FODMAPs Friendly: Changing my Lifestyle

So by now you all know about my chronic nausea and how in the last year I finally found a resolution to feeling so I'll all the time. Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long one.

This solution was a specialised diet called Low FODMAPs.

Low FODMAPs breaks down food groups into :

Fermentable- rapidly broken down bacteria in bowel

Oligosacchaides-fructans and galacto-oligosaccharides

Disaccharides-lactose 

Monosaccharides- fructose

Polyols-sorbitol,mannitol,xylitol and maltitol

I know these kinda seems like a bunch of mumbo jumbo and technical words which it is but actually the scientific ideology is super interesting. Low FODMAPs is all about removing foods that cause problems and issues for the gut, whether it's the gases they release, the way our body absorbs them or aggravate our guts. It is mostly used to treat IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) but my gastroenterologist thought that is would help with my symptoms as she thought it was the way my body was absorbing food, so why not take away foods that aggravate the system.

If you want more info on how Low FODMAPs is and how is works etc

check out these sites for information 

http://www.healthyfood.co.nz/articles/2011/november/food-fodmaps-and-ibs-what-to-eat-and-what-to-avoid

http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/

But please don't start this diet because you think you need it, consult a doctor first. 

Okay, so now you know a bit about what Low FODMAPs is, let's talk about my journey with it.

Before meeting with my nutritionist I had done a little bit of research, freaked myself out, been intrigued and completely confused.

At our first meeting, she had me recite my average breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week. What I cooked for myself and my family. It was at this time, we then went through everything I was eating and I began to realise that a lot of what was eating were off limits in Low FODMAPs, and most likely contributing to me not feeling well.

Average foods I was eating that are on the list were garlic, onion, avocado, apples, bread, pasta, cauliflower, mushrooms, chewing gum, dried fruit, fruit puree, soda, juice, chickpeas etc

So basically I was going to have to overhaul my diet and eating, which for a foodie is really hard!

The first was to go gluten free, my nutritionist did suggest I could have a few crackers or biscuits that contained gluten but knowing myself and having attempted being gluten free before I knew that if I didn't go full in I would have failed. Being gluten free in this world is getting easier and easier though with so many more options being offered in restaurants and more variety of foods being sold at supermarkets (if you are in NZ, Countdown has the most amazing GF range I have ever seen). I have even managed to find myself gluten free liquorice which I thought I was going to have major withdrawals about. I also have so much respect now for those who have celiac.

The second thing was going lactose free. This was actually pretty easy as my nausea had kinda put me off any milky product. I turned on soy or almond milk (though I was told soy is better for me as I needed to keep my calcium up), I'm not the biggest ice cream eater and was still allowed a small amount of cheese (YAY!) and a little bit of sour cream. I do have to admit that I have been a little lax when it comes to lactose in baked goods but other than that I have explored different soy milk brands, soy & lactose free yoghurt and fallen in love with coconut milk chocolate ice-cream. 

What I have found extremely difficult in cutting is onion & garlic, not only are they two of my favourite favours but they are actually found in some many things. Particularly in gluten free dishes onion, garlic (and avocado & mushrooms) are often used. I have become very skilled in reading the back of packages looking for onion and garlic or even just herbs because most likely its garlic. Pasta sauce is out, I used either plain crushed tomatoes or one flavoured without onion or garlic, anything sour cream & chives has to go as well, any gluten free gravy or cheese sauce mix is out as it contains onion & garlic powder. I have to be super observant in what is in the food I'm buying or what I'm ordering if I'm out, I always make sure to tell the server that I can't have garlic or onion on my plate (sometimes I just say I'm allergic as I know it will guarantee that it won't end up on my plate and to an extent it's kind of true).  I also I am allowed garlic infused oil or to cook roast veggies with onions and just not eat them.So you can still have flavour with actually ingesting them

I also had to cut out chewing gum which was extremely hard as it was the only thing that I could use to stop nausea but the additives in are off limits with FODMAPs. I also cut juice and fizzy drink which for health reasons is great for cutting down my sugar but during summer was really hard not to have one and I do have to admit I've taken a sip or two but tried to limited and be careful. I am also allowed to have the occasional ginger beer if my nausea gets quite bad as ginger is great for nausea.

So those were some of my first challenges when I had just started, that was back in October 2015 and now we are in 2016 and right now it's early April, so whats that almost seven  months on Low FODMAPs and I am so proud of myself for achieving that. It took a few weeks for my body to detox itself and I was still suffering from quite intense nausea but once I hit the 6 week stretch I started feeling better. The episodes became lesser, shorter lasting only 15-30 minutes instead of days on end. Now I feel like I have so much more energy than I did 7 months ago, I feel healthier and not like I could fall over at any second. Christmas was a little sad as I couldn't enjoy some of my favourite things like stuffing, gravy, ferrero rochers, my nana's lollie cake & chocolate slice or christmas pudding but I got through it and even made christmas lunch for my family that aside from the gravy and stuffing was completely FODMAPs friendly.

I'm not saying I don't have cravings, as I said I have been craving a cold frizzy drink like there is no tomorrow in the summer heat. I also really want apple crumble all the time which isn't something we use to eat a lot but because I can't have it I want it. Same could be said for fried chicken or a really good sausage roll. However I know that the rewards of not eating them is greater than that one moment of eating it. 

I also have been working on my fear of being a difficult customer, I'm not one for complaining or speaking up when it comes it customer service but with these dietary requirements I need to. I have to check that something is gluten free or if that have an option for it, whether it includes a food I can't eat that isn't in the description or ask for something to be taken off the plate.  It makes me feel super difficult and I hate but I know it's something I have to do. Just the other day, I went out for lunch with a friend and the waiter had to come back three times to check things and changes thing on my order. Its moments like that where I turn beet red and cringe. This also makes going out to eat hard at points, luckily as I said restaurants I becoming so much more flexible to allergies and dietary requirements, it may take some intense googling but you will always find something eventually. Obviously Italian places are out but Mexican is a great bet because most of it is gluten free. There are also so many more cafes and bakeries popping up that are targeted at vegans, vegetarians, gluten free food loving people. Little Bird Unbakery being one my favs, Kiwi readers check them out. When heading out with friends I'm always the one who is finding and suggesting restaurants as I know what I can and can't eat. Though when dining with one of my best friends it gets difficult as she is pescatarian,so you throw the two of use together and you get a menu that tailors to FODMAPs and have fish & veggies on offer, lots of attention to the online menu must be paid. Where as another one of my friends is celiacs and allergic to avocado so when we are together its super easy to find a place where we can both eat.


An added bonus that I wasn't expecting from going on Low FODMAPs is weight loss. I haven't been happy with my weight for a long time, being a petite girl, any weight I gain is obvious. After years of being super tiny when I was little, my metabolism slowed down and the inevitable happened. Anytime I attempted a 'diet' I always failed as I have no will power (Its amazing that I have stuck to this for as long as I have)  However Low FODMAPs is not for losing weight, it is about making yourself healthy, reducing stress on your gut and solve the problem. The weight just started to come off because I has cut some many foods as well as no juice and soda, meaning not a lot of processed sugar. I hadn't even though or recognised it until Christmas, when family I hadn't seen since the year before notice a change. I actually looked at myself and photos of me from pre FODMAPs, realising the change.

Bellow are two photos that I think so this change from my perspective. The one on the left is from my birthday in August last year, where I was so sick I had to go home early and the one of the right is from my look book I shot mid Jan. To me I can really see a difference, even just in the way I present myself. I can just see that I am happier. I can also go back to exercising which will aid in this, now that I don't feel as though I'm going to throw up every second.

So that's it, I wanted to write this post because Low FODMAPs is a big part of my life and I wanted to talk about what I have learnt and my experience.
I hope you have enjoyed this post as much I enjoyed writing it.


Love Louise xo

'Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th'
Julie Andrews