Maker's Diet?

Okay, so many people have mentioned the Maker's Diet and I keep telling my husband I might want to check it out. I know nothing about it except it is natural foods? Doesn't that mean it is high in fiber? I am on a low residue diet, which I am not very good at, so I don't understand how you can digest this. Again, I know very little about it. PLease enlighten me because I will try almost anything to feel better. I am on my pred and pentasa and gaining some weight, but when I tried South beach it put me in the hospital for two days. I think I overwhelmed my body. Please let me know and maybe I can go buy it and read it.

Thanks,

kgirlie

I bought the book a couple of weeks ago and have really enjoyed it.  (I got it for a couple of $$ on Amazon) There are foods on it that I cannot eat, like strawberries, so I have to pick an choose carefully.  But the recipes that are in it are very simple and good. 

Good luck!

I'm glad Crazy Harry jumped in here. He helped us get started. I had so many questions....

I read The Maker's Diet back in September and we implemented it right away. It took me a while (I'm no whiz in the kitchen) to realize that nearly any recipe can be adapted to this diet, so that's good. As CH said, though, start in phase 1 and follow the book's outline. It not only primes the body but also breaks the sugar/bad carb. addiction that nearly every American has. As time goes by the diet will get easier and easier. Having your whole family eat this way will only benefit them in the long run. My son sticks to the diet 100% and is doing very well.

Also, I'm FINALLY getting around to reading "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" by Elaine Gottschall. Her diet is called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). It is similar to the MD in that it eliminates all sugar and processed foods and nearly all grains. She goes into great scientific detail about why this diet works for Crohn's and UC (she was a cellular biologist). After her own daughter was diagnosed with the disease (at age 4!) she spent the remainder of her life and career studying "the effects of various sugars (includes carbs) on the digestive tract working mainly on the cellular level." She was one heck of an impressive woman. She passed on in 2005, I believe, but God bless her for the research and resources she left us all!

I add the information about the SCD only because it opens up more possibilities (recipe-wise) for you for the future. There are cookies, pies, etc. and entire cookbooks devoted to this diet. Also, there's an extensive website with lots of information and links about this diet. Personally, I would start with phase 1 of the Maker's Diet, though, and keep the SCD on the back burner for the future. jmho...

I hope this helps! Best of luck to you!

I started the maker's diet sept. 06, I followed it fairly strictly for several months and noticed significant changes in my crohns, especially not having as many obstructions and 30 bowel movements every single day!!! I was completely unable to accomplish this with meds AND a one foot resection of the TI!

I admit, I don't follow the diet 100%, but alot if not most of my diet is from the MD. I don't eat nuts, for example, because I am allergic. I still have the odd chocolate fudge cookie, it is organic though! ;-) I also wish I had a chef who would cook the stuff for me all the time and make lots of honey baked goods, because it can take a lot of time to prepare some of the food if you can't find it made at the grocery store. LOL. However, I'm so glad that I can at last eat lots of yummy buttery vegetables and lots of fruit whereas not too long ago, I ate practically none.

Anyway, if you are afraid of getting obstructions, then I reccommend you start by cooking the veggies and pureeing them. Don't eat fruit skins or seeds or nuts. After a while, when your crohn's subsides a little, then start eating a little more raw veggies or less cooked veggies and fruit skins. Remember to chew your food very well. This can be a big help in avoiding obstructions.  I also suggest you try eating at least some of the raw fruits and salads in phase 1 and 2.

Let us know how it goes.

CrazyHarry, how do you keep from continuing to lose weight while on this diet strictly?

Post Edited (Roni) : 2/12/2008 10:58:03 AM (GMT-7)

I'm in week three of the Makers Diet and feeling great. I find that the food is simple and easy to prepare. I'm enjoying the food and feeling great. I've gone from 2-3 BMs a day to one. I cheated a little today, having a few chocolate covered pretzels at the office, and out for dinner with friends one night, but other that that, I've been able to stick to it. I don't buy into his whole reasoning of it being a diet based on the Bible (I'm a Christian and believe in the Bible though), but do like the diet as a nicely organized way to monitor what I eat, and plan a healthy diet.

menu for today was:

yogurt with blueberries for breakfast
an apple and pear for snacks
Beef vegetable soup (Beef, beef stock, green beans, celery, carrots) for lunch
Leafy Greens with green peppers, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and crumbled goat cheese along with baked salmon topped with goat cheddar cheese for dinner
Grapes and Kefir for an evening snack
Lots of water throughout the day

I've put together a spreadsheet that outlines the allowable foods for the 3 phases, as well as my first 5 weeks of menu planning. Let me know if you'd like a copy and I'll email it to you.

"But how in the world do you find time to make that lunch and dinner?!"

On Saturday morning, I chopped up the carrots, celery and green beans (all fresh and organic), took a box of beef stock (organic, about 4 1/2 cups I think) and maybe a half pound piece of grass fed, open range beef and put it all in the crockpot for 8 hours. Total prep time was maybe 15-20 minutes. Let that cook on low for 8 hours and at the end of the day had soup for supper, plus filled two Tupperwares with leftover soup for lunches during the week. Seasoned with just a dash of sea salt.

On Saturday night, put a pound of dry white beans in water to soak overnight. Sunday morning, made simple white bean soup (garlic, white beans, carrots, celery, onions, olive oil, chicken stock) cooked till soft, puree and then added turkey sausage I had fried up in a pan, sliced up into small pieces. Had that for lunch, and filled two more tupperware containers for lunch. You can see the complete recipe at http://cookandeat.com/2007/10/01/full-of-bean-soup/

Dinner tonight was quick too. Take a piece of fresh salmon, rub a little olive oil on the skin side of the fish, put in a baking dish, bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Then top with a couple thin slivers of the cheddar cheese and broil for 5 minutes to get a nice crispy top. Salad was quick to, just chopped up the veggies and put them over the greens. Total time to make dinner was not more than 20 minutes (made the salad while the salmon was in the oven).

I'm sure you're not too lazy! if you can microwave veggies I bet you can make these meals!

the only way to make time for meals is to plan them and budget it in. you make time for tv. do yourself a favor and make time for dinner (and lunch and breakfast). your body will thank you for it. make a little more with dinner and you got lunch for the next day. when you shop, shop for the week and have your meals planned so you know what you need at the store. simple things like that are a good easy way to get started. most meals can be prepared in under 30 min and dont take a lot of prep time. you dont need to be a gourmet chef to cook your own food.

Roni -
i only lost weight on phases 1 and 2 when i did an extreme version of it. my body was decimated from surgery and colonic inertia which imparted poor nutrition. once i got phase 3, about may last year, i slowly put on weight. i've put on close to 20 pounds since then (i now weigh 146 pounds). one of these days i hope to get back to what i considered a good weight for me, 160/165 pounds. i have a high metabolism, so it is easy for me to lose weight, but hard to gain it, especially on this diet. i've always been active and i think that will/is helping me gain weight. i eat small meals, like every 2-3 hours. i dont eat 1-2 hours before bed as your metabolism naturally slows down. i am very conscious of what i eat and when. i believe our bodies have an "ideal" weight. if we eat healthy, we'll eventually get there and be able to maintain it. right now i dont care too much about what i weigh any more, i care more about what i look like in the mirror (it may sound vain, but i dont think so if i were to really take the time to go into a much longer explanation about where i am coming from). my biggest problem with being this light is that i am always cold. i have no insulation. but i'll take that for being able to see my abs again. i knew they were buried in there somewhere.

kittikat -
i guess you could call me a christian. i've got an odd perspective on this though seeing how i am not comfortable with just believing in Christ meaning i am saved, however i firmly believe that works gets you know where, especially if the motive is not "pure" and for His glory. so i am in a constant struggle. at the end, if i am save, good for me. if not then i get what i deserve. i do pray, but not as often as i should. same with going to church. i am a lousy christian. the mirror is constantly on me and i realize my wretchedness. total double edges sword - makes like easier and harder at the same time. i subscribe to a reformed protestant version of christianity. i did not grow up in a religious household, but turns out all my views and thoughts on religion were consistent with a reformed protestantism, however accepting Christ was difficult. i dont follow clenzology but i do have it. i've never gotten around to using it. sometimes i am too lazy to brush my teeth in the evening, so how am i going to wash my face and do the other stuff? i use arbonne skin care products. they have a men's anti-aging line (i cant find any one else who has one and fits my standards). so i dont feel like washing my face twice in the morning. however i do take care of my skin and wash my hands and all the other stuff. oh, it was funny when the diet came into my life. at the time i was going through the seeking process, which was taking quite a few years. i was told i needed a colectomy, so i prayed and prayed that i could find something to prevent this. a week later i find the maker's diet. with its biblical slant you have to discount coincidence (i stopped believing in that a long long time ago). i started the diet, got better, but not as good as i would have liked. i prayed, thinking if i could only meet jordan and talk to him. a week or so later that prayer was answered and i was able to meet him. jordan put me on my own special version of the maker's diet and the rest is now history. so i have become a firm believer in the power of prayer. these are just 2 examples from my life. i have quite a few more, especially when i was in the hospital recovering from surgery. i take probiotics daily. my supplement regime is this:

morning: upon waking - 2 probiotics, peter gillhams (sp?) natural calm plus calcium
1-3 digestive enzymes with breakfast. i take my multivitamin here too and a sublingual b-12

lunch: 1-3 digestive enzymes; iron (i am still getting over anemia now, this is temporary supplement); vitamin e

dinner: 1-3 digestive enzymes; green food drink; sublingual b-12

before bed: 2 probiotics, peter gillhams (sp?) natural calm plus calcium; GOL cod liver oil

with any snack i'll take at least 1 digestive enzyme.

i follow the maker's diet as closely as possible. i am human so i do cheat once in a while. like today i had whole wheat non-sprouted grain toast and non organic eggs and such in my omelet. dinner was a hamburger with onion rings (this was not at a fast food place though). so, for me, this was a major cheat day. but that happens when you are out of town. then i take 3 digestive enzymes with my meals. decaf coffee late something or other for the ride home. so far i am feeling fine with no abdominal pain or other adverse effects. i can tolerate a few cheats but when i do i try to scrutinize my food and limit the damage that i do. tomorrow (and the next few days) i will be eating only food i bought and prepared myself, which is the norm for me really. i can easily spend over $100 (US) at the store weekly.

The Maker's Diet has totally changed my life.  It is wonderful and worth a shot!

njmom - i use the garden of life brand probiotics. i switch up my probiotics between primal defense ultra, Th1-s, and complete probiotics. yes, i still make my own yogurt. cheaper than buying it in the store. granted it takes some time to make it, but not much and is worth effort for me. i find it odd, but when i use raw milk the yogurt is super runny, regardless of how long i cook it. if i use organic pastuerized milk, it comes out fine. either way though i add in raw cream and use only whole milk. i use the yougormet (sp?) starters, basically cos i have their yogurt maker, as recommended by the scd.

in a nutshell they help you digest your food. imho, with my experience with them over the last 1.5 years, they are a big benefit and i'd say a total must for anyone with a gastro-intestinal disorder. there are many brands out there. i use garden of life's brand seeing how i started out on the natural route with jordan rubin and his stuff. perhaps one day i'll try another brand but for the time being i like his omegazine digestive enzyme.