I was on a candida diet years ago and found that I didn't pull the entire time but it was hard to maintain. The key thing was cutting out sugar (and you wouldn't believe how many things have sugar in them!). I started a paleo diet a while back and it definitely helped too. I fell off it in the last month, and as soon as I introduced bread, cheese, and sugar back into my diet my acne returned and my pulling became much worse. I don't think a diet will cure you, but it definitely helps.

Yep I know Mid, antibiotics indeed wreak havoc with our bodies!! Luckily it's not the tomatoes that are bad, just the seeds. So things with concentrated amounts of tomato seeds in them like salsa, are "bad".

Ugh I agree that a diet will help BKC, but what's worth more to me? Reduced urges and no food enjoyment, or food enjoyment and having to fight urges more often? At the moment, I"m picking having to fight the urges more often and getting to enjoy bread and cheese. Though I am cutting down on sugar, processed foods and caffeine.

155 days :)

I am going to look up a candida diet though!

Oh my gosh it's awful!!!!

I looked up these diets as well and there is just NO WAY that I could do it...eating food I love is definitely more important to me than having hair! More power to those who can do it!

I looked up the candida diet - its so hard to stick to, but I have drastically cut out my sugar - I only occasionally have sugary food - I did used to have sugar everyday - now not so much.....I will have a pudding if I really want it! e.g today I am making meringues with raspberries and cream :d But I have found cutting out bread helps - and I am not really missing it - will have it if I really really want it thouh but thats not often - eat loads of cheese though!! I have daily yoghurt, eat lots of olives, garlic and sweet ginger, avocados. So I have porridge and yoghurt for brekkie (with cardomom and rose water if I don't want it plain) then celery as a snack, then salad for lunch with fresh veg, olives, mozzerella, parma ham, or aubergine and chickpea wih yoghurt dressing yum. Then a sort of normal dinner like sausages and coleslaw or pie or stir fry.....anything yummy. it does seem to help keep me baalanced - i had pzza the other day and felt bloated and tired.....didn't cause urges to pull but i can see how that situation could make me less able to resist!

Argh you're making me feel so guilty. My eating is soooo all over the place, but the good beats the bad. I prefer healthy food. (Except when it comes to pizza and beer..)

Thank you for the help with the menu, I agree with confidentic, I feel guilty about my eating, too. Stay strong, you can do this!

monitoring food tooootally helps! even when i have a few sweets i IMMEDIATELY regret it because of the suger content hahaha but more because of the hair pulling
it gets SO BAD from that!

156 days!! I'm so excited about my days again :)

Thanks Mid :)

Thanks firante! I don't monitor my food as I've never tried to lose weight before, and I've always preferred healthy food. It comes naturally to eat well, and eating bad makes me feel dirty! (except, like I mentioned, pizza and beer.... yum!)

Ok, I've had a breakthrough.. It's not trich that tells us it's ok to pull "just one hair'. Or it's ok to pull for hours. It's US! WE rationalise it, WE tell ourselves it's ok. Yes, we feel pleasure and relief instead of pain and discomfort when we pull our hair out, but we are the ones who tell ourselves that it's ok to pull, there is no other little voice in our head saying it to us.

WOW.

Maybe you have all realised this already and I'm late to the party? Yes we are unlucky enough to feel pleasure instead of pain when a hair comes out, but that doesn't mean that we HAVE to pull our hair out.

Hmmm sorry for repetition, and overzealous-ness! Maybe I'm wrong.. But I think the feeling that we NEED to pull is similar to the feeling that we NEED some chocolate or whatever. We don't need it we just want it, and we can say no. I used to write about not being able to separate my trich thought from my thoughts, but now I realise they're all my thoughts!! I am simply responding to a physical sensation.

But I can respond this way in my brain - "tugging on this hair feels wrong, pulling it out will feel great ---> Yes it will feel great but it won't help me by pulling it out, the consequences are SO BAD and not worth the immediate feel-good sensation -----> I'm happy I made the decision not to pull that hair out, the feel good sensation is the only good thing about pulling."

So this makes me 100% accountable for pulling out my hair. I admit that I do really want to pull it out so much sometimes, because it feels good and releases tension and calms me. But I don't HAVE to. And I don't have to be scared that these evil trich thoughts are going to overtake me, because there's not other voice in my head, just mine. It's just me and I have the control.

Sorry for this ramble, I just needed to get it all out. xoxoxoxo

I'm ready to kill the habit and addiction portion of trich!

You are right - at the end of the day - pulling or not is a choice we make - although it is not always easy - we do have control - realising that I could not pull and the world would still go on and I woud still enjoy my life was a relevation to me!!

You're right, it's not always an easy choice, we want it so bad sometimes that we rationalise it.. "just one.."

Revelation is right! I wish I knew what I know now years ago when it all started, but I'm thankful that I at least know now.

I think its a case of when you are ready to accept it and understand it. You aaren't necessarily in a place where you can look your trich in the eye as a kid - I know when I started pulling I didn't even admit it to myself. Its only been as I have grown older and stronger that I feel capable of admitting to myself what I do - and by admitting it I can take control. Does that make sense?