As of last Tuesday, my allergist has put me on the ELIMINATION DIET to try to see if it's a food allergy that's messing with my foggy-mindedness, lack of concentration and body cramps.

Below is what he gave me as instructions to follow. I'm having a difficult time adjusting to this and feel lost. Some of the key things I usually eat daily are eggs, rice, cottage cheese, yogurt, feta cheese, protein shakes. These are all things that are on the FOOD ITEMS NOT ALLOWED list.

Has anybody ever been on the ELIMINATION DIET? Or know of anybody that has? Any experience with it?

I'm desperately seeking advice, feedback, recipes, idea's. All I've been eating this week is my BBQ'd chicken and squash...and some fruit. Being on a super tight budget I'm pretty limited but I'm telling ya...it's getting to be a challenge eating chicken and squash 4 meals a day. I can't have the protein shakes because of the whey.

If anybody has any recommendations, I'm wide open to hearing them. I need help!

I'm determined to get back to work and off disability

and I'm determined to stick to my challenge and eating healthy!

I just need a little help with this one!

Thanks you!

Hi Bella,

I hope this helps you ! I haven't done this elimination diet but know others who have. I gave up meat, fish, dairy, eggs, soy and bananas, because they hurt my stomach so I understand a bit how hard it is without the 'regular' foods...

I don't have any great ideas for you..just wanted to say hi and offer some positive vibes for you as you go thru this process..

take care,

t

I know you are facing a lot of challenges, Bella, I am proud of you for not giving up on you. I don't know anything about elimination diets, so no advise from me, but i am sending you loads and loads of healing vibes and prayers. ~~~ Love you, girl, keep going, okay? ~~~

Bella !!! Hunnie, with everything else you have going on in your life I know this seems a little daunting, but take it in your stride - this truly is easier than you think ...

I've been on something similar about 17 years ago .... mine was more strict - started with ONLY water, lettuce and paw paw the first week .. then i added chicken the following week.. the next week i added apples and so it went on for months !! (ok - it was the dark ages in those days and the doctors didnt know what else to do LMHO)

And apart from the milk and yoghurt - everything i eat is on your "allowed list" ... and the yoghurt i could replace with another carb - either oats or a fruit ... the milk i would struggle with because i'm a white coffee lover (",)

close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, then open your eyes and look at this with a new perspective .. the perspective that tells you this is simple AND easy ... that it's going to possibly make you healthier, AND you GET TO be a little more creative that you have been (",)

My friend made a STUNNING meal today ... it took a little longer than i would care to do (about 45 min in total) but she made enuf for me for dinner too so i wont complain ...

She roasted chicken pieces in the oven (back quarters because it was a free day but you could do breasts with the same success) - 40min @ 190degC (370F) spiced with only mixed herbs

Steamed Veggies for 30min (she wanted to roast them but i had already put on the steamer) ... cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onion, red peppers (basically all the stuff in my vegetable tray that was going to be binned in the next day or 2) & for a balanced Carb - she added sweet potatos - small diced ... ALL she added to that was origanum and mixed herbs

IT WAS DELICIOUS !!! Now i normally avoid chicken on my free days because i eat it all thru the week coz i cant afford other meats and fish ...

(now i did add some lemon butter sauce to my plate because my brain said i wanted it .. but 2 mouthfuls into my meal i scraped it off coz i DID not need it - the food was yummy enuf! I also had more veggies but i'd picked at it before i remembered my camera!)

Can you have soy? Naturade make a pretty good soy protein powder if you can. Hope this helps. Cindy

Thanks everyone for your feedback and kind words. Yeah...kinda struggling right now but I absolutely, positively refuse to give up.

I'm still eating grilled chicken and zucchini LOL. I just don't have the time/energy/funds to do anything else right now with everything on my plate. It is what it is. But, I'm proud of myself, I haven't waivered on my FOODS ALLOWED or FOODS NOT ALLOWED lists! My daughter even made me coffee this morning and brought it to my bed to wake me up! When I took a sip, I tasted Splenda and knew I couldn't finish it. I didn't have the heart to tell her because she was so proud to do something sweet for me on a Sunday morning...and she knows I've been down lately...but, I thought I should be honest. She was sad but happy because she could have it LOL.

Cindy - No, I'm not allowed to have soy either. No balsamic vinegar either which is a bugger. I love my vinaigrette.

The images above in my original post are the lists of allowed/not allowed.

Thanks again everyone. It's 3:30am and I better go to bed. I just wanted to complete some promises on here before going to bed.

Love you all...very much.

Bella! O no! I couldn't imagine going without my delicious fake pancakes full of egg white and cottage cheese...

Anyways. I do feel your pain - baby girl has allergies to dairy, egg, soy, peanut and tree nut - so when we were trying to figure out what was causing her ezcema in the early days, it meant me going without certain things. There's a book published in Australia called 'Allergy Free Family Food' by Suzanna Paxton, it's got heaps of recipes in it that might be useful for you, esp in the long term if they find out you have intolerances. Can you get the skin prick testing? It's a lot less painful than the hit-and-miss of modifying your diet...

Ideas-wise - these are the quick and easy things we actually share with baby girl at the moment:
- ground beef mince with onions, tomato paste, carrot, capsicum, grated zucchini (it's an all-in mix, really, whatever veg is left in the fridge)
- quinoa fried with veg (again, onions, carrot, capsicum, zucchini)
- seared beef strips with roast sweet potato cubes on baby spinach leaves & seeds
- all sorts of soups (minestrone soup with quinoa instead of pasta, black bean soup, lentil and tomato soup, cauliflower, pea and mushroom soup...the list goes on). These are our emergency go-to meals, we freeze these in batches and saute chicken, then pop it on top of the soup
- tuna / salmon salads - sorta like a nicoise. We've been using the flavoured oil (usually tomato and onion) from the small tins to make the dressing (cos baby girl isn't really supposed to have citrus yet either). For baby girl we add chickpeas to them as well, cos she likes picking them up and having a go at them.

Let me know if any of these ideas are useful or if you want any others
xo reen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reen Bella! O no! I couldn't imagine going without my delicious fake pancakes full of egg white and cottage cheese... Anyways. I do feel your pain - baby girl has allergies to dairy, egg, soy, peanut and tree nut - so when we were trying to figure out what was causing her ezcema in the early days, it meant me going without certain things. There's a book published in Australia called 'Allergy Free Family Food' by Suzanna Paxton, it's got heaps of recipes in it that might be useful for you, esp in the long term if they find out you have intolerances. Can you get the skin prick testing? It's a lot less painful than the hit-and-miss of modifying your diet... Ideas-wise - these are the quick and easy things we actually share with baby girl at the moment: - ground beef mince with onions, tomato paste, carrot, capsicum, grated zucchini (it's an all-in mix, really, whatever veg is left in the fridge) - quinoa fried with veg (again, onions, carrot, capsicum, zucchini) - seared beef strips with roast sweet potato cubes on baby spinach leaves & seeds - all sorts of soups (minestrone soup with quinoa instead of pasta, black bean soup, lentil and tomato soup, cauliflower, pea and mushroom soup...the list goes on). These are our emergency go-to meals, we freeze these in batches and saute chicken, then pop it on top of the soup - tuna / salmon salads - sorta like a nicoise. We've been using the flavoured oil (usually tomato and onion) from the small tins to make the dressing (cos baby girl isn't really supposed to have citrus yet either). For baby girl we add chickpeas to them as well, cos she likes picking them up and having a go at them. Let me know if any of these ideas are useful or if you want any others xo reen

Reen - Wow, what great idea's! I forgot to add above that I did buy 2 sweet potatoes so I've been having that with the chicken and grilled squash. I'm actually really enjoying the sweet potatoes. I'm surprised I don't have to put anything on it. I just cube it up, put it in a bowl with water at the bottom and microwave....then mush up when done. I love it.

I bought a big bag of spinach leaves for my green shake but duh...it didn't occur to me to use it for salad! I hadn't thought about the flavored oil either...that's an awesome idea. I don't have the time right now for soups so I'll have to try that later.

I have been carrying around carrot and jicama sticks with me as snacks. I was helping my parents yesterday and my step-mom came out with a big bowl of popcorn for a snack. I didn't have a single one and instead went inside and raided their refrigerator for some cherry tomatoes and a peach.

I'm also surprised at following this elimination diet so strictly and without waivering a bit. This proves to me that I am stronger as a result of this challenge. My mind is stronger in that I'm making smart choices and emotionally I'm stronger also...or else I would have definitely given up with all the other stuff going on. So I'm feeling pretty good about that.

I have a question for you though...have you had any issues with low salt? I posted another thread where I've been experiencing severe body cramps and super light-headedness/dizziness. I'm wondering if it has to do with low salt in my body. I don't use salt in my cooking. Here's the thread.

Thank you so much for posting this and for the book recommendation. You rock! I'm sorry you had to experience that with your daughter. I remember seeing some kids like that in school when my daughter was young and I just didn't know how they and the moms went through that. But, I suppose it's like everything else....life throws challenges at you and we are blessed to be able to accept and learn from them. I always think that no matter how we think it is...it can get worse!


“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” ~ Bernice J Reagan

Almond Milk is actually pretty good too! Can you have that? It's not dairy at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellaBellaSher I have a question for you though...have you had any issues with low salt? I posted another thread where I've been experiencing severe body cramps and super light-headedness/dizziness. I'm wondering if it has to do with low salt in my body. I don't use salt in my cooking. Here's the thread.

lol...I am a massive salt fiend and am dearly in love with flaky crunchy celtic sea salt - I've had low blood pressure for years which cause me to black out occasionally - so I rationalise my consumption this way :P
But I see from your other post that you've investigated magnesium - you can get this in tablet form, it can really help with muscle cramping. Good luck with it all

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plantman0819 Almond Milk is actually pretty good too! Can you have that? It's not dairy at all.

Good idea..I see that almonds are on my APPROVED foods list (oddly enough ) so thanks for that recommendation!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reen lol...I am a massive salt fiend and am dearly in love with flaky crunchy celtic sea salt - I've had low blood pressure for years which cause me to black out occasionally - so I rationalise my consumption this way :P But I see from your other post that you've investigated magnesium - you can get this in tablet form, it can really help with muscle cramping. Good luck with it all

Reen - I was at this awesome organic health food store the other day and she recommended the Celtic salt. I couldn't afford it then but I got my pmt today so I'm gonna head over there. Thanks for putting this down...I really appreciate the help.

Hi. I recently stopped eating dairy, gluten, eggs, and peanuts (also anything artificial, and all the usual "bad" stuff). I am also mostly vegetarian, and can't eat tree nuts. I was supposed to gradually start adding those things back into my diet after three weeks, but I feel so good that it's been been five weeks! I know it sounds crazy, but the few times I have slipped up I felt so bad, that I haven't felt like testing them back in.

I was a little surprised that your diet allows beef, as that can be a problem for many people. I eat lots of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, quinoa, brown rice, beans - lentils, black beans, chick peas, etc., tons of veggies. I can eat soy and corn on the program I am doing (I was a little surprised at that) but try not to over do it. It fits within most of the BFL guidelines, although I maybe eating a little less protein than recommended, I feel so much better than I did when I was eating cottage cheese and eggs all day, that it seems like it can't be hurting me too much.

I haven't found eating this way difficult unless I eat out, or try to explain it to others. I'm going to start posting recipes on my page soon, I like to cook, so that makes eating challenges easier.

How long have you been doing this and how are you feeling??

-Rebecca

Bella. On 9-11-07 I came down with a severe case of Vertigo, a day I will never ever forget. My world was spinning out of control. I would have bouts of this for the next 16 months. When the barometric pressure changed and it was raining I would be in bed all day. I saw my family doctor, ENT, acupunturist, and my chiropractor. I still suffered. That is one of the main reasons I couldn't finish my first transformation. When you can't even feel normal you really don't want to work out. Sometimes I would sleep 18 hours not wanting to get out of bed because I would get naucious and have to head to the bathroom. Doctors don't know how to treat Vertigo or any balance type issue. I was at my wits end. Finally I went to an allergist and they did a full back panel, I believe 42 items. They narrowed it down to 24 interdermal injections to see what I might be allergic to. It seemed that I was allergic to everything, trees, grasses, and several food items. But the only way to be sure is do the elimination diet ( my Dr. Allergist told me) That is tough, having a very restricted diet and then introducing one item at a time and seing how you react. I have problems with egg yolks, not whites, wheat, dairy, citrus products, tomatoes, cheese. These are all things I like. I found the elimination diet very tough to follow.
This may be an easier way to go about it as unconventional as it may seem to you and the medical community. My chiropractor uses a technique where he can test you for foods that your body doesn't like. And I have found that he is right all the time. Now this may sound crazy to you but I have seen this performed on my father when he was allergic to medications and it has been done to me, so I believe it.
I take the foods that the allergist says I have issues with into my chiropractor. I lay on my belly and he places the item on my lower back. READY--- he now claps my two feet together. If I am fine with the food my legs reflexes symetrically like a true tuning fork, both vibrating or returning to the same position equally the same. If I am allergic to it, my legs move in an unsymetrical movement, they kick a bit different. You may call me crazy, other medical professionals may call this crazy, but I HAVE NOT HAD ONE ISSUE WITH VERTIGO in the last two months since staying off of foods he said caused my issues. I'm crying with happiness telling you this, you can't imagine how it feels waking up and feeling like you just put down a six pack of beer. I don't know the name of this technique, but call different quakopractors (LOL) and ask if they can do tests for allergies. This has worked for me. The Chinese have a similar practice. They tell you to stand up and extend your arms at a90' angle. In one hand make an O with your thumb and index finger, in the other hand place the food item. If someone can break the two fingers apart with minimal effort that food is bad for you. If you can keep your fingers together that food is ok for you. Your body know what your bidy want, needs, and doesn't like.
Although I don't suffer from the spinning anymore some issues still remain, but I have had them forever. I don't like flashing lights, disco mirror balls. Just little stuff.
Now that I am back to normal, I am going full stem into this program and I will achieve the weight goals I stated each week till the end of my 18 week program.

Hi Everyone - Rebecca...MartinZ....thank you very much for your feedback. I'm going to look into everything you recommended.

I would also recommend anybody that find the information in this thread helpful to copy and save it. My other thread re severe muscle cramps was taken down and an email was sent to me with an explanation along the lines of not being a medical recommendation site.

Thank you everyone...I very much appreciate the help!

Bella,

I am so proud of you! You are doing great work that will pay off in a ways that might be hard to image. I am a firm believer that you are what you eat and you are what you think. However, if you combine the two statements together I believe you can get closer to the truth, "You think what you eat".

I did a similar process to the elimination diet... end result today I don't eat wheat/flour products (breads, crackers, pasta... basically anything processed that is wheat based) and I don't eat milk based products, except Bill's Right Whey. I have never felt better.

The process taught me how to make great lentil soups, in fact our household has 1-2 servers of legumes per day in place of processed flour products. We all feel great! In addition, legumes are super low cost!!!

Red Lentil, Black Bean, and/or Chic Pea Recipe

I cook all my bean soups the same and just rotate the bean type. My favorite beans; red lentils, black beans, and chick peas.

• 2 cups beans (approx.)
• 6 cups water (approx.)
• Cook the above in a crock pot low heat. Depending on the bean type it might take 3-6 hours.. the nice thing about crock pots is that it is practically impossible to overcook the food it just gets better the longer you cook it.
• Two chicken bullion OR chicken broth.

After the above is cooked.. then…

• Sauté two onions (learn how to caramelized onions it makes all the difference!)
• Add fresh garlic and a little fresh ginger
• Salt to taste
• **optional chili power and curry, add to the onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes.. work flavors into onions. *** I would first try it with out then play with the flavors.

After the above is finished … then..

• Add to soup.
• Add one can of whole coconut milk (Get the full flavor fat stuff!! Coconut milk fat is good for you and tastes wonderful in soups!!)FYI - taste great withoutCoconut mild as well Some people just can't get past the whole fat thing...
  
• Cook on low for 30 minutes
• Add 1/3 of soup to blender then pour back into soup.. gives it a soup texture.

I eat homemade soup 1-2 times per day. I mixed chicken or egg whites for my protein and top off with fresh tomatoes and cilantro. Sometimes I add quinoa (super food!!) or sweet potatoes..


My kids eat it all the time with brown rice mixed in topped off with tomatoes and some chicken.


Enjoy!!