I promised several people I’d post what I eat in a day on the elimination diet. I’ve hesitated for a couple reasons. First, my elimination diet should not be yours! I don’t want people to copy what I’m doing–I’ve chosen what to include and exclude during this adventure based on what I already know about myself. My lingering question is really in regards to whether or not I should include dairy in my diet, but also I’d like to uncover any other potential culprits that I might not be anticipating.
I picked two different days to show you—yesterday and today. My thoughts are: (1) I ate more fat on these days than I normally do, and (2) I think it’s because I didn’t eat quite as many vegetables as I normally do. But this is a peek anyway. I’ll post a couple more days sometime this weekend, and that will hopefully provide a bigger snapshot.
Frankly, tracking my food intake makes me anxious. Not because I think anyone will judge me (I know that will happen—I don’t really care), but because it makes me start counting things, and I don’t like how I feel when I do that. I can explain the higher fat, lower veg intake—I haven’t been to the grocery store, didn’t find any recipes to make, and really just wasn’t in the mood for veggies at lunch for the past few days. Also, I’m trying to make sure I get 2-3 Tbsp of coconut oil per day. Note: I used it for salad dressing by warming it up till it melted (otherwise it is semi-solid at room temp). The bottom line is that the two days I’ve shown you are typical for approximately 2-3 days a week.
I’ll do a veggie focus over the next few days and track that, which is my “other typical” type of day, so we can look at the difference, and hopefully show an overall view.
If I were designing an elimination diet for someone else, there would be some similarities to mine, but it would also be very individual based on health, history, special dietary considerations that are already known, and goals. I’d like to emphasize that this is not a “detox” (I have some thoughts about the idea of detoxing that I’ll share soon), and it’s not being done for weight loss. I have no idea what I weigh. I decided this past January that I would not weigh myself till 2013. I just needed a break from the numbers (and I reconfirmed that need by tracking my diet for the past two days and not enjoying those number either!)…but I’ll do it for a few more days just for you 🙂
I’m heading to the gym in a few minutes, but am already fueled, so I don’t anticipate needing a snack after—just water. Oh, also, I forgot to add in my coffee intake–1.5 cup today and 1 cup yesterday (black).
Today was a long day—I worked my butt off after slacking yesterday, and I’m all caught up (I think—I probably have a few papers to grade later).
I have been sticking to my yoga/sauna goal for this week 100%, and I am happy to report that I’m thoroughly loving it! I plan to talk about the infrared sauna very soon in a post. I also signed up for a local yoga workshop, which I’ll mention again, I’m sure, since my friend is hosting it at her yoga studio in Bloomfield! (Are you local? If so, check out the options–you can do one class or any combination).
Overall, I feel great. I’ve got some energy and a good outlook on things—my stress level is low, and I’m breathing more deeply more often. I think those are all good signs! I’m planning to go to two yoga classes tomorrow morning, at Blue Lotus in Pittsford, and I am really looking forward to it. (Are you local? Meet me there!).
Do you track your diet/calories/macronutrients?Â
Do you weigh yourself? How do you feel about it?
Have you ever done an elimination diet?Â
we have done an elimination diet last year. and learned great things from it. although we are still facing questions about our diet due to our skin. so has been a little frustrating. wish you all the best with yours!! and we just started increasing our coconut oil intake again. hoping that helps our skin
I’ve read something really interesting in Danny Roddy’s blog recently about Dr. Ray Peat’s dietary advices. If you have ever read any, what do you think about them? I’ve seen few people cure their hormonal problems with it…so I’m willing to try. Any opinions/thoughts?
Thanks!
Yeay for yoga and sauna! I don’t like tracking my food intake, either — but thank you for sharing this with us as I feel like it should inspire a lot of people. I’ve eliminated dairy and eggs from my diet this past week just from not feeling well, and it’s helped my energy a lot…which makes me sad…I don’t want to be vegan, but apparently that’s what my body wants.
enjoy the yoga today, lisa! what a great way to spend a friday morning. i WISH i could join you (and on a yoga retreat, too!).
i really give you credit for putting up your food for two days because yes, you do open yourself up to scrutiny. thank you for sharing! i am interested that you had president’s choice tuna because i thought PC was canadian, only??! i am really glad to hear that your energy is high and your mood is positive.
i have only weighed myself once since july 13th and it was a great thing to do!
Tanks Cathy!
I should have put a disclaimer….I didn’t use President’s Choice, but they didn’t have the brand I used and I looked at the label info of the PC (it was the same as the one I actually ate), so I just used it. Same thing happened with the cole slaw…
Hope you have a great Friday!!!
glad you’re feeling great!!! currently I do sometimes track calories/fat/protein because I’m still in the weight gain process so I really do need to make sure that I’m getting enough. however, once I actually hit my goal weight, I definitely plan on taking a break from all of that…it can be so stressful for me!
No, I don’t generally track my calories (only once in a great while to see if I’m on the right track, but as long as I’m eating healthy, I don’t worry about them). I really don’t like to weigh myself because I know the scale lies and prefer to go by how my clothing fits and how I feel and look, although while I’m doing this detox, I am weighing myself because I’m finding it is kind of keeping me motivated and on track. Though, I actually do have weight to lose…once I’m to my goal, I only plan to weigh myself every once in awhile. I’m not sure if it’s a real elimination diet or not, but when I first went vegan – gave up the meat and dairy – I felt sooo much better – could think clearer, less tummy troubles, and more energy.
I think as long as you continue to feel good and energized, that this elimination diet is a good experience for you and honestly, I hope NOBODY judges you based on what you’re choosing to eat while you figure out what needs to be eliminated, etc. Totally uncool if you ask me.
As for numbers, you know that I actually DO like food logging but I’m usually one that hates numbers too, like the scale thing – totally agree. Love that you aren’t stepping on a scale for the whole year. Awesome!Â
i think each body does work differently with detoxes. Mine is very similar to yours but i still use goats milk. I never weigh myself because i don’t like numbers, same with calories.
I can’t wait to add a little goat milk back to my life!
Thanks—that’s the approach I’m taking…if it feels good then it’s the right thing for me to do!
I agree—the scale totally lies! I could probably guess my weight based on how my clothes fit, but then I realize that it doesn’t really matter what I weigh, it’s about how I’m living!
I’m hoping that dairy isn’t an issue for me—I don’t need to have it all the time, but I’ll be a little sad if I shouldn’t have yogurt or cheese at all! I hope you can figure out what your body wants…it would be a shame to give up both eggs and dairy!
I haven’t read about it, but I’ll check it out—I’m always interested in the topic of hormone balance!
It’s such a process, isn’t it? As soon as I think I’ve got things more figured out….I realize I don’t!
That’s a really good question—whey is actually the liquid that collects on top of milk or cream if you let it separate… (sounds icky but can actually be used for a lot of things and is very nutritious). I decided for this elimination diet, I’d cut dairy (but not whey) because I’m making an assumption that if I have a problem it’s not with casein or the proteins/compounds that are found in whey…but with the lactose. That may be presumptuous of me to conclude without testing it, but I’m basing it on past experience when I’ve cut out milk (but not cheese), and cheese (but not milk)….
It is my understanding that some people can tolerate one but not the other, and it depends on specifically what an allergy or sensitivity is occurring in relation to.Â
I like both the egg white and whey proteins—I’ll do a post about whey soon—it’s really pretty interesting what it does and why it’s great! Egg white protein is good too, just in slightly a different way. I actually ordered whey first, and then when I re-ordered it, I accidentally ordered the egg white version…and I like that too!Â
I use sparkpeople to track my diet. My students usually use that or fitday or daily plate…. The not-great one is the government/myplate one! My students at one school are required to use that, and there are lots of complaints…
One time, I rubbed coconut oil on my legs and then got dressed and went to work…and noticed that my khaki pants had zebra stripe…the coconut oil had soaked through. Ha.Â
I try to me more moderate in my application, and truthfully, I’ve noticed that my skin is very well moisturized when I ingest it…
Thanks for sharing this with us! Even though I do it occasionally, I generally don’t like to share what I eat for the same reason, so I really appreciate this!
Just because you eliminate it for a little while doesn’t mean you have to eliminate it forever. Tons of people become vegan and claim they feel “amazing” then a few years later suffer and switch to a totally different diet in the end.
I kind of think it all becomes obsession. Just eat (I don’t eliminate grains or dairy or meats or anything). Stop thinking about it and remember food is to live and for the social comaderie. Lucky to have it or be able to buy it.
The mentality and obsession with trialling new things, eliminating things, preaching about one lifestyle and then a few years later totally switched to a new ones…its exhausting.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I definitely think different dietary approaches work for different people. I’m a pretty big proponent of just eating real food (indulging is fine too), and not using dietary labels.
When I feel like crap and my skin breaks out, though, I do want to investigate and see if I can identify what’s causing it (at this moment in time). If it turns out to be food, I’ll cut out whatever it seems to be that’s causing issues for the time being (or at least cut back a little).
I suspect my eating habits will evolve continuously throughout my life, based on many factors (including what I enjoy, where I live, what people around me eat, and what makes me feel good). I can say for now, cheese didn’t make my skin break out (so I’m happy about that), but grains make me feel awful (so they’re taking a back seat for now). I have no clue how that will evolve in the future—and I didn’t turn down crab cakes based on them containing bread crumbs the other day either.
There is definitely a fine line, especially in the blog world,
between telling stories/describing habits…and preaching. In my mind, it’s big gray world, filled with lots of opinions, labels, and “experts”…and I think a relaxed approach with a focus on feeling happy and good works best for me. That’s really all I can hope for other people too.
On Fri 24/02/12 16:09 , “Disqus”
sent:
[1]
Jenna (unregistered) wrote, in response to
Lauren@spicedplate (unregistered):
Just because you eliminate it for a little while doesn’t
mean you have to eliminate it forever. Tons of people become vegan and
claim they feel “amazing” then a few years later suffer and switch to
a totally different diet in the end.
I kind of think it all becomes obsession. Just eat (I don’t
eliminate grains or dairy or meats or anything). Stop thinking about
it and remember food is to live and for the social comaderie. Lucky to
have it or be able to buy it.
The mentality and obsession with trialling new things, eliminating
things, preaching about one lifestyle and then a few years later
totally switched to a new ones…its exhausting.
Link to comment [2]
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