with her, I've begun to wonder if there is a certain food or group of food that's inflicting so much drama on my life. I'm a fairly healthy eater, but in our over-processed American lives, its not always easy to stay on track all the time. Per Kaleigh's recommendation, I'm going to be starting a 21-day detox/elimination diet tomorrow. I am nervous, because I know it won't be easy, but I am also looking forward to eating super healthy for a few weeks and hopefully getting some answers. And if I happen to lose a few pounds (yep, a few PCS pounds are still hanging on for dear life) in the process, so be it.

Normally, when I try to eat healthier, I am pretty quiet about it. I'm not sure why. But this time, I am going to disclose a bit more in the hope that it will keep me on track. So, feel free to ask me about this to see how its going. I really want to hold myself accountable for the next three weeks!

For my 21-day detox I will be eliminating the following from my diet:

• As much pre-packaged stuff as possible
• Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. THIS is going to be the toughy...I could drink a gallon of milk myself in a week)
• Corn & corn products (corn syrup, tortillas, chips, etc.)
• Gluten (wheat, oats, rye, barley)
• Soy
• Peanuts & peanut butter
• Beef, pork, shellfish, & processed meats
• Caffeine & alcohol

I will be emphasizing:

• Herbal & green teas, 100% juice
• Gluten free grains (brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.)
• Fresh fruits & veggies (try to consume more veggies than fruits)
• Beans, peas, lentils
• Fish, turkey, chicken, & lamb
• Eggs
• Nuts & nut butters
• olive oil

It sounds easy enough, but last night when I was trying to plan out our menu for the week, I was pretty challenged. I also feel bad because Mike is inadvertently "forced" into detox as well, because we will eat the same meals as me. He is totally cool with my doing this, which is awesome, but the boy loves his meat, whereas I am excited about having more meatless meals, so we will have to compromise a bit. And...my birthday is Sunday. Which means: no cake (unless there is a gluten-free cake mix out there that meets all my requirements, which I have yet to find)! Or wine(man, I love me some wine!)! Sunday is going to challenge me quite a bit. Why am I starting this now instead of waiting for the big 2-5 to pass? If I don't start it now while I am motivated, I might talk myself out of it. Plus, once the 21 days are done, I will reintroduce each eliminated food group one week at a time and monitor if I have headaches or not to see if I have a sensitivity to that food item. And THANKSGIVING is next month, so really, with the holidays approaching, its now or never.

I feel like this could be something really good for me, both mentally and physically. So right now I am feeling oh-so-optimistic and am going to ride these good vibes all the way! Wahoo! If you have any good, healthy, chock-full-of-veggies recipes that might work for me the next few weeks, please do tell!