Dairy products, including my beloved cheese, are specifically omitted on Dragon’s Way. Nan Lu recommends omitting dairy and meat products gradually during the first week. When I first considered Dragon’s Way, the thought of omitting dairy held me back for several months. Finally, I reasoned it was only for six weeks, and if that was my only major objection, I should quit griping about it and give the diet a try. After all, I had been hovering in the same weight range for two years and nothing I did seemed to make a difference.
For Dragon’s Way Round 1, I had a lot of dairy to give up. I ate yogurt with fruit every morning, half-and-half with my coffee, mozzarella and tomatoes for lunch, cheese and crackers for a snack, and quite often some kind of cheese with dinner. Even if I made myself oatmeal for breakfast, I made it with milk, not water.
Surprisingly, at least to me, giving up dairy turned out to be easy. My body really does not want it. After a few days of omitting it from my diet, I had some yogurt with fruit for breakfast. I discovered that I was hungry again shortly afterward. Also, my mouth felt slimey. Later on, when I sampled cheddar cheese again, it tasted like salty mush. Somehow eating the healing foods allowed me to become aware that dairy really isn’t good for me.
Over the holidays, I somehow got back into the habit of having cheese and crackers as an afternoon snack. My mind still thinks it likes Brie, Camembert, and gorgonzola. But now, after only a few days eating only healing foods, the Swiss cheese I sampled this afternoon once again tastes like salty mush. It is not always easy to distinguish between what my body and what my habits want, but somehow eating healing foods makes that distinction easier.
