As I have talked about many times on the blog, I have off and on stomach problems. I went to the doctor and she told me it was IBS and honestly, I feel like that is just a diagnosis doctor’s give when they don’t know what else is wrong with a patient who has stomach pain and discomfort. Ultimately, for me, what it came down to was my doctor couldn’t help me so I pretty much was like OK I guess I’m just going to have some stomach pain forever… My pain comes and goes, and it is unclear to me what causes it which is what is so frustrating. I have tried several times to keep a food diary or eliminate food but I always end up failing within a week or so… stupid will power!
So I decided (after the last bought of pain, bloating and discomfort) that I wanted to really try and figure out what foods make my stomach hurt. I found a simplified elimination diet that helps you determine if certain food groups cause you any sort of reaction.
For the past 2-3 weeks I’ve been trying to eat gluten, dairy, soy and egg free. I would give myself about an 80%. The first week I did it perfect and I felt amazing. However, now I keep finding myself cheating, just a little bit here, a little bit there and it’s starting to take a toll. My stomach has been killing me for the past two days. Go figure! The hardest thing is breakfast and snacks. And avoiding all the crazy foods that are around my office. It’s so important to pack snacks and only eat what I bring because I have no idea what is in all the other food around the office.
I’ve been eating lots of gluten-free oatmeal for breakfast, salads for lunch, lots of fruits and veggies for snacks and then protein and veggies for dinner. But this week there’s been a ton of sugar treats, bagels, deli food and pizza around the office and I have had a hard time resisting and I am paying for it with all my stomach pain.
So I am using this sort of as a confession sorta as a restart to the elimination diet. What I want to do since I’ve been relatively good (and I have probably flushed a lot of the gluten, diary, soy and egg out of my system) is go a full week without any and then slowly start to add each one back in and see how I feel. Starting now! Any tips and tricks to sticking with it and avoiding all the temptations?
