Your Healthy Eating Plan May Be Keeping You Fat
A lesson my body taught me
My food elimination journey began with a calm before the storm. My test results arrived the Friday before Thanksgiving. The already planned meal included items from my list. Rather than change the entire meal just for me, I added items I knew would allow me to enjoy the day without feeling deprived. It’s really odd — as a Doctor of Natural Health — to acknowledge that man-made “dairy free” cool whip was better on my dessert than whipped cream or ice cream.
Next was a 6-day family cruise vacation. I had no idea if there would be anything I could eat let alone anything I would eat. I gave myself permission to enjoy the vacation regardless of the food options. I was a little bit panicked inside as I thought about those 26 foods and how they were reacting inside my body. I had already discovered that avoiding them completely stopped my need for any asthma-related medication or supplements. Since I didn’t know for sure what foods would be available to me, I made sure to take my asthma medications and supplements with me just in case.
The cruise offered a fabulous variety of food options and reminded me that I did still have lots of options. Instead of focusing on what I “couldn’t” have, I began to look for what I could have and enjoy. While cheddar cheese is harmful to my body, I can still enjoy a juicy burger with lettuce and tomato — no pickles or mayo. DONE!
After the cruise, I began to really look at the meals we regularly eat. Many of them contain food items that my body is currently reacting to. I have chosen to keep those meals on the table. Why? Because — as far as I know — my family members are not reacting to the same foods. No, I’m not making two separate meals. I include enough side items to include myself at the table. For instance, this Sunday I’ll make my famous lasagna — loved by my entire family — and before I layer the sauce with the noodles and mozzarella cheese, I will put some sauce into a bowl for me. From there, I can add either spaghetti noodles or strings of zucchini. I’ll avoid the garlic-topped breadsticks and enjoy the green beans or salad.
So what happened as I have removed these items from my daily routine? MAGIC!
I’ve already shared how my respiratory system responded to removing these foods. Well, prior to the test I had been taking supplements to support my thyroid and adrenal glands. I had also been taking supplements to support my skeletal and respiratory systems. There was also a multivitamin, two supplements for immune support, and two sleep aids. I’m not going to say those supplements were not necessary. I am going to say that — from what I know now — they were acting more like band-aids and less like fixes.
I continued to take all of those supplements until one fateful day when I ran out of one of the supplements before my next order arrived. I was scared to say the least. This particular supplement had been helping me fall asleep. It was also helping me breathe better. Not because it cleared inflammation from my respiratory system but because it supported a gland that aids the body with breathing. That night I went to bed without taking any supplements. I went to bed in a “why even bother” state of mind, prepared to be awake all night.
Much to my surprise, I slept well and woke feeling rested. It has been years since this has happened. I easily fell asleep, slept all night and woke ready for the day. Surely, it was because I still had some of those supplements in my blood stream. So I did it again. No supplements — at all — all day, every day for a week. STILL THE SAME AMAZING THING!
Then I noticed my neck. For at least a year, there’s been a swollen spot on the right side of my neck. I’d been too afraid to confirm what was going on — yes, even as a Dr of Natural Health, sometimes denial is the path one takes.
After eliminating all those foods, that swelling began to go away. As a matter of fact, I’ve been paying attention and some of those 26 reactive foods cause it to swell up like a balloon. I’ve used it to show my husband how these foods impact my body.
He finds it hard to believe that one has to remove an entire food item. In his narrow thinking, picking carrots out of your portion of mixed vegetables is “good enough” and it isn’t. You see, it’s not just the food item, it’s potentially everything that food item touches, so carrots cooked with other vegetables has the potential to harm my body. Thus far that “harm” shows up, primarily, in weight gain. I am done with weight gain!
This brings us back to False Fat, the body’s response to reactive foods. Your body is soooo wise. You don’t have to do much in order for your body to do its work. When you ingest something harmful, your immune system is triggered. The first response from your immune system is inflammation. Inflammation is not the enemy. I know that’s not what “conventional” medicine tells you. They believe that inflammation is “the problem” when the truth is that inflammation is a sign that your immune system is working precisely as it is designed to work! Inflammation tells you that something is harming your body. It’s your clue to look for something external….bacteria, viral, environmental, etc. In my case, the external something setting off my immune system was the food I was eating.
When you regularly eat foods you are reacting to, you will experience
(1) tissue swelling,
(2) abdominal bloating, and
(3) metabolic issues that cause weight gain.
The tissue swelling and abdominal bloating create what Dr. Haas refers to as “false fat” because, from the outside, it looks exactly like fat even though it is not adipose (fat) tissue. This “false fat” can easily add the appearance of being an extra 10 to 25 pounds fatter. The good news is that food reactions that cause “false fat” are almost never corrected by conventional weight loss programs. What’s worse is that the metabolic disturbances caused by food reactions also create excess fatty tissue by disrupting your metabolism, disturbing hormonal balance, and creating intense food cravings.
Since removing the 26 reactive foods from my daily routine, I am no longer constantly hungry. I am also no longer craving foods I know are not good for my body, like sugar. My list of reactive foods has also taught me that MY BODY is the only one who can tell me what to eat and what to avoid. You see, many of those foods are not things I’m naturally drawn to eating. 100% of the foods I had been eating that have turned out to be harmful to my body were in my food supply because some wellness “guru” said they’d be good for me.
I’ve gone back through the weight loss plans that are supposedly based on my “type” (blood, body, organ, etc) and all of my reactive foods are listed as foods that are supposedly “good for me” and my blood has proven them to be harmful. Will I ever eat them again? Perhaps. Food sensitivities are not necessarily permanent. My body will be the only one to tell me what to eat; either through blood test or muscle test. My body knows best for me and the same is true for you.
As for Dr. Haas’ “diet” plan…. The word “diet” simply means “what you eat.” Many of the recipes included in the book contain ingredients from my reactive foods list so I am required to do some work for myself. Have I lost weight? Some. The more I avoid the foods on my list, the more my body releases puffiness (inflammation) from itself. I’ve received LOTS of compliments about how I look AND I do agree that I look AMAZING! ;-)
If you’d like to discover for yourself what foods your body is reacting to, go to EverlyWell.com and order your food sensitivity test. I started with the basic test and have the expansion test sitting next to me. That’s next on my “to-do” list. I’ll be finding out what else needs to be removed from my diet so my body can heal itself.
The FTC requires me to tell you that when you click the link I just gave you, order your test AND follow through to get the results, I will receive a “thank you” gift card from the company. THANK YOU in advance.
