Late Night Eating and My Allergy-Free Diet

This allergy diet thing is going to be quite the experience. I've been doing it for a week now. Granted I'm NOWHERE near perfect at this. I've eaten tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, cheese, popcorn, corn on the cob, watermelon, cheese. I've got a lot to learn.

Today I had great plans of being prepared before I went to family dinner. Yeah, so that didn't happen so much. Not so much. I came home with the four kiddie winks (Noah, Gaby, Jamie Beth, Dallin) and made them popcorn and let them try the candy bars I made the other day. The popcorn was fine--the candy bars . . . not so much.

In the meantime, I srambled a couple of eggs for myself and adorned them with the raw tomato sauce I made the other day. I needed the protein desperately. I had eaten only my candy bars early that day. (They are from Elana's Pantry and are made out of pecans, almond butter, agave nectar and Dagoba chocolate--yummy!)

So, I was hungry when I went to dinner. I had some of the salad even though I'm sure the dressing had some sugar in it. I had the roast beef even though I knew it had been prepped with a little flour. I had watermelon even though it is high on the glycemic index, and I had corn on the cob even though I'm not sure I can have it or not.

Not a stellar day as far as the allergy-free diet goes.

Now a rocking day when it comes to eating whole, good foods. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't like I was pigging out on Dr. Pepper and deep fried dough balls.

It was progress.

So, I stayed at Mom's house and watched Dan in Real Life. I had seen it before but it depressed me the first time. This time I laughed. I sat there thinking how hungry I was through most of it. I just wanted food. Finally, I went in the storage room and dug deeply into the cashew container.

And then I came home and put myself to bed. And couldn't sleep and couldn't sleep and couldn't sleep. So, I got up, got online and realized that the gnawing pit in my stomach wasn't going to magically disappear.

The food options are a bit limited at the moment--let's say NO CASH in my account. So, I began with an apple. That merely made the yawing yawp of my hunger intensify. So, I cracked open a can of wild salmon and mixed it with my canola mayo. YUMMMY!!!! That in and of itself tells you I was in desperate need of some good food.

Then I heated up a can of black beans, smashed them really good, and mixed them with my raw tomato sauce. Not a particularly tasty dish, but oh-so-filling. I had to do a deep down hum when I consumed a bowl of this. My whole body relaxed as well. Finally, some food that my body could comprehend and utilize.

And here I sit full and tired.

I'm going to bed.

What Am I Doing about My Food Sensitivity Test?

So, I took that IgG food sensitivity test back in May and I knew I wanted to start following the elimination diet for the test, but I convinced myself to wait until I came back from Denmark in June. Then I got a bit depressed. Then it was Katy's wedding and Amy came for a five-week visit. I didn't want to start a whole new program with Amy around. Even though she eats amazingly well. I just didn't want that stress. 

So, here I am. Amy is leaving town tomorrow and our discussions for the last few weeks have centered around food. And I'm ready to get with the program. I've actually been doing it for a few days already but I wanted to clear up a few lingering questions with my doctor. 

1. Can I take the sacrament (like communion) each week? It is just a bite of bread and I wanted to know if it would negatively affect me. She said I could give them a rice cracker and take that. Or if I don't think it is bothering me then I can just take it. I don't think it bothers me so I'm going to continue with just a bite of bread each week. 

2. Also, I didn't test negatively for brown rice or red potatoes but my doctor had said something to me about staying off both of those items. I wanted to know exactly how serious she was about those items. Well, let's just say I received my answer. She was serious. 

I had been going with the idea that I would be able to eat brown rice as well as brown rice pasta and brown rice tortillas. Nope, nada, nothing. But she did say yes to agave nectar (thank you!) and almond flour (yes!). That at least gives me a few more options like blueberry muffins, pancakes and a simple bread. I will try those out and see what I think about them as a regular part of the diet around here. 

I also need to watch food items like high-glycemic fruits, dried fruits, and beans and lentils. Those are all question marks in my mind. Do they stay or do they go? 

I really think the hardest items to give up with for these few weeks will be lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges. Not that I eat a ton of them, but they all do add great flavorings to food. They will be the first items I will test to come back into my diet. 

So, for now, what am I eating? 

1. Chicken, turkey, fish

2. all veggies 

3. most fruits

4. beans and lentils

5. most nuts

5. olives, olive oil, avocados

6. almond flour, coconut flour, agave nectar, and Dagoba chocodrops

There will be no such thing as deprivation in my household. This is a celebration, a joy in eating. A good and great joy to eat and be happy. 

What I don't eat: 

1. Potatoes

2. Corn

3. All grains (including brown rice)

4. Soy

5. Dairy

6. Sugar

7. Peanuts

8. Limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruit

I was absolutely floored when around the time of my allergy test, I discovered Elana at elanaspantry.com and all of her excellent recipes. Yummy. 

I also could not believe when I read this entry and found that she also did not eat any grains, potatoes, corn, soy, dairy or sugar. A woman after my own heart. I've been obsessed with her website and trying out all of her recipes for most of the summer and they have proved as delicious as they look. 

I needed her site as a bit of divine intervention and to give me the belief that I could eat really, really well without ever feeling deprived. 

I'm so happy I'm doing this. 

Grains, Grains Go Away, Come Again Another Day

So, the last few weeks I've been really working on staying away from carbs. Or high-glycemic carbs. Or carbs that are particularly bad for me because they cause a high insulin reaction. That list includes:

All wheat products (crackers, bread, pastries, cake, tortillas, pancakes, cereals)
Rice (brown and white both)
Potatoes
Corn

That essentially is all carbs that are not fruits and vegetables. I also have been sticking to low-glycemic fruits like berries, apples, grapefruit, peaches, pears, kiwi, etc.

Because I've been trying to stay away from the carbs so much, I flirted a bit more with dairy--monterey jack cheese, mozarella cheese, yogurt, sour cream.

Now, I haven't been strict about this goal. I've just been working on it. I've eaten some of these carbs a few times a week. I just have not had them for every meal. I haven't gone out of my way to incorporate them into my diet. I've gone out of my way to stay away from them.

The result has been: I sleep better, I snore less (how do I know this? I just know. I don't wake up as tired and I've been sleeping more deeply, so I know I haven't been snoring as much), I've lost two or three inches from my waist, and I've lost about fifteen pounds.

Once again, I'm not really strict about it. I've just been experimenting. I started reading a lot about the low-carb eating a few weeks ago and it intrigued me. I think it is one of the reasons, I did so well on my 6 Week Body Makeover plan. I ate a lot less carbs than I usually did and the weight seemed to fall off of me.

But this time, I'm not as focused on the weight. I feel more focused on my health. I want to feel better. I want to be more active. I want to do more. I want better focus. I want less fatigue. And all of that seems to come about when my eating is aligned with principles of health and my genetic specificity.

And my genetic specificity seems to do a whole lot better when there are a lot less carbs in the mix.

So, here I go again. Changing my eating to change my life. Throughout my thirty plus years on this planet, I've had to be the most flexible when it comes to what I eat. I've had to be the most open, the most willing to change, the most humble, the most specific about the foods I put in my mouth and how they affect this biochemical wonder that is my body.

So, maybe I've finally found the key that unlocks the mystery of having my very own healthy body.

I hope so.