Embarking on a new (dietary) journey

Yesterday, I briefly mentioned that I have decided to make some big changes to my diet. Mainly that I am switching to a "clean", lactose-free, egg-free, corn-free diet; at least for a little while.

For the past five years I have been slowly moving toward a better understanding of nutrition and exercise. It started with Weight Watchers in my very early 20's, and I have slowly built and refined my understanding of healthy nutrition over the past several years. This past year has been the biggest lifestyle switch yet, as I fell in love with distance running and overhauled my diet to meet my exercise needs.

One of the problems I have had, historically, is a crazy addiction to refined sugars and trouble getting enough protein. As I have been working out more and more, I have diligently worked to add protein sources and cut the sugar out of my diet. I am not a milk drinker, and I don't love meat, so it has been a struggle, but one I felt was necessary to be as healthy as possible.

What I noticed, though, was that with tracking the foods I ate and even counting the calories I consumed (in order to make sure I was fueling my body properly) I felt worse. I have suffered from hormonal migraines since adolescence, and this year has been no different (in fact, I have seen my WORST migraines ever). I have felt hungry, like binge-on everything-in-sight, and "hangry" (that low blood sugar feeling of "get in my way and I will EAT you") more than ever, despite trying to eat high-protein and as healthfully as possible. On top of that, I have had intestinal issues (I blogged about this before and my struggle to eat the right foods before and after my runs).

It just seemed like all this stuff was getting worse, and I was eating less and gaining weight and feeling... crappy. Despite my exercise. Despite eating 100 grams of protein (or more) every day.

Finally it clicked that I probably had a food allergy (or at least an intolerance) that was causing a lot of these problems. Because it isn't normal to have these symptoms when you know you are eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods.

So in August I stopped counting calories and started paying really close attention to the way my body felt after consuming every meal. It was very telling! I discovered that lactose, eggs, and corn cause a lot of issues for me. I won't go so far as to say they are the root cause of ALL my problems, but they are definitely a piece of the puzzle.

I have started an elimination diet which requires taking all that stuff out of my diet, waiting for a month or so, and then slowly reintroducing them to confirm that they are the issue. Already (after only about a week) I am feeling a lot better. I am sad about saying goodbye to ice cream and popcorn (two of my all-time favorite foods), but it is 100% worth it to eliminate the symptoms I have been experiencing.

Because cutting out this stuff, eggs especially, means saying goodbye to a lot of processed foods and baked goods, I decided to just take the plunge into clean eating. In a nutshell, clean eating means eating foods as close as possible to how they are found in nature ("If a man made it, don't eat it"). So whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins. The big difference for me as opposed to other clean eaters is that I will not be having any dairy, eggs, or corn either. I think it will be tough, but I am ready for the change.

I think, in a lot of ways, it has been a steady progression for me to this point. I can honestly say that this won't be that huge of a shift (compared to most starting out on a clean diet) because I eat pretty healthy and have cut out a lot of processed junk over the past few years anyway. But even so, there have been those treasured "guilty pleasures" that have stayed in my fridge and pantry even when I know they shouldn't, and those are all going to go now. Goodbye ice cream. Goodbye bottled salad dressing. Goodbye to all those beans, tomatoes, and broths that come from a can instead of the produce aisle and carry a bunch of stuff as ingredients that I can't even pronounce.

Another big change will be eating smaller meals throughout the day (6, to be exact) that are pretty much equal in calories instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner (which tends to be quite a bit larger than the other two). I think this will help stabilize my blood sugar, which I know has been part of the reason I have felt so crazy hungry that I want to binge in the early afternoon, and also part of the reason I sometimes feel nauseous on my runs (since I have just finished the biggest meal of the day).

I am making two exceptions to my clean eating diet and that is based on a picture of overall health for the long term. I am still planning to drink one glass of red wine each day, and couple that with a serving of super dark (73%+) chocolate. This is for a couple of reasons: first, to determine if they are migraine triggers (if they are, they will go bye-bye too); and second, to get the health benefits of each. It just so happens that I love red wine and chocolate, so they get to be both medicinal and a nice treat. So that works out nicely for me (even though it is not part of a traditional clean eating diet).

As I figure out how to do this, I will probably post some resources and recipes that I find helpful. I know I don't have a ton of readers (hi Matt), but maybe someone out there will enjoy it.