Elimination Diet, Week 2

Week 2 is in the books marking a major milestone. What have been literally counting the days on the calendar as if it were March 2020 and we just need to get through two weeks to get this event to pass. Luckily, unlike 2020, we get to move on tomorrow and add wheat/gluten back into the diet for three days to see if there are any noticeable effects.

Week 2 was at least a 90% improvement as compared to week 1. Both of us had zero headaches as compared to the first week where the caffeine withdrawal was tortuous. The difficulty in the caffeine withdrawal period was the non-linearity. There was not a clear pattern such that missing the morning cup of coffee created a headache by a certain time that day. One could feel fine that day besides the slight decrease in energy. But then a headache might start 36 hours later. And if the pain got to a point where headache medication was used containing caffeine, the drugs fixed the pain but prolonged the withdrawal cycle for another who knows how many hours.

Coffee and rice cakes were our friend this week. The repetitive, boring, bland foods became slightly less bland as our taste-buds acclimated. Cravings for chips or nuts or bread diminished. If you told me I had to go another week with mostly beans, rice, rice crackers, and vegetable soup, I would say “ok, if that is what we need to do.” If you said we need to stop drinking the 1 cup of coffee we have each morning, I would plead for an alternative.

Coffee and Rice Cakes

Coffee
We say we drink you for the taste.
We say you help us wake up.
But let the truth be told,
You have control over us.
Just as you drive honey bees to caffeine containing pollen,
You make us ferment leaves and dry beans for your goodness.
You are interlocked with our neural network,
While controlling the flow of blood in our veins.
We succumb, we acquiesce, we know your power,
Please let us have our warm cuppa each morning.