Day 6: Suspicions confirmed

Yesterday was the fifth day of my VLC  (very low calorie) fast.  I started this last Monday as an experiment to battle my fibromyalgia.

Losing weight has not been my primary goal, even though it's naturally happening on a diet of less than 400 calories a day.  My intentions were to quit eating just about everything, clean out my system, let my body rest, and then start adding back some foods to see if they caused FM flare-ups.

Pain-inducing poison!

My suspicions were confirmed  first thing this morning.  I'd done well all day yesterday, but fell off the wagon--slightly--when I attended a potluck dinner last night.  There were NO salads or raw veggies on the table, save for a bowl of home-made cilantro salsa.  So I ate a cup of it. NEVER have corn, beans, onions, tomatoes and cilantro tasted to heavenly to me!  Then I had two small kebobs my husband had prepared for the event.  The smoky grilled peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms were divine, as were the small chunks of marinated venison.  The downfall, however, was the dessert table, with bread pudding soaked in a sugary hard sauce.  Once I sneaked a tiny bite, I had to eat more...which ended up to be way too much! Full of bourbon-soaked sugar and white bread, I went to bed feeling bloated, tense, and resentful of my lack of willpower.

I didn't sleep well and got up this morning feeling like the vindictive Mac truck had hit me again.
Not surprisingly, it was EASY for me to flow through today with nothing but two 110-calorie Cambridge drinks, and  the remainder of my husband's leftover kebabs for dinner.  I enjoyed them guilt-free.

This will probably be the end of my posts about this experiment because I've accomplished my mission.  I am now 95% sure that sugar and alcohol do indeed exacerbate my painful FM symptoms.   Likewise with processed flour, and probably any processed foods.  Maybe even red meat.

It's interesting how much easier it's been to stick with this "diet" when my motivation has been pain control.  If I'd only been in it to lose weight, I would have looked in the mirror three days ago and said, "What the hell, you look fine just the way you are" and headed to the kitchen for a cold glass of chardonnay. (Funny how we rationalize our way out of things we don't want to face.)  But pain slaps you in the face and is undeniable.  When there's a way to possibly eliminate it and reclaim your life, it's easy to do what is necessary.

Today I've been walking up and down our stairs without limping, wincing or even hanging onto the railing.  It's been a long time since I've been able to do that.  Is it just coincidence?  Is it just the cycle of natural healing and FM flares?  An improvement in the barometric pressure.  Could be.  But as long as my "elimination diet" is working, I'll stay on this path.