THD

Today is the first day I am trying out a new way of eating called The Harcombe Diet. Now before you jump to thinking, "Another fad diet", I thought the same thing, too. But, after researching it more, I found out that it could be quite a perfect way of eating for me. Let me explain in a basic way, no claims to be a medical professional here....

First, I stumbled across The Harcombe Diet through a search for free recipe books on my Kindle and Zoe Harcombe's recipe book came up. Well, when I read "Harcombe Diet" in the title, I became curious (kinda like Alice) and I checked out her site and then went back and found her book available immediately on my Kindle for $9.95....why not!

Now I wasn't really looking for a weight loss fix.....but when I read that this was not just a weight loss way of eating but also helps with some health issues that I may be experiencing, I have decided to give it a shot! These issues are candida (a harmless bacteria in our bodies that feed off various foods that we often crave like sugars and carbs), food intolerance (those foods that you aren't allergic to but your body doesn't handle very well) and hypoglycemia (how your body deals with blood sugar/insulin)....I am pretty sure that after reading her book I have all 3! Grrreeeeaaat!

So, here's what I will be doing over the next few weeks....

Phase 1- This is only 5 days but I think for me, it's going to be a bit of a shocker because I am going cold turkey on caffeine! WAAAHHHHH! Basically you can only eat unprocessed meats, veggies (no mushrooms/potatoes), eggs, natural living yogurt (NLY) and about a 1/2 c brown rice. You can drink water, sparkling water, decaf teas, decaf coffee and NO SUGAR! Some have had great success with this detox process and have lost a chunk of weight in just these 5 days!

It starts off seeming a lot like The Atkins Diet (which I lost weight on but was GROUCHY) with veggies thrown in. I love that this phase is only 5 days but I HATE the no-caffeine since I haven't gone without caffeine for 5 days since having kids....coincidence, I think not!

PHASE 2- This phase gets a bit more interesting where you can have A LOT more foods that were not allowed in Phase 1 (fruit, oats, dairy, baked potatoes, small amounts of caffeine if needed) but this part seems a lot like Food Combining which I have heard of but never followed. Basically you have 3 categories or meals you can eat:

Fat Meals...where you only eat products from things with "faces" like unprocessed meats, unprocessed fish, dairy and eggs.

Carb Meals...where you eat only fruit, grains, oats, beans, potatoes.

Then there are the things you can eat with a fat OR a carb meal...vegetables, salads, tofu, very low fat dairy products, olives, tomatoes, berries, olive oil and herbs/spices/seasonings.

In Phase 2 you must still eat no processed foods and you can't combine things from fat or carb meals. This is a bit more flexible and still eating healthy foods! There are additional guidelines, too, but these are the basics....

PHASE 3, well I am not there yet but I do know that it starts when you are at your ideal weight and health!

So, here's to Day 1's menu of eggs with bacon and tomatoes, salad with lots of veggies and hard boiled eggs, yogurt for a snack, salmon with roasted veggies and brown rice and decaf coffee and tea!

I am sure the migraine will hit by 2pm.....anyone wanna place a bet on it??