Banter: Elimination Diet Day 11

As of today I have lost 5 kilograms. That’s 5kg that I couldn't have dreamed of budging before I started this diet.

I lost 4kg in my first week, so weight loss has slowed down in this second week; I am still losing an amount every single day. I keep waiting to step on the scales one morning and discover that I have gained again, but thankfully so far this hasn't happened.

It has gotten much easier to stick to the food plan, though I do still feel hungry most of the time. It isn't a nauseating hunger like I am used to, but it would be nice if the feeling would go away all the same.

Surprisingly, the thing I am missing the most is tea with sugar and milk. I rarely drink it anyway now in favour of coffee, but I wish I could have a good cuppa at least once a day. The weight just keeps dropping off though, so while that happens I have the confidence to stick it out.

Banter: Elimination Diet Day 3

It has been a successful 3 days! I was down 2.1kg total this morning and the usual good cravings are starting to disappear.

I do sorely miss hot tea and coffee, herbal tea just doesn't hit the right note when you want a comfort drink. I will have to experiment some more.

I did some more reading on similar diets today and, for the sake of my sanity, decided to broaden the fruit/veg list that I am eating from. There is just no way I could do 4 weeks straight with dry chicken for lunch every day. I need some kind of sauce. So I am now including tomato, onion, garlic, leek, and fresh herbs.

I am a little bit concerned about maintaining my breastfeeding while I do this diet. I think there is enough carbohydrate in the vegetables that I am eating to maintain supply. I will keep a careful note and make sure my blood sugar doesn't seem to be dropping too much.

Looking good so far!

Banter: Elimination Diet Day 1

I went to a hormone specialist two years ago because I was finding it impossible to lose weight. No matter how I exercised or restricted calories, my weight wouldn't budge. And I have 20+kg to lose, so this seemed a little bit off to me.

I was diagnosed with PCOS and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which combine to make it extremely difficult to lose wight without medication. Since having a baby last year, I now have additional weight to lose and it once again isn't budging. I am still breastfeeding my baby so the medication option isn't working, and I am wondering if there are changes that I can make in my diet to help this process.

So begins this elimination diet. For 4 weeks, I am cutting all allergens out of my diet to see if there is something that I am eating that is exacerbating my problem. It's a pretty simple process: eat only fruit, vegetables and meat from a list of hypoallergenic food for four weeks, weighing yourself every day. After 4 weeks, introduce a new food every day and weigh yourself to see how that food affects your weight. If you gain more than 400g in a day, don't eat that food again.

Approved Meats:
Chicken
Lamb
Organic red meat

Approved vegetables:
Asparagus
Cabbage
Carrots
Cucumber
Green beans
Green peas
Kale
Lettuce
Zucchini

Approved Fruits:
Apples
Apricots
Blackcurrants
Blueberries
Melon
Peaches (cooked/canned)
Pears
Plums
Prunes

No alcohol, no dairy, no caffeine, no soy, no fun.

I am cautiously excited to see the results of this.