SCD and other diets...how to prepare

I've been reading and thinking about the SCD diet a bit more. I did an elimination diet for 6 weeks this summer, and definitely feel better in some regards having eliminated dairy, and I go back and forth about how well I tolerate gluten.

So I'm probably in a better mindset to think about SCD, but I feel very reluctant still about it. For those of you that follow "restrictive" diets, how did you prepare for it? How do you deal with eating out? Or social situations? Both in terms of what you eat and how you handle it mentally?

During my elimination diet, I was very frustrated not being able to have lunch with friends, or go to dinner. It was a lot of work to always prepare all my meals. I can sustain it for a short period, but I feel reluctant to make that a permanent change. I go back and forth with feeling like it is worth trying and seeing what happens. I worry so much about having limited treatment options, but then I also feel nervous at making such a big lifestyle change. I don't feel it's sustainable long term...I know plenty of people do, but do they ever stop feeling like they make constant sacrifices?

Anyway...just curious what tips folks have to how to approach it...how to think about it long term, how to have a more positive attitude about it.

Thanks!

Sarah

Thank you! That's super helpful!

Sarah

Hi Sparkle

I have been doing SCD for about 18 months and I do not even think about stopping.

For me I was so sick, of feeling sick, that in the big picture, a diet change is really no big deal. I say in the big picture because there are some days where it is a pain to do this diet.

 I looked for advice but at the end of the day all the books condradict each other and so do folks on this site. So you are on your own.

So how do you prepare?

1) Be sick of being sick.

2) Do your own research unitl you are totally convinced that changing your diet will heal your gut. I to needed to be 100% convinced that this radical change and the associated work that goes with it was the best decsion. So I researched healing diets like crazy. I read and bought books on Gaps, Paloe, Low Res, FodMAp, Makers, Low Carb, Nourashing Traditions and others.  I saw trends and over laps and I saw some difference but my reading convinced me that I could improve my health by changing what I eat.

3) Continue to do research unitl you decide whcich diet feels right for you. No one can tell you and because of the size of the change I am not sure there are any short cuts to deciding which diet. I must have read 20 books and tons of articles.

4) Find the diet specific support groups (online and in person) and be an active member. Birds of a feather.... And folks who are doing the same diet know tricks and can relate to any challanges you face.

5) Be 100% committed for a valiid period of time

6) Be prepared to learn like crazy and make adjustments along the way

Without going into detail, I was out of shape and sick daily. I now can complete 100+ mile bike rides. Because of my experience I have to encourage others, cause I want for you what diet has done for me.

I am curious, please let us know what path you are taking, even if it is to do nothing re diet at this time

Dave

 

One hundred miles? That's inspiring, Dave! Thanks.

Ivy (a month into fodmaps so not offering advice, but reading with great interest).

Sparkle

I am sure you can cheat on other diets and that is where Roni is coming from but with SCD the first thing that you will read is that you must be fanatically compliant or do not bother. It takes that level of commitment to SCD to get the benifits.

I am not sure about crazyharrry, but like other SCDers I have learned from other diets and could even say I do a combo SCD, Paleo, Live without Bread, and others. But I never eat a SCD illegal food, not one grain. Perhaps crazy has incorporated some of Makers that works for him, but takes no illegals?

There are times I wish I could take one day off, or even one meal, but there are so many stories of folks doing that when they are healed, then being sick for six months that I highly recommend to do as the book says and be fanatically compliant and never cheat if you do SCD.

Dave

Ivy
So nice to see your post, thank you, we need you.
I have been watching your posts with Leslie. I do SCD and it really seems to be working for me, but I am not 100% convinced it is the only answer, so I may incorporate some FodMap into what I am doing.
I am very interested in what inpact FodMap has for you, so please let us know.
On SCD it is very normal to have ups and downs for the first year, so I would appreciate hearing not only the final result but about your journey. Healing through diet, even if it is not the one I chose, is inspiring to me and I am always learning and kicking it up. ex this year I discovered the butterball turkey has a bunch of crap injected in to it, so I went with a non injected option.
One small step at a time adds up over years
Dave

Oooh. What's the butterball turkey? Just the name sounds evil.

To be honest, I'm surprised at the effect the fodmaps diet is having so far, even though I'm only a few weeks in. I seem to be down to 2-3 bm a day (down from 3-5) and it is now very rare for me to have gas and bloating, whereas before it was a constant, and embarrassing, problem.

I wasn't eating rubbish before, and was mainly eating whole foods, as a lot of the additives in processed foods used to make me ill, so I'm doubly surprised that just the change in what I'm eating - switching to different types of vegetables; things like that - has had such a huge effect.

I had horrible sugar cravings for the first couple of weeks, possibly because of the reduction in fruit intake, but am over that now. I'm still working on weaning myself off sugar, but am down to less than half of what I was eating pre-fodmaps, and doing well.

I'd write more, but have to get ready for an appointment, but please feel free to ask more if you'd like to know more.

Ivy.

ps. Not sure how you'd go combining fodmaps and scd. That would be HARD!!!

Ivy--do you have any book or Web site recommendations on the fodmap?

Sparkle, when I was started on the diet, my hospital gave me a factsheet, which I can't reproduce here. But they took great pains to point out that this is still an experimental diet, and is constantly evolving, and that the information either has to come from my hospital, Monash University, Shepherdworks, or a GOOD dietitian, because information on the web is likely to be inaccurate and / or outdated.

Dr Sue Shepherd is the lady who developed the diet, and information on the diet, plus links to the shop with cookbooks etc, can be found here:

ShepherdWorks


Monash University FODMAP booklet can be ordered here:

Monash Uni - Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences Dept


I didn't choose to go on the diet - doctors put me on it - but one of the big attractions, for me, is that it has come through proper, scientifically assessed research, and is still being developed through cooperation and research between doctors and hospitals. I know that one of the big gripes, here on the forum, is that there isn't much research into diets: well, this is one case where research *is* happening, and I think that's fantastic.

And I also like the fact that they stress that they are still working on the diet, and information on it may continue to change and evolve in the future. In other words, they're not claiming to have THE answer (and sell it for heaps of money), but they are saying that they're making progress in helping people, and wanting to study and watch us as we try the diet, to see if they can improve it even further.

And now I sound like a saleslady . Sorry. But I hope that helps.

Ivy.

ps. pb, have you heard of Sweet Poison? Sounds like the sort of site you'd appreciate - there's even a forum for people who are trying to live a life free of sugar.

Sweet Poison

Ivy.

Hey Ivey
Thanks for posting re FodMap. It is interesting. As I am sure you know SCD is suger free, so I have not knowling had a grain of suger for a long time. It is easy, just do not eat anything from a can or that has been processed.
As for a FodMap, SCD combo it would be to expand the illegals from SCD to include those in FodMap. The biggest issue for me was the yogurt. SCD yogurt is a cornerstone of my diet and the super strong probiotics I cook up, I believe are super healthy. I think I remember that Gaps does not allow yogurt.

But like I sad, I continue to learn and incorporate this learnign into my SCD legal diet. An examp[le of this is Paleo talks to balancing omega 3 and 6 and too much 6 causes inflamation. I now only use macadamia nut oil as it is the best oil for this. Other oils are legal on SCD but I limit to macadamia bcause of Paleo.

Cheers

Dave

pb4
If CD is cured tommorrow, I would nver go back to SAD, however I would havee some "illegals" I do not now. BUt at the end of the day I do SCD to make my gut happy. If what you are eating is making your gut happy then I would not change a thing.

Dave

Love it! All power to you!

Anyone who knows me knows I do not follow the rules. But somehow having all the answers layed out in the book re food works for me. I guess I just find it too tough to figure out the rules. I am still trying to figure out SCD after almost 2 years for goodness sake. How many carbs? What is too much veg? When to introduce anything new? .....

Also, for me this SCD thing is kinda like smoking. When I stopped I became a non-smoker and knew I could not have a puff without becoming a full time smoker. This diet is black and white. You can eat this, but never eat that. I can do that, but like smoking I think I would fall off if the rule was you can have some of that. Then I have to control and I am not good at that. Not sure if this makes sense or not....

I am always learning, so please continue to post on what you are doing and how it is working. It is encouraging to me when I read about health through diet and I might pick up a tweak I can incorporate.

All the best

Dave