Week One - Elimination Diet Phase 1
Welcome! You are here and ready to begin! We couldn't be more excited. To start, we have a highly encouraged but optional elimination diet. If you are unsure if you have food intolerances, this is the place for you! We are going to cut out certain foods while paying attention to any side effects [mental changes, digestive changes, performance changes, etc]
This week: we are going gluten free, dairy free, soy free [fermented soy=OK], and sugar free.
Why??
Gluten, dairy, and soy are huge players when it comes to food intolerances and to be honest, sugar isn't good for anything! Gluten is a protein in grains and is highly inflammatory in the body. The gluten in wheat, rye, barley, and oats are the glutens that are most likely to cause problems in people, however, since every grain has its gluten a gluten intolerance is a spectrum of grain intolerances.
You may not realize a sensitivity until you remove it from the diet for a period of time and then reintroduce. Dairy is one of the most common food intolerances in children and adults. It is a huge culprit with irritable bowel syndrome so we're removing it for two weeks to see if your body has a sensitivity. Soy is a big GMO food and a phytoestrogen [mimics estrogen]. Fermented soy is much easier to digest and is also more nutrient dense than unfermented soy. We're going to start by taking out the 'big four' and then transitioning on to full paleo next week [optional] to take it up a notch.
We are just here for one week - totally doable!
What to avoid:
-gluten containing grains [wheat, barley, rye, oats, couscous, farro, kamut, malt, orzo, panko, etc]
-sources of hidden gluten [herbal blends, imitation seafood, meat/sausages, sauces/dressings, soups, spices, flavoring]
-dairy [milk, yogurt, cheese from an animal]
-non-fermented soy [tofu, soy milk, soybeans]
-sugar [ALL but whole food sweeteners: raw honey, coconut sugar, pure maple syrup] **be sure to read labels - sugar hides in yogurts, ketchup, dressings, a lot of pre-packaged food!
-alcohol [often high in sugar and taxing on the body, avoid for the first two weeks at least to give your system a rest!]
What to eat:
-all vegetables
-all fruit
-all beans and legumes
-whole grains - anything gluten free [quinoa, brown rice, black rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, organic corn, nut flour, tapioca]
-nuts & seeds
-organic/grass-fed/cage free animal proteins [chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, eggs, bison, pork, beef] **check out the "Start up guide" for more information on vegetarian sources
-healthy fats [avocado, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, sesame oil, nuts, seeds]
-fermented soy [tempeh, miso, tamari are all AOK]
We also recommend that you take a peek at Week Four - Eating on WOD days vs rest days. We will be diving into this topic more but want to give you a heads up during these first couple of weeks!
Next up: we'll take it one step further and go full paleo! Remember this is entirely optional. If you feel great after this week and want to stay at this 'level', go right ahead. If you would like to take it a step further to see if you are sensitive to beans, legumes, and other grains, continue on to "Week Two" in the menu on the left.
If you choose not to partake in the two week elimination diet...
No problem! Focus on eating as close to the above guidelines as possible - focus on high quality, diverse meals that are exciting and satisfying. Stick with the "Start up guide" when it comes to food quality and then check out "Week Four" for more information on fueling your body!