Week 1 of LOWFODMAP
Week one of the lowfodmap diet has been extremely difficult. Not only is it a diet change, but it is a lifestyle change. I never fully realized how much time goes into meal prepping and cooking. I enjoy cooking, I love following recipes and making new things up. The problem with the lowfodmap cooking is everything has to be so specific and it gets confusing. You have to measure your portions out to the last gram and make sure you aren’t “stacking” fodmaps. I constantly have to check the internet and the app I use to see what can go together, it is exhausting.
Last night I made steak and wanted some vegetable sides. I cooked green beans (you can only have 12) and also roasted some tomatoes because I thought those would be okay together. After it was done I did a double check to find that common tomatoes would be okay but I had used roma tomatoes and they contain the same fodmap as green beans. I had to take the tomatoes away from the meal and save for a later time. This is what makes the cooking so hard. And don’t even get me started on the number of dishes all the prepping and cooking produces. I think I run and unload my dishwasher every day and my hands are getting super dry from all the hand washing. I must throw a shout out to Derek here because he has been extremely helpful with the cleaning, thanks babe.
I used to be someone who loved going to the grocery store, I know weird but I do. Since I have to spend so much time prepping and cooking (never fully realized how long it takes to peel and chop) I don’t have the time to shop as much anymore. My saving grace has been Milk and Eggs grocery delivery. They are a LA and OC based grocery delivery service and they are legit. The website is so easy to navigate; you just go on fill up your cart and select a delivery day and time. To make this the most efficient I have to make sure I know what meals I am making for the week in order to have all the ingredients. This leaves little room for spontaneous craving meals.
Another thing that has been really tough is not being able to go out to eat or order in. Last Friday I had a super long day and all I wanted to do when I got home was order some UberEats for us and spend the night on the couch. Since our diet is so restricted it makes it basically impossible to trust what you are getting from restaurants. We can’t have any garlic or onions which is basically used in everything. Even when I am super tired or feeling lazy, if I want to eat I need to prepare it.
Now let’s talk about socializing. Derek and I went to an awesome event on Saturday called the Brunch Series. Part of the event was all the amazing product sponsors and also the INCREDIBLE lunch buffet and sadly we could not have any of it. Standing around and watching people sample products and eat this amazing lunch was torture. We stood in the corner snacking on fodmap approved bars (sad face). This diet makes going out with friends really difficult. We can’t eat places and we can’t drink so that basically means we get to hang around and watch our friends with envious looks on our faces.
Now don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all bad. I have for sure noticed far less bloat and stomach discomfort. It really has shown that there is something I am eating that has been causing this and I am excited to figure out what it is. I really hope it isn’t something I really love, that would be a bummer but at least I would be aware and be able to decide if I want to eat it and feel bad or just avoid all together.
With one week, down and over 2 months to go I really hope it gets easier along the way. I think once we get down a cooking system and I am more familiar with the amounts and foods that can go together it won’t feel as overwhelming. The socializing will stuff be tough, but the company of friends will make it okay. Oh and one last thing, I miss nightly Halo Top ice-cream more than anything, addiction much??