Most people go on a diet with the goal to lose weight. But more important to me than being skinny, is being healthy. I knew I wanted to lose 13 pounds to get me to my goal weight, but I wanted to do it by becoming as healthy as I could. While I found it annoying and inconvenient that my clothes pre-baby (my second one now almost 6) didn't fit, what I really was striving for was feeling good all the time. I rarely had a good night's sleep which had nothing to do with little ones waking me up as everyone else in my house sleeps like a rock. I wanted to sleep all night and wake up rested and not be tired by 1 pm every day. I wanted my hair to stop thinning and my skin to stop breaking out (after all I am now 38 and way too old to have to deal with zits). I wanted my stomach to be calm, no cramps or heavy belly after eating. I just wanted my body to be happy and healthy. The problem was that I thought I had been eating healthy. I bought mostly organic, ate balanced meals with fruits and vegetables and only treated myself once in a while. There had to be something else.
In order to figure out what was keeping me from my goal, I decided to try the elimination diet. The basic idea of this diet is to cut everything out (sugar, gluten, dairy, etc.) for a couple weeks (or as longer if you want) to give your digestive system a break, start to heal it and get to level 0 - starting from scratch. After this phase, you slowly start to add things back to your diet and then track how it makes your body feel.
There are a couple different websites out there that I found to be helpful (links included at the end) that had food lists for each phase and lots of recipes. I am not going to lie, the first couple days are tough. There are no calories to count or special shakes to buy so that makes it easier, but the hard part is re-training your brain and discovering new foods. When you can't eat dairy, gluten, sugar, beans, potatoes (and much more), you feel a little limited. But I was determined to stick it out.
One of the sites I used the most wanted me to start with two days of green smoothies. I last about 4 hours. I figured that since this was the only site telling me to do this, I was safe diving into to real food right away. Plus, if I was hungry and miserable I would never stick to it. There was conflicting advise on meat and fish so I decided turkey and organic chicken were okay in moderation and fish once a week (no red meat or processed meats like hotdogs or deli). And of course they wanted me to give up caffeine. My take on this was no matter what I discovered caffeine might be doing me, I would not be giving it up. I love love love my cup of coffee every morning and have to have it. I've given up caffeine when I was pregnant and the thought of the terrible headaches was too much to bear. I allowed myself one cup of coffee with coconut milk and stevia. It was definitely not the same, but it did the trick. And I was off.
Here is what I learned:
1. If you really want to do this, you have to commit to it. There is no "kind of" doing this. The goal here is to detox your body and truly understand how different foods effect your moods, sleep, digestion, skin, hair, etc. If you cheat then all your hard work is ruined. I admit, I cheated once after about a week I had a small slice of cheese pizza. Truly, who can resist warm gooey delivery pizza! Couldn't have been a worse thing to choose as I was introducing dairy, gluten and nightshade vegetables (tomatoes) all at once. I slept terrible that night and broke out two days later. The problem was that I had no idea which of these foods was the culprit because I introduced three foods at the same time. I woke up the next day and got right back at it. It's not easy, it will take all your will power but you can do - remember, it's not forever just a couple weeks.
2. You have to embrace new foods. Before I did this, I had never had quinoa or brussle sprouts but I learned that I love both. I have even started to enjoy sunflower butter with apples in place of my peanut butter. There are actually a lot of foods on the phase 1 list and a lot of great recipes which will give you a better variety and keep you on track.
3. You will have to cook. Sorry, there is really no way around that with this diet. The point is to eat real food, nothing processed or from a box. My best advice is plan ahead with a menu for the week and spend one day on the weekend cooking a big pot of rice, quinoa and some chicken or turkey. Trust me, on the days you don't feel like cooking and want something quick - you will be so glad you did this. Sweet potatoes are also pretty quick and easy to make in the microwave. Remember too that you can make smoothies any time for a quick snack or meal as long as what you throw in the blender is on the approved list. I actually found this part enjoyable. I was never a cook and never really understood the appeal before. But now I enjoy the challenge of a new food and recipe.
4. It will change your life. (At least it did for me.) I know longer view food based on how it tastes or how many calories it has. I look at food and I ask myself if it good for my body. Does it provide essential nutrients to help my body perform at it's best? If not, I see no reason to eat it anymore. I think about how eating it will make me feel in 10 minutes, 10 hours, 10 days, etc. I used to treat myself to McDonald's from time to time - just love the double cheeseburger and fries. While my taste buds were in heaven, that high lasted only about 5 minutes. But what it was doing to the rest of my body lasted much longer. Large, for profit companies have the goal of selling more food not of worrying about your health. You don't see ads for vegetables on TV because there is no money to made in broccoli. I want to look and feel my best and I now choose based on that goal. There are plenty of foods that do this and taste amazing too.
5. You will lose weight, but it shouldn't be your #1 goal. If you follow the phases of the diet, your will inevitably lose weight. But if your goal becomes weight loss you will make bad decisions. Diet foods are terrible for you. The diet industry in general is all about a quick fix, selling false hopes in pills and shakes. Most of this stuff is no better for you than that double cheeseburger at McDonalds but we think it is because it says low fat or sugar free. These foods are full of chemicals and fake nutrients. If you worry about losing weight, you will lose sight of what this diet is all about - getting healthy. Trust me - eat real foods, green veggies, sweet potatoes, brown rice. Your body will thank you in ways you never imagined, including weight loss.
6. Be ready to be amazed. I have been on the diet now for 19 days, that is it. It only took 19 days to change my life forever (and honestly probably less). I sleep soundly through the night and wake up rested. I don't have the spikes of energy and tiredness throughout the day, just a consistent steady energy. I have no digestive issues at all. My hair and skin are healthy and glowing. I find that I am not grumpy or annoyed much anymore - I generally have a feeling of calmness and well being. And I have lost over 10 pounds. How amazing is it that food can heal your body in all of these ways! I have carpel tunnel and used to have to take Aleve every night before bed or I would be awake in pain all night. I don't have to do this anymore as I am no longer eating foods that are inflammatory to my body.
Here are the sites I used to help me along:
http://www.nourishingmeals.com/p/elimination-diet.html
https://wholelifenutrition.net/elimination-diet (free lists of phase specific foods)
Great ideas/recipes:
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/
http://detoxinista.com/
http://foodbabe.com/
Good luck! I would love to be of help to anyone who wants to try this out!
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