What I'm Eating this Week

As I mentioned before, Dr Mansfield provided some feedback on my raw data. His main concern was that I could have missed a sensitivity to dairy.

Here is the feedback I received, via the publisher:

1.  There is a definitely food sensitivity problem as she lost 3.5kg (7lbs) during stage 1. 

2.  I think she reacted to whole milk rather than the grapes, as most of the increase occurred before she ate the grapes.  This is important as she presumably thought the milk was safe and continued to consume it.  Her weight loss slowed down  - this could well be the result of having the milk as she thought it ok.  

3.  There appears a very likely reaction to the cheddar cheese - probably because of the milk sensitivity. 

4. She MUST remove milk, butter cheese and any other milk products for at least seven days.  This should promote better weight loss.  After the seven days she should retest, maybe twice in one day rather than two different products per day. 

5. She appears to have reacted to instant coffee, but was ok with the unchemicalised ground coffee, so continuing with the ground coffee would be fine. But she mustn’t put milk in it. 

6.  The reactions to grapefruit and oats were fairly obvious, although it is possible the oats reaction could have been confused if she ate them with milk (muesli, porridge) 

7.  Melon represents a possible reaction, retest at a later time.

I would never have picked this possible sensitivity to dairy up from my data - I gained only 300g after milk and before grapes and this was during the day, so it seemed normal. My first thought was that Dr Mansfield must have misread the table, but it does make sense in some ways, and it was a bigger rise during the day than some days are, and he has lots more experience of this than me... so I will try it. I also don't think oats are problem, I thought that was confused with melon, but I will retest.

I did say in a previous post that I was going to repeat Stage 1, but I just can't motivate myself to do it. Instead I have made my own list, which includes a lot of stage 1 foods, but not the ones I don't like. I am also adding in lots of other foods that I think are OK, including herbs and spices. 

I am keeping the carbs low. I plan on cutting out wheat, not because I think it is a problem regarding a sensitivity, but because I want to eat less of it. When I reintroduced it before it was 3 times a day for three days, and felt like a brick in my stomach. I will give myself 7 days clear and then allow it back in gradually and occasionally, rather than at every meal.

I am also cutting out refined sugars, alcohol and caffeine and NOT reintroducing them. Sugars are just no good for me. I know this. Alcohol and caffeine I am cutting out because of TTC. Caffeine I need to go cold turkey on so this is a good time to do it. 

I actually think I am sensitive to alcohol. I noticed before doing this diet that I was awake during the night after drinking some of a liqueur I was given for my birthday, and having just tested both red and white wine this also had the same effect. Thinking back, I had the same problem when we were on our holidays mid year drinking wine every night. At the time I blamed my night waking on eating dessert. Two glasses of red wine on weds night had me up with a dodgy belly and awake for 4 hours. Wine also makes my joints ache. This seems to be something that has happened since having a baby, so perhaps I developed this sensitivity in pregnancy along with my prawn allergy, or maybe not drinking for so long made my sensitivity show up. Anyway, its off the menu for now regardless, and though not really something I want to do, probably should be for good. I will reassess at a later date!

What I'm eating

Below is a list of what I am going to be eating. It is a mixture of stage 1 foods from the elimination diet, other foods that I found to be OK, and has been cross referenced with The Fertility Diet. I will also be sticking to eating 'foods with only one ingredient', so no processed stuff at all, and I will absolutely know what I am eating. I believe it to be a good, healthy balanced diet for anyone, and exceelent for those TTC - we'll see if it works!

Meat and Fish

Chicken, ham, cod, haddock, sea bass.

Other Protein

Lentils, eggs, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, peanuts.

Carbohydrates

Rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, carrots.

Vegetables

Courgette (zucchini), brocoli, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, spinach, mushroom, bean sprouts, capsicum (peppers), onion. 

Salad

Avocado, olives, celery, tomatoes, lettuce, watercress, cucumber, spring onion, beetroot

Fruit

Apples, pears, plums, pineapple, mango, lime, lemon, orange, kiwi, bananas, peaches, apricots.

Drink

Water, herbal teas.

Other

Salt, pepper, herbs, spices, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.

What I'm not eating

Milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt, wheat, oats, grapes, grapefruit, melon, alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar.

What I'm testing

After 7 days I will start to reintroduce some of the above, taking a whole day for each.

Sunday 3rd Feb - Milk

Monday 4th - Grapes

Tuesday 5th - Grapefruit

Wednesday 6th - Melon

Thursday 7th and Friday 8th - Oats

Saturday 9th - Cheese

I am starting now, with a quinoa salad, though it's nearly 8pm already, so I will count tomorrow as day 1.

I have recently discovered another blogger who is putting herself through this. She just finished stage 1 and lost 5 lb. You can follow her progress here.

If you are interested in buying the book it is available at Amazon, Waterstones and The Book People. It maybe be worth checking them all as prices do change. Amazon also have a Kindle Version