Stan's Diet (phase 2: Normalcy)

Alright, for those of you who may feel yourself ready, this is the next step. Good luck! First, the following rules should be observed.

1. This is somewhat of an experimenting phase, but you will not be able to test anything that is forbidden at first. Therefore, though you may be feeling better, do not try potatoes, two pieces of bread or what have you only do what I say below for best results!

2. The most important thing is when to try this. I would say that most people should feel themselves at the appropriate level around six months maximum, others may notice this sooner. What you're looking for is the following;

a. A noticeable difference from starting the diet(i mean really noticeable). You should feel a lot better (though maybe not perfect). You should find most symptoms go away in short amounts of time if they appear at all and things such as fears of staying on schedule seem to have disappeared.

B. Now and then you should be able to go a half of an hour or even an hour longer than you normally would between meals. When you can do this and not notice any serious problems (you of course may feel slightly tired or jittery, but nothing terrible) it's another sign. Also, you should notice that you may be feeling bloated after eating and perhaps have an increase in diarrhea, this is from the fat intake and your body telling you it doesn't need as much now.

C. A disregard for the diet and an enjoyment of life you may have found missing before. Most people, on starting the diet, are discouraged easily by it and may complain now and then or feel depressed by their restrictions. When this seems to have disappeared and you really could care less anymore, it's another sign that you're ready. Essentially you'll feel like "i like what i'm doing and i'm healthy for it so i'm thankful for that, I really don't care if I can eat (fill in the blank with pizza, cake or whatever)."

d. Whenver you had the lowest point during the day (usually in the morning for obvious reasons after the first meal), you should find the symptoms that may appear decreased to a significant regard. Thus, if you normally woke up feeling great, ate, and then felt confused and tired after an hour, these symptoms should be easily ignored or tolerable at this point.

E. Any sensitivities to fruit should appear to be gone. You may test this by either increasing the fruit intake very slightly or eating the fruit before the rest of your meals. You'll know if you're not ready for that yet, trust me.

F. An acceptance of this condition without any care. Whereas you may have started out depressed at your situation, at this point you should have come to terms with it and be happy you've gotten it under control.

G. Above all, increased health and vitality. Other than normal stressors everyone deals with that may effect how you think and feel, you should find that you are perhaps even healthier than before you even got sick. Napping, though always good regardless of health as long as you don't do it too long, should be decreased.

3. Now then, for the dietary changes you will be implementing for this phase and what to expect from it.


Meals: meals will essentially remain the same except for a few things.

A. Immediately cut back your olive oil intake to where you are eating it only once or twice a day or simply cut it out entirely.

B. You will now be increasing your carbohydrate intake slightly using only vegetables! I cannot stress this enough. If you feel your case is less severe, try adding a bit of whole grain bread (check labels and make sure it says 100% whole whatever) or some organic grains. This can be done in any number of ways. You could add a little more of your daily vegetable regimen to each meal, or add more to every other meal, however you want. Whatever you do, don't add a ton to only one meal, spread it out evenly during the day. Do not add a huge serving to only one meal! It's also good to vary the amounts slightly. Have a bit more for one meal, go back to the regular serving for another, and then more than the first time for the next to get your body used to slight fluctuations in carbohydrate intake.

C. Add a little more protein, primarily through cheese, nuts or meat. Not too much, just an additional amount with each meal. 5-6 nuts depending on type, for example, and 1 extra tablespoon of meat with every other meal or so. For cheese, why not try adding a nice slice from some raw cow's cheese (as long as it doesn't contain any baddies you need to avoid, check my list again) and put it on your burger or chicken? Feels like a real meal now doesn't it!?

D. Now for the additions, of which there are two. First, if you haven't been eating them already, add a new vegetable or two or more into your regimen. Watch the type, I do not recommend adding something like beets just yet, something with a lower carbohydrate load per cup is preferable, look for something with around 8-12 or at most 15g per cup. I've just added back in some mixed stoplight, cut up bell peppers, fried in organic butter with a few slices of mushroom. Talk about sinful! You can also try adding tomatoes, or even squash, just be careful to count out your servings and watch for any symptoms. Generally, because of the way this diet has been organized, if you get any symptoms that are bad from trying a new food, you'll get them the day of trying or will feel like total crap the next morning and then the whole day. Thus, try to test on a weekend, preferably friday or saturday, or whenever you have off from work or school if you do either of these. If you don't, enjoy an experiment whenever you like! The second addition is organically raised (raw if possible) sheep's milk yogurt and some type of cheese now and then. The best place to get it is whole foods, who should carry a brand called old chatam sheepherding company for the yogurt, as well as a variety of organic and raw cheeses. Tjhe yogurt currently comes in a green container with an evil looking black sheep on the front. Their website is blacksheepcheese.Com, I believe you can have it delivered to your house if you can't find it locally. Do not get goat or cow milk yogurt! Also remember that the sheep's milk yogurt must be plain!!!!!!!!!! Start experimenting with this. You can have around four spoonfulls after every other meal, or have a bit more and take out your nuts for a meal here and there. It's a great filler and treat and you may be able to eat upwards of 1/2 cup per meal, every other meal. Experiment with it. Just don't eat a huge serving at once! Because this has been added back, calcium tablets will no longer be necessary, but if you're working out a lot and eating a decent amount of protein, I do recommend you stick with it.

E. Keep your fruit intake the same, but try to eat a few more berries here and there if you're eating them. Don't eat a ton more at once, just a few.

D. Water intake and everything else should remain basically the same.

Time: the final crucial aspect of this is to start messing with time.

A. First thing, whenever you normally had your worst drop of the day based on the entire day (usually the morning for most people), eat some nuts 15-20 minutes before this happens. You can do this for the first few meals of the day or simply for the one time you have a problem with. This is the main added protein.

B. Second, you should start experimenting with time. Go an extra half hour without eating at most (i prefer going an extra fifteen minutes for each meal after my fourth one), slowly go an extra ten minutes each time without eating, or even try for an entire hour later in the day. You'll feel when you need to eat, so pay attention. It is best to try these things when you're at home on an off day, so keep that in mind. Don't want to have a bad crash if you're at working giving a conference!

That's it. The major changes you should notice is a return to normal bowel movements. By this point before starting the changes you may be getting cramping, bloating, slight pain if the stomach is pressed and diarrhea from the high fat intake. With the addition of yogurt as well as drastically cutting back on the fat, you should find the problems disappear in a few days as the yogurt gets your intestinal bacteria back to normal. The other major change you should notice is that you suddenly (perhaps a week or so, but I assume it should be fairly immediate) feel almost 100% better or even completely better. You'll notice no mental symptoms and will only get some minor physical sensations here and there if you stick with the diet as I state it above. Now and then you will likely still have some drops, but they should feel a lot better now and things will be looking much brighter as this phase goes forwards. You may start to feel so good and feel so much in control that you'll even forget to mark your progress on your calendar. Try not to, but it may not matter anymore!