People are getting excited and Slim Camp is going strong! Congratulations to all of you who have set some goals, and are sticking to them. Remember Baby Steps!
In order to help you with your goals… Check out this website Hungry-girl.com. Thanks to Laurie for sending me the link, I think it’s a fabulous website. I love surfing things liek that, for tips, as well as insipirationt o keep me going.
And Speaking of inspiration… have I mentioned how much I love Bob Harper. 
Personally, I’ve given up on my Not Drinking Pop goal, for now. Why? Because it’s a much bigger goal than I gave it credit for. LOL However, I am being active 5 days a week. Not always at the gym, which I think is the key. Take today for instance, this afternoon I’m going for a walk with my downstairs neighbour. I’m also eating breakfast every day.
My New goal, starting today; No eating for three hours before bed.
Todays Guest Post is about food allergies…I’m hoping that this will show you how event hings we’re nto aware of can affect our efforts. It’s important to have a Dr’s input in your effrots to be ehalthier and lose wieght, especially if you feel you are doing everything right, and are not seeing results.
Tales of an Itchy Scalp and Dragon Scales
Beth Williamson
The first thing I noticed when I turned thirty-five is my skin changed. My scalp got dry and I started getting acne. I’d never had either problem, even as a teenager, so I it was a big shock. I got seborraic dermatitis on my face (these are like old people patches of uber-dry skin). Then a year later I decided to go on a quasi-Atkins diet to lose weight and ate basically protein, fruits and veggies for a year.
When I went off the diet, my occasional allergies became a big problem. I mean I’d always had environmental and seasonal allergies to lots of stuff like mold, mildew, dust, tree pollen and so forth, as well as bananas. But it seemed to just get worse no matter which meds I tried. Then the itchy scalp turned into something even worse. Huge patches of scales that didn’t seem to be affected by any dandruff shampoo known to man. That turned into what I call my dragon scales. I’d have these enormous raised patches of dry, tough skin on my hands. People asked me if I’d been burned. *blush*
My dermatologist gave me steroidal meds for the scalp and skin, which helped a lot. However it kept coming back so I kept having to use the steroidal meds, and I started to gain weight. 15 pounds in a year. Then suddenly last summer, I had an epiphany.
The year before my sister had been diagnosed with an allergy to wheat, corn and soy. Her symptoms mimicked mine in many ways. Aha! I went to the allergist and had them test me for wheat. After self-testing I was sure that was my food allergy causing my woes. When he told me I was allergic to soy and wheat, I was in shock. Soy?? I ate soy every damn day *sob* - I was devastated. I walked out in the parking lot thinking, what the hell am I going to eat?
Lucky for me, my sister had already done a lot of the hard work and gave me the fruits of her knowledge. I learned what names wheat and soy disguised themselves as in foods, what to avoid and what to look for (I never trust “Natural Flavors” in anything). I had to start eating organic food, the only food with every single ingredient listed. Fortunately my skin issues all went away within two months when I stopped eating wheat and soy, including the acne! However, I paid huge amounts of money for wheat-free, soy-free food. Let me tell you, frozen rice-crust pizza for $5 is so not worth it. Uck.
The unfortunate side effect of eating organic food is the amount of fat in it. Yogurt made with real cream, lots of cheese, and so on. I also gave myself permission to gorge on foods I could eat. *sigh* Like milk shakes (three Gs of fat in a cup), two large Chik-Fil-A waffle fries for lunch (yes, I really did), ice cream, big organic chocolate bars and potato chips. Lots and lots and lots of Utz potato chips. *slaps forehead* I could kick my own ass for wallowing in self-pity and making very unwise (and horrendous) food choices.
What happened? Wel in addition to the 15 pounds I put on, I gained an additional 25. Really y’all, I’ve come full circle back to almost the exact weight I was at 36 before I lost 50 pounds. I am angry with myself and made a vow to me to change it. I know what I can eat and what I can’t eat. If I’m wise and make my l own food and salads, I don’t have to worry about dragon scales. I’ve been doing better since Sasha’s Slim Camp started, but I’m not 100% meeting my goals. I have not eaten Utz potato chips in two weeks, although I have had some Lay’s. My sugar intake is almost 0 so my appetite is at least under control.
Making good food choices when you can’t eat low fat foods (they almost all have wheat/food starch or soy in them) is really tough. I love yogurt, cottage cheese and low-fat protein bars. However, I can’t eat any of these so I make other choices like organic granola with skim milk and strawberries. I’d love to one day lose that 50 pounds I gained back and hopefully I can reach that goal in the next year. I’ve discovered a great cookbook for people with multiple food allergies and I’m on the right track.
Wish me luck y’all. 
) Okay, 8 things about me!
“A person is a poet if difficulties inherent in his art provide him with ideas,” said Scorpio poet Paul Valéry. “He is not a poet if they deprive him of ideas.” Riffing off this definition, I nominate you to be the zodiac’s honorary poet for the next three weeks. You’re in prime position to capitalize spectacularly on your problems, both by generating wildly useful ideas and by drumming up fascinating opportunities for yourself. To assist you in your labors, I offer two more aphorisms from Valéry: (1) “Two dangers constantly threaten the world: order and disorder.” (2) “The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.” 
Valorian Chronicles - Book Two:
