Food Diary tip and advice

A quick reply:

if you look at the "food" link in my sig, there should be some tips on keeping a food diary.

Sorry I can't write more - just popping in and out of the room.

Ivy.

I am not sure if this is helpful, but here is my experience.

When I was first diagnosed I read what I could and came to the believe that for me there is a corelation between food and how I was feeling. Some suggested that I start a food diary but somehow I could not really figure this out. I started and then I stopped and it was not working for me.

I then started reading about diets designed to address Crohn's. I read about makers, fodmap, low res, SCD, Low Carb and others. I selected a diet that I thought was best for me. That gave me a real baseline of what I should eat and what I should not. Also the one i selected started out with a very small list of things that I could eat and gave a plan of how to introduce slowly new stuff. Following the plan set by the diet I discovered that even though the diet "allowed" honey, that honey was not for me. I found that out because I was on a small list of things to eat and I could much more easily see what one ingrediant was doing to my gut.

I am not saying that for all that following a diet designed by someone else is the best but being handed the structure was the way to go for me. Also, for lots of folks following any of the diets is too much of a pain, so each to their own, but picking a diet might be something to consider then a food diary if requried.

Dave

 

Thanks guy.
Where do u find more information about these types of diets and the way they work?

I don't follow a specific diet. When I'm flaring, I eat less fiber, less fat, less dairy (lactose effects me), less cold items (causes bowels to constrict), less meat. When I'm fine, I can take all those things in moderation. You can see how much fiber/etc. is in things through the nutritional label. There are food diaries everywhere. You can just buy a normal notebook (like I did before), an actual diary with spots in it for information fiber/fat/etc, or use a website. Right now I'm using myfitnesspal.com (there are a dozen others though, so use one with a layout you like). It is for people wanting to lose weight mostly, but its nice because people (or you) can enter in foods around the house and state how much calories/fat/fiber/protein is in a serving. Then you add it to your daily journal and it adds it all up for you. No math! :) There is also a section for "food notes" and "water intake" so you can keep track of how you are feeling that day and relate it to anything that happened the past few days.

I'd recommend starting with a limited diet, then slowly adding new foods to see how they react with your gut. You can't really tell if you are eating a thousand different things.

Just find something that works for you. If you want something hand-on with a layout you can create, use a notebook. If you want something where you don't have to really think about it, just find the food and "voila!", I'd say use an internet site.

I hate to waste money, but for me articles were not enough. Committing to a diet means a change in eating patterns, prep time, ability to order in or eat out..., So before I decided I read the books. Some I bought, but others were available in the library. Some diet books are
Living without Bread - Low Carb
Breaking the Vicious Cycle - SCD
Makers Diet (I think) - Makers

Others that are vaey useful

The Probiotices Revolution - Why probiotics are good for us
Nourashing Traditions - why your grandparents from the old country are healthy and why generally modern society is not

I learned something from each and incorporate something from each in what I eat.
Dave