"So What the What can you eat?!" My adventures into food allergies, an unfortunate elimination diet, and fitness goals

So… aren't you glad it didn't take me another 6 months to write again?!  I know right… that last time gap was ridiculous.  Reeeeeally trying to do better here guys… Trying!

So this post is entitled… “So what the What can you eat?” and rightly so. 

 I get this question pretty frequently these days.   Anybody else out there ever had to go on a super restricted diet whether doctor ordered or ha self-inflicted?  Anyone ever have food allergies or a child with those?  I’m pretty sure you can relate to this post…  Or if you're just a friend that's been really curious and yet afraid to ask. And maybe if you are a newb like I happen to be it will help you along the way!  Also want to talk about some new fitness goals!

Upon returning from England about a month ago now… (wow has it really been that long?) I discovered my results had finally come in the mail for my food allergy/sensitivity test.  My doctor suggested for months that I should have this done, but it was an added expense a midst so many others, so we waited a while.   At the last doctors visit he suggested he hoped he wasn't wasting our money, but that he did expect me to have at least seven if not more show up.   Well…. He was wrong.   Try 28.  Whhaaaaaaaa the what?  And that’s just the short list.  There are actually over 100 foods that are related to the short list that I have to avoid. 

Disclaimer: I will also say that these are not actual allergies- such as those that send children into  immediate shock at the sight of a peanut. (bless them and their poor parents, I can't imagine)   Most of what showed up on the test are classified as sensitivities, except for one actual allergy to egg whites.   Sensitivities are similar to allergies as in my body builds up an immune response to the foods, but the symptoms can vary and appear any time within 72 hours.   It can vary from headaches, water retention, swollen joints, inflammation throughout the body, and a very upset stomach.  

Yeah... that's not what it is... 

So why does this happen?  Is it related to my Lyme problem?   Yes.   My doctor says he sees this very frequently in lyme patients.  When your immune system is out of whack- it messes with your gut.  Because as we all know from commercials, (thanks Activia)  your immune system is located within there. So I got a damaged lining in my “gut.”  Some websites call this “Leaky Gut.”   This can be caused by a variety of things, the lyme disease itself or other ongoing health conditions, a poor American diet with lots of sugar and carbs, a yeast overgrowth from years of antibiotics for those viral throat infections you don’t really need antibiotics for but they give them “just in case.”  So my gut is damaged from probably a variety if not all of those things.   When the lining gets damaged food particles actually “leak” out into the blood stream.   Your body recognizes these particles as a foreign invader and builds up immunity to it.  Thus you have an allergy or a sensitivity depending on the type it builds up against it.  

Here’s the short list of the things I am sensitive to: Asparagus, Cantaloupe, Cheese (Cottage), Coffee, Milk (Cow), Pea (green), Sesame, Barley, Carrot, Cheese (Swiss), Corn, Mushroom, Black (pepper), Wheat, Bean (pinto), Celery, Egg Whites, Mustard, Rye, Yeast (baker), Cabbage, Cheese (Cheddar), Cocoa, Gluten, Orange, Scallop, Yeast (brewer)

SO that list is fun.  Life without coffee, chocolate, cheese, corn chips at Mexican restaurants, bread…. Yikes.   But then when you really get to looking… Black pepper??  Do you know how hard it is to eat out with a black pepper allergy?  Yeah it’s impossible.   So you could still do soy cheese?  Yeah… for some reason they put pea protein in it! Gluten free bread without yeast or eggs? Forget about it…   Well maybe you can make soup…. Oh that store bought organic gluten free chicken broth- it was made with carrots and celery.   Sooooo you think you’re gonna get to eat out or even buy things to help make a quick meal?? You are wrong.    Even those favorite veggies I’d grill when I was so restricted on a diet before… (Asparagus, Mushrooms)  Can’t even have those.  I have even hand made Ketchup! (From scratch umm and it was really good) But seriously guys there is nothing quick, and there is always loads of dishes to clean. Not being able to take one break from it to grab a pizza or Chick Fil A kills me.   

I’ll just post a picture of the other list… because that would be a lot of typing.
These are things I can't have that are related to the above "short" list. 

Is this forever?  Nope at least I hope not.  I have to eliminate these things from my diet for 3-4 months.  This is a time that I can give my gut to heal without re-inflaming it and damaging it further by eating the things I already am sensitive to.   I am also supposed to eat different foods each day, rotating them so that my body does not build up any more sensitivities.  Apparently eating the same foods every day is not good for your tummy.  But anyways, at the end of that 4 month break, I get to sloooooowly add thiiiiiings back. (said with a slow deep voice) I'll add one thing at a time and give each a week to seek if they bother me or give me any symptoms.  If they do they get put at the back of the list.  Some I might never get to add back, or at least not right now.  

So I must say… life has been fun.  What the What do I eat you say??  I have gotten VERY creative and been pushed into new experimental culinary skills. Ha  No I don’t just eat lettuce and Kale now.  (thankfully)  Doctor said one kid was even allergic to that!   I even branched out and bought duck eggs at the farmers market…. Because even with chicken egg allergies duck eggs don’t have the same protein… so you can cook with those.   Yeah it took me a while to get over eating duck eggs... Will laughs at me for that.  I suppose are they really that different from chicken?  I mean minus being overly large and weirdly pastel... Also cook with goat cheese some.  And I'm pretty sure we have every type of non-dairy "milk" in the fridge... I say "milk" lightly...because really guys... can almonds and coconuts rrrreally make milk??

 The first few weeks were extremely disappointing and frustrating.   I would make 2-3 hour grocery trips, looking at possible food items only to get disappointed repeatedly when there was 1 thing they just decided to add in for kicks and giggles that I couldn't have.   I never thought a grocery trip could be so emotional, but I wanted to cry every time I left.  (Thankful to Will for his support during this time.  Did I mention he is actually doing this thing with me?? Awesome Hubby Award goes to him!)

Here is a list of things I can eat (I apologize because it's hard to read... but I can't seem to fix it, if anyone has any pointers I'll take em!) 

Breakfast:  Breakfast is the hardest!  Without eggs and bacon…. And No pastries or cereal.  Ok, I found one cereal I can have, but without sugar and “real” milk, it has been rather yucky.   This has not helped my usual aversion to skip breakfast.  I know I need to eat it, but yeah… it’s hard.  The mornings I do eat breakfast I usually have some type of fruit smoothie. 

Lunch:  I usually eat leftovers.  We had leftover rice and meats so I fixed a rice bowl.   I've also found that I love the avocado chicken salad wraps- Now that I finally found some rice wraps that didn't have egg, corn, or gluten! Ya’ll that took forever!  Add in an apple and it’s amazing.  Or some kettle potato chips with salsa… yeah that’s a new one, but no corn chips. 

Dinner: This is where I've gotten very creative.  We've had things like stuffed peppers, fajitas, spaghetti made with rice noodles, butternut squash soup, roasted chicken, grilled chicken, fish and veggies. 

Desserts: No desserts really because no sugar.  But we have had some of the low glycemic index fruits we can fortunately have, and a friend was kind one day to make a dessert using oats, nuts and fruits.  We hope to experiment with that in the future!

Drinks: Water… lots of water.  I also figured out how to make coconut sugar lemonade for a special occasion.  And it was pretty great.  

So the plus side to all of this… besides of course feeling better, and healing?  I have lost some weight.  I have definitely been kind of forced into clean eating… though I wanted to go that track eventually anyways- but maybe not to this extreme.  

 The struggle with my weight and fitness since all of the health stuff began has been real.   I put on over 40 pounds (putting myself out there here)  within 2 months of first getting sick without changing my exercise habits and without changing my diet.  Yup that’s sudden weight gain for you… thank you body for going haywire!  The doctor says sometimes mold exposure can cause this.  Since then I have been on several diets from various doctors but have not been able to shed the weight.  My exercise has decreased… well because frankly it had to.  I didn't feel like walking 5 minutes sometimes because my muscles got so weak so suddenly.   I also didn't feel like doing a lot of exercise with all the joint pain.  (insert compassion now felt for those with arthritis and other serious illness)   I feel your pain.   I also can’t just get after it to change my fitness… because I have to be careful not to “overdo it” because it can make my symptoms worse and send me into bed for a day.  

However with all that being said… I am so frustrated with this weight!  I want so bad to lose it, in addition help my health increase, and get more energy back.   While I know I have to be cautious, I plan to give this everything I've got!  I’m already on a diet, hopefully just getting some of the food allergies out of my life will help lose the weight as well.   But I also promise to you guys I will be exercising every day in some shape, form, or fashion.  We are going to prioritize this, even if it means getting up at 6am.

 So look out for some fitness posts in the future! As well as some creative food recipes! I’d love to update you on how it’s going, and see if you guys are doing anything as well.   

Anyone else out there struggling with diets or eating healthier initiatives?  Anyone giving up anything like diet soda or sugar?   Anyone starting a new exercise routine? Hit me up, I’d love to hear from you and encourage you along the way as you encourage me!