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specific carb diet question

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Posted 1/5/2011 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
hi all, i am about to give the scd another go. My first attempt lasted 6 days and for me it was helping. I am now going to try again. I'm afraid that i will feel so nauseous and weak. I'm also afraid that I might harm myself because of not eating well. How long is one supposed to feel crappy, does it go away?

I've looked at the diet and it seems that bananas have the highest carb count in the fruits. Am i supposed to eat quite a few of these. ty.

Posted 1/5/2011 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet may be very different from how you're used to eating, but it's not unhealthy by any stretch.

I'm not clear... are you saying when you tried the diet before it made you feel sick and weak?

Because alot of carb sources are eliminated, you have to make sure you're getting enough nutrition. Substituting some healthy fat for some of the missing carbs can help you feel full. Nut butters and avacado are a couple of examples. SCD legal veggies and fruits will also help. Higher carb veggies like sweet peas and carrots may help. Bananas are great if you tolerate them. Also, try eating more frequent, smaller meals to help you feel full.

Dietary modifications take time to see results. Really, any alternative or natural therapy is generally going to take longer than medications. It also depends on how sick you are. If you're flaring badly, it will take longer to notice improvement.

Posted 1/5/2011 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
On my first attempt, it made me feel nauseous and very tired.
Posted 1/5/2011 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
mlight

I think one thing that might have made you feel bad is not eating as much sugar. Sugar comes in the obvious forms (candy, high fructose corn syrup, etc) but also in other ways like carbohydrates and starches (which our bodies break down into sugars).

It takes quite an adjustment in eating and it's a physical plus a mental adjustment removing many familiar food groups.
I agree with princesa that good oils will help you out and keep you feeling strong. Also drink a lot of water, helps keep your body working well. Whenever I feel tired now it's always due to not enough water.

Homemade chicken broth was the best thing I consumed when I started the SCD. I still make it and put it in the freezer in small containers to microwave daily. I do believe it fixes almost anything wrong and makes everything feel better.

I failed the first time I tried SCD. Years later I tried again and discovered that I was intolerant of some foods that are "legal" on SCD and that is the reason I failed the first time.
As princesa says the Spec. Carbohydrate Diet is a healthy one, you shouldn't feel weak. But withdrawal symptoms from sugars can make you feel that way (also withdrawal from caffeine too).
Eat protein! Drink water! Good luck :-)
Posted 1/12/2011 7:21 AM (GMT 0)
for motivation read books about the paleo diet

Primal Blueprint - mark sisson, or Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. These books are not geared towards UC but help explain why when we switch are bodies over from sugar burning (carbs) diet to a high fat diet we feel lethargic.

After really studying these diets, which are very similar to SCD, I felt more motivated to stick to SCD.
Posted 1/12/2011 10:20 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on the SC diet for just over 3 weeks now. I have been quite good in adherence. Unfortunately I have had an MRI and a colonoscopy during the 3 weeks so the preparation for the MRI (drinking Metamucil) and bowel prep for the colonoscopy (artificial flavourings) broke the diet's rules. I also ate sandwiches (gluten and processed meats) provided by the hospital in which I had my colonoscopy done directly after the procedure but that was only because I was so freaking hungry...

For the first 10 or so days I felt some benefit as my bowel movements decreased to 2 per day (instead of 3 - 4). However after the MRI in which I consumed 'illegals' my BMs gradually increased to 3 per day despite adhering to the diet after the MRI...

I am still sticking with the diet (despite having mixed results) because firstly, I find that it is much healthier than my normal diet (which consisted of chocolate and chips for snack foods, take away 3 - 4 times a week and soft drinks for beverages). Instead, I am forced to consume fruit or nuts in their place.

Secondly I have read that some people can take as long as 6 months to feel any sort of benefit from the diet and that is if they have not broken any of the rules of the diet (eg. eaten any illegals). I am not expecting too much from the diet but it suits my emotional need to feel at least I am doing something I think will help my UC. I hate the feeling of hopelessness.

 I have been feeling more tired lately but I am not sure if that is the lack of carb consumption or whether I just have generally not been sleeping enough. Either way, sticking to the diet has not cost me anything (in fact, it has taught me how to cook) so I see no reason to stop it.

Posted 1/12/2011 12:18 PM (GMT 0)
Secondly I have read that some people can take as long as 6 months to feel any sort of benefit from the diet and that is if they have not broken any of the rules of the diet (eg. eaten any illegals).

My remission took quite a long time so I'm one of those people,lol. And as I've said (many many times) I failed the first time I tried SCD. Perhaps the first time my flare was just too bad, although I was on meds and meds did nothing to help either. When I compare diet mod. to all the meds I've taken over the years diet mod. is the clear winner for me. If any Rx had given me the positive results that diet mod. has given me I'd be clinging to it like the last lifeboat on the Titanic.

I am not expecting too much from the diet but it suits my emotional need to feel at least I am doing something I think will help my UC. I hate the feeling of hopelessness.

Yes I agree with this to some extent but if I hadn't gotten positive results I would not be continuing with it. I wouldn't feel a sense of control if there isn't anything to show for it. Good idea though and I do feel as though I am in charge of my body's health more now that I see cause/effect with what I eat. But it's not easy in the beginning to keep trying when results are all over the place and hard to pinpoint what foods are problems because it seemed like they all were.

No doctor can be a better overseer of my health than I am. I will try something they recommend but I'll also read up on the side effects (rarely mentioned) and come to this forum and ask what other people think who've tried it, good or bad.
Posted 1/12/2011 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
Imagardener I noticed that you cut out fruit from the SC diet, may I ask why? What is it about the fruit that you can not tolerate? I am trying to fine tune my SC diet and I have a feeling fruit maybe irritating my gut due to me possibly being fructose sensitive. The thing is I can seem to eat loads of honey with no issues but I think fruit may give me issues...
Posted 1/12/2011 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
Max

I cut fruit out just like any food that I find upsetting to my colon. For me fruit causes D and urgency. I do not know what about the fruit causes this but I am sensitive to many "healthy" foods, there is no logic. It might be fructose but who can say. I tried a very ripe banana (less starch that way) a month ago after many many months without and yup it caused unwanted symptoms.

I love fruits and miss them very much but not enough to get D and urgency again. Before UC I was a vegetarian who ate 1-3 fruits per day plus lots of veggies so it's been a big diet change for me. But I never have D anymore so it makes it worth it.

Even after a year I am still finding foods that disagree with my gut but it's simpler now because of all the "testing" I've done. Pine nuts were the latest ruh-roh, and how could I know that in advance? I make biscotti about once a week with almond flour and this time instead of walnut pieces I used a recipe that called for pine nuts (classic Italian). But there's something in those pine-flavored nuts that was too strong for my gut. Colon took me on a 2 day ride (no D just unending BM's). Scratch that recipe and back to walnuts.

Honey is no problem for me and that has fructose doesn't it? I like to avoid labels and just say I can't eat fruit right now. Maybe someday.....:-)

I made a great chowder (no dairy) last night, clams, mussels, couple shrimp and a piece of haddock. My gut loves seafood and the broth. Happiness reigns today. I love to cook and I love to eat lol.
Posted 1/12/2011 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
For me fruit causes D and urgency. I do not know what about the fruit causes this ...
I made a great chowder (no dairy) last night, clams, mussels, couple shrimp and a piece of haddock.

Except for plums and kale (so far), I can eat generous amounts of most fruit and vegetables with impunity. But if I ate something like your chowder with all that shellfish I would be sunk. Shellfish helped cause my last flare and I had no idea until Christine1946 mentioned on this forum that crab cakes did her in on more than one occasion. I followed up by avoiding shellfish and noticed immediate improvement.
Posted 1/12/2011 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
Babe

I have a horrible reaction to scallops, but no other seafood. An earlier thread suggested that some people may have a sulfite intolerance (used on fishing boats to preserve freshness) so I'm now buying only "local" unsulfited shrimp but no scallops (can't take the risk).

Not suggesting your shellfish reaction is sulfites because many people have shellfish intolerance. My scallop intolerance pre-dates UC by decades.

I also eliminated the few things with sulfites in my diet. Can't hurt.

ImaG
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