New to Wai diet, need motivation

[dime]

As far as I know you usually need at least 2-3 weeks doing it 100% before you see some results. Just give it some time.
If it helps you -- before Wai I used to have acne, not that much but they were around, the face, shoulders, upper back; now I don't have any. But I'm already doing it for more than one week, I think around 2-3 months. The only time I had acne appear so far was after some celebration where I drunk quite a bit of beer. At least I know now to not drink beer.

[abicahsoul]

Try to hang in there. You have been undereating most of the time, until now, so you have to think of it as starting again, with eating right amounts etc. Perhaps you should keep a diet diary here, there is a section for it in the forum if you scroll down. That way RRM & the mod crew can see what and how you eat. It will also give you something to do which might make you feel that you're 'doing something' about it.

From how you describe your skin behaving, it sounds like it is working like hell to get rid of the trapped sebum in your skin.. I would be disrespectful to say that I had such extremely big problems as you describe, but I had them, and also some that were I think cystic, cuz the lumps in the skin would never go away and the inflammation and pain would come and go during the month. (Those are now history, they were for me history after 3 weeks 1 month of doing this diet properly, ok, an occasional smaller munchfood here or there, and always afterwards a small prize to pay in some bumps or generally a bit more oily/unclean face). But after the cystic ones were gone I also had a lot of small bumps on my forehead, in fact more than earlier, before Wai. I would get some pimples there but not often. My bad area was on the sides of my jawbone and the neck just by the jawbone. But the small ones were all over my forehead, feeling really icky, but with really big effort to keep 100% they also went away. Now unfortunately I have them again, cuz I have had a very tough time in my life and have had some munchfood, but at least it feels good to know that if I can keep strict they will go. However, I understand YOU, you haven't had that experience yet, so you're freaking out cuz you don't know yet if this works, or if it is all bs.
I hope you hang in there, because I think you need to give it more time.
Also, I was thinking. Are you drinking that special water you told us about? To me it sounded like it might not be a good idea, since it was totally demineralized? Try to drink more fresh pressed juice.
This diet as far as I understand makes the stuff inside the pores come out. For me it was like: my back was itching one night and I started to scratch and to my disgusted delight a lot of small hard sebum grains came out.. like sand.. But I didn't have major acne on my back.. But it all surfaced at one time and it was gross.. And it sounds like your body is doing that, just starting to push it out. I could also see some sebum grains protrude on my chest.. I dunno if these icky details gives you any comfort, but I think what you see is effect of the diet, and that you need to hang in there. I understand you're freaking out, cuz when acne is bad one literally wants to crawl out of ones skin. Poor you, I feel you. But I think you should really really try to keep the diet, cuz I think in a few weeks you will feel different about it.
I don't remember if you ate them or not, but perhaps you should as from now avoid nuts for the time being.
And let us know more what you eat and drink every day.
Hope this is some help. At least I am listening to you and sympathizing. RRM and crew can give you more help with trouble shooting.

[Pineapple]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not giving up yet. Just frustrated and confused. I might have more success when I'm back at school, working, and buying my own food. I constantly have to rely on my parents and they don't seem to realize how many oranges I need. We eat all organic and it is very expensive to feed me on this diet, so I try not to complain too much. Today, for example, we had NO oranges left so I just had to deal with bananas and pineapple (my favorite). I take spoonfuls of coconut oil with my fruit. I'll probably eat a cucumber tomato salad with olive oil, and egg yolks as usual. I'm not really drinking that water anymore unless I mix it with lemon juice or orange juice. The hardest part of this diet is not the cravings or feeling hungry (I'm never hungry), but getting the right foods. Even when I am on my own, I doubt I'll be able to afford as many fruits as I want or even need. It is really scary how many oranges it takes to make juice.

I really don't think I'm under-eating because my weight loss has slowed significantly. I still have a layer of fat I'm trying to get rid of. I'd like to loose 10-15 pounds. I hope the sauna will help with that as well without making me break out more.

I am going to keep trying my best at all of this and wait a while before I post again. I'm sorry if I just keep complaining. I will keep at this and post again when something interesting happens. I will keep at it even if it takes all summer to heal up. I really do believe poor diet and environmental toxins are the causes for acne. I'm sure that the longer I eat this way, the healthier I'll get and eventually have clear skin. Praying might help too.

[abicahsoul]

I think you are welcome to post here as much as you like about your questions and problems. It is normal to have them.
It is damn expensive, and I'd say: buy non-organic fruit, I can't afford organic fruit, and since we peel everything (except maybe grapes:P) I think from that perspective it is ok. Even if it is better for nature with organic.
Add a little white sugar (caster sugar) to your meals? Just to help with the energy bit? But now I think it is better for the more pro members to give advice.

[Oscar]

Can you list once more exactly what you eat and when you eat it?
Also, it differs per person how fast their acne clears up. At least after two weeks a significant improvement should be noticeable.

[Pineapple]

Eating non-organic is very important to my family so I try to stick with it as much as I can. Unless of course I'm eating out for special occasions, but all grocery bought food (especially on a diet) should be organic. And if I'm nut buying my own food this summer, I don't really have a choice.
I wish I could list exactly what I eat, but it changes every day. When I went into the kitchen this morning, my family had eaten the rest of the strawberries and only bananas and avocado were left. I am thinking of creating a more concrete schedule of what I want to eat and showing it to my parents and see what they think. For example, oranges are such a staple and I have told them this but the past two days we haven't had any. I don't want to sound selfish but they don't really seem to think about me all that much. They even eat the fruit that I buy with the little money I have left over from the school year. They aren't used to feeding me because I'm away at school so I understand. Maybe if I write down exactly how many oranges and other food I need every single day, they will buy more? I'm not eating any of the meals they serve to my siblings, including expensive organic grass-fed meats and wild fish and other expensive items like that.

Yesterday, I at 2 bananas with coconut oil, then a bowl of pineapple with coconut oil, then we took a long shopping trip so I didn't eat for a while, then I had a HUGE cucumber-tomato salad with olive oil. It was so large I could barely finish it. Then later I drank some water with fresh lemon juice before getting in the sauna, then another glass after (to replenish electrolytes and for nutrients). I was planning on eating some egg yolks as usual but forgot and by the time I remembered, it was late at night and I wanted to go to bed. I eat the egg yolks most days.

I wish I could be drinking more fresh orange juice with olive oil or coconut oil. If you drink that with every meal, will that be enough to keep your blood sugars stable and not cause breakouts? Also, I always just guess with the amount of oil I eat. It seems to be working enough to keep me full, but I don't know the exact ratio. I don't know grams or anything. I usually make one medium or tall glass of OJ and put 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil. Is that ok, or should I be more exact?

I also eat avocado often and usually with some other fruit because I don't like the taste of it by itself. The fat from the avocado is enough to balance the sugar from the fruit, right? I can't see any place where I am majorly wrong. I will try and develop a more consistent eating schedule and when I do I will post it on here. Sorry that I can't do that yet. I will talk with my family and try to work this all out.

[abicahsoul]

You have your argument right there: you don't eat so many expensive grass-fed proteins as your siblings..
But you can also eat raw meat if you want, I do. Some people here do. If you like it. And of course if it is fresh/stored cold and bought in a safe place.
And those yolks, its good to take them at bedtime too.. You will sleep like a princess.

Very unconsiderate of your family to eat your fruit! Poor youse. You have to yell at them!! (nah, kidding) And explain a bit what you're doing. And if they don't believe they can study the free acne book themselves..

The oil sugar ratio - I can't really say. It sounds like you take a lot of oil to make up for the sugars you're not getting, which might make you feel sluggish and tired.. Perhaps you can add sugar to your small fruity meals.. even tomato tastes pretty good with a little sugar.. But at the same time it is important to get the fruit for nutrients.

Make a diet diary here, for every day if you want, if it changes and you can get help or suggestions.

Down on this page is a section for diet diaries.

[dime]

The oil sugar ratio - I can't really say. It sounds like you take a lot of oil to make up for the sugars you're not getting, which might make you feel sluggish and tired..

Not necessarily, the coconut oil has saturated fat which is much better as an energy source the than unsaturated fat in olive oil. Could be comparable to glucose, maybe there are some studies. In general the more sedentary you are the more fat you would consume.

[dime]

Btw, be careful on how much coconut oil you eat. As far as I know it may cause temporary hyperthyroidism-like symptoms the first couple of days you start eating it, so if you have never eaten it before take it slowly.

[Pineapple]

Thanks, but I've eaten coconut oil for a long time already. I used it for cooking, popcorn (I absolutely love popcorn....one of the things I miss most lol), or just drizzling over veggies instead of butter. I have read about many health benefits one can get from coconut oil, and it tastes pretty good too.

I spoke with my folks about how I need many more oranges. How many do you guys eat or use for juicing every day? If I drink 3 large glasses a day that is about 9 oranges! Crazy...but my parents said they'd be willing to get me more.

[dime]

If they are wiling to buy you more that's great. I myself don't eat oranges that much anymore, maybe a couple per day (and orange juice not at all). But of course I substitute with other fruits, e.g. apples, bananas (bananas seem to offer more calories/nutrients than oranges for the same price), etc.

[abicahsoul]

Öh, I'm ashamed to say how much I juice.. Right now perhaps about 15 oranges, 3 kg per day. And then I'm trying to keep it down and eat other fruits as well.. But for my morning training, I need that juice. When I was dancing in the night I used to juice 4-6kg a day...
Hm, I don't know if bananas is as good for nutrients..? I kind of find that nothing seems to beat oranges.. But on the other hand, perhaps it is more than satisfactory.

[dime]

The main problem I find with oranges is that it's quite hard to tell if they are ripe enough or not. Very often they become moldy if I keep them for some time. But yeah, if you're physically active the juice is very helpful.

[Oscar]

The only thing I can see that might not be okay, is the frequency of eating. Basically 1 piece of fruit (like an apple, banana, etc) per 30 mins, so two pieces for an hour. If you can eat (or drink) something every hour at least, that should cover it.
As far as organic goes, it's more important when fruits have thin(ner) skin, or no skin like strawberries.
Abicahsoul is correct about the carb:oil ratio, if it's less than 2:1 then one might feel less energetic. The more active, the higher the ratio should/can be. 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil is a lot for 1 glass of OJ, but of course it depends on how much you're getting the rest of the day.
I squeeze between 10-15 oranges per day, which yields about 38oz. I add 10 teaspoons of sugar and around 4 tablespoons of evoo. It's not necessary to drink OJ, but it makes it easier to control the energy intake.

[Pineapple]

Why do I have to eat that often if I'm adding oil? Isn't that the whole point of adding oil? Squeezing one glass of orange juice (about 3 oranges) takes a while and doesn't last that long. How can you just carry it around and drink it throughout the day without it going bad? I thought drinking it sooner was better. The oil is supposed to help with blood sugar. I am trying my best here and eating one piece of fruit every half hour is way too much. If you were awake 15 hours a day, you'd eat 30 pieces of fruit! I honestly have not been eating as frequently as you say, but the wai diet never says you have to eat that frequently to get results. I'm following all the rules in the sample diet.

I know that fruit with thicker skin may not have as many pesticides in them, they are still heavily sprayed and really hurt the environment. That is why my parents buy all organic. When I'm at school I don't always, but most of the time. I'm just going to do what I can afford.

Still no signs of improvement at all. Still covered with tiny tiny bumps everywhere.