You know how it goes—sometimes you’re the bug, and sometimes you’re the windshield. Well, it’s been a buggy summer for me so far. I’ve had a hard time getting out of bed, committing myself to exercise, willing myself to toss a salad instead of having a pizza tossed in my honor. I even feel clumsier. Do I need to get my chakras re-aligned?? Well, I did catch my favorite doc on TV discussing some reasons why people get the “blahs,” and food sensitivities seem like they could be a likely culprit. I decided the elimination diet he discussed might be worth trying. (What do I have to lose…except possibly 5 lbs., which wouldn’t exactly be unwelcome during Bikini Season…)
What’s a “food sensitivity?” Hmmm. We don’t really know…
You can find out if you have a food allergy by seeing a physician and getting tested. You might suspect you have one if you get an extreme reaction (rashes, trouble breathing) when you eat certain foods. But, a food sensitivity is a lot harder to pin down, the doc explained. The symptoms could be as vague as being “absent-minded” and having food cravings and bloating weight gain, or as specific as pain in your joints. You get the blahs, in other words!
Some of the foods we can be sensitive to include corn, soy, eggs and tomatoes…you know, the hidden ingredients that are in just about anything packaged we eat!
Ready…set…eliminate!
The doc suggested a really simple, clean elimination diet: follow this plan, and see if your blahs (whatever they might be) go away. Then you can try adding back in one of the items on the food sensitivity list and see how it impacts you—then another, etc. until you find the culprit.
Breakfast
Drink green tea instead of coffee, and have brown rice cereal for breakfast
Snacks
Vegetable broth, berries or apples, raw almonds
Lunch and dinner
More brown rice (I like Lundberg long-grain the best…it’s non-GMO, gluten-free, and cooks up so light and fluffy), steamed vegetables and a nice broiled chicken breast or fish filet
My results (so far!)
I’ve been doing this for just a few days and I am feeling a lot more energized. Plus, my pants already feel a little looser—I’m guessing it’s just the lack of tossed pizzas leading to a little water weight loss…but hey, I will take it! Bye bye bugs, hello windshield!