Please consider trying this diet...

I realize that we're all different, but... after years of experimenting this diet seems to be the key for me. I've posted it before but thought it was worth re-posting for people who may not have seen it.

If I'm in a flare I eat chicken/fish/eggs and cooked veggies (excluding corn and potatoes) with a lot of homemade chicken soup.

This is essentially the Paleo diet minus fruit and red meat. If you're currently in a flare please consider trying this for one week (making sure not to cheat). It may be boring but nothing tastes as good as healthy feels...

I'm happy you found something which works for you.

I'm doing SCD which is similar to your diet but including fruits, red meat (I rarely eat it) and nuts.

And I agree to your last sentence... it is sooo hard to forgo so much good food you loved to eat especially when your whole family is sitting in front of you eating it. But you get rewarded with a calm belly which is a thousand times better.

For how long have you been on this diet and when did you notice first improvement?

Are you eating bread at all?

When I was first diagnosed I went on the SCD. I made the rookie mistake of thinking "if it's on the list then it's OK". Needless to say I was eating a lot of almond flour muffins and yogurt/fruit/honey smoothies (mmmmm......).

After tweaking a bit I went into remission for a couple of years. Over time my old ways of eating crept back in (hot dogs, candy bars, etc...) and 3 weeks before my wedding I had my worst flare ever.

I went back on the SCD but found the second time around to be much harder (I've heard the same thing from other people as well). The thing that helped me the most was stopping the yogurt (and all other dairy) as well as cutting out fruits and nuts.

I'm always trying to add new things to my diet (white rice seems OK) but I have the habit of going a bit too far when adding things back in. Luckily, my blips are pretty minor and going back to basics (as described above) gets me healthy again.

"nothing tastes as good as healthy feels..."

I struggled with this line for some time, it appeared in different forms ever so often.

Like you, I am on a strick diet. However, I don't enjoy it.

I've found in life that it's much easier to accept something that you are willingingly doing because you want to not because YOU'RE FORCE TO.

I think diets fail for people because it is imposed on them as opposed to them deciding that they want to be on it.

Being heatlhy is top priority, however enjoying what you eat is also up there because let's face it, we do this everyday and multiple times per day and it's a necessity.

Somedude,

As I've said before I am dieting. Hate it hate it hate it. One of my friends on Facebook said "nothing tastes as good as thin feels"...always had me thinking...has she had a doughnut or chocolate? LOL I don't enjoy eating healthy but I think I'm coming to terms with it and luckily for me if I do decide to have something not healthy it doesn't affect my UC.

benjy said:
If I'm in a flare I eat chicken/fish/eggs and cooked veggies (excluding corn and potatoes) with a lot of homemade chicken soup.

This is essentially the Paleo diet minus fruit and red meat.

I agree with you. Nothing bad ever came of eating these foods for me and my colon was extremely grateful.
It takes some time to get used to not putting everything in your mouth without deciding whether it is gut-friendly.
Diet modification is definitely worth it for me.

Thank you for all of your responses, I've learened so much by reading many of your posts in the past.


ByeByeUC,

There's a bit more to my protocol. I kept my post as brief as possible to not dilute the message but it may be helpful to others to share the rest of it.

When I first wake up I have a glass of water with L-Glutamine powder along with an SCD-legal probiotic. I still take a high does of Asacol but I'm comfortable doing so it has far less side effects than the other UC medications. I've also found that taking Olive Leaf Extract helps.


Andrina,

I usually find that within a day or two my gas goes away. I believe (as do others) that gas is a by product of the bad bacteria eating the undigested food in your gut. Following this diet leaves little for them to eat so the gas stops. It can then take a while for your gut lining to heal though. I drink absolutley no coffee (yes, I miss it), only herbal teas.


Somedude,

I sort of stole that line from Kate Moss (she said "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" which is the quote shebear46 has seen). I'm not going to stand on a soapbox and say I don't miss waffles. I do... Following a diet this strict takes an insane amount of will power (and I often cheat and pay for it). This is just something I tell myself to help get through it.


pb4,

I agree entirely. Modern food is so sugary/salty/fatty that our tastes buds have to turn themselves down. After eating this way for a little while simple natural foods start to taste amazing.


Michelejc,

I think the body can become intolerant of any food, it's our body's way of telling us to eat less of it. I try as much as possible to rotate foods, not eating the same thing for too many days in a row to prevent this.


Jimbo NZ,

You are correct, I much prefer the GAPS approach to SCD, especially the intro diet. The SCD into has grape juice and cheesecake, I'm surprised anyone can eat those things when flaring. The reason I didn't just say "I follow GAPS" is b/c I think it's very important when flaring to cut out nuts/fruit/dairy/honey. You may have seen it but this is a great article discussing restricing the SCD/GAPS diet. scdlifestyle.com/2011/03/what-to-do-when-the-scd-diet-isnt-working/.

Thats my diet all the time.

I've found that every time I go "back to basics" I see an improvement within a couple of days. That usually motivates me to stay strict for a week or two.

Once I start improving I find I can include raw vegetables, low-sugar fruits (ie, berries) and eventually white rice and white potatoes. This opens up a world of possibilities.

Also, it's worth mentioning that the key to great tasting chicken soup is adding turkey necks. It also make it much more gelatinous which is great for restoring your intestinal health.

Benji, its great you found a diet plan that works for you. I, like you, find eggs to be the least problematic, I eat them 4-6 days a week, but unfortunately egg yolks and chicken are inflammatory food, so I just want to be careful on that.