What is your experience with Weight Loss and Candida?

[KiaKaha]

Well as you can see, I am pretty huge and I also have very long term chronic Candida.

For my size my weight loss has been pretty poor - About 8lbs in 5 or 6 weeks (no cheats). (Let me say I am committed to LCing in any event as I am diabetic anyway).

Low Carbing has improved my Candida but less than I would have hoped. I am no longer having wheat or grains or sugar but I am eating a fair bit of dairy, some berries, some artificial sweeteners and baked goods (in the form of nut meal and soy flour).

In others experience - how far do I need to go to get my body to let go of the weight? The thought of basically eating meat and greens for an indefinite period is anathema to me.

I have read on the website someone recommended the long list of problem foods and process for getting rid of candida. It is horrendous in totality and seems so open ended.

What it didnt tell me is what is the norm? Is there a hierarchy of food for elimination? What are the most problematic foods in terms of candida promotion? If you have a total exclusion diet, how long does it go on for? How long does it take to get rid of Candida? Does say eliminating dairy and taking natural remedies then probiotics do it for most people etc?

What can I do that is most likely to have an impact?

I have started having coconut oil each day, have some pau d'arco tea and have ordered some oil of oregano. I think I have seen a slight improvement with this.

To go from chronic candidiasis to cured takes how long? Are you ever cured?

If I manage to get rid of the Candida will it come back or will pre and probiotics stop it from recurring?

I'd be really interested in hearing from various people who have gone through this and how it has unfolded for them.

(I should probably say I dont have any gut symptoms related to Candida so I dont get any feedback in this form).

[Kayleigh]

I have had a lot of success with candidiasis. All of the major and most of the minor chronic problems on a very long list are now gone. I am 5 lbs from my goal weight. I've been low carbing for a few years but switched to very low carbing and sometimes no carbing for the past year. I felt I needed something dramatic to make a dent in advanced candida. I think I had this mess going on since I was a kid and I am 43 now.

I had all kinds problems...skin fungus, eczema, joint pain, horrible burning pain in my legs and buttocks - especially at night, insomnia, mood swings, constant ear infections and a blocked ear, diabetes, flaking scalp, puffiness, heavy eyelids, mood swings, thinning hair, sinus problems, shortness of breath, weight that would not come off no matter what I tried, constipation and I'm sure I left out something.

Every one of those problems except the scalp problem is gone gone gone.

It can be done. It takes time though. I was a vegetarian and then a raw vegan and then tried three candida diets before I went low carb. I didn't make a dent in my health problems until I went very low carb and cut out grains. Grains and sugar (including fruit!) were the big evils for me. Dairy is a lesser evil but it doesn't do me any good. :)

I started very low carbing about two years ago. For the first year, I still had dairy and most non-starchy vegetables and some fruits that are considered vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, etc. For the past year I have eaten nothing but rare red grass fed meat, wild caught fish, eggs (sometimes raw egg yolks and sometimes whole cooked eggs), fresh leafy green vegetables, garlic, goat butter, lemon juice, and coconut oil. I would also have seaweed and every now and then an avocado until a few months ago. Right now I am sticking to the meat, eggs, leafy greens formula because it is working and having much faster results. That's it. That's all I eat. Two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. That is all need.

The sun is also very important. The sun is a great candida killer. Fungus fears the sunlight!

I feel fantastic eating this way. I need less food and feel more satisfied. The key thing was to cut all starch and sugar. No grains. No starch. No sugar. No compromises. I know most people would not do it but it worked for me and now I love it. I can't see going back. The extra added benefits besides getting rid of all the chronic health problems and normalizing my blood sugar are that I look so much better and younger. I have good skin and cheekbones again. The best side benefit of all is the end of depression, mood swings, and PMS. Three months ago I had my first pain free period and barely noticed the next two. Woo Hoo!

I used to take anti-fungals but now I just use the diet, exercise, and sunlight. I use garlic and cayenne pepper as a flavoring. I stopped eating so much garlic. It was very helpful to cut out tomatoes. I never realized how sugary they are. I would like to eat those again some day but I don't really miss anything else.

I also have homemade kefir from goat milk and kefir grains as a probiotic. I think this also helped me but it's controversial. Some people do well with it and some do not. I think the kefir helps me. I only have my own though.I would never drink the supermarket kefir. Probiotics are important. Kefir works for me but pills are more convenient.

[lcgrrl2006]

I've had luck with Candex and a 50 billion count probiotic.

[KiaKaha]

What's Candex? What brand orf probiotics would you recommend ?(I will probably get mine at Netrition)

Kayleigh - that sounds pretty stringent. It sounds like with your various experiences trying things out that you will be pretty much eating your current regime for life? Do you think the issues will reappear if you are less strict?

I am really scared about taking the wholesale plunge. I have eliminated grains and dairy (although I struggle with giving up cheese) and sugar. Some of my symptoms have improved (the dairy was partly responsible for my stuffy nose/ sinusy problems) and having taken the Coconut Oil now for 3 or 4 weeks, I have a sense that that has had a bit of an impact. I have had an overall lessening of various symptoms. I still have a little bit of fermented products and some nuts and berries and some artificial sweeteners. Its nearly all meat, fish (we have great quality here and its all free swimming or grass fed) and green veg although I do eat a small amount of tomato and avocado.

For me the hardest thing will be giving up berries and sugar substitutes - I love fruit. What would you advise I eliminate next? (nuts or Berries or sweeteners?) Did you feel any of these made a particular difference to you or were they all important?

I am also going to start supplementing with oil of oregano and am having a fair amount of garlic.

I was going to see if I could knock more of the problem foods off (but I am getting near to where I think it is going to really hurt) and then after a further 3 months of the oregano, coconut oil etc to start on the probiotics.

Weight loss is still stuck at about 1/2 lb a week which is a bit sorry for someone as big as me so I am still hoping to find the solution to that as well as the other issues.

The good news is it is going down and I feel that some things have gone from always in my consciousness to less than a daily problem so that's something as well.

[Kayleigh]

Kayleigh - that sounds pretty stringent. It sounds like with your various experiences trying things out that you will be pretty much eating your current regime for life? Do you think the issues will reappear if you are less strict?

I know it's unusual but it works. I also have more reasons than just candida for doing this. I started with diabetes/candida and then discovered that everything is connected. I don't think I'll have to be this strict forever but I will probably keep some looser variation on this WOE for life. I really do not mind at all. In fact, I am beginning to really enjoy it. It feels natural.

I also feel that the extensive benefits outweigh any drawbacks or inconvenience. I like feeling good and being medication free. I realize that most people would not do this but it works for me and I am happy. I also find it very economical because I need so much less food. I like being free from the preoccupation with food. :)

For me the hardest thing will be giving up berries and sugar substitutes - I love fruit. What would you advise I eliminate next?

I don't know if you have to give up nuts completely. I think it is important while fighting off the worst of candida to avoid starch and sugar. If you are going to eat any fruit, berries are the least problematic. You could try giving them up and see if there is any benefit and then introduce them back in later. I will eventually eat berries and tomatoes from my garden again but I have no use for the sugary fruit in the supermarket. I have lost my taste for sweet and no longer need sugar. I'd rather get any plant nutrients I need from vegetables and fatty fruits like avocados.

Stevia might be okay for you. It's a very sweet herb. There is some debate about it.

Oil of oregano and garlic are good anti-fungals. They are strong and cause die-off so keep it in mind and cut back if you get too much of a reaction. I don't think it's necessary to suffer constant waves of heavy die-off. Some die-off and discomfort is inevitable but patience is key.

Probiotics are important. You need those. Different diets and anti-fungals seem to work for different people but I think probiotics are the universal beneficial prescription for fighting candida fungus. Keep in mind that the yeast beasties prevent weight loss as a survival skill. They want your fat stores to fall back on and feed on. Once you make a dent in killing enough of them off, the weight will start to come off too. Cutting sugar is going to help here too because insulin also factors into your ability to shed weight.

I used to rotate my anti-fungals. Yeast Defense for awhile and then Candex and then Oil of Oregeno. There is debate over whether this makes them more effective but it certainly couldn't hurt.

The best of luck to you. I know it is a pain but it really is worth it to get rid of the yeast beasties. They have hijacked your body.