I’ve started this blog post in my head many times and even once a few months ago on May 14, 2019 (see below). It’s been really hard to write. Like I say below, I went into the reintroduction phase of the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet optimistic. Cocky, even. I was ready to prove my doctor wrong. And then one-by-one, all the foods I loved gave me a reaction and even some that weren’t even allergens. I saw no weight loss (which isn’t the point, but should happen, according to my doctor) and my three-month blood test results were worse than the first ones that started this whole thing. What gives? I don’t even know.
There was a lot of confusion. And then crying. And then crying on the phone to my mom. And then crying on the phone to my dad. My doctor recommended going to the gym more, lessening my stressing, and starting acupuncture. I couldn’t think of anything else that could be stressing me out, but I tried. I’m going to the gym 4 times a week and three of those times are 3 days in a row. I tried acupuncture. I started a diet diary to see where I was going wrong. I stopped drinking pressed juices and coconut water after my Hemoglobin A1C came back higher despite cutting out refined sugar (I’m by no means pre-diabetic, but my family history is dominated by diabetes). I listened to my dad’s advice about lessening the amount of carbs I was eating, since I take after my dad in many ways and gaining weight from carbs is definitely one way I do.
And then, a month later, I finally lost some weight. Not a ton, but some.
I think part of the reason why this blog post was so hard to write is because this overall process has been hard. I don’t have any words of triumph for you. I can’t be one of those bloggers and influencers with a happy story saying, “If I can do it, so can you!” because, well, I haven’t done it yet. I don’t have a coupon code for you. All I can say is I’m trying.
And the other part is I’ve lost a hobby. I spent the better part of 5 years with food as my main hobby and source of friendships. I spent my time off exploring new places to eat and going to food festivals for fun. I’ve met so many cool people through the food community here in LA. I loved taking photos of food and my cooking creations. Now, I have to decline invitations (sorry! I hope you understand). I mostly eat very simple home-cooked meals or mostly go to places that don’t mind serving people with food restrictions (there aren’t many of those place). I’ve had to find hobbies and friends outside of food. It’s hard.
As I realized today, this website was down for 2 whole months and I didn’t even know it. It was my own fault too — the domain renewal was due and I didn’t realize it wasn’t on auto renew. I just paid a shit ton of money to restore it. Happy Mercury in retrograde.
Below is what I wrote back in May, when I was feeling optimistic and pretty cocky that everything would work out — but hey, it’s not over yet and I’m not giving up. I still have 2 months to go on this diet.
May 14, 2019
This has been a hard blog post for me to write, because, well, I didn’t expect this phase to go the way it did at all. I went into the reintroduction phase of the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet optimistic. That I would reintroduce all the food groups I loved, nothing would happen, and thus by now, my diet could resume its freedom and gluttony. Alas, I wound up being allergic to way more of the allergens than I expected and now, my doctor says I need to avoid those allergens in order for my inflammation to reduce and heal.
I’m not going to share which exact foods I had reactions to, because as I wrote on Instagram, food allergies can be a personal thing. I also have flashbacks to this Mrs. Doubtfire allergy scene and would rather not give free ammo to any potential, hidden enemies I have out there ;). But I will disclose that I’m going gluten-free and dairy-free for the next 6 months, as advised by my doctor.
But all is not lost. I went to NYC for work for a week and took this show on the road and…it wasn’t too bad. Avoiding allergens was definitely hard when I couldn’t cook in Manhattan, but I asked a lot of questions and found some helpful people at those eateries. My job had an event where I was miraculously and thankfully able to eat most of what was served (with the exception of the glorious ice cream sandwich bar 🙁 ).