questions about heather's diet
#275564 - 07/25/06 07:05 AM
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Do the people who are following Heather's diet use the recipes or just follow the guidelines? I'm not a good cook and I'm finding the work involved in many of the recipes a little overwhelming. Also, I'm wondering if anyone finds it difficult to identify triggers. My symptoms are almost only in the morning so I can't tell which food caused it or whether it's just anxiety. My gastrointerologist & I are doing an experiment to see if fruit is causing the problem so I'm hesitant to cut out a lot of the foods Heather says can cause problems because I feel it'll leave me with almost nothing to eat...i.e. certain veggies. Any feedback would be so appreciated!!
Anna
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I follow the EFI Diet but adapt most of my own recipes for meals. I use a ton of the bread and dessert recipes from the EFI Recipe book. For some reason most of the new meals I have tried have been from the IBS Recipe boards, not the book.
It is very difficult to identify triggers but I can tell you that all of the main triggers that Heather lists are my worst enemies. I thought I could get away with some triggers but being IBS-A some wouldn't cause me immediate pain or D so I thought I was okay. However, they ended up causing me to be to C and in pain a for a few days after.
Heather doesn't say not to eat veggies or fruit and following the EFI diet in my experience has not left me food deprived in anyway. You adapt to what feels best for you. If you eat something and it causes you pain, you lose the desire to eat that food. When I first started I had a hard time letting go of dairy but I have gotten used to it. It can be overwhelming at first, figuring out how to change that routine of eating. For myself I found that I had already eliminated 90% of the triggers myself before finding this diet simply because I had learned on my own that I could not eat them. But you can do it and your IBS will thank you, good luck!
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Microscopic Colitis, IBS-A, GERD, Hiatal Hernia
Bethany, Ontario, Canada
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I know how you feel!I just got ibs 7 months ago and I find the diet hard too!I have all my symptoms in the morning and it really sucks.I am not much of a cook so for a while I was living only on bread but now I eat more.I add new things slowly.It is very scary not knowing what is going to make you sick thats why I have a hard time adding new things.At first I started with just the basics like white bread,potatoes,carrots and slowly added new things.I hope you have good luck I still am fighting the symptoms in the morning but they are not as bad as they were.I'm thinking of taking the acacia fiber I think that might help. 
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I follow the EFI Diet guidelines. I make a number of the bread recipes and appetizer recipes from Eating for IBS and one or two each of the soup, salad, side dish, and dessert recipes. (I have to confess with shame that I may be the only person in the world who doesn't like Heather's Chocolate Peppermint Cake. But her Chocolate Silk Pudding is to die for.)
For main dishes, I rely almost completely on the Recipe Index, although I regularly make Heather's Chicken and BBQ Pizza, although using store-bought pizza crusts. I cooked as little as possible before I found this Website and I, too, struggled terribly when I first started out. I saw results eating this way, though, and that made me persevere. I'm never going to win a Cook of the Year award, but I've found a solid set of dishes I can make and I experiment with new ones from the Recipe Board quite often. I even get asked for recipes from time to time.
My triggers are what Heather said they would be, so I'm a strict constructionist when it comes to the EFI Diet. Eliminate the trigger foods and irritants, make SF the basis of each meal and snack, and eat everything else carefully. The only non-trigger food I've found I simply cannot tolerate is whole wheat. Everything else I can tolerate, although sometimes only in lesser amounts.
You might take a look at this thread to see someone whose approach to cooking is like yours and the suggestions people had for her.
As for fruit, if your doctor feels it's the problem, then of course you should try what he suggests. If that doesn't turn out to be the case, just remember that most fruit is IF plus it contains fructose which can be problematic for IBSers. So eat it safely, with a solid SF base. And avoid juices.
Mornings were always my worst time, too, before I got stable. I found it helpful to have something small and high SF to eat shortly before bed and to take some of my SFS at the same time. Now mornings are better, but I'm careful to start my day gently, with hot decaf tea and applesauce with Acacia before moving onto a mostly SF breakfast. I don't get seriously into IF and fat until lunch.
HTH.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Get yourself some cheap, little food steamers like these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/STEAMERS-PLASTIC-LOT-OF-2-BESTWARE_W0QQitemZ4457154414QQihZ001QQcategoryZ20655QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I have a set of 3 for different sized meals and LOVE them. You pour a little water into the bottom, add the 'grate,' place in your veg (I'll give you a list of the best ones for me and my IBS), put on the lid and from 3 to 6 minutes later, voila! Good to go! It makes Eating for IBS sooo much easier when you feel that there is NOTHING left for you to eat. And if you are wary of eating too much pasta, bread or rice (regardless of style/kind) because of 'carb concerns,' these soluble veggies are the way to go. Very fast, very convenient. All you need to do is chop up the veg, or not!!
Here is my list of STAPLE foods. I think I eat at least one of these EVERY day:
Baby Carrots (no big ones, not soft enough to begin with)
Yam (leave whole, just stab with a fork a few times; or cube it, your choice)
Sweet Potato (same as above)
Any other kinds of potato (leave whole or dice. again, your choice)
'Soft' Squash (crook-neck, zucchini, sunburst, mexican, etc.)
You can even steam peeled apples or pears with a SMIDGE of cinnamon and sugar and have an instant dessert, snack or sidedish that shouldn't be too tough on your tummy since the fruit is peeled.
Hope this idea helps a little in battling your kitchen woes.
Cheers!
Edited by MustLoveHorses (07/25/06 12:41 PM)
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Thank you all for the ideas and encouragement. I did adjust to being dairy-free pretty easily because feeling good has always been more important than any particular food. People who say they couldn't give up dairy haven't felt as bad as we do when they eat it...it gives you a whole new perspective. Right now I'm just eating the safe foods Heather suggested to get my stomach stabilized. Only problem is that I'm having a little anxiety in the morning and that's stirring up my stomach too. I know it takes time...
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