I'm on the second day of a candida control diet that my naturopath doc gave me ... no sugar, no alcohol, no dairy, no wheat, no soy sauce or anything else fermented, no Splenda, just zero to one serving of grain (oatmeal, quinoa) per day. The theory is that the candida is out of balance in my system and has grown little fingers out through my stomach and into my body, causing "leaky gut" syndrome, which makes my body think it's allergic to everything. Only way to kill yeast is to starve it, and it loooves alcohol and sugar, two of my favorite food groups.

Food sensitivity tests, off the chart on wheat and dairy. Candida test, it's definitely bigger and badder than it needs to be, but not quite "raging" yet, so just a month on this before I start to introduce food back in and see how it feels.

I was scared that it was going to be four months or longer... whew. But if I feel as good as they promise I will, I may not go back to my old ways. And I am not missing sugar that badly; cooking lots at home. Soup, curry, stir-fry, etc.

It takes a long time to make everything from a raw veggie, but I do feel pretty good. The main thing that's getting me through is hoping the scale will drop; I'm 20 pounds above average right now after an exercise hiatus.

I'm just glad that there's five feet of snow outside, 15 below zero and I can't bike anyway. Good timing.

Hang in there!