The endo diet - the best place to start if you are interested

[Catness]

Hi everyone. Hope you are all having a good day. I just wanted to share this link again as I've seen a lot of women on here asking about the endo diet. (endo-resolved.com). I refused all hormonal treatment after being diagnosed with extensive stage 3/4 endo as it just wasn't for me (I think it works brilliant for others though and control nearly all my symptoms through diet. The diet is especially good for pain/ bloating and tiredness. It is hard as it's so strict and takes a lot of planning but there are small things you can do to gradually ease into it such as; giving up caffeine, changing your milk to almond milk, giving up red meat etc. The website above is written by an author who brought out a recipe book and although it's taken a while for me to enjoy the food (I love bread and pasta and everything I shouldn't) the benefits of how I feel make missing these foods easier and you can always have the odd treat day.

[Hidden]

Hi Catness,

I tried the Endo diet just before Christmas and survived for about a week and then I got soooo hungry. I gave up cows milk, soya and sugar ages ago and I am fine without these things. I started to buy organic fruit and veg and even most of my meat is organic. My steak mince is always organic and we only eat this type of red meat twice a month. Yesterday I had my first appointment with a Chinese Doctor for herbal treatments and acupuncture. He told me to give up caffeine as we are trying to have a baby. So this is my second day without my coffee and I have a massive headache..wow its amazing to see how you can get used to coffee and how badly it can affect you once you stop it!!

The thing I struggle with most is bread. I only eat wheat and gluten free pasta. So that's fine but its the bread I can't do without as I work in child care and I can't start cooking any food there so I need a sandwich to keep me going for 9 hours a day. I tried it with salads but was still sooo hungry that I almost passed out. I buy organic bread and hope it will be okay. What do you do when you go to work? What do people eat there during the day?

All the best x

[daffodil in reply to Hidden]

I am also on endo diet and it takes a while to find substitute foods.If I am going out I take gluten and wheat free sandwiches,rice cakes with cashew spread,quinoa with mixed veg( you can also buy pouches of ready cooked quinoa),millet( very like cous cous)Quinoa is very nutritious-high in protein and vitamins and minerals,so you don't need to worry about adding meat.Like you I try to buy organic meat,but eat less due to the cost.I am unable to work due to health issues(endo included) so only have to make up meals occasionally,but maybe you could cook in batches and put eg cereals and veg in tubs in freezer?

There are lots gluten and wheat free rolls and bread available and you can have without butter or try a dairy free spread.Pure spread with olive oil is widely available.For breads I like DS breads and rolls again available in most supermarkets.I don't use a lot of bread as my herbalist says to steer clear of anything manufactured and try to cook from scratch.

The firm Ilumi is a very new one and caters for gluten,wheat,dairy and nut free diets -also soya free.Lots of ready meals,but without nasty additives-just a few mins in microwave.These have become my back ups.

Hope this helps.

[Catness in reply to Hidden]

It did take a while for my stomach to get used to the dramatic decrease in food haha. I have found that home made soup made from every vegetable that can fit in the pot (leaving a few quite large so you feel like you are actually eating something) works best for me during the day and does fill me up. I make a massive pot on Sundays. If I'm still hungry then I snack on whole meal rice cakes I think they are Kallo ones. In the summer I take a salad and put nuts and things in it. It's breakfast that always gets me, I'm starving if I just eat fruit so I have just bought some rolled porridge outs from Holland and Barratts and I'm going to give them a try. Have you tried Nakd bars? Tesco sell them and they are just fruit but they taste nice enough to be a treat during the day and they fill me up a bit too. Other than that I just drink lots of water and snack on fruit and nuts and if I'm organised enough veg and humous xxx