Nutrition

[Teddysmum43]

I started seeing a nutritionist last week so thought I would do a regular blog on how I get along. I've realised how I've totally neglected my diet most of my life. I've never smoked,I hardly drink alcohol except for he odd glass of wine. I'm exercising regularly now but failed to grasp the importance of good nutrition. I've been loosing weight with slimming world for the last year,lost 3.5 stone but still felt horrible in myself,very low in mood,panic attacks and horrid sugar cravings and huge appetite and just knew I needed to get individual help. Luckily I can afford it and boy it costs a fair bit but I'm hoping it's worth it. I have my new eating plan,basically all whole food absoloutely nothing processed,no sweetners,no bread,cereal or any grains for the first two weeks. No caffeine either but I've always had de-caff tea and coffee but have had to change to redbush tea and organic coffee with a milk substitute called Kara. I have to use xylitol as a sugar substitute. I'm also on some new supplements designed to help with the digestive system and to get the bowel working properly.

Am totally committed to this and would like to hear from any of you guys who have changed heir dits with positive results.

[irisjoy]

wow i take my hat off to you, you must be a very strong person to be able to do what you are doing. please keep us upto date and we can see how much your regime helps your condition. J

[leebeloola]

I've been slowly adjusting my diet based on a 1600 kcals a day plan i got from the dietician at my GP's. I say slowly because I need to make the changes one at a time since i can't cook without causing a fibro flare so i have to find alternatives for preparing food.

I've halffed the amount of wholemeal bread i have and started snacking between meals with fruit. The change that has made the biggest difference to me is switching to wheatabix with milk and 1 piece of fruit for breakfast.

I have problems with portion control and eating sweets in the evening still. I've been filing half my plate with veggies so there is little space for carbs, but often I'm still hungry even after having some fruit so end up having sweets. I've started keeping track of every time i want to have sweets but don't to try and motivate myself. It works but my will potter is pretty low this week so didn't do well.

I've also changed to decaf and fruit tea wand have sweeter or honey with it. Is there a reason you've changed to a xylitol and to redbush tea?

I have been thinking of having less bread but have no clue what to substitute it with. Do you have a substitute for it? And what is the purpose of eliminating it for the first 2 weeks? Do you introduce it back in after that?

How do you control your sweet tooth?

[Cat53]

If you can cut out all sweets, sugar for two weeks, you will find you no longer crave it. Sugar keeps your hunger switch, turned on, which is why you keep craving food. It's also addictive. Cut out the honey too, if you can manage it. When hungry try eating a few nuts ( non roasted) almonds, brazil and walnuts are all good for you and give you loads of minerals. They also fill you up. But not too many.

[Teddysmum43]

That's the problem I can't just eat a few nuts always eat the whole bag!! I'm going deeper into nutrition in order to improve my health on a cellular level. I'm not substituting bread with anything at the mo as I'm waiting to see if by cutting grains out it will help improve things. Am changing to red bush and organic coffee as its much better for you,no nastys. Am going back to pure wholesome food,could even get I'd of the coffee but there's got to be some pleasure left lol. Any sweetners or anything with aspartame in is very very bad for you. Xylitol is much better for you.. I'm a lot less hungrier than I was,what a difference in a few days!! My shopping bill has shot up though going to have to get a lot cannier and start looking for bargains. Another good tip which probably a lot of you k ow about is body brushing,bath in Epsom salts then dry body brushing. It's all about getting out those toxins. Oh and the eight glasses of water every day is still very important. The more I learn the more I will share with you all. Leeboula you need to make sure you get protein with every meal meat eggs nuts fish.

[Liquorice1]

I changed my "diet" to the low Oxalate one where you don't eat nuts, berries, whole meal bread, etc. I have found that I have cut my meds by a quarter to only 50mg Tramadol a day & I feel much better in myself. I do think that Tramadol is a horrible drug to take as it upset my insides so that they were not working properly. Now back to a more regular sort of person if you know what I mean! I tried to stop taking the 50mg but had the sweats & shakes & couldn't drive well so had to carry on for a while. Need to find a time when I don't need to drive to go cold turkey!

My "diet" may not work for everyone but it works for me & a few people I know locally want to try so have given them a copy of my list of foods to eat or not. It will be interesting to see how they get on.

The next step is to cut down the amounts to lose some weight.......

[Teddysmum43]

I don't like taking tramadol either I know I'm addicted to it as I also get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have it. I would love to get off of all my drugs. I'm not feeling as bad as I usually do in the morning,am actually resting in bed at the mo instead of having to get up and move as the pain is so bad. I have looked at the low oxalate diet but am going to stick with my nutritionist for as long as I can afford it lol. As you say not all diets suit everyone,it's a lot of trial and error,am so glad it's going good for you. Keep us posted.

[ptolemy]

When I look back I am sure I have had underlying fibro all my life as I have always 'been searching for energy'. For this reason healthy eating and the fashion as to what is 'good for you'. has been of interest for a long time. I remember Cranks in the 60s! I was recently a case study for a lady doing a qualification in nutrition and found her insights very helpful. The need for good hydration and detoxing was spot on. She also suggested regular use of Epsom salts in a bath and various supplements. I took on board a lot of what she said and at 61 feel as well as I did in my 30s. Many of my friends complain of slowing down with age, but maybe they have just reached my usual level as I do not feel like that.

I am of the opinion that appropriate nutrition is an individual thing (like fibro) and varies with age. For instance I find I eat very little red meat as I no longer need it. The downside is that I require less and less calories unless I want a continuing weight gain!