ilumi | week one update

last weekend i talked about the change i'd be making to my diet through the gluten-free goodness that is ilumi. well, i started officially last thursday, and vowed to stick to the pre-packaged meals during the week, and give myself the weekends off because i love food and i eat out a lot at a weekend. well, as it turns out, i kinda eat out a lot during the week too, which has meant i haven't been able to stick to the plan as much as i would have liked. while i've been eating out though, i've maintained the gluten and dairy free diet (with the exception of one night, but i had no control over it) as best i could, because this whole experiment will become redundant if i just... forget why i started it.

remember why i started it? to feel better on the inside, and maybe lose some weight in the process. the idea of cutting out gluten and dairy was to see if they're key concerns to why i mostly feel horrid after eating. i've done other exclusion diets in the past - it's how i worked out i was fructose and lactose intolerant (and more recently, msg intolerant too), but there's always a bit of guess work involved with these things which means it takes more than one week to really get some tangible results. so, despite being sick after the first few days on the diet, i persevered.

as an aside - a few people have asked what i can't eat on a day-to-day basis, so let me tell you, and then maybe you'll be able to see why i've been feeling so sick. here is an example of the foods i can't digest (it's not an "allergy" as much as an intolerance - my stomach reacts to the chemicals in the following ingredients, and cannot digest them at all); onions (red, white, salad, spring, dried, preserved, flaked, flavouring or other), green peppers, paprika, tomato puree or sauces, or (inc ketchup), full fat milk products (sour/double/whipped/ice cream, greek/natural yoghurt, butter, oil, cow's cheese etc).

that's a pretty solid list of things that are in everything that's pre-processed for your convenience. it means that for about ten years now, i've made everything from scratch. pasta sauces, curries, soups (vegetable stock and gravy stock all have msg and onion powder in them, so sometimes it's impossible to avoid), and i have an arsenal of recipes that i know i can cook and eat with no trouble. so, to have now taken some things out of my diet that i can eat (bread and crackers, namely) and replaced with a bunch of things i can't eat (the whole above list, essentially, plus a whole bunch of preservatives that i'm not used to eating because i only eat fresh food), has wreaked havoc with my internals, and i've been a moping mess of agony for the best part of a week.

why am i still doing it? honestly, i thought if i stuck to it, i might be able to reintroduce some things to my diet. it has backfired, big time. i see that. and, i don't think i will be able to finish the 28 challenge without dying from dehydration or malnutrition. but, more on that next week. it's only been a week...

what did i eat this week?

monday
breakfast - black coffee and a pack of gf biscuits: this is how i start my mornings. the biscuits aren't as fun as the belvita ones i really like with the strawberry and yoghurt filling, or the choc chip ones, but they certainly kick start the metabolism, and keep me going until lunch.

snack - banana: because healthy (i force feed myself these; i'm not a fan)

lunch - thai chicken soup: this is literally a favourite, which is just as well as i ordered a ton of them.

dinner - a nandos half chicken with mash potato and corn on the cob and bottle of wine (whoops). but, we were out in brixton for the rise against gig, and... tradition.

tuesday
breakfast - black coffee and a pack of gf biscuits. does what it says on the tin. wish i'd ordered more of these and less of the porridge that i really don't think i'll eat. maybe i'll sell it on, black martket styles...

snack - banana: bleurgh.

lunch - mediterranean pork and chorizo risotto: this was a "complete meal" option, meaning it was good to go on its own, and not as a side. it was pretty filling, which was awesome, and was also pretty yum actually. bonus points - i wonder how many of these i ordered... i'd quite like it again. quite a bit of 'thickeners' (i.e. msg) used in this, so after lunch was mostly agony. no onions et al, so at least all the food stayed inside of me.

dinner - bar platter and pink wine (whoops, but tuesday).

wednesday
breakfast - black coffee and a pack of gf biscuits.

snack - gf oat things: still as bland as sin, but... fill the gap before lunch.

lunch - mushroom rice and chicken meatballs: the chicken meatballs were made with real chicken, not minced chicken, which was fabulous. i hate minced anything. they were really tasty too - the sauce was tomato saucy, and so there was quite a lot of discomfort after this meal. there was onion and also tomato preservatives in this, which... goodbye lunch.

dinner - unwanted meal deal: the blogger event i headed out to on wednesday night advised that dinner would be served... when i got there, i ws given a meal deal that consisted of a chicken salad and mayo (ugh) sandwich (double ugh), crisps, and chocolate (bleurgh). i was starving, as i was expecting real food, and so i ate the sandwich in a couple mouthfuls and pretty much instantly regretted it. i'd been bread-free for at least a week (but definitely more - can't think the last time i had bread?), and my stomach could not handle it. agony ensued for the rest of the night, and i eventually had to leave the event early because i was so uncomfortable.

thursday
breakfast - black coffee and a pack of gf biscuits.

lunch - wild rice and chick peas with lamb kofta in lime and chilli: absolutely delicious.the lamb koftas are a favourite, and i did not react the same way this time to the last, so i think we're safe as far as this meal is concerned now. *phew*

snack - lion bar (whoops) and a banana.

dinner - thai chicken curry with basmati rice and steamed veg: the curry was delicious, but if i'd learned anything from eating at home the week before, it's that i wanted veggies involved too. i steamed some brocolli, kale and snow peas and then added them to the dish. this obviously fleshed the meal out a bit too, which was good, as i was finding them not all that filling. this meal was probably my favourite by far.

snack - popcorn and minstrels (whoops).

friday
breakfast - bacon, eggs, hash browns and beans and a cuppucino: i'm not sorry. i was running late for work, drenched to the bone, starving, and wanted a treat (outside of popcorn and chocolate), and so i did. did i regret it? almost instantly (beans, man. beans). was it worth it? hale yes.

lunch - lunch - thai chicken soup: told you; it's a fave.

dinner - chicken laksa with supernoodles and steamed veg: i got in quite late and realised i hadn't brought enough sides home with me, so had to compromise and use whatever i had in the cupboard. thank god for supernoodles, am i right? (except when eating out, that is). added some steamed veg as per thursday's dinner, and this was another success! no stomach pain, suitably full, one happy belly! things are looking up!

so, maybe you the idea of retraining my stomach wasn't such a crazy one after all. although, it doesn't seem to be one particular thing (as always) that's making my stomach upset. and honestly, it's always been that way. i've not really ever been able to pin point where the trouble stems from, i just know what to avoid to keep it at bay. i still don't feel 100% happy inside, but i don't know if i ever will. i also don't really remember what that feels like, so... let's give it another week, eh?

today i'm off to brighton to eat all the burgers and see adtr.

hope you have a great weekend!