Great weekend!

This weekend I have slowly begun to feel better. Walking was going well, so I upgraded to wearing my Sketchers Shape Ups for a little extra work out. I can't remember if I have PT or not tomorrow, but regardless I will be doing some sort of physical exercise.

This (almost) week long burst of steroids hasn't been terrible. No facial swelling or terrible weight gain. They do make me tired and a bit queasy unless I have a large amount of food with them. Also, I think I am a bit touchier as far as my feelings go and a bit irritable (poor Kevin). I am hoping that after I speak with my doctor tomorrow I can go ahead and stop taking them. If I'm feeling better I don't see why I would need to continue with them, right? I hate taking extra pills anyway.

I've decided not to be as bonkers about counting calories on weekends. Usually I do more physical activity on weekends as compared to during the week when I just work on my thesis. I still cooked healthy and utilized my subscription to Cooking Light:

Saturday night was pork tortas (Spanish for sandwices). WAY delicious.

And tonight we had black bean burgers.

Kevin was a real sport about the black bean burgers but will not be having the leftovers. He's just a carnivore, he can't help it. Meanwhile, I think it would be good to slip in some meatless meals during the week. Firstly, it's healthy because the meat is usually replaced with filling beans or grains. Yum. Secondly, it's cheap. Tonight's meal probably cost 5 dollars total for four servings. Third, one could argue that we saved a cow, but I actually doubt that. :)

There's an article on the topic of switching your diet to a vegetarian one called Effect of vegetarian diet on systemic lupus erythematosus but I can't read it due to MetaLib being a pain. From all the other websites on the subject it appears that switching your diet does nothing.

My doctor at Shriner's investigated this area as well. She did some blood test on me to determine what foods I'm "allergic" to. If you're allergic to something your immune system supposedly flares up in response to that allergen. And, in lupus, any increase in immune activity usually leads to the immune system attacking things that you need- such as interconnective tissues. For me, it came out to be dairy (including whey and casein), mushrooms, and corn. I ignored the mushrooms part because I like mushrooms too much. But, I did give up all things dairy. I ate cheeseless pizzas. I attempted to make a tofu cheesecake (it was awful), and I started to drink soy milk. In the end, I didn't notice any difference. The only big thing that happened is that now I think regular dairy milk is icky.

I suppose some people are willing to try anything to give up pain but I'm glad I can have pizza with cheese again. It gives my life joy. And, if you can't eat the things you enjoy what's the point?