In this week’s video, I discuss my journey of uncovering food intolerances that have affected my weight, mood, and ability to move the way I want to move—my whole life! I was a very fussy eater throughout my childhood and adolescence. As an adult, I learned to try and eat more foods out of shame and then from being around other foods and slowly trying them on my own, but I still had a physical aversion to trying certain things. I didn’t understand it. I’d tell myself, “I am not going to die if I taste something and don’t like it,” but I still resisted. Was my body telling me that these things were bad for it? Had I been embarrassed and shamed, including shaming myself, all those years for something that was actually a way of protecting myself?
Read on for an overview of the information in the video and links to resources.
Uncovering Food Intolerances
For most of my life, I had experienced constipation fairly frequently and thought it was down to not eating healthy. It didn’t occur to me that it was anything to go to a doctor for. At that time, you didn’t hear about IBS or autoimmune disease. At some point after my last child was born, so about twenty years ago, when I was living in Ireland, I started having more “gastro issues,” like bloating, gas, more serious constipation, and diarrhea. I could no longer drink soda without very painful bloating. Then I noticed blood in my stool, so I visited the doctor. She referred me to a specialist, and I got a colonoscopy. The diagnosis wasn’t IBS, but mild IBS-like, with no damage to the colon. The doctor recommended that I take peppermint capsules but didn’t advise on foods to avoid.
I then started paying closer attention to what I was eating, doing my own research, and seeking advice from alternative practitioners: nutritional therapists, homeopaths/naturopaths, etc. I had been advised to try gluten and dairy-free, low-carb, no-carb, Paleo, etc.
We had already tried going gluten-free and dairy-free to help my two sons’ asthma, but it didn’t seem to help me that much. The gluten-free carbohydrates we ate still caused bloating. We also tried eating fully organic. I didn’t realize how good I felt eating only organic until we stopped, but it was quite expensive, and we found that perhaps not everything we were buying was truly organic.
I had some success with the no-carb Idiot-Proof Diet. I lost 6 inches in my belly in one week. It was the first time I realized my belly wasn’t all fat but gas and bloating! There was another benefit that I didn’t fully realize until I ate something off of the diet, processed chicken nuggets I had made for my daughter’s birthday party: farting! I hadn’t farted for weeks until I had a couple of those nuggets! I enjoyed the diet because I love protein and fat and not farting, but it wasn’t practical when cooking for an entire family, so it was not sustainable, the same as Paleo.
I tried the 4-Hour Body, which was fun with one cheat day a week, but again, it was not sustainable and was mainly for losing weight and not dealing with gastrointestinal issues.
I started using a simple app on my Android phone to track what I was eating and my symptoms. This helped me better understand what foods cause the symptoms. Garlic was one of the first foods uncovered! I love the taste of garlic and use it a lot. I cannot believe I didn’t realize it was a trigger! If you are having gastro or inflammation issues and are unsure if or what foods you may be sensitive to, I highly recommend you find a tracker like this for your phone. You can do this manually, but it’s so much other with a tracker on your phone.
I then visited a nutritionist who worked for the local health authority. She suggested that I consider eating low-FODMAP foods.
What are FODMAPs, and Why I Restrict Them From My Diet
FODMAPs are a group of sugars that are not completely digested or absorbed in our intestines. When FODMAPs reach the small intestine, they move slowly, attracting water. When they pass into the large intestine, FODMAPs are fermented by gut bacteria, producing gas as a result. The extra gas and water cause the intestinal wall to stretch and expand. Because people with IBS have a highly sensitive gut, ‘stretching’ the intestinal wall causes exaggerated sensations of pain and discomfort
Monash University, considered by many as the best resource for all things regarding low FODMAP eating.
When I started researching which foods are low or high FODMAP, I saw that most of my triggers were high FODMAP, so I looked for more resources. I found a wonderful book, co-written by nutritionist, Paula Mee, who I had seen on various TV shows and thought was very knowledgeable. Gut Feeling became my bible. I created weekly meal plans from the recipes in the book and then shopping lists. I kept the book and the plan/lists on the kitchen island, so I’d keep to the plan. My family enjoyed most of the recipes: steak, piri-piri chicken, chicken tikka masala, shrimp salad, crust less quiche, popcorn with basil and parmesan, etc.
Eating according to this book, I felt my best, but there was a lot of cooking and cleaning up involved, so it was not sustainable! I continued to try to restrict what I ate to low-FODMAP foods, but again, when cooking for a family, it was a challenge.
Six years ago, I returned to live in the US and then learned that I had an autoimmune disease; some of my gastro issues made more sense. Much of my research and information from relevant Facebook groups confirmed that eating low FODMAP was best for reducing the autoimmune symptoms. As I started limiting my eating to low-FODMAP foods, I saw this was the case for me. I continued my research and kept lists of the foods to eat and avoid. I included other foods that were known to be inflammatory, many of which are high FODMAP. In time, eating in this manner became easier, especially since my youngest had her own eating plan and cooked a lot for herself, and then she was living in college for much of the year.
I did find an app that helped me research the best foods for me to eat: the FIG app. You enter the types of foods that you want to limit or avoid and can then search for or scan the barcodes to get relevant information on that food. They have most of the products and grocery stores in the US in their database.
Food Tracking for Weight Loss & Health
I used the Noom app for weight loss for about a year. It was very helpful, but I realized that while I was keeping track of foods I was sensitive to and calories, I wasn’t tracking other nutrients. The Noom app only tracked calories and foods by types it had created, not by actual nutrients. I then started using MyFitnessPal to track that I was eating a balanced diet that included some nutrients that I may have been lacking: fiber, iron, and calcium.
Once I started taking the GLP-1 Drug, compounded semaglutide, I decided that it was time to trust that I had learned enough about what foods I should eat, how much I should eat, when I should eat, etc., and listen to my body. So, I have decided to stop tracking foods. If I find that I am not losing enough weight or perhaps not getting all the right nutrients, I will start with MyFitnessPal again.
Listen to your body and trust your gut, literally!
If you are experiencing gastrointestinal issues (bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, etc.), inflammation, lack of energy, or skin issues that are often caused or worsened by certain foods, I suggest that you start tracking your foods and symptoms using a mobile app. When you know what foods you are sensitive or intolerant to, try to avoid them and see if it helps. If you are struggling or think you have an autoimmune disease, discuss this with your doctor.
If your symptoms are severe, your health is seriously affected, you have a severe food allergy, or you may have a serious condition like Celiac or Crohn’s disease, seek the help of a doctor while also trying to see what foods are triggering. In this case, you may need to try the Autoimmune Protocol Diet (AIP), which is a much stricter elimination diet that will better show you what foods you are intolerant to.
If your doctor doesn’t take you seriously or seems to lack understanding of the link between these symptoms and foods, find one who does!
Also, find a community of people who have similar issues. I have found Facebook Groups to be a great source of support and information.
Take Action!
🌸 Download a mobile app that tracks the foods you eat, symptoms you have and highlights any connection between the two.
🌸 Do you already know the foods you are intolerant to and are having issues removing these from your diet? Select one food or group of foods and write a plan to replace these with other foods or another step to take toward removing these from your diet. I hope the story of my journey will give you some good ideas!
🌸 Let me know if you are joining me on this journey and how I can support you better through Zoom calls, a Facebook Group, a book club, etc. Email me at admin@raisingyourvoice.com!
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