The "Live-it": Questions Answered

Thank you ALL for your kind words and comments!! They really are so incredibly sweet and are very motivating. It's comments like those that make me choose veggies over rice and grilled rather than fried so honestly, thank you!

For those of you who left questions, I am more than happy to answer them as well as give a few tips on how to maintain your weight afterward.

SO! Here goes...


Warning: this is yet another kind of lengthy post but those burning questions in the back of your mind will all be answered! :)

1. The fruit issue: why can you not have fruit the first two weeks of the diet? (From Katie)

• We all know fruit is verrry good for you. It's full of fiber and nutrients so why do you have to avoid it for the first two weeks of a yeast free diet?
  
• For lack of better words, fruit has natural sugar in it. In order to successfully rid your colon of the yeast (which is the goal of the yeast free diet), you must stay away from sugar, even natural sugar, which is in fruit. It's only two weeks without it which, for a fruit feen (sp?), is for-ever but you. can. do. it. and the best part about not being able to have fruit for two weeks is that once you are actually able to eat fruit again, it's the sweetest thing you will ever put in your mouth. No joke!

2. Where did I find my motivation? (From Amy)

• Well, I work at a health and wellness center where I preach about the yeast free diet to our patients every single day. I've seen people change drastically because of this diet...and I'm not just talking about weight. Their acne disappears, their skin looks younger, they think more clearly, the feel excellent, their body is more defined, they have more energy, their hormones (which regulate your entire body) are more easily assimilated, etc....I could go on for dayyyysss but you get the point, right?! Plus, I desperately wanted to lose all the weight I gained in college so it was a win/win.

3. How much do you workout when you're doing this diet? (From Elizabeth)

• I actually feel like I worked out more while doing the diet and I think it's simply because I was so motivated and full of energy. Plus, once you begin to notice a difference in the way your clothes are fitting, you are even more motivated to shape and tone. I went to the gym about 3-4 times a week and was doing cardio for 30-45 minutes, followed by strength training (rotating arms and legs) and then I would end my workout with 20 minutes of abs.
• Remember: if you are training for a triathlon or some type of marathon you will need some type of carbohydrate to sustain. This is where the brown rice and/or sweet potatoes come into play, but remember...only sparingly.

4. What does a typical meal look like? (From anonymous?)

• A typical meal of mine is usually pretty colorful, hence all the veggies.
• Here's an example of the day in the life of a yeast free eater:
  

Breakfast: eggs, turkey bacon, half of avocado
Snack: handful of cashews
Lunch: spinach salad w/ tuna, black beans, salsa, onions
Dinner: grilled chicken or fish, steamed broccoli, baked zucchini

5. Where do I find my recipes? (another question from anonymous)

• Some of my recipes are recipes I've known for a while but just tweak a little bit. Example: Chili (I just don't add the cheese and sour cream like most people do) or Sausage balls (breakfast sausage, cheese & Bisquick rolled into balls and baked) which are SO good but you are supposed to use Bisquick to make them. Well, no flour = no Bisquick so I substitute the Bisquick with garbanzo bean flour (which is completely yeast free) and I don't add cheese! Ta-da!
  
• Other recipes are super basic. I usually buy three types of meat every time I go to the grocery store so I always have a variety on hand: lean turkey, lean ground beef, tilapia/salmon. Pick out a meat, saute, steam, grill or bake your favorite veggies and add some black or green beans...voila! A perfectly easy yeast free meal!

Turkey patties, sauteed bell peppers/red peppers, sauteed onions, black beans, baked asparagus

• MOST of my favorite/real recipes come from working at a health & wellness center. Our vitamin store carries a yeast free eating cookbook which is pretty much like a bible to me (and anyone doing the diet for that matter.) It provides you with the guidelines, the reasons why someone might want to do the diet, a list of ALL the foods you can/cannot eat, a grocery shopping list, a sample meal plan, and best of all...TONS of recipes!
• And last but definitely not least...good ole' Google! But be careful...some people's idea of yeast free and mine are completely different so sometimes it can be a little deceiving.

6. Now that I've lost the weight, how do I maintain it?

• No one specifically asked this question but since I get it allllll the time I figured I would be proactive and answer it ahead of time.
• Basically after I did the diet for a strict 2 1/2 month period, I slowly but surely started incorporating more foods back into my diet. Some of the foods (like brown rice, oatmeal and granola) my body excepted. Others (chicken fried steak and fried pickles, for example)... not so much.
  
• After doing the diet, your idea of eating completely changes...not just mentally but physically as well. You don't want to eat certain things because you don't want to feel bloated afterward. Then again there are those foods that you absolutely can't eat because it literally makes you feel sick when you do so. This is a good thing, in my opinion. I know if I eat chicken fried steak I'm probably going to feel nauseous all night long so therefore, chances are I probably won't ever eat another one.
  
• One of the absolute best ways (I think) to maintain your weight after the diet is to do an 80/20...80% of the time (Monday-Friday afternoon) eat yeast free. 20% of the time (Friday nights-Sunday) try your hardest to eat yeast free but if something happens and you can't, it won't be the end of the world.

I hope this helps you all in the slightest bit! Remember, this is solely my opinion on what I have found to be very successful in losing weight, clearing up allergies and much, much more.

One of my favorite recipe blogs is Healthy Indulgences. Blogger, Lauren, is a college student who suffers from gluten intolerance so she has come up with a butt-load of gluten free recipes, which is verrrry similar to yeast free, and mmmmmaaannnn is she a genius!! (Gluten free can have cheese, agave nectar, flour and dairy (I think!) so you just have to use your substitutes for these items...)

A few of my favorite substitutes:
White, all purpose flour...or...garbanzo bean, black bean or almond flour
Sugar...or...erythritol, xylitol, stevia, truvia
Milk...or...almond milk, coconut milk

I've made a few of her recipes...like the black bean chocolate cake, which sounds absolutely disgusting but is a staple...TRUST!

Ok. Well...if you're still here...guh-reat!! If not, sorry for rambling! ;)