Two years ago, I tried Whole30 during the month of January. While I learned a lot about myself, I also decided that Whole30 isn’t really for me.
Related: Why I Won’t Do Whole30 Again
It’s another January, and I’m again trying dietary changes to help with my Crohn’s Disease. I read four books in the fall about diets for Crohn’s Disease. Unsurprisingly, they all recommend different things, although there is a small amount of overlap between two books.
I’ve combined two of the diets into one unique Crohn’s diet. Without going into all the details (post coming soon!), I’m eating foods that won’t irritate my small intestine while also cutting out two forms of starch.
My first few weeks of this Crohn’s diet is a gradual change. For example, on the very first day of my Crohn’s diet, I still ate a bit of cake because I forgot to eat it the day before. I’m also still eating the dried fruit that I received for Christmas from my brother and his girlfriend. Once I finish that, I’ll cut out all dried fruit.
As far as ingredients, while I’m definitely reading ingredient labels to minimize my intake of starch, I’m not totally strict about modified food starch and corn starch if they’re low on the ingredient list. Eventually I won’t eat anything that has either of those listed as ingredients at all, but trying a new Crohn’s diet is a journey, not an abrupt perfect change.
I also made a few unintentional mistakes this week. Like last night for dinner, I ordered chicken piccata, not realizing that’s made with flour. Because I don’t have a food allergy, I prefer not bringing up my dietary restrictions at restaurants, but I might need to start asking about ingredients.
Week 1 of a New Crohn’s Diet
Crohn’s Diet Day 1
Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg with cheese; bacon, Fast Lane hot tea
Late lunch: bison burger with bacon, cheese, & ketchup; water
Snack: dried apricot, fruit snack
Dinner: baked potato (no skin) with bacon, cheese, & chicken; water, 1/2 peeled apple, cake with dried fruit, peach tisane
Crohn’s Diet Day 2
Breakfast: omelette with cheese & bacon; bacon, 1 banana, Fast Lane hot tea
Snack: cheese stick, cantaloupe
Dinner: tuna steak, rice, water, 1/2 peeled apple
Crohn’s Diet Day 3
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese & salami; 1 banana, Fast Lane hot tea
Lunch: chicken bone broth, cantaloupe
Dinner: pork carnitas with peeled, cooked bell peppers, cheese, & rice; water, fruit snack
Crohn’s Diet Day 4
Breakfast: cream of rice with peanut butter & honey; Fast Lane hot tea
Lunch: 2 rice cakes with peanut butter & banana; Fast Lane hot tea
Dinner: egg casserole, 1/2 peeled apple, water
Crohn’s Diet Day 5
Breakfast: egg casserole, Fast Lane hot tea
Lunch: cottage cheese with cinnamon, honey, & cantaloupe; water, dried fruit
Snack: Pumpkin Harvest hot tea
Dinner: creamy chicken, rice, water
Crohn’s Diet Day 6
Breakfast: egg casserole, banana, Fast Lane hot tea
Lunch: tuna salad on rice cakes, water, fruit snack
Dinner: bison with mashed potatoes/cauliflower, lavender soda
Crohn’s Diet Day 7
Breakfast: egg casserole, Fast Lane hot tea
Lunch: egg casserole, Fast Lane hot tea, 1 banana
Snack: Cherry Coke Zero
Dinner: chicken piccata with mushrooms; mashed potatoes, green beans, water
That is everything I ate in a week! The only thing I left out was water I drank throughout the day, but I did include my other drinks.
In non-food news, I also worked out on Monday and on Friday! While these dietary changes are to help my Crohn’s Disease, I also need to consider my overall health. I’m not setting specific exercise goals at the moment, but I am trying to work out regularly.
I’m not sure how long I will continue these weekly updates. However, I do promise to share at least four weeks of my Crohn’s diet! Stay tuned for a separate post explaining all the research I did on different diets for Crohn’s Disease.
How are you improving your health this year?
