Elimination Diet Update

Turns out elimination diets are much harder then they seem. The first week I realized I had Eucharist on Easter Sunday. Silly me, thinking afterwards, "I bet that contained gluten." Sure enough it did. Back to square one on gluten. In the third week, I realized my probiotic was made with dairy kefir. Also a no-no. Back to square one on dairy. On the fourth week I tested my first food, eggs. Unfortunately my stomach was already messed up the week before. I had added so many new foods to my daily diet I wasn't sure what was causing such an upset. To find out I stopped the sauerkraut, protein powder, Amazing Grass superfood, xylitol, and coconut water. Pretty much the protein shakes were out making it hard to find an edible breakfast food according to diet guidelines. My stomach cleared up within a few days but I had a hard time telling if I was intolerant of eggs with all that going on. I will likely have to retest for that.  Next was soy. I wasn't feeling too bad at all this week other than constant crying. At the drop of a hat I would cry and cry. Not like me unless it's that time of the month and it wasn't! So I did some reading and turns out soy can cause PMS like symptoms. So I will try to avoid soy unless it's Non-GMO then I'll consider it! I even had a glass of wine a few nights in this week and man it tasted like heaven! I started back with just the protein powder this week as well. So far so good. Third came gluten. After a couple of days of gluten, which tasted delicious by the way, I started to feel all tight and sore again in my muscles. Gluten? Possibly. Probably will avoid this one too. Lastly, dairy, the one I've longed for! Felt fine and man it tasted good. Yeah!

During this process I lost about 9 lbs. It was an amazing challenge in the beginning that got easier as time went on. I craved less, though the cravings do continue for my favorites like ice cream and brownies. I had to make some bad-for-you brownies for a fund raiser and let me tell you how hard it was to not lick that spoon! But I succeeded. I'm at the end of this why give up now? My appetite was fairly ravenous in the beginning but tampered off a bit in the later weeks. I found some Non-GMO corn chips at Costco by Wild Roots and they are delicious! I started making my own Lara Bars (way cheaper than the brand name). I made lots of homemade crackers, kale and brussel sprout chips, and learned to love apples and nut butter like almond or macadamia nut. Going out with friends to social events at restaurants or where junk food was served was the hardest part. People feel bad you aren't eating, or they stuff their faces and moan to make you feel worse, or the smell of pizza, or cookies, or cheesy enchiladas have you sitting on your hands and on the verge of a full on 3 year old style tantrum. Some days it was enough to make me cry or quit, but somehow I pulled through. The curiosity of learning about what ails me was enough. Since then I've ran into so many people who have done similar trial and error diets to find out what makes them hurt. It's great to know there is a network of people out there who want to figure it out without pharmaceuticals. And I've branched out on trying many new foods. For example, tonight I cooked my first pan-seared wild scallops in bacon grease with sauted baby bok choy, radishes, leeks and kale from the local farmers market on a bed of quinoa. Delightful and flavorful and full of goodness.

If you are wondering, I also exercised with less intensity than normal. I alternated my exercises throughout the week by walking 2 miles with weights, doing yoga,  golf, and 15 min workouts of burst and resistance training.  I used to be an avid water drinker during meals which does not help digestion. I changed that up and started drinking fluids in between meals versus with meals.

Now I'm going on vacation and I'm going to enjoy myself and indulge. I've been eating clean for almost 3 months now and I'm tired and ready to take a break. After I'm back home I will be sure to avoid gluten and soy, corn and peanuts for sure at least 95% of the time. My goal is to eliminate gluten and soy all together eventually. I would also like to eat dairy and eggs only every 4 days to keep from developing any issues or further intolerance's to these yummy good for you foods! I plan to try and get my dairy from goats or only grass fed, no antibiotic or hormone cattle.

And for mother's day I'm going to get my favorite ice cream from the local ice cream factory as Gavin calls it. Then I'm boarding a plain to see some friends for a much needed mom-cation in CO! Yippee!