I’ve been in the process of writing this post for about a month now. I had a check-in with my doctor after two weeks of Paleo and she recommended I make some changes to allow my gut to heal. She looked at the results from my blood work and suggested  the following:
-No eggs for 4 weeks
-No tomatoes or onions for 6 weeks
-No cheese or butter EVER
-No yucky oils. Stick to olive, coconut, toasted sesame, roasted hazelnut, flaxseed or walnut oil.
I made it about a week and I was ready to give up…all together. I could handle getting rid of gluten and dairy because I knew it was really  making my stomach hurt, but no tomatoes?! Or eggs?! I was starting to feel like I couldn’t eat ANYTHING and was getting sad. I said from the beginning that I didn’t want this diet to make me feel like I was constantly missing out. I am a foodie. Being deprived is not really part of my personality. I tend to go all out on most everything I do.
So, instead of giving up on Paleo all together I added eggs back in after one week. I felt fine. The next day I added tomatoes. I felt fine. The next hour (yes, hour), I added onions. I felt fine.
I got cocky. A few days later I tried blue cheese on a salad. I was NOT fine. At the time I thought, how bad could a few crumbles make me feel? Well, within minutes I was having severe stomach cramps. Then it was off to the bathroom….where I stayed for about 15 minutes. I was out at a nice restaurant…awesome! It was pretty embarrassing, but at least I learned my lesson…NO MORE CHEESE!
Since then I wouldn’t say my stomach is back to 100%. I’ve been doing Paleo for over a month now and while I feel much better, I would say I’m only about 90% there. I am still having some minor stomach problems and I’m wondering what I need to change. My guess is the eggs or the tomatoes, but I haven’t had the willpower to cut them out again.
Before starting the diet I used to have those bathroom moments almost DAILY. Since starting Paleo I can count on one hand the times I have felt that bad, so I know I am making progress.
I go back for more lab work in another month and we’ll see if things are looking better!
I’ll update more soon on the emotional changes I’ve noticed and my Paleo Inspirations!
5 thoughts on “Paleo Update–One Month Down”
Did you find that you had more stomach issues post-babies? I’m working through some similar (I think!) things but I’ve only had issues since Annie was born. I’ve cut out dairy but still having problems…ugh!
Hey Lauren! I have actually had stomach issues as long as I can remember. I think hormones can effect your tummy, according to my dr. but we’re still working through it. Maybe you could find a good dr. to help you figure it out!! Good luck!
Hi! Found you through a Blog Her link…. I have been doing a “modified” Paleo for over a year, ever since I went to a nutritionist with autoimmune and stomach related issues. For about 3-4 months I stuck to “true” Paleo, I lost some weight and felt ALOT better it was hard, but it was soooo worth it. After that I started relaxing a bit, I know I am lactose intoleant (maybe you are too?, cramps are a common symptom), so I still try to do milk products sparingly and when I do I try to do goat-proucts which have less lactose and are more biologically similar to mother’s milk. I don’t to wheat/grains at all, and have found that it really helps my fatigue and a few other symptoms! I do however eat potatoes, (started after month 6) although I try for the most part to do organic so they are not GM.
I would say to really try to stick to it for a whille if you can, I can’t believe I have been on a “modified” version of it for a year, but I have because it makes me feel good ! If you really want to go into “healing your gut” though you might try going on the GAPS diet. It is a little more strict at first but I have heard from alot of people that it really helps! And I think recently in the New York Times there was an article about a child with a severe autoimmune disease being healed with a similar diet.
Thank you so much, Kimberly! I have never heard of the GAPS diet but am starting to research it now!! I know that I will prob. always be Gluten/Grain free. I’d love to ad in some goat cheese at some point, but I’m kind of nervous to! I have done fine with potatoes, but try to stick with just sweet potatoes. Thank you again!