I apologize in advance for the whining, but I need to get this out. Today I am bitching about my stomach and the foods that seem to bother it. Unfortunately, the number of food that make me feel bad seems to be increasing. Or – maybe it is the same number, but I am just at a higher frustration level? Whatever it is, I’m becoming less willing to deal with my diet limitations. 

These days I truly feel like I am just eating to live. While I love food, I don’t like how a lot of it makes me feel.  I am left with minimal choices that get boring despite trying new combinations of foods that play nice with my body. It isn’t even a matter of finding foods that I like…there aren’t many foods I won’t eat (aside from papaya and oysters), but there are many that don’t agree with me:

• Gluten – Celiac Disease
• Dairy 
• Eggs – ok in baked goods, upset stomach/GI with scrambled/fried/boiled
• Onions
• Garlic
• Sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Peppers
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes – recent…really flare up reflux
• Carbonated beverages

There are times that I wonder what the hell is wrong with me? How I would love to not have to think about how to safely feed myself! I try to remind myself that at least none of my food issues result in anaphylaxis, but that doesn’t make me feel better or solve my problem. However, it does make me thankful that I haven’t been cursed with a life-threatening food allergy. 

So how do I pull myself out of this funk? In the past I would just focus on eating my meals and snacks and not allow myself to skip a meal. Having a history of an eating disorder makes me very aware of what my body needs to not only survive, but thrive. Perhaps eliminating dining out for the time being would be a good place to start. We don’t eat out very often, but enough to know that even while I may not be ingesting gluten or dairy, I am possibly getting some of other things I listed above in some way. Considering how restaurants prepare food, the seasonings and marinades they use, and how some of the foods come prepackaged, the odds are good that I am eating something that will bother me. Making all of my food in my own kitchen is the safest way I can think of to feed myself. I think I am going to go back and re-read my own post on Mix & Match Meal Bowls for some inspiration. 

Do you have to avoid any other foods in addition to gluten? If so, please share your experiences and how you cope.