The Elimination Diet - Days 7 - 9

Days 7 - 9

It’s been an interesting few days on the program and a couple of different things have happened.

I’ve added a cheat to my diet that I’m going to stick with – protein powder.  I tend not to cook or eat meat at home (except salmon) so I’ve almost been vegan since I started this diet.  It’s going great and I find I have more energy than normal but I do think I need more protein.  I haven’t had a reaction since I started adding protein powder to my smoothies and I feel fuller longer so I’m going to stick with it.  Even though this is a cheat, I’ve justified it slightly by looking at it as a supplement.

The quinoa flour I ordered arrived and I tried making the banana muffins again, they were still delicious but not quite as delicious as the brown rice ones.  Unfortunately, I still reacted so now I’m thinking it’s not the brown rice.  I’m so disappointed, I can’t even lie.  My stomach actually hurt a little more than the first time.  I made the muffins on day 8, got an extremely bad stomach ache that lasted all day, and woke up this morning (day 9) feeling like I just ate the muffins again.

The two other culprits could be baking soda or apple cider vinegar.  I gave myself today to give my stomach a break but I’m going to eat a spoonful of the apple cider vinegar tomorrow to see what it does.  If it’s the apple cider vinegar, I’m going to make the muffins without it, and if it’s not, I’m going to make the muffins without the baking soda.

This experience has stressed me a little.  I’m not worried about potentially having to eliminate a food from my diet, I’ve been doing that for over three years now.  I’m not worried about experimenting with different foods and potentially delaying the third phase a couple of days, that’s the whole point of this diet.  I’m stressed because my stomach hurts so bad, and then the stress causes my stomach to hurt more which causes my stress to get worse… you get the point.

Inevitably, I’m going to have to eat a food that is going to make my stomach hurt again.  It’s ironic, it’s the only way I’m going to figure this out.  I’ve been feeling harsh stomach pains on and off for over three years and I want them to stop.  I’m looking forward to getting this over with.

Overall though, I’m still really happy on the diet.  When I wake up, I want to get out of bed; my internal alarm clock is working again and I feel cleaner and lighter.  Also, the measuring cups I ordered came, so the next time I bake the muffins they won’t be dry! J