“Big Brother House, this is Davina. You are live on Channel 4; please do not swear.”
So as you can tell from the title of this weeks Blog it’s all about elimination, mainly well not mainly it is about diet change and reasons behind it.
But first I know your all excited for this weeks life updates.
So, works ticking over nicely, we are still in a little limbo due to a pending upgrade but my personal projects are in a good place, so much so I decided to take an extra few days off this week which has been wonderful.
In not so wonderful news but it was whole heartedly expected mine and Clare’s October Halloween Florida get away has been cancelled. We have made the decision to re-book for next year and hope for a more travel friendly world.
Covid in the UK is still here but we are living with it. More social activities have been going ahead. This past week I had a great day in York celebrating Steph’s birthday and just last night we continued the celebrations by watching Summer Slam together.
There were some stark reminders this week to live in the moment, don’t wait for the when’s or what if’s just enjoy all your time in this life. Life is truly for living.
For me a big part of living in the moment is enjoying every second I have training and I have put in some quality training this week. My body has felt good, I feel my moment and understanding has levelled up…. My elbows and shoulders may not agree with me after this week Jits subject of arm and shoulder locks but mentally I feel great.
This kinda leads into my main topic of chat this week…. The elimination diet.
I have had issue with my stomach for years, it’s just been something I have dealt with. I seemed to fix a lot of stuff when I went carb free for 18 months. This was one of many dietary experiments I have done over the years to try and get some relief.
There has clearly been triggers in my diet causing me issues. But I was very hesitant to do any sort of sensitivity or intolerance test as you know… ignorance is bliss.
About 3 years ago I was having massive issues with my knee, well knees if I am honest. I had tore my meniscus in 1 of them and it never heeled properly. Leading up to the tear there was signs something wasn’t right, there was pain and un-natural noises and grating.
I eventually went to a highly recommended chiropractor after trying several things he finally recommended completing a 3 week sugar reboot diet. It was essentially restricting a lot of carb dense and sugary foods to reboot the whole system.
I trusted the process and low and behold come the 3rd week a lot of my issues had dissipated to a manageable level. A level which eventually gave me the ability to rebuild the strength in all the minor muscles around my knee creating a much more stable structure. Today I am writing this with 2 fully functioning knees and a pretty deep and strong squat.
Since the beginning of the pandemic there has been a lot of time for self reflection and improvement.
I heard someone say last week;
This, this past, year and half has put so many of us, like, it’s really put all of us in the drivers seat of our own physical and mental health.
Nicole Pacent – Coming Out with Lauren & Nicole Episode 160 Mental Health Check-In! 11/08/21
I haven’t heard a more concise way of summing up the last 18 months.
I felt it was the right time, so on the 12th of March I decided to look at online food sensitivity tests. I found a pretty straight forward and cost effective one at www.checkmybodyhealth.co.uk .
It was £26 and tested from a hair sample for sensitivity to 970 items.
It was very easy to do, you snipped off some of your hair put it in a baggie and attached a printable bar code.
I did wonder how many time the company had received Pubic hair for it to be mentioned not to send that particular type of body hair not once but twice in the instructions.
- We only require a few hairs for testing; 4-5 strands if your hair is longer the 3cm or 8-10 strands if shorter than 3cm
- We test any body hair except pubic hair
- When cutting the hair, please ensure you cut as close to the root as possible
- Hair dye does not affect testing
- Once the hair sample is collected, please place strands into a small sealable bag ensuring the hair remains dry and secure during transit (please do not supply hair loose in the envelope)
- We do not accept pubic hair
- Place the small sealable bag with the hair sample and your barcode attached in a secure mailing envelope
As I expected the result showed I was sensitive to Wheat, Gluten and all forms of Dairy.
What did take me by surprise though was a sensitivity to Red Meat, Apples, Almonds, Tomatoes and Prawns.
So I spent some time digesting the results (pun intended) and decided that for 2 weeks I would eliminate all amber and red flagged items from the results.
The 2 weeks went pretty quick and I didn’t find it hard at all.
Yeah I missed milk and cheese but everything else I wasn’t really bothered about.
For the 2 weeks I didn’t substitute any items for free from alternatives, I just stayed cleared of all stuff indicated as a sensitivity.
I think I found it easy as I only committed to 2 weeks I wasn’t worried or anxious about failing. I mean I had done much worse previously with the sugar reboot and the very strict 18 month stint on the Atkins Diet in my early 20’s.
I instantly felt more energetic and alive.
I got up easier on a morning with tones of energy even if my hours of sleep hadn’t increased.
My training was more productive.
Was this because my body was no longer struggling to deal with and digest the foods it just didn’t ‘like’?
After the 2 weeks I committed to eliminating these foods from my diet 80% of the time. Rule of thumb if I am at a gathering or out and nothing I want to eat that fits the remit I am not going to make myself go without. I also have a weekly treat of some kind. Be that real bread, some chocolate or a doughnut or 2.
So 80% of the time I describe myself as a Wheat and Gluten sensitive Vegan who eats chicken, turkey and eggs…. I know oxymoron but when you think about it, it’s true.
I have continued to stay clear of apples and apple juice products but I have had to add tomatoes back into my diet. My favourite type of food is Italian and Italian food without cream, cheese and tomatoes is just soulless.
I tried a few alternatives like blending together cooked carrots, beetroot and peppers with red wine vinegar and seasoning but nothing came close to the real tomato taste.
It just made everything so sweet, especially as chicken and turkey in mince form especially is quite a muted flavour.
Chicken mince has become a weekly staple, it’s packed with protein, cheap and fit my eating requirements.
Chicken mince however can be very bland, so I have had to become the master of seasoning. I use a lot of soy sauce, Worchester sauce, marmite and a tonne of herbs and spices that compliment what every I am cooking.
Recently I have added back into my diet beef stock and gravy granules, in chilli and bolognas it just give more depth and also can thicken up any thin sauce.
Along with the limited stock and gravy granules I have also realised I can add small amount of feta cheese into my diet and it doesn’t upset my stomach, especially if it’s in my after training meal on a night.
As the months went on, I did find the energetic starts to the day taper off but as a whole I have major sleeping issues.
However, my mental focus has improved, I have had less ADHA moments.
I have found sticking to a healthier diet plan very easy following this rule set. I think this has been some mental trickery though as lets face it I haven’t said “I can not have” anything in particular so I don’t feel pressure. I am making a continued series of informed choices.
Overall I have felt my fitness and endurance level has well, levelled up big style. My resting heart rate has fallen almost 10 beats per minute since March. This is the biggest cardio vascular improvement I have ever seen in myself.
I have started paying attention to my Vo2 Max level with my Apple Watch when on long walks, this has gone from Below Average to Above Average, something I am very proud of.
Are these a direct result of eliminating the foods my body doesn’t ‘like’ from the majority of my diet? Or is this a bi product of being able to train better due to my body feeling better due to the diet change? Either way I’m here for it.
Having a rule set in place has made sticking to a diet simpler, I don’t feel deprived at all. If I want bread there so many quality tasting Gluten Free options which don’t cost much more than a normal loaf of bread but in all honesty I tend to lean more towards just having Rice Cakes as a bread alternative.
Tweaking my daily Kcal and protein consumption has been very easy the last few weeks and I am seeing results, so much so I have felt confident in myself to set some body goals for the rest of year and I am sure I am going to reach them without any detriment to my mental or physical health.
So in conclusion I am really happy with the decision to take a food sensitivity test. I think it has given me the control I was looking for over my diet. I may look into getting a blood test version of the test to see if any further information is revealed, you can never have to much knowledge and data about your body.
Knowledge is power fellow Outliers never forget that…. never forget.
GimpyBits 