Food advice

[xnanookx]

The bane of my life, I love it and hate it all at the same time. 

How do you cope?  My answer; badly

Do you have a regimented diet? My answer; Nope, finding it really hard to do

Have you had to change your eating habits? My answer; Erm, looks for an escape* NO

Has it been effective? NOOOOOOOOOOO

How do I even start? My diet is really bad I'm a size 8 (now and again) but I eat when I want and not when I should, I skip meals, love salt, I'm fussy, picky and a pain in the a$$ but having said that there's not much I wont eat. I dislike pulses, fish (especially salmon) all rice (except white) mushrooms, most leaves (spinach, kale, rocket etc) I don't like egg white (just a fried yolk) I do eat most white meat but not pork unless it's bacon (but not gammon) I like most veg except sprouts, I really love spicy foods!!

Bare in mind just this January I've developed GERD and Acid Reflux so it's triple the reason to change my diet, I eat so much rubbish, I have a mild addiction to Diet Coke and I drink very weak tea but about 20 cups a day sometimes but I don't have sugar so it's just slightly coloured water coz I only have a splash of milk. I'm funny about dairy too, I like strong cheese but not blue,or anything smelly.

As you can see I'm weird and sometimes I need a slap coz I won't touch it if anybody else has cooked it... eating out is ALWAYS fun :/

I suppose what I'm asking is for simple changes that I won't necessarily notice xx 

[erikthe2nd]

Hi

I to am very fussy , although not as fussy !

In order to help I gave up meat and started juicing and making smoothies and have never looked back.

I feel 100% better , pain is reduced and you can add things like spinach and not even taste them .so I can make sure I am getting ally vitamins without having to eat too much.

I went a bought a basic machine under 20 pound everything is made in the bottle you drink from so easy to do. 

Good luck 

[Elwood]

You are exactly like me, changing my diet is a minefield lol!

I switched from Cows diary to goats dairy, it was really easy to implement and my gastro symptoms are much better, its not horrible either - most people think of goats cheese when they think of goats milk - but actually it tastes of cleaner milk!! I actually don't like cows milk now I can taste the lactose/sugars! Goats milk is higher in protein and lower in lactose

xx

[katybee]

The fact you've acknowledged your diet might need addressing is a really good start and with some of your restrictions I can imagine it feels a bit daunting! Small changes are probably the way forward rather than a full overhaul which would be overwhelming. The main thing made me wince from your whole post was the bit about Diet Coke. That stuff is f-ing EVIL. I know quite a few people with an addiction to it and guess what - they ALL suffer with various health problems. If you can kick that habit the rest would probably fall into place more easily as it totally screws with your metabolism, appetite & absorption of nutrients. My brother was drinking 2L of the full fat stuff per day and weaned off by gradually swapping some for fizzy water with fresh lemon/lime squeezed into it, until Coke became a treat once in a while instead of a full blown addiction. The rest is fairly obvious, the less processed a food is, the better it is for you. Protein, fat & veggies are essential to our diets and sugar and refined carbohydrates (sugar/bread/pasta/rice) are not... so try and eat more of the first list than the second list. A healthy diet is all about the choices we make - just break what you eat into a daily series of choices. Think about the best choice each time you go to eat something & make the best you can in that moment - rather than trying to look at everything you eat at the same time, which is very overwhelming & usually fails. Good luck. 

[applebird]

Hey, I would take it gradually and not try to bulldoze your diet all at once. If you're not fond of dairy anyway then cutting it out shouldn't be difficult, same with the eggs if you're only into half of it! Knock the tea on the head and have herbal pref peppermint, I didn't like it at first so had twinnings chamomile and honey just at night to get used to it, then tried different ones in the morning, then through the day, once I'd got used to it I started introducing the peppermint. Made such a difference to tummy and bowel symptoms so I love it now for that!

You can work on the rest over time, follow the Endo diet on Endo resolved. I hated brown rice to start with but now find it really filling and enjoyable. There is so much you're still able to have so room for plenty of variety and spicy food is still allowed just make it homemade it's nicer anyway!

As for the gerd, I'm on ranitidine and esomeprazole top dose which helps and gaviscon of course.

Good luck - see it as trying new things and being experimental rather than depriving yourself and it will go a lot better.

[Bettyheslop]

Hello, sorry you are having a hard time with your food at the moment. I am not really as fussy as you! But I have to be extremely careful as I am a vegetarian with allergies which I have developed over the last couple of years, nuts, bananas, shellfish (I don't eat fish anyway).

I honestly find that if I am trying something new with food, I give it 2 weeks for me to get used to it and most of the time I do. Your body does adjust, obviously if you super hate something maybe not. I agree with katybee Diet Coke is evil, even before my allergies and enforced fussiness I would never have drank Diet Coke or eaten any diet food at all. It's all just full of rubbish and chemicals and it does worry me. 

I think you could give up coke, if you manage it for 2-4 weeks you will stop craving it but if you really can't then just have the full fat version but just the odd glass not loads.

Meals that I really like I cook loads of and freeze individual portions so if I'm having a day I can't be bothered to think of cooking there is always something there.  Do you like things like lasagne? You can put tons of veg in something like that, you could even try hiding a bit of spinach in it. How about casseroles and stews. Things like that you can get everything you need for a balanced meal. I would think of everything you do like and then try and put them into healthy balanced meals. You might end up eating the same meal over and over but as long as it's something you like it won't hurt you.

I try and do things to cut down on time too, if I have roast dinner I will do loads of roast veg, sweet potato, red pepper, onions, courgettes, tomatoes etc so there is loads left over, then the next day I wisk some eggs, cover the roast veg with it and bake it in oven. Would you taste egg white in something like that? I make my own pizzas, you can use brown flour and put loads of meat or veg on, if you make one you may as well make 2 then they will last 2 or 3 days.

Basically I find cooking good food from scratch and not eating crap does help symptoms especially bloating, it sounds boring but you do get used to it. I used to have terrible reflux which is when I stopped eating white flour but I also found Manuka honey a big help.

Good luck with it all, you will get there xx

Ps try and eat regularly, especially breakfast

[ccfd9]

Diet coke has aspartame which upsets the hormones, at a first guess I suggest you avoid all wheat and reduce your red meat to one a week. Use lo salt or herb salts then you do not need to reduce the amount. It is now much easier to follow a gluten free wheat free diet as there are alternatives that are very good now and most restaurants cope with gluten free. 80% of women with endo get a benefit from being wheat & gluten free - 60% improve off bovine (cows) dairy - use sheeps or goats dairy instead.

If you must have coke go for the non diet version but best avoid it.

[xnanookx]

I'm working on the coke thing, I used to drink 4l a day, I now have about 3l a week, restricted to sat/sun if there's any left Sunday evening I tip it away. I am able to go without it all together its more of a lack of will power on my side if I'm honest. I've noticed I do bloat awfully on Mondays so the link is definitely clear.

Thanks for the tips girls I really appreciate it, I don't eat red meat or bread they cause very bad pain. Pizza is a great idea Peter has pizza Xmas day instead of roast dinner so he won't complain too much lol. 

Today I'm gonna change from flora and clover to vitalite spread and stick with it, I'm gonna try olive oil instead of vegetable oil and Betty I love you, I do lobe a good stew and I like lasagne too, I'm gonna start cooking lasagne of scratch, I'm from Liverpool maybe I should embrace scouse and pile in the veg its usually red meat in scouse though would quorn meat be very noticeable? 

Eggs - I can eat egg white when its disguised so baking it would be fine I think, its the white on a fried egg that throws me its psychological I recall the day I was put off, I was about 6 and I watched a TV show about eggs, after that I refused the whites, I'm not sure why...

I only eat one meal a day, I do pick but I eat less than a toddler on any given day, I've always been the same I need to break the cycle. When I was pregnant I ate lightly marged toast back to back all day just to try to fill my stomach but it made my sickness worse, my body just doesn't like to be too full. 

I'm also looking to start exercising a little too, my stamina is very low so it would only be basic for a while, I tried a 60 second plank yesterday but my lower abdomen hurt really bad after it, the areas my cysts are is it normal for them to hurt when you pull the muscles tight? I'm a proper noob to exersise I do enjoy walking so I walk as much as I can, running is avoided due to my knees I was fanatical about cross country I ran in the championships for my school but my knees paid the price the ligaments and tendons are very sensitive to pressure I couldn't do 6 weeks laid up with them again I spent most of my mid teens unable to move because of the repetitive injuries, self inflicted obviously, my mother wasn't best pleased she always assumed I did it to myself. That wasn't the case I just ran and got lost in it so ran more, I liked to push myself it was the only sport I excelled in xx

[urgley in reply to xnanookx]

I read somewhere that plank is the worst core exercise for Endo.... Something to do with the likelihood of having an over active pelvic floor? Not really sure.

[xnanookx in reply to urgley]

Oooh that makes sense xx

[Bettyheslop in reply to xnanookx]

I love stew, it's my favourite meal. If I decide to make one I literally set aside 6 hours and make at least 30 portions. They last ages and are great when I have had a busy day and can't be bothered. Nearly everything I cook I try and freeze at least one portion. When I had laproscopy it came in really handy.

I think you could replace meat in a lasagne with quorn but that's easy for me to say as I don't eat meat! Sometimes I put quorn mince in but my favourite is spinach and mushroom lasagne. You can put anything in though, courgettes would be nice. I agree with dolcevita that a bit of what you fancy doesn't hurt but lucky for me I don't really crave anything in particular the only thing I would struggle to give up is potatoes. I think I'm lucky (apart from the food allergies) it must be in my genes, I have 2 boys 12 and 14 who have never had a fizzy drink, sweets or even squash, they like plain milk chocolate and that's it sweet wise. I think people must think I am a cruel mother when we go out and they ask for water! But that's what they like. 

It sounds like you are on you way to changing, just see how it goes and how different things make you feel. I'd probably give up the planks! I used to do a lot of sit ups but they really set off my endometriosis, and all excerise leaves me super tired. I walk everywhere anyway as I don't drive so I think that keeps me fit enough.

[xnanookx in reply to Bettyheslop]

Yeah,  I'm a big walker too, I don't NEED to exercise to lose weight I NEED to improve my stamina and core strength and probably cardio although I doubt I'll be running anywhere anytime soon so swings and roundabouts eh xx 

[dolcevita]

Hi all,

it's so hard and not many of us are so strong that can give everything up and be happy with it. I did a selection of things that I like but can easily give up (pizza, bread, red meat, pastry, croissants!!!!) and then there are the things that I really really love and cannot possibly give up forever so I treat myself to a once a week or not even that starbucks coffee, glass of wine over the weekend, doritos on a saturday...

it's really hard but i think sometimes you need a little bit of what you fancy to keep you going. Yesterday I was so stresses out I bought a kit-kat! i loved it, hadn't had one in years. And now I feel sufficiently guilty to go without for another 6 months!

Good luck all x

[xnanookx in reply to dolcevita]

I'm trying to be good, I can't remember the last time I was really good :/ last weekend I was so blue, I ate 17 bars of chocolate and made myself so ill in the process but at the time I didn't care this week though I've not anything too bad I had chicken salad 6 days running lol I love chicken salad but I missed the brown bread, usually I have just the one piece but I refrained so I'm happy with that little achievement xx

[dolcevita in reply to xnanookx]

haha 17 bars!! that's brilliant. maybe treat yourself to one a week and then that is your little incentive and reward for being good i'm loving chicken too, it's the only meat i'm eating xx

[xnanookx in reply to dolcevita]

Usually I resist, my calling is Quavers as a rule, but classic me only milk chocolate will do I don't really enjoy white chocolate and I find plain and dark are both too much for my own personal tastes.

Chicken, OMG Peter looks at me funny every meal time, I started to crave chicken when I was pregnant, and it's the only food I didn't or haven't lost interest in xx

[Don1980]

I do weightlifting and red meat and eggs are a big part of my diet. Apparently they're not good for endo. I've quite a healthy diet and workout 4 times a week. I'm cutting down on coffee just now to see if that helps . I'd suggest that you quit the Diet Coke first then worry about the rest of your diet after . I think you'd notice a big difference. Good luck xx

[xnanookx in reply to Don1980]

Thanks Don, much appreciated xx

[urgley]

I cut out caffeine a while ago and it has helped a bit with constipation. I recently did a food intolerance test which gave me a lost of 42 foods to avoid/ try to avoid! It's tough, especially gluten, vinegar and chocolate...but you get to a point when you're still waiting for diagnosis where you'll try anything!