I’ve just finished two weeks on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and thought I’d share my progress. The first thing you should know is that it’s tough. I’ve been on elimination diets before, but the SCD diet involves making everything from scratch, most of which is very time consuming. It’s a philosophy I’d love to adhere to even if I didn’t need to, but balancing it with a full-time job and daily life is tricky. Doable, but tricky.
The second (better!) thing you should know is that I saw great results, almost immediately. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing though. An attempt to introduce probiotics saw my previous symptoms increase tenfold, and my energy levels have been at an all-time low. There have also been a few issues I can’t attribute to anything in particular, but in any case my symptoms have greatly decreased from before I began. My nutritional therapist and I have decided to give it a month and then evaluate my progress.
It’s a struggle both physically and emotionally, as the enjoyment of food and cooking has always been such a big part of my life. I’m really trying to focus on the present rather than getting caught in the trap of thinking too far ahead. Thoughts like what if I’m on this diet forever? aren’t serving me in any way.
Food-wise, I made it off the intro diet after three days and have worked my way through testing butternut squash, spinach, (very ripe) bananas and am now on zucchini. I’m sticking to adding vegetables for now as the fruits in Phase 1 are high in fructose, something I suspect I don’t tolerate well.
I’ll save posting recipes until I have a bit more to work with, but I already have a few ideas up my sleeve . . .