My Experience Following the Fodmap Diet

If you’ve been following me for a bit, you might have started to see a pattern. I tend to try new diets. Not always to drop a significant amount of weight, but to see what they’re like and if they have an approach I think I can stick with long term. I’m curious by nature, some might classify it as nosy and so I always need to see what the cool kids are doing.

So, here we are again. I’m living with a new diet. This time, things are a little different though. This one is by medical necessity, not choice.

Why Another Diet

Let me back up a bit. For those that might not know, on August 14^th, I had my LapBand removed. Finally. Hallelujah! Recovery has been less than ideal though, and I’ve been living with a continuous stomach ache for almost a month.

After a second trip to the doctor, I’ve been put back on certain stomach medications, told to take a probiotic and am following the FodMap diet for the next 3-4 weeks.

Fodmap? What in the world is THAT? My doctor, bless her, told me to Google it and that I’d probably hate her for a while because it’s quite restrictive.

Fodmaps are a specific kind of carbohydrate that can cause bloating, gas, stomach pain, and diarrhea. Different people react in different ways. Because I’m not an expert in Fodmap’s, this is a great website for a detailed explanation (click here).

Following the Fodmap Diet

Déjà vu all over again. My last big elimination diet was the Ketogenic diet and for the most part, I felt like I did okay, and in a weird, twisted way, it’s prepared me for my current path. In many ways, I can slide back into my ketogenic ways and for a sweet treat fix, I have a bit of a gluten free blueberry muffin. Otherwise, I keep to minimally prepared proteins (nothing with sauce). I eat tuna salad and egg salad and lunch meat quite often. Costco rotisserie chicken is my best friend again, but I don’t touch the skin. I did one night and my stomach said no thank you.

I have eggs, some fruit, and a piece of toast for breakfast and because I can’t have bacon or sausage, my protein comes from eggs only. My go to fruit is grapes, most berries, and up to ½ of a banana. So, it works. The most challenging part is no garlic and no onions. When you CAN’T have them, you realize that garlic and onion are in almost every single savory dish out there!

Thoughts so Far

Being put in a position of HAVING to do this for my health is much different than choosing to do something to lose weight or to check out a different eating lifestyle. On one hand, the one month long stomach ache is still fresh in my mind and the motivation is rock solid not to veer off course. On the other hand, knowing that if I make a mistake, regardless of the medication, my stomach might start acting up is definitely stressful.

The most challenging part will be next weekend when we go to Disneyland for my son’s birthday and for the Halloween party and following the fodmap diet. I love sweet Disney snacks…but, I know I shouldn’t touch much of the food down there…especially the Rice Krispy Treats. Those. Those are my absolute favorite thing from Disney…and then they are dipped in white chocolate. Oh my. Knowing there are ramifications for my choices that extend beyond the scale makes this upcoming trip a bit frustrating because enjoying my food while on vacation has always been important. This trip, I’ll have to focus on other things. It’s another mindset change that I need to undertake.

Early Results

Less than a week into it, and I’m feeling so much better. My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, except when I mess up. I brain farted earlier in the week and had a slice of bacon. Ooops.

Yet, it’s working. I’ve completely cut out dairy, which I already knew I had sensitivities to, and I do miss cheese. Hopefully at some point, I can add small amounts of cheese back into my life.