All human bodies are unique. They are put through different circumstances and that means that every person’s body is going to react differently to medications, diet, exercise, stress and substances. This journal diary will not be an implication that my fellow Fibromyalgia community members should try what I do and get the same results; when I called my nutritionist for the first over the phone appointment, I had previously submitted a very thorough dietary history on top of some health issues that were individual to me in terms of severity.
I first learned of my nutritionist’s practice nearly a year ago, in the fall of 2010. I was asked to view one of her videos, referred by a friend, and I did. At first I thought the teachings about the causes of some of Fibromyalgia’s symptoms from improper diet were insane. Something told me though, that if I stopped to dig further and research a bit, this fellow Wisconsin citizen, now my nutritionist, may have an important key to the management of some of my Fibromyalgia symptoms. And so this diary is composed so that I can give her methods a try. I only have two outcomes of an attempt – failure or success. Let’s hope the result is success.
These are the ultimate goals of the diet change: balanced energy (if not more energy gained), gastrointestinal problems lessened, chemicals needed to sleep balanced, weight loss (am roughly 40 lbs. overweight for age/height), skin problems lessened, cortisol levels balanced, pain lessened, vitamin deficiencies balanced, girly problems lessened, cognitive difficulties (like memory) lessened.
These are the ultimate goals of the diet change: balanced energy (if not more energy gained), gastrointestinal problems lessened, chemicals needed to sleep balanced, weight loss (am roughly 40 lbs. overweight for age/height), skin problems lessened, cortisol levels balanced, pain lessened, vitamin deficiencies balanced, girly problems lessened, cognitive difficulties (like memory) lessened.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND Before you read this list, that this is specially created for me and the various symptoms or goals I'm trying to reach for my height, weight, age and symptom severity. I recommend you get an appointment with Karen Hurd fromwww.karenhurd.com to personalize a diet for yourself if you have Fibromyalgia and are looking to manage the symptoms via diet. Doing the same diet as me is NOT going to get the same results, you need a personalized one!!!!
No List
(these things will worsen your condition and should be eliminated)
Sweets (cakes, pies, cookies, doughnuts, candy, ice cream, jello, pudding, muffins, sweetened breads [pumpkin bread, zucchini bread] etc.) Unless they're made with bean flour and have no sugar in them!
Natural sweeteners (honey, jam, jelly, syrup [even 100% pure maple syrup], molasses, etc.)
Artificial and “natural-artificial” sweeteners (Splenda, Stevia, Sweet N Low, Equal, Nutrasweet, aspartame, xyitol, mannitol, agave nectar, etc.)
Sweetened beverages (lemonade, Koolaid, hot chocolate, punch, Gatorade, etc.)
Sodas (diet or regular, caffeine free or not)
Fruit juice
Fruit
Caffeine (coffee; black, green, orange pekoe teas; Anacin, Excedrin, etc.). This includes decaffeinated beverages.
Dairy (milk, cheese, butter, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, buttermilk, etc.)
Fragrances or perfumes (this includes scented laundry products, soaps, shampoos, scented candles, aroma therapy, etc.)
Saturated Fats (fatty meats [bacon, sausage, bratwurst, hotdogs, etc.], deep fried foods, fried chips, butter, margarine, cheese, sour cream, etc.)
Gum (regular or artificially sweetened)
Tea (of any kind, even if it’s herbal)
Beverages except for water
Starches (bread, rice, noodles, potatoes, cereal, crackers, chips, pretzels, corn, popcorn, grains)
Alcohol
Allowed List
(these things will neither worsen or improve your condition and are allowed ONLY if the do list is being accomplished everyday)
Nuts, seeds, and their butters (i.e. peanuts and peanut butter, almonds, and almond butter, etc.)
Soy products (tofu, tempeh, miso, soy nuts, unsweetened soy milk, etc.)
Condiments (mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, salsa, tartar sauce, salad dressings, pickles, olives, etc.)
Oils (olive, canola, peanut, etc.) except palm kernel oils, (i.e. coconut oil)
Unsweetened almond milk
Do List
(these things will improve your condition and are required to be accomplished daily)
Eat a palm-size portion of efficient protein at every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Efficient proteins are: eggs, meat (beef, pork, venison, lamb, buffalo, elk, rabbit, etc.), poultry (chicken, turkey, pheasant, dove, duck, goose, etc.), fish (of any kind), seafood.
Eat ½ cup of legumes 3 separate times in the day. Legumes are beans such as pinto, kidney, garbanzo, Great Northern, navy, lentils, limas, black, brown, white, red, black-eyed peas, yellow-eyed peas, pigeon peas, green split peas, yellow split peas, refried beans [without the added lard], hummus (ground chick peas), etc.
Eat 3-5 servings of vegetables daily with your meals or snacks. (Remember that corn is not a vegetable.) One serving = ½ cup, unless it is salad, then one serving = 1 ½ cups. The vegetables can be raw, steamed or cooked. They can come from cans or the frozen state. Consider tomatoes a vegetable.
Drink ½ gal water daily. The water must be purified.
1 quart is 32 fluid ounces, ½ gallon is 64 fluid ounces, ¾ gallon is 96 fluid ounces
Sleep/rest 8 hours in a twenty-four hour period or a total of 56__ per week. The hours do not have to be consecutive.
Eat ½ cup of nuts or seeds (lightly salted) daily. Keep them 1 ½ hours away from beans.
Monday
May 16th 2011
Dear Diary,
I was given a list of do’s and don’ts. The don’ts list was more than the do’s. When I went to the grocery store today, I was loathing the day. I confess my heart wasn’t in it. I looked at the grocery store differently; it was suddenly my enemy. I made a lot of changes. I thought I made a lot of changes and looking at that list today, I realized I didn’t make enough. Maybe that’s what made me bitter while grocery shopping.
It was one of the few times I went under my limit for shopping for groceries. Normally I get the same things every month because I have a budget to work with. It’s good. I realized tonight, after portioning out my fresh vegetables, canned beans and mixed nuts that I had purchased enough frozen and fresh foods to keep me on the diet I’m asked to do for at least half the month. Of course, I had to purchase things that were on my don’t list because my children still need to consume them. I did forgo the butter; and ended up making to-go bags of groceries I had at home for family/friends because I could not use the groceries I had in my diet. But with the little I have left, maybe I might be able to find a ride into town again and grab the last of the supplies I need.
I’ll tell you by the time I was done portioning, I had to sit down for the last half of portioning and am severely sore. Tired. I’d like to dance around in the living-room to music and pass out from the immense pain that’d induce, because I know that when I lay down in an hour (It’s 1am) to try and sleep…I won’t be sleeping, I’ll just be hurting. One side of my body won’t bear the weight of the other side of my body, my back will twitch and tense up when I lay on it and there’s no laying on my belly; I can’t breathe correctly when I do that.
It is one of my goals to see that this diet gives me enough energy to portion out my food and not keel over from lack of energy, lots of pain and the inability to work at the counter for a long period of time or stand up like that in one spot for long.
It reminds me that once upon a time I used to work as a prep cook. I was fluent at my job; standing for long periods of time portioning and preparing foods at the restaurant I worked at. With the way I felt tonight, and how bent over and pent up I was just trying to accomplish what I did, I don’t think anyone can fathom that I did that in my past.
Tomorrow’s goals: Portion out and freeze meats, hard-boil eggs. Sit down with my grocery list and figure out what cost was for what my food-planning diet demanded. Er. Requested. Change my attitude into a confident, desiring the diet one. Complaining will get me nowhere. Neither will dread.
I officially start the diet in entirety tomorrow. Today! LOL
