Loving This: Week 3

Talk about feeling great. A solid three weeks into the nutrition program and I feel amazing. Good enough to practice yoga, to keep up with my son and to return to teaching.

I'm back!

I've turned the corner, I think and am beyond the point of craving anything starchy. I even passed up the opportunity to "test" my body's threshold for wheat. As much as I wanted that big piece of bread, I just couldn't do it.

And I'm glad I didn't indulge in the bread because all of a sudden, the need to have it just went away, along with cravings for pretzels, crackers, rice and oatmeal (all of my favorites).

Instead, I'm drinking protein shakes and eating more protein than ever. I'm still integrating fruit and a little bit of dairy. And flax, of course.

Interestingly, my super adorable Southern California friend emailed me this week and we talked about her diet. She has type 2 diabetes and has struggled with it for years. She recently adopted an eating plan like mine, although hers is more rigid, and she's lost 25 pounds and needs no insulin. More importantly, she feels fabulous. (And she's getting married in August and I know that she'll be radiant!)

There are many, many good reasons to cut carbs and I'm finding more and more health experts who endorse this way of eating. Turns out, unless you're an extremely active athlete, you really don't need much more than fruit and vegetables - in addition to lean protein and a lot of "good fat" - to support metabolic function.

Only three weeks into the program and I'm seeing definite changes in my skin and hair. I have no idea whether or not I've lost weight and to be honest, I really don't care. At this point, it's much more about how I feel.

One supplement that I believe is helping me get back on track is Inositol. I think this is a good one for everyone to use periodically as it is a great support for the liver. Used in higher doses, it also supports mood (the studies on bipolar are fascinating!) and my own personal favorite: sleep. I use the Jarrow brand (I think Jarrow is an incredibly clean and credible company) and since it's a sweet powder, it mixes well into my daily smoothie/protein shake. There is no real upper limit on Inositol. Most people tolerate it well.

I will see my nutritionist, Sydney, this week. I have the feeling that she'll be cleaning up my diet even more in the coming weeks, which is fine by me because I'm learning so much in this process.

And now I understand why people give up things in exchange for feeling good. It's worth it. It really, really is.