I was complaining AGAIN about sugar cravings and fatness when one of my healers said it sounds like I have Candida. She suggested I look up someone named Dr. Jeffrey McCombs.

Well, wouldn’t you know it? That’s who I saw back in 1994 when I had my first acute bout of Candida (later he moved from Chicago to California and that was the end of my top notch chiropractic care). He put me on his Candida Plan and it was the best thing I could have done for my health. I can’t tell you how much 27-year-old me hated giving up sweets for the six months I spent on that diet, but it rid me of the horrible non-stop itchy rash that covered my body at that point.

So what Victoria said rang true: I knew I needed McCombs’ Candida Plan again. So I sent away for his supplements and prepared for four months of aesceticism.

I started on Sunday. To rid the body of the fungal form of Candida, McCombs guides you to:

1. Drink a quart of water for each 50 pounds of weight, every day.
2. Take sweat baths (exercise sweating doesn’t count).
3. Eat only animal protein, produce and rice (if you’re a vegan, you eat only produce and rice) for eight weeks. No processed or canned foods. After eight weeks you can start adding other foods back to your diet.
4. Take McCombs’ supplements developed to change fungal Candida back to its yeast form.
5. Move your bowels frequently.

None of this is negotiable if you want results. The rest of the plan details are here if you want them, but the whole thing is 16 weeks. Yeah, it’s a committment.

When I did this plan at age 27 back in 1994, it was brutal. I was hooked on sugar in every way and suffered through half the program. Fortunately, I got used to it and was able to stick to it because I knew I’d be able to eat sweets again afterwards. I dropped so much weight I went down to 113 pounds (51 kg). Even for a small, 5-foot 3-inch (1.6 meters) woman that’s not much.

My sugar addiction meant I needed the plan again six years later. It wasn’t as hard that time, but even though I followed it to the letter, my weight only went down to about 120 pounds (54 kg). In the decades since then I’ve continued to struggle with my dependence on sugar. I’ve broken my physical dependence time and again, only to return to it for emotional support. Yes, sugar has been a critical part of my emotional support. It’s terrible.

Since 2013 I’ve been downright fat. More mass, less height. On Sunday Nov. 1, 2020 I weighed 206 pounds (93 kg) at 5 feet, 2 inches (1.57 meters). I’ve spent almost five years working with a health practitioner on my diet, thyroid, hormones, metabolism and any viruses or parasites that have contributed to the problem. Even when I’ve abstained from sugar for months at a time, the weight does not budge. After all these years of sugar addiction, my body has gotten stuck on obese.

So, yeah. McCombs’ Candida Plan. Bring it on. Surprisingly, starting the diet on Sunday caused no sugar cravings. Hm. My usual white-knuckling didn’t happen. Maybe I’m finally ready — physically and emotionally — for the end of my sugar addiction.

This week I’ve spent more time shopping and cooking, but I have few obligations outside of the 30 hours a week I spend working, so it’s fine. What else do I have to do?

I’m in the habit of going for a walk every morning before breakfast, so now I use that walk to shop for what I’ll need that day. Here’s how it’s going.

Day One: Eggs, organic chicken, flat iron steak, brown rice cakes, celery hearts (I already had other vegetables at home): $24.16

Day Two: Stew beef, grapeseed oil, limes, pole beans, banana, kleenex (grapeseed oil was a mistake. It’s not cold pressed, so I can’t actually use it on the diet): $15.58

Day Three: Stew beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, celery, TP: $13.72

Day Four: Celery, bananas, fresh salmon, lemons, apple: $15.30

Day Five: Stew beef, sweet potatoes, cold-pressed almond oil, potatoes, bananas, brussel sprouts: $15.90

Day Six: Chamomile tea, cauliflower, ground beef, dishwashing gloves: $16.88

Hmm…this is goddamned expensive. That’s over $100 for less than a week! But good food costs. It would be even more expensive if I went all-organic. I’m going heavy on beef since organic chicken is expensive and non-organic chicken is scary to me, but maybe I’ll make more meals with eggs and look for cheap fish. The first eight weeks of the McCombs Plan prohibits anything canned, so I have to buy my animal protein in raw form. All right…

5 Nov 2020

Next post on my 2020 Candida journey: What I Was Eating Before.

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