My Diagnosis

I was 16 years old when I started getting terrible cramping in my lower stomach. It would get so severe I would have to buckle over for any relief and more frequently had to miss school. Before, it actually wasn’t normal or often for me to be sick, so my mom knew something was wrong when this started becoming a regular occurrence. I was referred to a GI specialist and went through a series of tests. The results showed a stricture, or narrowing in my small intestine. This can happen when there is so much inflammation in an area that it starts to scar, and what do scars do? They shrink and tighten the tissue. Thankfully the intestine wasn’t completely blocked, but it was definitely narrow which helped explain my severe cramping. All other test results pointed towards a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, a condition I had never heard but learned was autoimmune and something I would always have.

The recommendation was to have a small bowel resection (a portion of the small intestine to be removed) and then start an IV treatment called Remicade to control and reduce the inflammation. Now, with the amount and type of inflammation that had been in my small intestine, this had to be happening over a long period of time. Yet, I actually felt fairly healthy and it wasn’t until the severe cramping that I had noticed or complained of any symptoms. This isn’t typical for most patients with Crohn’s disease and is sort of a blessing and a curse. It’s great in that I was spared from many of the crippling symptoms that other patients experience, yet it was hard to tell if I was feeling any “better” or if the medications were actually working. I had to have ongoing monitoring and testing for inflammation rather than relying on my “symptoms”.

Diet as Medicine

It wasn’t long before I wondered, what was next? Would I have to be on medications the rest of my life? Something about it seemed like medications were just putting a band-aid on the root issue, on the cause of the inflammation. I was fortunate to have an amazing GI doctor that looked beyond conventional treatment and considered lifestyle options and factors that could support good gut health and managing inflammation. She recommended of a prebiotic and probiotic, but also a change in diet.

She introduced me to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). The SCD isn’t recommended by physicians often because it isn’t “evidence-based” meaning there hasn’t been rigorous studies and research on it. However, there was a group of patients with Crohn’s disease that had great results with it and I figured it would be worth a try. Generally, the diet eliminates most dairy, grain and refined sugar. My doctor actually recommended eliminating all dairy as well. While I was open to a new solution, I was devastated, realizing what I’d have to give up. My favorites –  fettuccini alfredo, chicken strips, cheese, bread, chocolate?!?! I was resistant to say the least.

The recommended plan was if I didn’t want to be on those IV treatments forever, I could transition to a milder oral medication (Lialda) and adopt the diet. Eventually I could possibly transition off the oral medication once I was well established with the diet, that was the goal. I don’t recall the exact deciding factor that got me on board, but one reality that clicked for me was being informed the medications won’t always be a guarantee to control my inflammation and if that became the case, I may eventually have to get a colostomy (surgical procedure where the colon diverts to an artificial opening into a bag). While it wasn’t for sure that would be my fate, it was enough of a reality check and understanding of the severity of this disease if it was not well controlled. Reluctantly, I agreed to start trying out the diet while having the safety net of an oral medication on board. We got the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle (outlines the SCD) by Elaine Gottschall and dove in. 

The Mindset Shift

Learning about the diet was overwhelming. There was a list of “legal” and “illegal” foods and it took a lot of time to cross-check labels of food to find items I could have. I remember one time in particular going up and down the isles of a grocery store with my mom, reading labels, cross-checking the SCD list, and constantly being frustrated as each product seemed to contain something I couldn’t have.

I felt hopeless. I don’t know if I would consider this my lowest point, but it was low enough and I realized I had to make a choice. I either needed to embrace this diet and be solution-oriented, or resort to a conventional approach that didn’t align with how I wanted to manage my health long-term. It was from here that I stopped focusing on what I could’t have and what I COULD have.

Transitioning to the Diet

While the diet eliminated some key categories of items I loved (grain, dairy, refined sugar), it allowed other key categories I loved (meat, veggies, fruits and nuts). Breakfast started to look like scrambled eggs with some type of ground meat, topped with avocado. Or sometimes it would be a smoothie with berries, banana, and nut butter. Lunches turned into chopped seasonal veggies paired with leftover meats from dinner the night before. Dinners consistently became a baked or grilled meat, with roasted vegetables or a salad.

In the beginning the meals weren’t always the most flavorful, but I felt satisfied and nourished. It took some time to even find the right ingredients for these simple meals. I found sausages, deli meats, and marinated steaks often had added sugars. Even juices, nut butters and other condiments usually had added sugars or some type of gum. At the time there were minimal brands (even online) that were offering items with all SCD-safe ingredients. And if there was, it would take a while between ordering and shipping to even receive it, and they were pricey! The other solution was making it from scratch, which wasn’t always realistic between either having enough time or the desire to do it (I, nor my mom, were big fans of being in the kitchen). I started to just live without some of these staples and over time, I actually ended up not missing them a ton. I started figuring out meals and flavor combos that left me pretty satisfied and content.

But eating this way definitely took more time to prepare. It was making nearly ever meal from scratch, rather than being able to pop a frozen meal in the fridge, or adding a package of something into a pot, or even being able to easily go grab a bite out! The strategy had to change to be more efficient with our time, leading to meal or ingredient prepping. Initially it was meal prepping on Sundays by washing and chopping produce so it was ready to go to assemble in a meal throughout the week, baking a batch of chicken and bagging up variations of nuts. It turned into utilizing dinner leftovers as components for lunch the next day.

As time went on, it got easier, I’d get more creative and found a good balance between meal prepping, creating variety in my diet, and truly starting to love how I was eating.

Seeing Results

I started appreciating and looking at food differently. How stripping a meal from all of the added, processed ingredients showed the basics and staples of what we truly need to nourish our body. In fact, I started to realize how I was eating was considered “healthy” eating for anyone, even if they didn’t have Crohn’s disease. And I was starting to feel great. I felt vibrant, had great energy and looked healthy.

Hindsight, I may have actually had some symptoms of fatigue or nutrient deficiency leading up to my initial complaint of cramping. How I felt was just my normal and I didn’t necessarily know there was a better way to feel. I eventually transitioned off of the oral medication and with multiple time points of follow up testing with my doctor, there was no inflammation found. Staying on the diet seemed to be working! This gave me motivation to stick with it.

Outside of the Home

As time went on, I had to learn to navigate life and the food world outside of home. Taco Bell drive thru’s with friends, family vacations to Mexico, dates at Italian restaurants, birthday parties with confections, they were tricky to navigate. Especially in a world that (1) prioritized food around any social gathering and (2) romanticized foods that were actually quite processed or had added ingredients I couldn’t have.

Often I would pack my own food, ask for accommodations prior (if possible), or sometimes there were select options of items I could actually have and re-arrange into a meal. Figuring out what to eat in those situations was one thing, but having to explain it to others was another. People would wonder why I wouldn’t eat something, and at the time explaining a diet to control a GI disease seemed unconventional. People would be understanding for the most part and try to be helpful by offering items or things they thought were “healthy”, but getting into the weeds and nuances of the diet specifics of why I couldn’t have that “healthy” item was too much for the setting.

I learned to politely decline items, prepare ahead of time, and have the elevator pitch to explain my diet to others. Navigating these situations over time became more do-able and I was glad to still be a part of and enjoy these gatherings. 

Increased Awareness Around Me

Thankfully, the food scene seemed to be changing. Gluten-free started becoming a more common term. Diets like Paleo and Whole 30 started emerging and becoming more popular. It seemed more often you’d know someone who had a food allergy, or was gluten-free, or going vegetarian, or making some other type of change in diet. More blogs and social media accounts popped up promoting healthier, whole foods-based diets. Restaurant menus started indicating allergens. Schools making allergen accommodations became more ordinary. It felt validating that other people were changing their diets to manage their health, I wasn’t alone in this.

Companies started to notice the new preferences in the market. While I normally stuck to the perimeter at the grocery store, I’d still venture up and down aisles hoping to see something I could have. I was thrilled to finally see there were new brands and more and more products with ingredients I could have! Many even offered indications of Paleo or Whole 30, which didn’t always mean I could have it, but it was easier to filter to those products and usually find the ingredients being safe, most of the time. 

Another area I starting seeing validation was in the research. Organizations like Seattle Children’s Hospital and Stanford started digging into the diet, conducting research and offering resources around the SCD. Now, there were multiple studies looking at different aspects of the SCD, science was giving this diet notice. 

Testing and Questioning the Diet

But it wasn’t all just happily ever after. There was a period of time where I started feeling resentful against the SCD. Not because of the processed ingredients I couldn’t have, but because of the whole foods I couldn’t have. Sweet potato, quinoa, raw cacao, these were often referred to as superfoods and healthy to eat, yet I couldn’t have them on the SCD? Something didn’t seem right about this and I wanted to expand what I could eat.

Since I had been stable for some time, I decided to incorporate quinoa, cacao and corn (I missed tortilla chips). I had a recent remarkable endoscopy/colonoscopy to serve as my baseline. The additions to my diet were awesome. Just adding these 3 ingredients opened a world of possibilities of what I could make, mix and match. Yet the follow-up endoscopy/colonoscopy a year later proved these weren’t great addition for me, inflammation was back. Now if you are ever going to re-introduce something, I recommend doing it 1 item at a time. I didn’t know if the inflammation was from adding quinoa, cacao, corn or a mix of them. Based on symptoms of gas and bloating, my guess is it was the corn and/or the cacao. And the portions size and frequency I had of these (a lot) may have played a role.

I was discouraged and frustrated, but the results weren’t lying so I went back to true SCD. But I still experimented. Here and there I would have something not within SCD. I noticed these periodic ‘cheats’ wouldn’t necessarily result in inflammation in my follow-up testing and I didn’t always get symptoms of gas and bloating. Yet when I did these ‘cheats’ more often or made it a part of my weekly norm, symptoms of gas, bloating, constipation would show, and even inflammation in my routine testing.

Being over 10 years into SCD, I started feeling discouraged. I felt less inspired by and engaged with the SCD. I had an appreciation for it and the health it had offered me, but I felt in a rut. My meal prep and recipes had gotten lazier and less exciting, I’d wander off thinking about what I can’t have, I really felt quite “blah” about it all.

I needed some sort of a re-boot to buckle back down on the diet. I needed to get back to the basics, consolidate the key lessons and wins I have learned over the years, and make this diet enjoyable again – while keeping it all simple.

Newly Found Inspiration

This ignited the start of Simpler Eating. This is exactly the type of resource I wish I had when I was first introduced to this way of eating. Simplified and digestible information of actually HOW to adopt the diet successfully. Ideas for simple and realistic meals. Go-to products that help in the kitchen and when on the go. Tips and perspectives to navigate social settings focused on food. A list of research and resources to share with your care team. Advice to share with loved ones and caregivers in supporting you. Inspiration for sticking with the diet and enjoying it. 

While anyone can read Breaking the Vicious Cycle or read online for WHAT the diet is, Simpler Eating focuses on the HOW to do it. It’s taking a fresh, modern look at living it out and really aligning with a healthy, simpler way of eating. Simpler ingredients, simpler planning, simpler preparation, simpler eating. Here I’m not trying to oversimplify the big change of a diet, just trying to distill it down to the essentials. I’m here to help you make the transition while ENJOYING and appreciating it with a new perspective. Welcome to Simpler Eating!