Comprehensive Elimination Diet

I've heard of this type of thing being done to determine specific allergies or dietary intolerances, but never for weight loss.

What it boils down to is this - if you go from 100 to zero mph in a car suddenly, it's not much fun. You end up kinda wishing you hadn't. Eating is the same, if you suddenly cut all processed out of your diet in one go, sure it's probably healthier for you, but it's also a pretty massive physiological and psychological shock. The results you'll generally see from this kind of behaviour is initial rapid weight loss, and initial rapid euphoria, followed by a frustrating metabolic stall, followed by a resumption of former eating patterns, followed by regain of all the weight PLUS another 5% or so.

Ask most of the truly successful MFPers on here and I think you'll find they would suggest you make gentle, sustainable lifestyle changes, one-at-a-time (or at least just a few at a time) until you form a new habit of eating below your TDEE if wanting to lose or eating at your TDEE if wanting to maintain.

I'm not saying don't do it. But if you do, watch your mind and your habits carefully and see if I'm right. If so, cross this technique off your list and move onto something different instead.

I've done this in the past, the key is being very scientific and methodical while re-introducing variable foods/food groups. The biggest benefit I see is simply learning what your body can digest best and in what quantities. This may sound gross, but you might want to pay attention to what food(s) give you gas, constipation, changes in defication, etc. I simply can't handle high amounts of dairy or any legumes other than peas, on the other hand I am perfect at digesting cabbage and broccoli if eaten with some fat.

I've done this in the past, the key is being very scientific and methodical while re-introducing variable foods/food groups. The biggest benefit I see is simply learning what your body can digest best and in what quantities. This may sound gross, but you might want to pay attention to what food(s) give you gas, constipation, changes in defication, etc. I simply can't handle high amounts of dairy or any legumes other than peas, on the other hand I am perfect at digesting cabbage and broccoli if eaten with some fat.

Same, but different results (reasonable since I *am* a different person). My fiancé will be going through a full elimination diet here soon to see if that helps him out. You really do need to pay attention to some rather gross stuff, as opposed to how you feel immediately after though. Wheat doesn't cause me issues when eating, but it, uh, causes other issues.

Edit: I did this to deal with my IBS, not to explicitly lose weight. I lost weight, but probably because I cut out the junk. My fiancé has other GI issues, so avoiding foods that trigger issues is important (he actually needs to gain weight).

I am currently doing this. I am in my second week of the elimination phase. I've lost about 4 pounds this past week. I didn't have any intention of losing on it, but it just happens. I am having a hard time keeping my calories up because I'm picky. I don't like most cooked veggies.

I'm doing another week of the elimination phase then I'll start adding stuff back in. I'm curious to know the results.

I'm surprised that I don't miss a whole lot, other than variety. I love cheese but haven't really wanted it, other than to add some additional flavor to meals, but I'm ok without it. Coffee is about the only thing that I've really thought about wanting and that's really only when I smell it. The smell is everywhere!

I think the term food allergy gets thrown around far too often and not only does it make it more difficult for those with true allergies to be taken seriously, it also causes a lot of misguided hype for the diet industry.

Unless your body experiences allergy-like reactions that your physician believes could be food-related, I see absolutely no reason to torture your body with this type of diet.

I agree 100%. Couldn't have said it better

I've done it and what I found out is that I do have a slight wheat sensitivity. I get acid reflux if I eat too much of it, plus it makes me bloat. I also probably have a slight dairy sensitivity as it causes sinus problems when I eat it. I still have both on occasion (hello, PIZZA! :happy:) but really try to limit it.

I did an elimination diet. It is something you need to be very careful doing. I was doing a sugar free, yeast free diet because of a skin problem. I had to make EVERYTHING from scratch. I even made my own mayonnaise.

It is often recommended not to make any dramatic changes to your diet all at once, but I couldn't personally give you a reason why you shouldn't. I can tell you that a restrictive plan didn't work for me. I gained all the weight back that I had lost when I reintroduced those things back into my diet. What I suggest is working on learning to use moderation to manage your weight. Deprivation can play hell on your psyche and rob you of your motivation.

Never heard of it being used for weight loss, but to determine food allergies, yes. I don't think I would recommend it for weight loss either.

I got suggested the "stoneage diet" by a nutritionist years ago when they were tying to diagnose my coeliac disease.... basically if it wasnt around in the stoneage cut it out for at least a month then add them in one at a time... It worked but when i added wheat back in I felt utterly horrendous....... and I'll be honest its hard to stick to........... It worked though and I felt amazing after the first few weeks

I've done something like this before and discovered I'm very sensitive to sugar and also to soy products.

My husband did this with me, and he lost about 10lbs in a month (regained when we quit the diet and started adding foods back in).

There are a lot of myths about "detox" diets and while I don't believe your body needs to "detox" (it does that fine on its own -- I think the "detox" claims are mostly hokum), there isn't much harm in eliminating certain food groups temporarily to see if you have any food sensitivities.

Google Dax Moy, his diet is the diet we followed and he comes highly recommended from a friend of mine who is a pre- and post-natal fitness expert in Spain. She uses his Elimination Diet with all her clients when they begin a program with her.

I only lost 4lbs, so I was kind of pissed about that, and of course I put them all back on. If you can stick to the plan, that's great, or at least add things back in more slowly than I did. Not a brilliant idea to start a 30 day detox 30 days before Thanksgiving!

This is completely unnecessary if you are only interested in weight loss. If you are having some serious reaction to food and are trying to figure out what it is, then this should be done under the advisement of a physician who would give you the ins-and-outs of doing so.

Just my two cents.

Totally agree. I have a few food allergies, and they have very distinct symptoms (hives, difficulty breathing, etc. hint: none of these things involve weight loss). If you suspect an allergy, why not go to an allergist and get tested?

She isn't talking about an allergy, she is talking about an intolerance. My husband is lactose intolerant and he has not one single symptom that is allergy related.

Agreed. Allergy does not = sensitivity.

I used to have excessive sweating, nausea, etc. after drinking soy milk. It wasn't so bad that I connected it, but when I cut it out and added it back in, I knew immediately. I actually got a little rash after going without soy for quite some time and eating some chips that were soy-based (I didn't know it). Not severe enough to be a full-on allergic reaction, but enough to make me realize soy is no bueno for me. And at the time I was working at a gym where we used soy milk to make our protein drinks... no wonder I felt like crap all the time.

This is completely unnecessary if you are only interested in weight loss. If you are having some serious reaction to food and are trying to figure out what it is, then this should be done under the advisement of a physician who would give you the ins-and-outs of doing so.

Just my two cents.

Totally agree. I have a few food allergies, and they have very distinct symptoms (hives, difficulty breathing, etc. hint: none of these things involve weight loss). If you suspect an allergy, why not go to an allergist and get tested?

She isn't talking about an allergy, she is talking about an intolerance. My husband is lactose intolerant and he has not one single symptom that is allergy related.

She specifically mentions allergies in her second post. And I recognize there is a difference between allergy and intolerance--I have one of those too (eggs). While it is very different from an allergy, the symptoms are also pretty unmistakeable.

Clearly.

I would imagine that the terms are often interchanged without understanding the real difference, maybe.