Food, Glorious Food…

I'm starting this post on a good note; I finally entered R.E.M sleep last night. How do I know, I have energy today (yippee)! I actually feel rested, and guess what; I'm wearing makeup for the second day in a row. The Fibromyalgia meds I began almost 3 weeks ago take about 6 weeks to work, but each day I notice an improvement. This means the meds are starting to affect the neurotransmitters in my brain (this is the point of the meds). The improvements may seem irrelevant (wearing makeup), but unless you experience the pain of Fibromyalgia, you will not understand the significance of each improvement.

Last night, Nehemiah came into my room 5 times throughout the night (don't forget that I'm well rested today). He was afraid of having another nightmare, so I thought putting a nightlight in his room would help. Wrong. I woke up at midnight and freaked out because someone was in my bed (other than Miss Cinnamon of course). Who was it? You guessed it; Nehemiah. I felt like Super*Nanny; child wakes up and comes out of bedroom, parent puts child back in bedroom countless times throughout the night, parent's sleep gets interrupted (did I mention I slept well). The 5^th time Nehemiah got out of bed, I didn't lose my temper; I put the gate up at his doorway (mostly to keep my sanity). He cried a little, then got back into his bed and went to sleep for the rest of the night. I'm so proud of myself; I didn't cave. It would have been much easier to let him sleep in my bed, but it would have undone his success. I'm very proud of the both of us.

Now, onto the title of this post; food. Although much is still to be discovered about food and it's relation to Fibromyalgia, I was given a very strict list of foods to avoid. I'm not supposed to have any fast food. Typically we only eat out once a week, so I thought this would be okay. I thought I would be able to avoid those darling golden arches (oh how I curse those freaking french fries), but last night I had a relapse (seriously folks, I'm like an addict when it comes to those damned french fries). I had the french fries and a burger with the extras, and it made me so sick and nauseated. While stuffing my face (literally, and who are you to judge me), my body kept telling me to stop eating all that junk. Did I listen; of course not, and I ended up ill. And I still have heartburn. I still need to lose some more weight, so I have been doing fairly well with the whole eating healthy thing. If I avoid the delicious bad foods, I will feel better, and I will lose weight. So what's the problem; it's a win-win situation? I will be left eating cardboard, that's the problem. Okay, I'm being a bit dramatic (not by much), but that's what it tastes feels like. So, my question dear friend is this; how can I enjoy what I'm allowed to eat?

Here's a list of my forbidden foods:

Chinese food (msg)

White bread (sugar)

White Potatoes (because they taste so good starch)

Caffeine (can have a limited amount)

Fatty foods (like the french fries)

White rice (I don't like it anyway, except with soy sauce)

Regular noodles (you know the ones that aren't wheat)

Red meat (I love steak and am not too willing to give it up)