The Winds of Change

Beginning on Sunday I will be making some changes to my diet.  Why wait until Sunday you ask?  Well tomorrow is my birthday, and I NEED to have my giant cookie.  I'm hoping the new diet changes will help me get some control over the pouchitis.

I've made diet changes in the past.  Some have worked, and some have not.  This is what I have done thus far that's worked:
   1. Eliminated all red meat.  No beef, no lamb, no buffalo much to my husband's dismay.  I did this about 5 years ago during a flare.
   2. Eliminated most dairy.  I still eat hard cheeses and the occasional ice cream.  I did this immediately after takedown after I had my first chocolate milk.  Ugh!!!
   3. Eliminated soy products.  I  figured I'd switch from cow's milk to soy milk.  Nope!
   4. Eat fish at least once per week.  This does not include tuna in those little packets.  I'm talking fresh fish.  I buy it from the seafood counter and never frozen.
   5. During the 2 months between discharge from the hospital and my first surgery I went on a total clean diet.  No preservatives and organic foods.  After surgery I started to add convenience meals back in.  My husband was missing his Hamburger Helper and I missed the convenience of a frozen pizza.

So now I'm entering into the new phase of my diet.  I will be:
   Step 1: Reducing sugars.  I have to admit I have a sugar addiction, and it needs to go.  I'm limiting myself to one small sugary item per day.
   Step 2: Eliminating sugars (except for real special occasions).  I'm giving myself 1 month to get to this point.
   Step 3: Going Gluten free.  This is going to be a slow transition over the next month.  I'm hoping to be gluten free by the time sugar is gone.  I'm lucky and have a lot of gluten free options in my local grocery stores.
   Step 4: If I'm still having problems, I will go to a modified paleo diet.  This eliminates all starches (I will keep sweet potatoes) and dairy (I will keep yogurt & cheeses for some added protein & calcium).  I'm hoping it doesn't have to get this far.  I don't want to get too restrictive, and want to be able to enjoy going out to eat with friends & family.

I will keep updating as I go through this.  I'm excited to see what changes the new diet brings.  Cheers!