Megan asked these questions in a comment, and they went along with some questions that one of my Megs asked, and I figure I ought to answer it in a post in case a few people are wondering.

Megan’s questions are in bold:

I have some technical questions:

1.  Why eliminate everything at once?  Why not eliminate one thing, see how it works, then do the next thing serially?  I know elimination diets regularly do it in the manner you are, I just am not sure why.  It seems like it is such an incredible limit on what you can eat that it would be really hard to maintain and feel good (because it would be hard to get enough of the nutrients that you need).??

I started doing it this way because, like you said, that’s how elimination diets frequently work.  I read a lot about them before I started, and the reason usually given for why they’re so limited is that it’s quicker and more accurate to do it this way. If you have an intolerance to two things, for instance, and you only cut one out of your diet, your symptoms might go down, making the detection of the first problem group more difficult. You have to be looking for much more subtle changes.

It actually isn’t that big a limit on nutrition – nursing mothers do this diet all the time when babies are fussy or suffering from digestive problems, and they suspect something in their own breastmilk. The problem for me, I’m finding, is that I just don’t eat a big enough variety of vegetables, and that is really putting a crimp in my own diet. For that reason, I’m considering adding in a major group and rotating it out later.

The other major reason, and forgive me for sounding defensive, but it isn’t really at you, it’s kind of at everyone in the entire world who leads a freaking normal life, is that THIS ANXIETY IS KILLING ME. The last three weeks have been so awful, I was having attack after attack, and in the last three days? I’ve had one, and I’ve been taking much less of my meds. That’s significant to me.

Are you able to go to the grocery store and pick up some dinner without being completely preoccupied with managing your own fear? Are you able to get in your car and drive somewhere, even a few miles, just you and your child, without wondering if you’re going to need to pull over and freak your kid out by having a massive, body-melting panic attack that often ends in weeping, and will require you to take so much medication you aren’t sure if you’ll be able to drive you both home?

If you can do these things, if you can just BE IN THE WORLD by yourself without wondering if your own body is going to fail you, embarrass you, humiliate you, and impact those you love, not to mention total strangers who might be called upon to help you – well then that to me is MIRACULOUS. I’d give anything for that.

I don’t think that all my problems with anxiety are due to food, but I know that there is something in my diet triggering certain symptoms, many of which are often the start of me feeling anxious and bringing on attacks, and yeah, I’m basically willing to do whatever it takes right now to figure out what it is. I want to be normal again. I remember what it was like to be normal, and I’m going to get that back, I don’t care what I have to do to get there. If it means feeling like crap for three weeks, while I wait for this diet to work, I’ll do it.

2.  Beans?  I never saw you mention beans as a potential problem before?

I never did, actually, and that’s the group I’m thinking about adding back in right now. The protein is needed, since I just don’t like eating as much meat as I really need to be able to keep my protein levels up.

I took it out because it’s one of the major things these diets eliminate, but it’s the one I’m actually the least suspicious of.

3.  So what ARE you eating?

Apples, oranges, bananas, pears, strawberries, kale, lettuces, lemon, beef, chicken, brown rice, rice chex, rice milk, rice crackers, green beans, pea pods, peppers,and juiced veggies. I’m also supplementing with vegetable protein powder, and hemp protein powder.