Last night I went swing dancing, hoping to kickstart my body’s metabolism and lose ten pounds in one night. Well, I didn’t exactly lose ten pounds, but I did lose two-and-a-half. At least that’s what the scale said this morning. So that’s a start.

Tomorrow I plan to go grocery shopping in order to stock up for a new diet, which I hope to begin Monday. It’s the called the Autoimmune Paleo Diet (AIP) and is basically like Paleo–no grains, legumes, dairy, or alcohol–plus no nightshades (tomatoes, eggplants), nuts, or eggs. And whereas I’m sure I’ll lose weight on the diet, I’m actually starting it for another reason–to help my immune system, that pesky, quirky thing that’s been such a problem for me over the years and especially lately. For example, coming back from Hot Springs and my southern eating tour, I’ve noticed that my skin is more red and irritable than usual. I got two vaccines yesterday, per my immunologist’s instructions, and last night when I took the Band-Aids off, my skin was hived up in their exact shape. This doesn’t normally happen, so I think it’s obvious my body is on “high alert.” Of course, I don’t know that the diet will solve any of my problems, but it certainly won’t hurt.

Eating well never hurts.

There’s a psychological concept that I read about recently called “no new damage.” To me this means that when your life is falling apart or things are a mess, you don’t do anything to make it worse. Like, if you’re in debt, you don’t go on a cruise; if you’re stressed to the max, you don’t volunteer to take on a new project at work; if you’re diabetic, you don’t start eating Oreos for breakfast. This is a big reason I’m choosing to try this diet. Noticing that my skin flares up when I eat breads, fried foods, and beer, I’m planning to cut those things out in order to–at the very least–stop doing further harm.

I’m mostly looking forward to this dietary change, which could last anywhere from 30 to 90 days. It’s just over five weeks until my next appointment with the immunologist, so just the idea of eating differently makes me feel like “something” is being done to address my health concerns. That being said, this diet is more restrictive than anything I’ve tried before. Like, I have to give up coffee on this plan, and I hate giving up coffee. Plus, I’m going out-of-town for a day next weekend, and I hate being on a diet when I’m on the road. But the way I see it, if I don’t start soon, I won’t start at all. I mean, there’s always SOME reason to wait until later–traveling, someone’s celebration, the cost of groceries.

So here we go.

But seriously–no coffee? You may want to keep your distance for at least a week.