pktechgirlbackup | TQI diet

My whole life, I've had issues with inflammation. Joint pain, inflexibility, allergies, dental pain, weak immune system. Treating my hypoadrenia helped, but we have reached the point where that is not the problem, or at least the old cure (cortisol supplements) will do more harm than good. So we're going to try diet, specifically the To Quiet Inflammation diet. Honestly, the description and testimonials look sort of crazy, and I'm suspicious of anything that assumes the modern American aesthetic ideal for body fat is healthy, especially given that all the evidence points to exactly the opposite. But someone I really respect said several people she respects had a lot of success with it, and I've exhausted the stock of things I thought were good ideas, and five weeks is a reasonable amount of time for the potential payoff. Even if it doesn't work, I can see the denial being an interesting spiritual exercise. So I'm giving it a shot.

TQI has some principles you have to follow forever, but kicks off with an even more stringent elimination diet. I do not like my chances starting off with the strictest form of the diet, so I'm introducing phase 0, where I learn to cook according to the forever-rules, so that when I have to cut out a bunch of delicious, delicious foods, I will at least be able to feed myself.

So my goals for now through Halloween are:

breakfast is 1/2-2/3 produce, with the remainder being made up with protein. No grains.
I am debating following the "no additional sweets" rule for breakfast, because I think honey is good for me.
Stop eating several hours before bed. I do this one naturally unless I badly screw something up. This may mean planning workouts better.
At least one meal a day where I'm not doing anything else while I eat.