On the other hand, I really didn't want to delay any longer then I needed to after I convinced myself that this was the next option I had to take - again. From this perspective, the sooner I started, the faster I could get through it, but not rush through it.
The first week flew by quickly as there were so many other things going on that I didn't have much time to think about anything. In this case, not being able to think was a good thing. After the first week, I went food shopping. While putting away the groceries and without even thinking, this time not a good thing, I took a sip of some orange juice I just picked up which was definitely not on my diet.
When I do these types of blunders, I try to make the best of it. The good news is that I had a reaction to the orange juice. I view this as good for several reasons and not because it may be a food trigger - that wouldn't be good at all, but because it will help me to stay focused and stay on the diet in a much more determined manner.
The first time I did the elimination diet, orange juice cleared just fine. I'm not ready to rule it out yet as it could be some of the things that were added to the particular OJ I picked up. Hey, I have to keep some type of faith open. I really enjoy some OJ in the morning and I fear this is one of the things that may have been setting me off regularly, but I don't believe it was the only thing if it is a trigger.
This little oops is going to help me stay focused because I don't want to lose any ground that I have already gained while on the diet this time. I believe this cleansing time is a very important part of the diet. After reviewing my chart from the first time I did the diet, I could see I had no change in head pain during the first two weeks and then it started reducing week after week after that.
I've had other challenges this time that I didn't think about or have the last time; partially because I just jumped right into the diet. This is football season which means if I want to see my son play and he is not playing at his home college, then I have to travel to another state and further away. You could say 'big deal'. But, when you are on a very controlled diet where you can't eat out at all yet, it is a big deal. Luckily(?), I couldn't make it to his only away game so far.
Do you know what else is a big deal? Home games. Typically home games mean eating a lunch and dinner away from home. One of the things I loved the most about my son playing football last year is that it gave me the excuse/reason to intrude on him regularly and then we would go out to dinner together after the game. It was our time together as well as a little way of making up for me bombarding into his college life. He loved it too or at least I'll keep telling myself that!
What have I done so far? It's actually worked out pretty well. For home games, I packed my lunch and dinner. I ate my lunch before the game and then dinner right after the game or just before we got to the restaurant. I wanted to make sure I was not hungry at all which is a lot tougher with one of the medications I'm on now where I want to eat all of the time. My son ordered a delicious, non cafeteria food and even a desert while I had my glass of water. Believe me, I am not complaining. It actually worked out great. I liked watching my son enjoy his meal and warm apple pie.
The other good thing about really wanting to stick with the elimination diet? In the two and a half weeks I've been on it, I've lost three and a half pounds so far! Although it's a great side effect and I can afford to lose a lot more, I'm not in this to lose weight. I have to find out if I have more food triggers. I do believe I have new food triggers that passed the elimination diet the last time I did it. I guess I'll find out soon enough. No more slipping up!
4 comments:
Woohoo - don't shrink down to nothing with the weight loss.
An ER nurse told me a long time ago that citrus could make both the headache worse and the nausea worse. She said it was the potassium, but I know citrus was a trigger for me, including lemonade and lemon juice concentrate.
I've seen the citrus fruits on the possible food trigger lists too. The potassium reason sounds interesting. I love the weight loss and could afford to lose a lot more before I would need to start worrying. I did gain some weight back after I stopped the first ediet, but luckily managed to keep some of it off.
Hi! I just came across your blog randomly and thought I'd chime in. I've had migraines since I was old enough to say "mom, my head hurts!" and started seeing all kinds of doctors when I was 11. They run in my family, so they never bothered to have me do an elimination diet, which seems like a very lame reason to not do one. Anyways, I discovered 4 years ago that I am intolerant to gluten (I've not had an endoscopy to find out for sure if it is Celiac Disease) and my migraines went from 6 out of 7 days a week to a couple times a month as soon as I went on the gluten free diet. A few months ago a friend got me started on digestive enzymes and my symptoms from gluten have decreased dramatically, including headaches. The theory about food intolerances that the enzyme camp follows is like this: there are bacteria, viruses, parasites and yeast in your gut. Enzymes are needed to break down food but get busy dealing with everything else when there is too much of any one of them. This causes too large of food particles to go through the intestinal wall and enter the blood stream. Then, the body attacks them as if it were an invader and creates an immune reaction with systematic reactions. I hope that the elimination diet helps you to figure out what foods your body is reacting to, but I would suggest talking with your doctor about enzymes. It just might help you feel better!
Hi Jenn - thanks for chiming in. With the little I am eating right now, I chose not to eliminate gluten. That has been on my mind and is something I will still consider. Thanks for the enzyme information too. I think it will be something worth at least mentioning it to my doctor too.
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