Progress - Week 2...

Week 2 of implementing the AIP diet is officially over, here's the weekly progress update!

I don't know if it's typical or not, but I still find myself missing a lot of the foods that aren't approved on the diet. It's not a constant thing, but it's definitely still there. It's worst while I'm watching TV in the evenings with my family....there are so many commercials for food! I'd say the Olive Garden commercials are the one that make me the most sad about the AIP diet. I guess it's a good thing I usually watch Netflix rather than TV!

Another week of AIP food...

The hardest thing about the AIP diet, aside from TV commercials, is the lack of convenience. I really dislike the fact that I can no longer just come home and have 'whatever' for dinner...running late from the kiddo's Tae Kwon Do class? No stopping and picking something up! I have to go home and see what meat, veggies, and starchy veggies I have pre-made in the fridge. Don't have anything pre-made and ready to heat up? Then I guess I'm cooking! It's really a drag. And it keeps me in the kitchen sooooo much more than I was before I started AIP.

I'm also finding that it's quite expensive! Probably because I can't fill my plate with inexpensive grains or breads anymore. Now that 3/4 of my plate at every meal is some sort of veggie, I'm having to buy a ton of vegetables with every trip to the grocery store. Yes, yes, I know that "you shop for what's on sale." But, can you honestly say that buying 5 lbs of vegetables is going to cost the same as buying a bag of rice or loaf of bread? No. No it's not. And there are 2, 3, sometimes 4 trips to the grocery store a week because we run out of my 'diet approved foods.' Everything adds up!

Alrighty. I could complain about AIP stuff all day long, so I'm just going to cut to this past week's results:

- HS symptoms: This week was much worse than the week prior. I've had 4 flares that have required bandaging for most of the week due to draining/bleeding. 4 of my 6 typical trouble spots are currently bothersome, which is no better than last week, but no worse. I had two new flares develop, one is still giving me trouble and one has already drained. Overall, not enough improvement for me to say that the AIP diet is helping.

#mood

- Mood: I'm still periodically irritable. I find myself getting frustrated when I feel like my husband and other family members aren't being understanding of all the AIP diet changes...but I'm thinking that it'll get better as everyone gets used to what I can and cannot have.

- Weight: this morning, I'm down 6.4 lbs since I started on AIP. [That's down .6 lb from last week] I've got to be honest, I'm extremely frustrated. I don't know why the number moved so much the first week and hardly any the second. I know that my diet has improved significantly and that my portion sizes are much smaller than pre-AIP. I'm almost not snacking at all, but when I do, it's fruits or carrots! I don't know...I guess I was expecting some miraculous, scale-melting numbers, but it's just so... slow!! I know that 6 lbs in 2 weeks is probably great, especially without adding any exercise into the mix...but I was hoping for more!

- Goals: I'd decided to set my first goal/reward at 15 lbs. I think I'm going to allow myself to [temporarily] dye my hair some fun, funky color. After the first week's stellar weight progress, I thought it was going to be a super easy and quick goal to reach. Now? Maybe not so much. Keep your eyes peeled for a post with a photo of my with blue hair...it'll be here, eventually!

- Overall thoughts: I'm starting to wonder if the AIP diet is going to be helpful enough for my hidradenitis to be worth it. If in another week or two, I don't see some positive changes in my HS symptoms, I'm going to consider 'downgrading' my diet to something more 'normal.'

More updates soon, check back in a day or two!