No "diet" works... what should I eat?

[momma_unlimited]

So... tried TF. If I have meat more than 2-3 times a week, I'm constipated; same with (raw) cheese- these "nutrient dense foods" seem to bog down my system; yogurt and kefir, no matter how cultured, give me the runs. And too many eggs (free range) make me feel acidic and gross.

Raw foods- anything with more than like 4-5 ingredients gives me indigestion, and if I have raw onion or garlic I have to go lay down I feel so awful. Raw peppers give me heartburn. This means I have very few choices. Being pregnant, that's not so good.

Tried a "hunter-gatherer" diet; if I don't have a good variety of carbs I feel hypoglycemic, sluggish, and my heart races.

Ayurvedic- Saw a practitioner, who prescribed a cooling lubricating diet which included lots of dairy (I can have maybe 1 cup of raw milk per day without it upsetting my stomach) and SUGAR SWEETENED fruit juice as "therapy" for my hot dry condition. I just can't bring myself to drink sugar since I developed cavities in my first pregnancy and can't see how this would help me now. Isn't sugar rather bad for your whole body chemistry? She also said to have lots of whole grains (mostly in form of wheat) and baked goods and ice cream as they are sweet and "cooling" and to avoid sour (that leaves out most probiotic foods). So basically it goes against all my education on what constitutes a good diet and I'm struggling with it.

I also hate soy products.

What do I crave? Fruit, lentils, whole grains, leafy greens, and steak a couple times a week. Should I just chuck everyone else's ideas of a "good diet" and go with that? Is there really a "good diet"- or is that as unique as the individual?

There should be some online quiz or something, "what diet is right for you"? :

[avendesora]

"What do I crave? Fruit, lentils, whole grains, leafy greens, and steak a couple times a week. Should I just chuck everyone else's ideas of a "good diet" and go with that? Is there really a "good diet"- or is that as unique as the individual?"

Sounds just fine to me. Some people don't tolerate meat, some people can't live without it. There's a whole spectrum here of what's "healthy." The most important piece is to listen to your body and figure out what makes you feel good.

Follow your cravings, if your cravings are pointing you to whole foods.

Aven

[Alyantavid]

What do I crave? Fruit, lentils, whole grains, leafy greens, and steak a couple times a week. Should I just chuck everyone else's ideas of a "good diet" and go with that? Is there really a "good diet"- or is that as unique as the individual?

Yep. I'd go with what your body is telling you it wants. Eat what makes you feel good and forget about strictly following any diet.

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

Yep. I'd go with what your body is telling you it wants. Eat what makes you feel good and forget about strictly following any diet.

:

If you were craving cupcakes and potato chips there might be a problem, but you are craving healthy nutrient dense foods. Listen to your body, it is wise.

[AJP]

What you're craving sounds fine to me, too. (Lentils are astoundingly nutritious, btw.) If your legumes and grains are soaked and/or sprouted, you'll get even more out of them. However, if you have digestive upset from so many different foods, you might want to try to figure out why, and move towards healing it, because it could mean you aren't assimilating all the nutrition from the foods you do eat. There are some very informative threads floating around here (in Health and Healing, I think) about healing the gut. If your gut is malfunctioning, it can also affect your baby.

[Fi'sMom]

Have your hormones tested. You can eat and exercise to perfection, but if your cortisol levels are high, nothing is gonna work. If you're stressed, nothing is gonna work. Seriously, hormones, especially stress hormones, will make or break any weight loss effort. Get tested by way of saliva.

[cristeen]

While I see no problem with the foods you're craving forming the basis of your diet, from what you mentioned of some of your symptoms, I would guess you're reacting to something. Dairy very obviously is a problem, and I'd guess it's not the only one. I'd either get tested, or start an elimination diet to find what your triggers are, and build your diet from there.

And I'd find a new ayuervedic practitioner - that one obviously knows nothing about nutrition.

You say you're pg - are all these various symptoms only since you got pregnant, or even pre-pg? That would also make a difference, since pg can cause things like heartburn and constipation all on it's own.

[crunchy_mama]

I would say you have food sensitivities as well. Like Cristeen said seems you have an issue w/ milk for sure. As to other things it could just be that the pregnancy is altering you taste buds I would just try to keep it to whole foods but I would be strictly avoiding all dairy w/ that kind of reaction. I would look into the eggs as well- but that might just be a pregnancy thing.

[momma_unlimited]

I wouldn't say these issues were non- existant before pregnancy, but they have just worsened...

I guess the thing that makes me leery of "healing the gut" ideology is that I've seen so many people obsess about it, and it's almost like they are on a witch hunt against their own flora or something... I guess I have this notion that if I just find the right foods, my system will normalize with minimal intervention. I really subscribe to the idea that it's not the organisms, its the terrain, that causes the problem.

I do have a really good probiotic from my acupuncturist, some original strain from the vagina of a healthy woman (I know, sounds kinda icky, but that's what we often miss from our mothers in an antibiotic laden birth control culture), going to try bowel nosodes too- just been holding off til I'm out of my first trimester as I try to leave my body alone in those critical week. I can't do cleanses if it is toxin related anyway because of the pregnancy. So... as for elimination, yes, I'm avoiding dairy except for a wee bit of raw milk which seems to do alright with me, and I worry about not getting enough calcium/magnesium/Vit D.

Maybe I should find another ayurvedic practitioner. This one seems so stuck on what dosha you are, its like it doesn't matter how processed the food is as long as its right for your "type".

I really appreciate the encouragement to "trust my gut" when it comes to what to eat. I guess being in the natural industry (DH is a sales rep for Gaia, Garden of Life, Aubrey, Burt's, Weleda, Bronner's, etc) and hearing so many experts talk about their diet plans they seem so convincing. But, although what they do might work *for them*, they originally had to find their own way, and I probably do too.

I did eat whatever I felt like yesterday, and felt great and had a normal BM. We ate out for breakfast: 2 eggs over hard, hash browns, and 2 pieces bacon (I know nasy restaurant nitrate filled bacon, but that's very rare for me); lunch was a salad of oranges, pineapples, shredded coconut and dates, and dinner was tabouli and homemade whole spelt flour chapatis.

[mamadelbosque]

I don't follow any of the 'diets' commonly talked about on MDC either. I mix and match and use what I like from each one Lately I've been extremely meat-averse too (though its finally starting to lesson - I can eat chicken as long as I don't cook it, and hotdogs are apparently OK too... as is red/green chili...), so have been eating/cooking lots of bean dishes and learning to make things with the meat on the side for DH & my dad (spaghetti & meatballs instead of meatsauce; chicken paremsan & eggplant parmesan; rigatoni with the sausage & peppers on the side; etc). I eat breads of various sorts but generally only whole wheat (I bake my own sandwhich bread now). We drink raw milk, and raw sharp cheddar though the rest of our cheese is pastuerized. We have our own chickens so have our own free-range eggs (though atm I cant do eggs more than 1-2x a week, tops, though I do cook with them)...

Basicly, I try to follow Micheal Pollan's theme from "In Defense of Food" - eat REAL food. I avoid processed foods as much as I can, make as much as I can from scratch, and generally try not to worry about it.

[momma_unlimited]

Mamadelbosque, I like your style. I guess instead of being swayed by all the popular diets, I will just listen with an ear for what actually resonates with me and add elements I like to my own personal portfolio of good eating.

I like the back to basics stuff of TF; grassfed, free range, unpasteurized.

I like non-complicated salads and smoothies every day from the raw foodists.

I like the ayurvedic idea of choosing more cooling and moistening foods; switching from the hot spices my husband loves- cayenne, chili powder, oregano, garlic, and the like to mint, dill, cumin, and parsley.

So- look out world- there is a NEW diet- "the me-myself-and-I diet". :

Maybe after the pregnancy I will deal with the more hardcore gut stuff if it hasn't cleared up.

[Ruthla]

There is no "one size fits all" diet that works for everybody. We all have different biochemistries, and even our personal nutritional needs can change over time.

If you were truly floundering about what to eat, I'd suggest reading one of Dr. D'Adamo's books about the Blood Type Diet as a good place to start. He has one for pregnant and nursing women, Eat Right 4 Your Baby, which would probably be the best book for you to read right now; otherwise I'd suggest Live Right 4 Your Type. I'm sure his recomendations don't work for absolutely everybody, but they seem to work for many people.

Or, you can just trust your gut and eat the wholesome, natural foods that you've been craving. Although it might still be fun to take a peek at one of the BTD (blood type diet) books and see if what you've been craving falls in line with what he recomends, even if you don't plan to change what you eat based on any book.

[pandora665]

I believe Michael Pollan said it best - "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Now if only I could stick to that I'm finally getting there on the only eating food bit (as opposed to HFCS and other assorted non-foods). Now on to the Not too much part.

Good luck - I really think pregancy is a time where your body reminds you of all you need. Trust it.

[Chakra]

read the book The Gabriel Method. I lost 50 pounds. It is not a diet book.

www.johngabriel.com

[Moonglow Girl]

I'm late in replying here, but this book belongs to this thread:

"Nourishing Wisdom: A Mind-Body Approach to Nutrition and Well-Being"
by Marc David

It's an older book, but very relevant. He talks about how there isn't a "this is the best for everyone" diet or nutritional approach. He details how what's best for you changes over time. And why what's best for someone else isn't necessarily best for you.

He agrees that trusting your body's intuition is important. But he also thinks we can go too far with "right eating." To the point that the time and energy we devote to researching and experimenting with the right combo of foods or supplements may actually be contributing to the very health issues we are trying to address thru nutrition. Eating right is important, but not worth excessive amounts of spiritual energy. "Balance" is more important than "perfect."

He shares some interesting anectodotes about how people found relief from certain health issues once they let go of obsessing about the perfect combo of nutrients and took a more relaxed approach to food. And some about the opposite situation, too.

It's one of the most inspiring books I've ever read about eating. efinitely worth checking out.

[PaulaJoAnne]

And too many eggs (free range) make me feel acidic and gross.

Chicken eggs are acidic. Have you tried duck eggs? They are alkaline

You are certainly displaying food sensativites, and with that, you must figure out how to work with them.
TF is not about eating lots of meat, dairy and eggs all the time.
Its about real food that your body thrives on.
Staying away from industrial foods, and stearing clear of allergens, will leave you healthy and comfortable.
Every body is different, and ancestory plays a big role in it as well.
For example, you might come from more of a coastal lineage, and fish may be your protien answer.

Have you tried Kombucha for quenching your thirst?

[deputy465]

A great website for info . . . .

www.greensmoothiegirl.com

[momma_unlimited]

Thanks Moonglow for the book rec...

TF is not about eating lots of meat, dairy and eggs all the time.
Its about real food that your body thrives on.

Having read Nutrition & Physical Degeneration, and Nourishing Traditions, I find it odd to read this statement since they continuously hammer into you the fact that no healthy people group was devoid of animal products as a mainstay, whether cultured raw dairy, organ meats, cod liver oil, raw blubber, animal blood, etc... Weston Price actually sought out a healthy people group that had vegan dietary principles and failed to find one whatsoever.

I would say a "whole foods diet" is about "real food that your body thrives on". Traditional foods is about the same traditional foods our *healthiest* ancestors thrived on...

[PaulaJoAnne]

I think that statement is saying that the combo of those three food groups is not needed at all times.

For example, we eat liver once in a while, but, we take cod liver oil every day.
Part of that is due to the fact, that we eat liver during hunting season, when we have it fresh, and that is exactly how the ancients would have done it.
Cod liver oil, on the other hand, is preserved, and can be taken througout the year.

Milk would not have been drunk year round, because the cows would be dried off for wintering through pregnancy.
Hard cheeses would have been prepped for dairy consumption during that time.

Its not addressed very much in NT. But seasonal eating is truly traditional. Its a matter of changing how we eat throughout the year, and it can be very hard.
Idealy, we would eat fermented veges, naturally preserved meats and hard cheeses and properly prepared grains during the winter.
Spring and summer, when the temps are climbing, we would lighten the palate with fresh produce from our local gardens and markets.
Fish would be the meat of choice. Fresh milk and cream would be in abundance.

We would let the sun provide lots of Vitamin D, by eating saturated fats, and allowing the sun to truly nurture us in preperation for the cold and dark winter.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by momma_unlimited

Weston Price actually sought out a healthy people group that had vegan dietary principles and failed to find one whatsoever.

Yes - but there's a whole world between "meat, dairy and eggs all the time" and vegan.

If we take the foods the OP says she's craving (which sound like a perfectly healthy diet to me - definitely better than I've managed this pregnancy), it's certainly neither of the above. Steak a couple times a week isn't vegan, but it's also far from "meat, dairy and eggs all the time", yk?

OP: I agree with those who say trust your cravings. If you were craving junky carbs, I'd be suspicious of a sugar addiction, but the foods you're craving are nutrient dense, and I suspect they're just what your biochemistry needs. I've never had real pregnancy cravings, but I do remember, back when my budget was really tight with ds1, being overwhelmed by a desire to eat as soon as I walked into a produce department. Everything just looked, and especially smelled, irresistible. I think I could have happily walked through the store, snacking on a whole head of romaine!