Program Update: I Quit!

Okay, maybe that's not what you were expecting but hear me out: I quit for legitimate reasons.

Throughout the two and half months that I was on the program, I wasn't feeling well. My stomach was always uncomfortable, like my food was just sitting there like a weight. My whole GI tract was off.

And I would mention this every time I saw the doctor. At first, she recommended FiberCon for a fiber supplement...every day. And I started to feel a little better, but then I wouldn't. Every doctor appointment was the same, me saying I wasn't feeling very well, me defending myself that I was actually following the plan, her recommending more water or sleep. She told me that the high protein diet was just hard to digest for some people. 

And it went on like this. I figured since she was the doctor, she knew more than me. I was following everything on the plan...I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing. I was losing weight but I didn't feel any different. No extra energy, and I certainly didn't feel lighter. 28 pounds felt just the same as before except my symptoms were getting worse. 

Until the week I didn't lose any weight because I was so bloated and felt so heavy. I stood up for myself at the doctor's, I vented my frustration, I needed to make her understand that something was not right. And even though I was going to the bathroom every day, she recommended a gentle laxative for the next 7-10 days.

Because all healthy diets need laxatives, right?

I went to my group right after the doctor's visit and expressed my frustration. I was told to listen to my "jams" to pick up my mood and try to be more positive. I actually felt betrayed & offended by that comment. I had been so dedicated to this program and it was making me sick....and as long as the scale was going down, no professional seemed to care.

So the day after the doctor & the group, I sent some hairs in to an independent company to test me for food intolerances. At this point, I was convinced I had a sensitivity to soy. 

Every single meal product I had been eating 7-8 times a day was soy based. I had noticed my skin was breaking out and my time of the month was much more hormone induced. Soy increases your estrogen levels I had read and I knew that too much of anything wasn't good for you, and a soy intolerance would make sense.

I also followed the doctor's directions and took Miralax and stayed on program.

I did so again the next day...and that's when all hell broke loose.

Keep in mind that there is no bathroom story in this tale. 

Because the intense pain that occurred was in my stomach. It was my upper GI that was affected. I was doubled over in pain on my bathroom floor because I was trying to throw what ever was hurting me up.

I called Kaiser and another doctor recommended that I find a different program for my weight loss because she was suspecting a soy sensitivity. 

So the next day, I decided that I would eat some regular food. I was warned by the leader of my group not to do this. I would become horribly sick and might even need hospital care. But I figured at this point, I had zero f***s to give. 

I had a sandwich from my favorite deli. And unexpectedly, I felt so much better. 

I wasn't sure how to safely go from the program to eating normally again. I decided it would be better to wean myself off. So for the next few days, I did just that. I mixed real food with the program food.

And the pain returned....3 more times. One day, I threw up in my driveway while on the phone to Kaiser trying to schedule an appointment. The next day, I dismissed my students a minute early so I could throw up in a staff bathroom. 

I had wondered if it was the FiberCon (a bulk laxative) and the Miralax that ruined the good bacteria in my stomach. I was thinking probiotics would help me. 

But a new doctor was even more helpful. 

It was gastritis. My stomach lining was inflamed and the pain was from the stomach acid...it was heartburn but in my stomach. A month on Pepcid AC and probiotics should do the trick.

Because all healthy diets need a month of medication to recover from, right?

I officially quit the program. 

Then, I got my food sensitivity results back....and I was shocked. So much so that I thought I had been scammed.

None of the foods that made me sick were on that list. Not even soy. I couldn't understand it.

The real culprits?

Milk protein, carbonated drinks (which even when I quit soda, I switched to sparking water so I've had a carbonated drink everyday for the last 20 years), msg, aspartame, xyilitol, and the real shocker: gluten. 

I still think that much soy wasn't good for me but my food issues are starting to make sense now.

So where do I go from here?

I'm still going to move forward with my healthy lifestyle. I'm logging my food and keeping track of my calories on My Fitness Pal and tracking my exercise with my Fitbit. I had planned to meet with a nutritionist to help me navigate the incredibly long list of foods that I couldn't eat once I had gotten my results back but I think that's really not necessary at this point. 

So I'm learning about living gluten-free and gave up carbonated drinks. 

I read that the gluten could be affecting my body's ability to process dairy and my hope is that I don't have to give up dairy for very long but in the mean time, I'm going to try.

The nice thing about the Weight Management Program is that I've learned how to navigate the world while on a restricted diet. I can take that and apply it easily to a gluten-free lifestyle.

And I'm learning that there are so many foods out there that I can eat. Fruits and non-starchy vegetables. Lean meats....and I'm going to be totally fine. In fact, I tried gluten-free english muffins this morning at breakfast. I hear that they make gluten-free sourdough bread. So I can still have my favorite food: sandwiches.

So while I close one door on my road to a healthier lifestyle, it seems as though another one has opened. Imagine that.....a new adventure begins!