Help me with my elimination diet!

sunnybeaches105

rainbowbow wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

Why? What possible good will come from eliminating additional nutritious foods from your already restricted diet? What healthy habits will it help you form?

Please dont give me the "what healthy habits" shpeel. i've been on MFP for over 5 years, i've already lost and maintained my weight loss, I'm a personal trainer as my profession and am incredibly active.

This is not an attempt to lose weight but to find whatever the hell is causing me all these issues.

Then find a doctor who will work with you. I've been down the road you're on. Tried to die a few times early on in life and grew up going through testing, elimination, etc. Take control of the process. Best of luck

thanks so much! Glad to know i'm not the only one who has gone through this. it's quite frustrating!

Let me suggest that rather than going through the full elimination process that you back out one item that you already suspect causes you problems. If you're counting then you know what you're eating and when. Go through your diary and, at the same time, keep a log of your symptoms. The doctor doesn't have to go through the pain of a full elimination diet. You do. I'd do everything I could to minimise the pain of the process.

We also did this with our daughter recently after several visits to the allergist. She was throwing up and having other stomach problems. Fortunately, her symptoms were very mild compared to mine, but I didn't want her to go through the shots an pin pricks and crazy diets I went through. We sat down and figured it out. Popcorn. She gets stomach problems from it.

arditarose

OP, is there anything on the list that you strongly believe could be the cause? You could start by just cutting that out.

rainbowbow

arditarose wrote: »

OP, is there anything on the list that you strongly believe could be the cause? You could start by just cutting that out.

That's just it. I have no freaking clue. =/

I thought at first it may be dairy, but i'm able to eat dairy products just fine one day and then the next i'm not.

of course the foods i know cause allergies i have already cut out (like those nuts/melons), but as far as the other possible allergen stuff? *shrug* I eat all of these things on a daily basis, and i kind of feel like i have these problems regardless. I don't ever eat just one of these foods and have a reaction, i kind of have an all day- everything i eat feels bad man reaction.

arditarose

rainbowbow wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

OP, is there anything on the list that you strongly believe could be the cause? You could start by just cutting that out.

That's just it. I have no freaking clue. =/

I thought at first it may be dairy, but i'm able to eat dairy products just fine one day and then the next i'm not.

of course the foods i know cause allergies i have already cut out (like those nuts/melons), but as far as the other possible allergen stuff? *shrug* I eat all of these things on a daily basis, and i kind of feel like i have these problems regardless. I don't ever eat just one of these foods and have a reaction, i kind of have an all day- everything i eat feels bad man reaction.

Ah gotcha. That is frustrating then! I was having a reaction to food and I was finally starting to pinpoint it, but as you said, I eat very similarly every day so it was tricky.

Lovee_Dove7

I would suggest getting the foods you CAN eat into your pantry and fridge, and going from there. I know that sounds obvious, but that's what I did when I had temporarily omitted certain foods from my own diet. It's just the best starting point for me in that situation.

Also, can you afford to do ALCAT food sensitivity testing? (this is NOT allergy testing, that is something entirely different).
If you can do ALCAT testing, it's worth the money. It will tell you exactly what you are sensitive to, and to what degree. I did this a few months ago, and it gave me such relief!! No more guessing. And I was soooooo surprised at what I was NOT sensitive to. I thought I couldn't eat wheat, for example. NOPE! I can eat wheat and gluten with no problems! It's the millet grain added to so many whole grain products I am sensitive to!! I can also eat dairy, peanuts...but not macadamia nuts...who knew??

I did ALCAT through my chiro, who did not mark up the testing at all, I paid her price for it.

rainbowbow

Lovee_Dove7 wrote: »

I would suggest getting the foods you CAN eat into your pantry and fridge, and going from there. I know that sounds obvious, but that's what I did when I had omitted certain foods from my own diet. It's just the best starting point for me in that situation.

Also, can you afford to do ALCAT food sensitivity testing? (this is NOT allergy testing, that is something entirely different).
If you can do ALCAT testing, it's worth the money. It will tell you exactly what you are sensitive to, and to what degree. I did this a few months ago, and it gave me such relief!! No more guessing. And I was soooooo surprised at what I was NOT sensitive to. I thought I couldn't eat wheat, for example. NOPE! I can eat wheat and gluten with no problems! It's the millet grain added to so many whole grain products I am sensitive to!! I can also eat dairy, peanuts...but not macadamia nuts...who knew??

I did ALCAT through my chiro, who did not mark up the testing at all, I paid her price for it.

yes, this is exactly the test i want done combined with an allergy prick test (because some people can not have an intolerance to food, but be allergic). In order to get it done I have to complete this first.

this is what i'm kind of scared of though. Being under the impression i can't eat something (like you said, wheat or something) when in all actuality i CAN. Ya know?

I don't want to be one of those people with beliefs about what i can/cant eat and being all strict when i don't have to be.

meh, i'm going to trust the process and if it doesn't work then i'll be getting referred where i can have both of these tests done!

and yes, i am compiling a list of all the things i can have and i'm going grocery shopping shortly!

Lovee_Dove7

Another suggestion: Check your ingredients for a food additive called carrageenan. That stuff rips my gut, and it is an intestinal irritant. Yep. They add it to food for texture. It's used in lots of different foods, dairy, dairy substitutes, lunch meats, protein bars, even baked goods. Nasty stuff, and many people really react to it. It takes me a week to get over the inflammation in my gut, if I even take a bite of it.

If you have insurance for it, have your doctor or NP order blood tests for food allergies. I did this before the ALCAT. I had no allergies at all. Via ALCAT, I learned I actually have very few sensitivities also. But what I was sensitive to, I was eating often. Strawberries, tea, chocolate, for example. Interestingly, you can heal from sensitivities, if you exclude them as much as possible for a period of time. I have normal digestion/elimination now. I was a mess a few months ago, it was soooooo discouraging!

amusedmonkey

Have you ever tried buckwheat? It's gluten-free and nice on protein. I love it, but some people don't. How about rice for a calorie filler? Rice is usually not an allergen. When I did my elimination diet I was given a comprehensive list of foods I could and couldn't eat. I pretty much lived on zucchini and cucumbers for the first few days, so depending on your particular case these might be safe foods to add. I remember also being told to stay away from caffiene, so no coffee or real tea. I was allowed certain herbal teas like thyme, chamomile.. etc. On my list vinegar was okay but ketchup wasn't. Are you allowed to have millet? If you suspect a peanut or legume allergy, lentils are also off the table. As for nuts, I believe pine tree allergy is quite uncommon so out of all nuts these could be the safest choice. Oils, I was told to avoid safflower, sunflower, canola, and sesame oils and stick to olive oil.

rainbowbow

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Have you ever tried buckwheat? It's gluten-free and nice on protein. I love it, but some people don't. How about rice for a calorie filler? Rice is usually not an allergen. When I did my elimination diet I was given a comprehensive list of foods I could and couldn't eat. I pretty much lived on zucchini and cucumbers for the first few days, so depending on your particular case these might be safe foods to add. I remember also being told to stay away from caffiene, so no coffee or real tea. I was allowed certain herbal teas like thyme, chamomile.. etc. On my list vinegar was okay but ketchup wasn't. Are you allowed to have millet? If you suspect a peanut or legume allergy, lentils are also off the table. As for nuts, I believe pine tree allergy is quite uncommon so out of all nuts these could be the safest choice. Oils, I was told to avoid safflower, sunflower, canola, and sesame oils and stick to olive oil.

I've never tried buckwheat! googling it now!

I was told to watch for caffeine, tomatoes, fried foods, alcohol, and spicy foods because they may be triggering rosacea from my diet. I'm keeping these at a minimum and rarely drink coffee or caffeinated teas. I'm fairly certain that atleast spicy food, tomato, and alcohol are definitive triggers for my rosacea.

i can have millet, lentils, beans, peanuts, etc. as we know these are not triggers.

Interesting about pine nuts! I love them but rarely eat them, so maybe this will give me a reason to incorporate them more!

i was told the same about olive oil as being acceptable as well as coconut oil.

PHLLLY

Good luck to you! My friend (she's an RD) is putting me on an elimination diet because something on my foods list is giving me some pretty bad stomach problems lately. My wife is making me go vegetarian so I'll be switching up my protein powders to pea, rice, and hemp proteins. Plant based proteins. Strength gains won't be lost, eating you caloric allotment with adequate complete protein through your diet even through elimination. Making sure to take multivitamins so in case if anything absent from the diet is not adequate at least on the vitamin and mineral side I'm covered.

atalanta7145

I went gluten free for a few months (it was part of an elimination diet as well), so I wanted to throw out a couple of things I learned. And, I will be honest, I skimmed through the comments so if this is a repeat, my apologies. First, be very careful with non-gluten grains. They may be processed in a facility with wheat or rye, so cross-contamination might be an issue. Second, if tempted by process foods, be very aware of "Natural Flavors" as an ingredient. My RD said - always consider it gluten based to be safe. In my research, natural flavors was a catch all phrase that could include anything to give a product a similar taste to the natural....and usually involved barley. I wonder if there is a protein powder that you could use as a supplement for some of your intakes? Mine is gluten free, but it contains sucralose and egg something (I am using memory, so I apologize for lack of specifics). Although I am no longer gluten free, I am "gluten reduced" because I found that I am more energetic without gluten packed foods (and it was probably not the gluten....it was the portion and the gluttony in consumption - just being honest). AND while gluten free it opened up so many other alternatives that I LOVE (someone mentioned buckwheat....I ate it when I was young and it is a newly re-found love). I hope that you find what is bothering you and, also, that you have an opportunity to find new foods that have not been considered! Best of luck!

amusedmonkey

barbarasuveg wrote: »

I went gluten free for a few months (it was part of an elimination diet as well), so I wanted to throw out a couple of things I learned. And, I will be honest, I skimmed through the comments so if this is a repeat, my apologies. First, be very careful with non-gluten grains. They may be processed in a facility with wheat or rye, so cross-contamination might be an issue. Second, if tempted by process foods, be very aware of "Natural Flavors" as an ingredient. My RD said - always consider it gluten based to be safe. In my research, natural flavors was a catch all phrase that could include anything to give a product a similar taste to the natural....and usually involved barley. I wonder if there is a protein powder that you could use as a supplement for some of your intakes? Mine is gluten free, but it contains sucralose and egg something (I am using memory, so I apologize for lack of specifics). Although I am no longer gluten free, I am "gluten reduced" because I found that I am more energetic without gluten packed foods (and it was probably not the gluten....it was the portion and the gluttony in consumption - just being honest). AND while gluten free it opened up so many other alternatives that I LOVE (someone mentioned buckwheat....I ate it when I was young and it is a newly re-found love). I hope that you find what is bothering you and, also, that you have an opportunity to find new foods that have not been considered! Best of luck!

That's exactly why I mentioned buckwheat. It's pretty much safely gluten-free since special equipments are used for hulling that are not used for anything else due to the unique shape of the seed.

wiredkell

This is super interesting to me, as I'm currently experiencing some of the same symptoms as you (stomach problems, tingling lips, dry skin along with some sort of rash on my right leg) and so is my Brother. He tried the elimination diet and found nothing. The only thing that worked for him was to cut out caffeinated coffee.
So, I decided to try it out and I'm currently on day 5 of zero caffeine. The headaches are ridiculous, but besides that I'm starting to feel a bit better. I haven't been feeling nauseous or dizzy after eating since day 2 of quitting, however.. I have been drinking decaf coffee and am still experiencing the tingling lips. I'm going to give it a couple more days and then try to reintroduce regular coffee to see what it does. I'll keep following your post, as I'm curious what you've found.

rainbowbow

wiredkell wrote: »

This is super interesting to me, as I'm currently experiencing some of the same symptoms as you (stomach problems, tingling lips, dry skin along with some sort of rash on my right leg) and so is my Brother. He tried the elimination diet and found nothing. The only thing that worked for him was to cut out caffeinated coffee.
So, I decided to try it out and I'm currently on day 5 of zero caffeine. The headaches are ridiculous, but besides that I'm starting to feel a bit better. I haven't been feeling nauseous or dizzy after eating since day 2 of quitting, however.. I have been drinking decaf coffee and am still experiencing the tingling lips. I'm going to give it a couple more days and then try to reintroduce regular coffee to see what it does. I'll keep following your post, as I'm curious what you've found.

i've found.... it's dairy that was causing me problems.

I also have a rosacea trigger from: spicy foods, tomatoes/peppers/eggplant.

rontafoya

Are you eliminating all fruits and veggies, or just the ones on this list? For what it's worth I don't eat most of the stuff on that list. And what I do eat from that list I generally consume in small amounts. Except blackberries, cherries, and pears.

wiredkell

Thanks for that! Is it all dairy that gives you issues? Something with coffee is still giving me problems, as that's when my lips tingle the most.

My doctor has referred me to get allergy tests, but the wait is 14 months. Its been about a year I believe. Hopefully my appointment comes soon.