Elimination Diets and Me

 Thoughts  17 Responses »
Apr 272012
 

Nope. Not happening right now.

Last summer, I joined the lovely Galit of These Little Waves as she started the 17 Day Diet.  (Psst…she’s had terrific success with it – check out her progress!)

The first cycle is, how do I say it? Restrictive.

I was an unhappy camper.

The first week went fine.  I stayed strong.  The second week…well, let’s just say that by Friday I was jonesing for some CARBS.

And so I did it.  I indulged.  To put it mildly.  Dinner was pasta and bread, and for dessert I had a milkshake.

The next morning, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.  I was groggy, bloated, nauseous and completely devoid of energy or, frankly, the will to live.  It was a mess.  And it felt familiar.

Then I thought back to the previous weekend.  I’d felt amazing.  I had energy to spare.  That Sunday I’d woken up at 5AM, wrote for hours, and was actually sorry that I’d done all the chores on Saturday because I was practically jumping out of my skin with energy.

Dead serious.

This was a mega-breakthrough.  Maybe carbs really were the devil, at least for me. They sapped me of my life force, especially when eaten in large amounts (and, let’s face it, I rarely eat carbs in moderation.  I won’t lie).

Also not happening.

The sad fact was that I was so used to feeling like garbage, it had become second-nature.  The way I felt that first weekend was like a miracle compared to my “normal”.  I just never knew that I could actually feel good.

I’d like to say that I stuck to the program but you know that’s not true.  I fell off the wagon and into a bakery.

So here I am again, this time on the GAPS Diet.  No starch or sugar.  I’m not gonna lie, I strayed over the weekend, but got back to it.

And you know what? I feel good again.

Granted, I’m still going through the whole sluggish “my body is addicted to sugar and now I’m not giving it any and zzzzzzz…..” thing, which I hope ends soon.  But otherwise I feel a million times better than my old “normal”.

I guess it's okay that I can't eat these.

Brain fog? Gone.

No more bloat.  I didn’t realize prior to this just how often I felt like a cow because I was so bloated.

I don’t feel nauseous and heartburny when I wake up in the morning anymore.

3:00 isn’t such an issue for me anymore.  I don’t have to fight off the urge to take a cat nap in the ladies room.

And my mood is improving every day.  I don’t feel so negative – even when I’m craving something on my “no-no” list.  Slowly but surely I’m climbing out of my depression and into the sunlight.

It’s actually turning out to be kinda fun to learn more about myself, rather than just shoving food into my mouth and coping with the results.

Do I claim that experimenting with eliminating certain foods from your diet will do the same for you? No.  I don’t know you like that.  I’m not a doctor.

But I’m challenging you, here and now, to give it a shot.  Just for a few days, avoid eating a certain thing, be it sugar or pasta or bread or dairy or diet soda.  See what happens.  You may be surprised.

If you do, let me know how it goes!

What could you stand to eliminate from your diet?

 Posted by at 11:36 am  Tagged with: ,

Cooking on GAPS

 Cooking  4 Responses »
Apr 262012
 

Photo via Creative Commons

Newsflash: I haven’t posted a recipe (or anything else) on here in a while.  Yes.  I know.

This is mainly because I’ve been spending time experimenting with a new method of cooking.  And because, well, I haven’t exactly been walking on the wild side with my diet, thanks to GAPS.

In the first stages and throughout the diet, homemade stock is key.  Making a good stock is easy and I plan to share my experience with you soon.  I ate a lot of boiled chicken and mashed vegetables last week.

Soon I added eggs.  It’s a good thing I like eggs.  I ate a lot of them.  I ate two today, in fact.

I also made yogurt! And it was super easy and waaaaaay cheaper than buying it at the store.  I’m definitely going to blog about that after I make it again.  You need to know how easy it is – no yogurt maker needed.

And my personal favorite: Homemade sauerkraut.  Seriously, y’all.  So easy and so yum.

The yogurt and sauerkraut are important because one of the cornerstones of the GAPS diet is repopulating the gut with healthy bacteria, and fermented food is where they’re at, y’all.

Now that I’m moving towards the “full” diet the limitations on what I can eat are going to lighten a lot – of course, still no sugar or starch – so I’ll be able to expand and try new recipes and even create some of my own.  I’ve been thinking a lot about where I can go with this and am super excited about it!

Tomorrow I want to share with you how I’m feeling – and how experimenting with the elimination of certain foods might help you, too, even if you’re not trying to heal from a disease.

Have you ever experimented with elimination diets? What did you find out?

 Posted by at 12:23 pm  Tagged with: ,

Starting The GAPS Diet

 Thoughts, Wellness Wednesday  17 Responses »
Apr 112012
 

Photo Credit

Friends, I’m on the verge of a major journey.

I’ve spoken before about my illness and the steps I need to take in order to function better and, if possible, heal.

Only problem is, UC is an autoimmune disease, and there’s no coming back from that.  Masking the symptoms and striving for remission through drugs and other methods is the only way to go.

Well guess what? That’s not good enough for me.

Recently I was blessed to be introduced to The GAPS Diet.  Basically it stresses a grain-free, sugar-free lifestyle in order to allow the intestine to heal and seal itself, while at the same time focusing on repopulating the gut with healthy bacteria in order to put things in better balance.

It makes sense that the only way to stop the symptoms is to heal the gut.  Doesn’t it?

So over the past several weeks I’ve been doing a lot of research, reading a lot of blog posts and articles, watching hours worth of videos from doctors and diet devotees alike.  And all signs point to me diving into this new lifestyle.

The good part is, it’s not for life.  Most people see results within 2-3 years and can slowly reintroduce “regular” foods after that.

The yucky part is…well, you’ve met me, right? This is primarily a food blog.  I like pasta.  And chocolate.  And buffalo chicken.  And pasta again.

And like I told Rob last night, even though I might only eat a cheesesteak once or twice a year (and that’s a generous estimate), knowing that it’s out there if I want it is comforting.  Knowing that I absolutely can’t have it is the hard part.

No flour, sugar, yeast, cured meats, chocolate (though there are conflicting stories on cocoa powder, but even then that’s an advanced food), almost nothing mass-produced or pre-packaged.  As we’ve seen in the news a lot lately, sugar is in just about everything.

I’m not gonna lie.  I’m grieving a little.

It helps that I love to cook, right? Mama’s gonna have to get creative up in here.

In the dark times, and I’m sure there will be many, I’ll need to remember that nothing is worth feeling this way.  Nothing is worth the shame and embarrassment and pain and despair.  The exhaustion and depression and fear while living with this disease.  Absolutely nothing.

I hope to share this journey with all of you and that I can help others who are going through the horrors of UC or any of the other ailments which GAPS is supposed to be able to treat.  I hope you come along with me.

Do you have to follow a special diet? Have you ever considered it?

I’m Pouring My Heart Out with Shell today – thanks again, friend!

 Posted by at 10:59 am  Tagged with: , ,
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