I kind of alluded in a post a few weeks ago that I had been in and out of the doctor’s office trying to figure out some issues I have going on. I have struggled with stomach issues my entire life, and have never been able to get a straight answer on why. After yet another round of testing + MRI’s + ultrasounds + bloodwork, I found myself at a nutritionist’s office.
I have the sweetest primary care physician, who is determined to help me get to the bottom of this, once and for all. His suggestion to see a Nutritionist kind of surprised me, because it just seemed too easy. But nonetheless, there I was.
After going over my diet and my symptoms, she suggested a FODMAP diet. It’s the idea that certain kinds of foods (even fruits and vegetables) are not as easily broken down and digested, causing flare ups similar to what I was experiencing. All the times that I thought I was eating healthy, I was really only making things worse.
It’s a tough list she gave me – essentially, I have to stay away from anything that is processed, I have to go gluten-free again, I have to cut out dairy and I have to watch the kinds of fruits and vegetables I eat.
I probably spent too long staring at my “can’t eat that” list when I finally decided to figure out what I could have instead. She gave me a helpful 21 day meal plan guide and suggested I purchased this book and I also picked up this one too.
Then I found the above chart on Pinterest (where else?) and it made me feel a little bit better 🙂 I think that getting used to eating this way is going to be a big adjustment, but at this point I am willing to try anything!
Coming up, I’ll be sharing my meal plan ideas and recipes. I’m also hopeful that this will help me lose the rest of the baby weight 😉
Have you ever been on a restricted diet? What was your experience and how did you handle cravings for things you aren’t supposed to eat?