Anyone done a six-week elimination diet?

[t2009]

My doctor recommended that I try a six-week elimination diet to try to cleanse my system & isolate food allergies/sensitivities.

Has anyone done this? I've been putting it off, but with the new year I think it's time to try it (whatever I've been experiencing -- mostly tinea versicolor, which is a yeast rash -- isn't severe enough to motivate me to start the diet... ... mostly I don't want to give up coffee & beer...).

Any tips or good recipes? Is there a book with recipes? I don't eat a crazy-elaborate diet as it is, but this seems totally extreme & I'm not sure how well I'll be able to exercise my will power for the whole time. Did you feel it was worth it?

Also, if you've done this, how did you feel when you added foods back in? Were the sensitivities obvious?

Thanks so much for any input!

[Zenmama1]

I've done it. It's hard but you can do it. It's totally worth it. I feel much better and I now know which foods bother me and DD.
If you google allergy free recipes that's a good start. I just did chicken, rice & root vegetables for awhile. Glutenfreegoddess.com has some great recipes you can modify to meet your needs. Good luck!

[Zenmama1]

Btw do you eat a lot of sugar? Yeast loves sugar so I'd cut that out first.

[t2009]

Thanks, so much, Zenmama for the encouragement! I've started planning my grocery list & now I'm actually kind of excited.

I have cut out a lot of sugar from my diet, but I do have a sweet tooth. I'm really hoping to recalibrate my food urges while doing this diet, in addition to hopefully figuring out sensitivities & feeling better.

How long did you do the first phase (the elimination) phase for? My doctor said 4-6 weeks, but I've read that some doctors recommend only 3-4 weeks. I guess more than anything, I'm wondering how long before you felt an improvement?

Thanks!

[franklin907]

I haven't done one, yet, but want to in future (when I'm no longer pregnant ). I have The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook & they have a great 28-day elimination diet in there, with a complete outline of what to eat in each phase, recipes, & a blog with even more recipes! I think its definitely worth looking into, if you're serious about doing it

[t2009]

Thanks, Franklin, for the Whole Life Nutrition suggestion -- haven't been able to find the book but the recipes on the blog are excellent!

Too kick off my diet I tried Gluten Free Goddess's Mulligatawny Detox Soup & it was delicious! Thanks, Zenmama, for pointing out the blog!

It's really not so bad so far. Boring, but I'm hoping worth it!