Overcoming My Cashew Addiction

A little over a week ago I had a CT scan. Let's just say that I hope that I never have to do that test again. I had to drink a half gallon of a barium "smoothie" in 45 minutes. No throwing up allowed. After I got home the torture began. I honestly could not leave the house for about 4 hours. I tried going to Costco but as soon as I got to the stop sign, I had to turn around and go home. Once home, I could only be one room or less, away from the bathroom.

My doctor's office called the day after the test to tell me that they were referring me to another specialist. Apparently the scan showed that I have diverticulitis. After looking it up on the internet, I have come to the conclusion that it must have been caused by my diet. I don't have a name for this diet, because I didn't consider it a diet- but a way of life.

Whenever I would get hungry I would simply eat a handful of cashews. I carry a big can of cashews in my car and snack on them when I would forget to eat. I would often eat cashews instead of a meal. I would eat them if I craved carbs. I would go through a large can of nuts in about a month. That's a lot of nuts, but it was wonderful. I could maintain my weight and not feel hungry.

With diverticulitis one thing that you cannot eat is nuts. As Sarah D says... "nuts are your life.. what will you do?" Good question.

I have not had one cashew in over a week. I never really thought that they were all that addictive, but I think that I am going through with drawls. I honestly crave them. Whenever I open the door of my car, my mind says "where are my cashews, I think I need to eat a handful of cashews, or it's a good thing I have some nuts in my car- I'm starving."

Instead of munching on nuts, I have been eating high fiber foods. A bad thing about a lot of high fiber food is the amount of carbs they contain. I have replaced my cashews with double fiber bread, fiber one bars, fiber one yogurt, lots of apples, vegetables, fruits and Beano.

The pain that has been in my lower left side for the past 3 years is getting better. Even though I am grateful that I am getting better, I still miss my nuts!