6. Call a friend. If you can get a buddy system going this can very helpful. Call your friend during times of weakness and talk it out. Make arrangements with your friend ahead of time and have a plan of action. Have your friend remind you of your goals or how badly you will feel after you eat them. Have specific phrases for your friend to repeat back to you.

7. When cravings come remind yourself that a craving usually only lasts a few minutes and it will be gone. Remind yourself that you will be able to have your reward on your specified day. Ride it out. After you ride it out a few times, it will become easier.

8. Reframe your thinking. For me it is simple to avoid unhealthy foods, because I simply do not desire to eat poison. I don’t want to do that to myself. So try to reframe your thinking about foods that you desire. Try to think of them as “poisons” instead of “delicious forbidden treats.”

9. Don’t let emotions build up. Express yourself regularly. Keeping emotions pent up can cause you to eat unconsciously. Unexpressed feelings can also decrease self-esteem and if self-esteem is low you will be more likely to give in to cravings.

10. Forgive yourself. When you fall down and give in to your temptations don’t beat yourself up for it. Forgive yourself and let it go immediately. Just start over again. No harm down. To criticize will only be self-defeating. Don’t let weak moment become a reason to stay off restrictions for a longer period of time or to give up. Just pick yourself and begin again. Don’t think of it as failure, but rather as a minor setback. Change happens slowly and usually involves many setbacks. It is a process.

Over time this will all get easier. Your body will begin to repair itself and it will stop craving unhealthy food eventually. It is a long process, but when you begin to see little steps of progress then you will feel more motivated. It will also take some time for your taste buds to adjust to alternative foods. Give it time.

If I don’t have chemical exposures and if I limit refined carbohydrates in my diet then my fibromyalgia symptoms as well as my MCS and CFIDS will improve dramatically. The more exposures I have or more refined carbohydrates I eat then more severe my symptoms will be in each category.

Why this happens, we can only speculate, but I believe that chemicals are upsetting my body’s natural hormonal and endocrine balance. Scientists are now aware that many of air-borne and food-borne chemicals we are constantly ingesting are endocrine-disrupters. These chemicals mimic estrogen in body and may contribute to many problems. There is also evidence that refined carbohydrates may interfere with proper endocrine functioning.

Some Fibromyalgia patients may feel that following a strict regimen of avoiding certain chemicals or following a strict diet may not give you enough improvement to justify effort. However, there is recent evidence to suggest that chemical sensitivity can be result of a liver dysfunction that is a component of a medical condition known as porphyria. Porphyria has been studied for decades, and it has long been accepted that it is often degenerative in certain types of porphyria, disability can permanently worsen over time if patient does not avoid triggers of their episodes. Although this research is not yet conclusive, it creates cause for concern. If in fact Fibromyalgia, CFIDS, MCS and GWS are all related in some way or in fact really just one in same and if all involve this typed of liver dysfunction, then avoidance of chemicals may be an important therapy for these patient groups. I would urge all FM patients to carefully evaluate possibility that they are reacting to environmental triggers to prevent possibility of a permanent worsening of their condition.