For the next couple of weeks I ate a relatively bland and boring diet. But the most amazing thing was I was eating and I wasn't spending every waking moment of every day in the bathroom. I wasn't cured by any means but I did feel just a smidgen better - which was a step in the right direction. After two to three weeks of eating the restricted diet I was then able to add back into my diet one restricted food item at a time. I ate a portion in the morning, another portion in the afternoon, and a portion in the evening. Oh, and during the whole time I was doing the ED I kept a food diary - I actually called them my "poop diary," where I wrote down everything that I ate, how I felt after eating it, when and what I pooped, how my mood and energy levels were, and even what my skin looked like. The whole diet lasted about three months. And some people feel so good on this restricted diet that they keep it up even after the ED time frame is over.
By the end of my diet it was interesting to look at the foods that were aggravating to my gut. Foods that were now on my "No" list included: red meat, citrus fruits, yellow corn (white was okay - go figure), milk, caffeine, red food coloring, lettuce, chocolate, uncooked vegetables, cantaloupe, apples, nuts (except for soy nuts, almonds, and walnuts), beans/legumes, (garbanzo beans made into hummus is okay, but otherwise beans are just too hard on my gut), whole grains (I have to eat these very sparingly), preservatives, pre-made or pre-packaged food, artificial sweeteners, most fruit juices, soft drinks, and alcohol. Over the years this list has changed and evolved. There are now some things that were on the original "No" list that I can eat in moderation. And there are some new "No" items that weren't on the original list. While, over the years, I've taken the risk and tried some "No" list foods - not always with good results - there are just those foods that I would never, ever even think of eating like fast food, or foods with cream sauces, or pre-packaged food. I know that these items will always cause problems and I simply live my life steering clear of them. Sometimes that means I can't eat a quick lunch on the go, it entails some planning ahead on my part, and I'm grateful that I like to cook and have been adventurous in the things that I make.
