Elimination Diet

How many times have we heard the phrase "you are what you eat."

When you have gastrointestinal problems, a better phrase might be "you are what you don't eat."

Elimination diets - which cut out certain food groups - are often recommended to individuals who complain of chronic health problems.    While anecdotal, most people claim an elimination diet helped them in some way or another.  I skeptically chalk their success up to 'forced' healthier eating, rather than an actual food insensitivity, but who is to say?

As a self proclaimed foodie, I am generally NOT a fan of the newly popular restrictive diets like paleo, whole 30, ketogenic....etc. I would also like to claim that there isn't much of a scientific evidence to support them...Yet here I am, about to start on a 4 month long journey through a 4 phase elimination diet.

I suppose there comes a point in any skeptics life, when they will try anything to alleviate what ails them...

I am officially that desperate.

8 years ago I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis.  For the past 2 years, I have been in and out of the hospital due to symptoms, and my body is no longer responding to the current medical treatment.  My health has been inconsistent, and I can't take it anymore!    

This particular elimination diet is one I found on Greatist-- how scientific of me -- that breaks down the typical components of an elimination diet into 4 much more manageable phases. You can find the diet and an explanation of potential benefits here.

The most important thing about trying an elimination diet -- is making sure you are meeting your nutritional requirements.  For me that means roughly 1200-1500 calories per day, that breaks down into the following ratio:

Carbohydrates -- 45-65%
Protein --  10-35%
Fat  -- 20-35%

I will be posting my weekly menu and meal prep, and any recipes or products I am using during this journey. While I am hoping that we may identify trigger foods, I also hope that I see no changes so I can go on eating whatever I want...  

You can also follow me on Pinterest to see other good resources and recipes!

Blogging and Hyperemesis Gravidarum Don't Mix

My last post was on Christmas Eve.  

I wrote: "I would have been full term on Christmas (37 weeks), but I experienced my 3rd miscarriage in June. I prayed that we would be able to make a Christmas announcement this year and surprise everyone, but that isn't going to happen because I am not pregnant."

Christmas Eve, I had a negative HPT (home pregnancy test).  I was only 12 days past ovulation (DPO) or 2 days before my missed period, so there was around a 20% chance that it was a false negative.  

Three days later, when Aunt Flo had failed to arrive, I took another HPT -- still negative. 

When Aunt Flo had still failed to arrive three days later, on New Years Eve -- I thought I should probably test again.  I didn't want to risk the glass of champagne without confirming what I already knew [that I was definitely NOT pregnant.]  

Stephen and I were shocked when the results came back positive, 2-3 weeks.

The first words out of my mouth were "Here we go again."  We were visiting family, and shared the news with everyone immediately. We were all cautiously excited, if there is such a thing. Should we dare to get our hopes up, again?

The positive pregnancy test explained why I was feeling so miserable. What we had thought was a flare up of Gastroparesis, was actually diagnosed as Hyperemesis Gravidarum at my first prenatal appointment.

As if recurrent pregnancy loss wasn't already overshadowing the joy of our pregnancy, Hyperemesis Gravidarum just made it worse.  Within the first 8 weeks, I had lost 12 lbs.  I could not hold anything down. I could not get out of bed without vomiting despite a pharmaceutical cocktail of Pyrodixine & B6, Zofran, and Phenergan.  I was so ill, Stephen had to help me shower.  I was out of good veins for IV fluids in the ER -- my wrists and hands bruised. I was miserable. I desperately wanted my pregnancy, but at the same time wished I was dead.

I am NOT new to the world of nausea/vomiting. I live with it daily due to my Gastroparesis, but Hyperemesis was a totally new experience.  If there was a scale for nausea, I was at a 10+ all day, every day...add to that the anxiety I felt trying to nourish the life inside me, and taking Class B and Class C medications to keep us both alive.

We had hoped that it would all be worth it, and we would be holding a baby in September after years of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, but we experienced a missed miscarried at 10 weeks.

I had fully intended to start the new year out with all sorts of blogs about chronic illness, organization, etc. Yet Hyperemesis Gravidarum was against me.  For a person who is "chronically organized", my home and my life were in complete chaos these past few months. The proof is in these pictures:

This past month I have been trying to gain some sense of control in the aftermath following my 4th miscarriage, and I hope to be blogging more in the upcoming months.