Theresa S.

I started writing about my 30 days and this is a quick summary of my first 30 days on Protective Diet. On the morning of April 19th I checked my email and came across an email from Julie Marie with Protective Diet. I don’t remember subscribing to emails through her website but it’s possible I had. However that email ended up in my inbox it was at the right time for me. Upon reading the email and visiting the website I was intrigued. I had been feeling so ill – chronic pain from Fibromyalgia, systemic yeast, daily headaches, IBS flare ups, insomnia and brain fog, plantar fasciitis along with a host of other things off and on over the last few years. I was ready to do something drastic… to cut out sugar to see if that would help with any of the things I was dealing with and the no sugar on the PD diet is what made me take a second look. I have practiced a vegan diet through another program a few years ago and my body responded very well to it, although it was very hard to maintain the lifestyle because it was a mostly raw diet (85%) and I struggled with wanting to eat cooked food especially in the cold winter months in Minnesota. The balance that PD provides was very appealing.
I joined the Protective Diet Living Facebook group a day or two after finding the email and have been actively participating there ever since. The members at Protective Diet Living are so supportive and encouraging and without them I do not believe I would have made it through my 30 days. Thanks PDL members! You are all awesome!!!

Week one was hard for a few reasons:

1. I didn’t eat enough at my meals because I was still learning what to eat. There were a few days I would walk around frustrated and mad because I didn’t know what to eat. After stocking the pantry and having all the ingredients on hand this improved.

2. Detox is just plain not fun! I was a little tired around day three and I broke out with acne towards the end of the week.

3. Breaking the habit of eating. I was addicted to food and I was used to eating and binging.

Week two was easier but around day 11 I had a huge craving for my old SAD pizzas. I obsessed about it and then got mad that I couldn’t have it. I think the little pity party was more emotional than a physical craving. I got through it and felt empowered to have gotten past it. I still have some work to do in the area of understanding why I still overeat and learning how to counter that.

Week three was awesome! After 21 days of eating this way and getting through church fellowships and hosting company at our house, I know now that I can do it! It feels so great. I’ve never made it past 3 weeks in any diet attempt before without having a cheat day except now. Honestly, I do not feel like I am lacking for food and so there is no need to cheat because I am usually well satisfied.

Week four I got slammed with allergies. For 6 days I’ve been miserable with a sore throat, stuffy nose, headache and fatigue. I didn’t feel much like eating but I did the best I could. I enjoyed a frosty almost daily because the cold frosty felt good on my sore throat. On day 28 I really felt tired and just wanted to give in – I didn’t want to cook and just wanted my old comfort food again. I received a message from a PDL member who didn’t know I was struggling. She encouraged me and helped me get through my day. I grabbed fresh fruits for breakfast, had leftover soup for lunch and threw leftover rice, black beans, corn and salsa into the oven for supper. It took me less than 5 minutes to put those leftovers together. I made it through the day.

I started my 30 days weighing in at 271.4 and today am 252.4. That’s a 19-pound loss. To even write that seems utterly crazy but I’m very happy knowing that other than a few raisins in my oatmeal during week one and some cough drops while I was sick this last week I’ve been 100% on plan. Day 31, here I come! Total weight loss from the end of March (pre-PD) until now 24.6 pounds My husband, who travels for work, has been home a lot this month and he’s been eating all the Protective Diet meals with me (with some SAD foods thrown in there) and he’s down 10 pounds too. Thank you Julie Marie, Jerry and Protective Diet Living.