In a nutshell, any symptom that you are experiencing (and weight gain is a symptom) is a result of body overwhelm and an excess of stressors pushing on your system. We are designed to work perfectly and to heal ourselves. It is only when we are unable to handle all of the various assaults that we break down. An assault, or a stressor can take the shape of your boss yelling at you, economic hardship, eating the wrong foods, taking the wrong medications, excess alcohol, caffeine, etc. Our bodies can only handle so much. How much we can handle depends on the individual, their genes, their mental outlook on life, etc. 

Here is an example: I had a client with severe seasonal allergies. Her eyes were so red during the pollen season and her head was stuffed up...she was miserable and could barely breathe. I had her follow a modified elimination diet to see if she was allergic to any of the foods she was eating regularly. Turns out she was sensitive to gluten, dairy, and soy. She pulled those foods out of her diet and within weeks, her seasonal allergies cleared up on their own. Taking those foods out alleviated some of the stress on her body so that she was then able to handle the pollens. We worked on healing her gut lining and strengthening her immune system and she was then able to reintroduce raw dairy and fermented soy products. One of the side effects of all of this was that she lost 15 pounds! 

For two weeks take the following out of your diet: beef, pork, eggs, shellfish, tofu and soy products (especially soy protein isolate found in many "health" bars), citrus, strawberries, dried fruit that contains sulfur, margarine, shortening, butter, refined vegetable oils, peanuts, all types of vinegar, soy sauce, all dairy products--yes that means ice cream too!, coffee, caffeinated tea, alcohol, soda, corn, wheat, oats, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, amaranth, quinoa, sugar, chocolate and artificial sweeteners. Yikes!!!! What's left? 

Lamb, fish, poultry, fresh vegetables and beans other than soy, fresh unbruised fruit (except for citrus and strawberries), cold expeller pressed unrefined oils like olive oil, coconut oil, ghee (clarified butter), flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, sea salt, organic pepper, organic spices, sugar free rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, water, herbal teas, rice, millet, sweet potatoes, squash, potato flour, gluten free products. 

Here are a couple of ideas for meals and snacks. It's important to keep eating regularly to balance blood sugar stable. Don't go longer than 6 hours without eating and include protein with each meal and snack.

Apple slices with almond butter. Turkey sausage or turkey bacon.

Rice protein shake with coconut milk, water, and frozen berries (no strawberries).

Sauteed greens with turkey sausage

Lunch and Dinner:

Large salad with plenty of mixed vegetables and grilled chicken. Make sure the dressing is olive oil only, no vinegar. Add ground flax seeds on top for extra fiber and good fat!

Organic spinach salad with olives, olive oil & crushed garlic (no vinegar). Sardines (in water or olive oil).

Baked fish with ginger sesame oil with steamed broccoli & cauliflower.

Grilled lamb kabobs with cumin, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and organic bell pepper.

Roasted chicken and rosemary with sweet potatoes (skin on), with Brussels sprouts and sliced almonds.

Homemade, hearty veggie soup with chicken.

Turkey and veggie chili.

Coconut simmered tilapia with tomatoes and Swiss chard.

Grilled wild salmon with green onions and asparagus.

Romaine lettuce wraps with turkey slices, raw assorted vegetables (radish, cucumber, organic bell peppers, & tahini or homemade hummus w/o lemon juice.

Spaghetti squash with turkey burgers, basil tomato sauce, and sautéed veggies.

Snacks: 

Turkey slice with tahini, a few olives, and half a fruit.

Quarter avocado rolled up in a turkey slice and half an apple.

Once you follow this program for at least 10 days, you are ready to start reintroducing foods one at a time, waiting three days between each reintroduction to check for symptoms. I will go over the reintroduction in my next post. 

If all of this seems to daunting, there is another option available. You can get a blood test through ALCAT labs. I recommend starting out with the 20 food finger stick test which is a simple test you can do at home. It requires you to prick the end of your finger with a lancet, just like a diabetic would to test their blood sugars. You fill a tiny vial with blood and send it off to the lab. The total cost is under $100. I can order a test for you or you can yourself from their website. Don't let your regular allergist fool you with the skin scratch tests! While these are certainly valid tests, the difference between them is important to understand. The skin scratch test measures immediate reactions and the ALCAT blood test looks at delayed reaction. It can take up to three days after eating a food for you to have a reaction from it...that's why it's so difficult to know exactly what you are sensitive to unless you follow the above food plan or test yourself for delayed reactivity. 

Stay posted for the reintroduction instructions as well as recipes for the above menu suggestions!