Even this is off-limits now...
in Health ·
velvetwolf92 said:This thread hasn't quite taken off in the direction I was hoping for.
At the risk of sounding a bit too intense about this: someone really needs to move him over to the psychology department.
Based on my own experience—and the absolute misery I went through after a few burgers hit my stomach all at once—I’ve come to believe that overdoing it with unnecessary dietary restrictions isn't really healthy.
I'll go ahead and share my example with you. If it ends up being helpful in any way, I'd be happy to know.
I dealt with stomach issues, anxiety, H. pylori, and intestinal issues for about two and a half years. I lost about 45 pounds during that time. I was eating strictly what was "prescribed": white rice, boiled potatoes, and on my better days, steamed chicken. I stuck to rosehip tea and dry toast. I was so weak that I actually felt terrified when I’d hit a red light at a stoplight—I couldn't even stand there waiting for it to turn green. Honestly, the list of horrors is too long to recount. I couldn't work, and I couldn't even go out with friends because I’d turn pale from sheer exhaustion. I tried to be stubborn and refused to let it beat me, but it was brutal. Being in smoky rooms or places with loud music was impossible because I was just so drained. I took every single medication the doctors kept piling on me, along with all sorts of supplements and vitamins. Eventually, I just collapsed. On top of everything else, I caught tonsillitis, the beginnings of pneumonia, and bilateral kidney inflammation caused by E. coli—which I was supposed to be "flushing out" despite all the antibiotic therapy. All that heavy medication ended up triggering a kidney stone, which then led to more infections. After the longest, worst six months of my life—constant illness, being bedridden, a dozen different test results making me feel like an 80-year-old grandmother, an immune system in total deficit, and zero physical or mental strength left to fight—I finally reached my breaking point. I snapped. I threw away all the medications and gradually started introducing "normal" food. It wasn't an overnight change, and I had to be careful since certain things were strictly forbidden due to my kidneys and stomach, but I started incorporating full-fat organic milk and having a spoonful of honey on an empty stomach. For the first five or six days, I didn't feel great. But after that, it seemed like my gut flora finally stabilized. I sourced every natural remedy I could find and spent a fortune on them. At that point, I didn't want to hear another word about seeing a doctor, even if it killed me. Slowly, I began to pull myself out of bed. A month later, I was back at work and back in social settings—even returning to those crowded, unhealthy places filled with viruses, bacteria, and dirty glasses. In the end, it took me about a year to fully recover and return to a healthy weight.
Since then, I’ve been eating basically everything—as long as I do it smartly by eating frequently but in small portions. To be honest, sometimes I actually worry about my immune system; part of me fears that because I feel so resilient right now, something major is going to hit me out of nowhere. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’ve gone an entire year without needing antibiotics, dealing with any bacterial infections, or catching even a common flu. I barely recognize myself. I used to be so run-down and sickly all the time. Back then, I was constantly walking on eggshells with my diet, worrying about this or that, and everything seemed to trigger a flare-up that ended with me hooked up to an IV.
Here is my best advice: stop messing around with your diet. There are times when life forces you into a specific regimen, but I don't see that being the case for you here. Ever since I started trying to lose weight, I have never played games with dieting. I don't do the whole "one day it's all protein, the next it's carbs, then it's just water and fruit" routine. People don't realize what that kind of fluctuation does to your body. Once you throw your internal balance out of whack, everything starts sliding downhill, and getting back on track is an uphill battle. It is difficult and incredibly tedious.
There’s a better way to tackle candidiasis than just jumping on another restrictive diet. I don't know if people think this is some groundbreaking miracle of modern medicine, but honestly, stay away from all that business about balancing your gut flora with "natural" remedies. Nobody ever warns you about the fallout that follows those methods. Once that starts, the endless chatter begins, and it can leave even the healthiest person feeling completely unhinged.
Believe me, velvetwolf92, you really ought to be grateful that you aren't dealing with something far more severe or dangerous. With the diet you're describing, you might inadvertently invite much bigger problems due to a lack of awareness. Just enjoy life and stay positive. You don't fall into that category of people with "dietary restrictions," so there is absolutely no reason to crave that lifestyle. Avoid it at all costs; it’s simply not worth the trouble.🙂