Creative Cravings

I am finding it terribly hard to concentrate on anything today. Despite continuous efforts in the studio, it has been a non-eventful day creatively. I have managed to start the first piece in a new series of self-portrait works, but I have not achieved as much as I would have liked to this fine day. I am putting it down to the diet I am on, and my cravings, which are unrelenting today. It is day 52 of this very restricted diet, and despite the frequent feeling of the beginning of insanity, I am rather proud of myself for sticking to it so religiously for this long.

For health reasons I am on a diet which restricts my enjoyment of food immensely. After years of quick fixes of a temporary nature I decided to try it. This diet consists of NO dairy, NO wheat or wheat based products of any kind, (including no bread of any kind), NO sugar of any kind - including fructose - which means NO fruit, (lemons and lemon juice are ok), NO fermented foods or beverages - which includes tofu, (one of my staples as an aquatarian), soy sauce, vinegar and all alcohol and NO potato or potato products, NO caffeine in any form.

What is allowed are all vegetables except potato, all legumes, eggs, fish, herbs, garlic, ginger, rice, (rice cakes and corn cakes as a substitute for bread), nuts, seeds and oils, herbal tea and grains such as millet and quinoa.

It's certainly not as difficult now as it was during the first few weeks. My mood swings were ferocious and my cravings were enough to make one pull their own hair out, fortunately the mood swings have settled right down, however the cravings are still present from time to time only not as severe. Also, my cravings have changed, or at least the things I crave for have. I now miss apples, honey and tofu more than I miss wine, chocolate and cheese.

Although it has effected my ultimate enjoyment of food, it has made me a lot more appreciative and I now have much to look forward to once I go back to my regular culinary habits. The good thing is, the diet seems to have helped my symptoms, the negative is that it seems to, at times, be a hindrance to my creativity or at least my creative productivity.