How’s that for an ironic title?
So, here is the deal: for the first time in my life, I am following a food plan, or a diet. It’s weird, very abnormal for me, and taking some serious adjustments to my daily lifestyle. And yes, for many of you, it is crazy cliche. Let’s chat!
As most of y’all know, I have chronic asthma and have suffered from the side effects for years. I carry a rescue inhaler, of course, but I also take a dry inhaled steroid called Pulmicort. When left untreated, my lungs are naturally inflamed and I breathe at ~55% of what a female of my size should be at. In short, my lungs suck.
Until recently, my meds were working fine and everything was kosher. However, over the past six months, I have noticed that my symptoms were getting worse: my throat was constantly draining, I was developing thick mucous, and I was always coughing and clearing my throat, trying to get the inflamed crap out of there. In fact, I was even developing blisters on the roof of my mouth from swallowing so hard. No bueno y’all.
I spoke with my doc during my last visit, and she suggested that I may have food intolerances that have actually been the lifelong cause of my asthma. She tested me for a gluten allergy (allergies and intolerances are different), but it came back negative. However, she said that food intolerance tests were frequently inaccurate, and the only sure way to figure it out was by trying an “elimination diet.” Naturally, I ignored her advice because I’ve never been one to diet or follow a food plan: I see food and I eat it! In fact, it’s a running joke in my family that I am the human garbage disposal. I am non-discriminatory when it comes to food! However, with my symptoms becoming more exacerbated by the day, I decided that maybe it was worth 30 days of a restricted diet. After all, how awesome would it be to realize that I could just eliminate a certain food in order to breathe again?! Potentially no more steroids? FTW!
In comes the Whole30. I’m pretty positive that most of you have heard of this diet since it is huge in CrossFit and even more popular in blog world (dare I call it a fad?) In short, grains, dairy, alcohol, legumes, and all sugars (even honey, agave, etc.) are eliminated for 30 days, and then gradually added back in to help determine which foods cause irritation. There are a zillion benefits that the creators tout and a lot of bloggers seem to focus on weight loss, but I am most interested in the anti-inflammatory perks. I couldn’t care less if I lose weight. I just want to see if my breathing improves. Period.
Here’s the catch: I actually began this 30-day period last Monday, on April 1. As of today, I have followed the Whole30 for 9 days. However, I don’t feel comfortable blogging about it because I think that food and diets and “eating challenges” are way out of freaking control in the online world. Like bananas. I see so many bloggers who eat candy on Easter, for example, and then do some type of clean-eating challenge for the next two weeks, just to purge themselves. There are a few blogs that I have recently unfollowed because they are always trying some new diet-related trend (complete with the corresponding hashtag on Twitter), and it is seems so unhealthy. Even worse are the running bloggers that restrict their calories in the name of healthy eating and race weight. To each his own and all that….but man. That shit freaks me out, and I don’t want to be a part of influencing somebody into doing something they shouldn’t. Capiche?
Once I finish my 30 days, I’ll definitely write one post about how I feel and whether or not it helped my asthma. As of today, my breathing has definitely improved….but I’m not ready to jump on the bandwagon yet!
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How do you feel about all of the “food challenges” circling the online world?
49 Comments
Poor Heather. As much as I hope you don’t have to restrict your free-lance diet forever, I hope you find something that works!! As I could probably never follow it, I know quite a few people who have and they say it’s do-able!! In other news, I’ve been talking about some seriously amazing food for the last couple of days on my blog!! hehe. (You might not want to look if you’re doing that challenge!!)
Honestly, it hasn’t been as bad as I imagined and for the most part, I never hit the energy crash that so many seem to hit. I feel great, and I have noticed I’m sleeping more soundly. But the sugar….that one is killing me. Give me a cupcake! 🙂
The sugar cravings really do get better fast, trust me! I can’t even look a a cupcake. 😀
Awww, sorry about the lungs n’ such. I hope this works for ya! I know you’re not posting regular updates, but I look forward to reading your recap.
Yeah, they’re kinda stupid 🙂 Thank you!
I follow you on Twitter so I had to come and check this post out. I too have/had asthma but a couple of years ago I eliminated milk/dairy from my diet. I slash that because I do eat cheese and sometimes yogurt (only really recently added that back in) but no milk and I try to avoid it in other ways. I did all this about four years ago. I’ve noticed huge improvements, even more so when I became a vegetarian and was able to bypass milk in other ways especially at restaurants.
There is still something out there that will occasionally trigger my asthma and I haven’t figured it out. I get phlegmy and coughy and then I’ll notice the difficulty breathing.
I hope it works for you! I loved being able to get off my inhalers! I don’t know if you will be able to, but it really helped for me.
I’ve heard that about dairy, and I will be so sad if that’s truly an irritant for me– I LOVE cheese and greek yogurt, like whoa. In fact, I actually talked to Will about it prior to the start and told him I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know just because I am terrified of eliminating a favorite food. But then he reminded me that my asthma meds are $250/month, and I was like, oh yeah…worth a shot! 🙂
The food challenges are annoying as hell and it is really driving me insane to be a hypocrite and be part of it all! I am sort of secretly glad Whole30 is not really doing it for me so I be a total hipster and be all like “I’m too cool for that” at the end. But I sure hope it works for you, because that sucks! And yes, the restrictive diets on the majority of blogs – ugh. It just makes me pity/hate them. If you are really that stressed over Easter candy that you need to eat nothing but vegetables for dinner the next day after running ten miles, well 1. maybe get out in the world a little to get some freaking perspective about how amazing it is that THAT is what you have time to stress over and 2. shut up, and relax a little, and try to have fun in life.
Yeah, the food stuff on blogs is getting a little bonkers– it honestly has me worried about quite a few people. I can handle the occasional attempt at betterment and health and all that, but jumping from some type of restriction one week to a different one the next? That’s just scary. Plus, the constant preoccupation with what you eat cannot be healthy, in my opinion…..but what do I know, right? 🙂
Good for you for trying something new but being open minded and straight up. Been doing a lot of purging of my blogs/friends/followers as well lately. I’m all for people trying things but when they put it on blast it drives me a bit bonkers. Good luck!
Know what’s annoying?! I can’t purge my blog reader! I followed a ton of bloggers back in the day when I used Google Friend Connect, and those transferred over to Google Reader, etc. The kicker? Because GFC isn’t around anymore, you can’t unfollow anyone that you followed while using it. SO ANNOYING!
It makes me feel inadequate when I see food challenges online- even though I know my eating lifestyle is good and diets or challenges don’t suit me.
But then again, it is the person’s choice if they want to share that information online. Perhaps I am still just too sensitive about food and weight loss and especially before/after pics that I get jealous of other people’s success!!
I think it’s the constant preoccupation with food that is slightly worrisome. I’ve never been over or underweight, so it’s possible that I just don’t understand, but I just don’t think that worrying about food makes life fun 🙂
I really hope the Whole30 works for you. I have never had asthma issues and can’t imagine what you are going through. I will say though that when I did my Whole30, my goal was to lose weight, and I did (a pretty good amount actually), but I also came out of it feeling SO MUCH BETTER than I did going into it.
About the preoccupation with food that seems so rampant, I believe that it is more a preoccupation with trying to be healthier than you are today and that is just manifesting itself in an apparent obsession with food. I have been pretty overweight for many years, trying desperately to get back to a normal weight. When you have been this unhealthy and no matter what you do, you can’t correct it, the need to find something that actually works does creep into your everyday life and thoughts. It becomes a part of you even though you may not mean for it to. I know for me, if I am not currently doing some work or something else that is taking my attention away from it, my mind is centered on how I am feeling, which is usually fat and gross, and what I can do next to fix it (which, while on the Whole30 was thinking about which neat new meal I would get to try next….and bacon). I look forward to when I am back at a more natural weight for me, but until then, I know the only way for me to get there is of make it a main focus of my life. With the Whole30, I finally found something to concentrate on that actually works. Food still dominates my non-workday thoughts, but what I am concentrating on now is actually taking me somewhere. If you have never been overweight, then I can see how you just wouldn’t understand, but trust me, the “worrying about food” is part of an attempt to get to a weight (at least for some of us) where we can begin to enjoy life again and have fun ( there is nothing worse and more humiliating than having to get off a ride at a theme park because your butt is too big). Yes, you can have fun while living large, but it is so much easier to do so when you are at a healthy weight and that is what so many of us are trying so hard to get to.
I truly wish you the greatest success with your Whole30 and I hope you don’t have to eliminate too many favorite foods in the end.
Good luck with your Whole30…I do hope you see some success and a reduction in your asthma symptoms.
Take care, Tara
I think this makes perfect sense. I barely attempted the whole30 (aka I lasted 6 days ha). It didn’t mesh with my training goals at the time. But one of the BIG benefits I saw was to show you sensitivities and intolerance you may have developed in your food. It helped me see my issues with diary. I wouldn’t say I am lactose intolerant, but too much diary doesn’t work well for me.
I think this is a great plan!
hope this helps you figure out your allergies and brings you some relief!
Good luck with taming your asthma! I did an elimination test a few years ago when I had some weird allergies (hives on my face and neck) and we couldn’t figure out the trigger. Although we never did discover the specific trigger, it really helped me focus on how what I put in my face makes my body feel, and I think that is really what is important. I learned that wheat definitely makes me slow and tired and bloated. It doesn’t mean I avoid it all the time, it just means that I know the tradeoffs to eating that delicious, delicious loaf of bread. When I feel my allergies triggering again I restrict back to what is essentially the Whole30/paleo and they go away. Works for me, and it keeps me from having the poofy red face a couple of times a year.
You are so refreshing! I think there is an epidemic of elimination diets going on out there, all for the wrong reasons. You’re doing it for the right reasons. I hope you get some relief!
i hope it helps you, i tried Paleo back in jan and loved how I felt but hated being so restrictive with my diet. and I agree I get a little tired of reading about diet bet and this and that challenge all the time, just a post or two about it is great.
hope it helps ya feel better! when i did the strict paleo for 30 days, i felt great – hope you feel the same! also, thank you for not blogging about it like everyone else – you are very right: it’s outta control right now!
I did a Whole30 in January and started another one on April 1st as well. I find that eating this way is very beneficial to my body.
I hope you find some answers too.
Def agree with this post! Good luck with Whole 30 and really hope you find what’s causing the asthma. I’ve found that removing fresher dairy (milk, some yogurt, soft cheese) totally helps me with congestion. Harder cheeses don’t seem to bother me as much.
My boyfriend and I did Whole30 from February 18 – March 19. We were both interested in the weight loss aspect of the program but all of the other benefits that I’ve experienced along the way are far more superior to the weight loss. (My bf lost 28 lbs during this time)
I hope you have wonderful results as far as your asthma goes. Can’t wait to hear about it. 🙂
It’s ironic that you posted this because I just did a sugar detox last week, which I’m sure you heard circling in the blog world. The detox really appealed to me, though, because I have a ridiculous sweet tooth. I’d eat sweets when I’m bored, hungry, tired, cranky – any mood, I eat sugar. It was just unhealthy. The detox appealed to me becuase it was only one week. I’ve seen detoxes like this for longer than that, and I just don’t think that’s healthy to be asking strangers to do with you online.
I really hope the diet helps with your symptoms, though. That’s a really good reason to do something like this. Hopefully you are pleasantly surprised by the results!
I completely support what you are saying as I am completely against anything too restrictive in any aspect of life. I have NEVER followed a diet and don’t think I could so I applaud your efforts to try to do something to improve your breathing. The far as I go into blogging about food is providing a few recipes, ideas to add more freggies to your diet, and I am about to write a post on hidden sources of sugar but honestly, that is only because my younger sister just found out her sugar levels are really high and the post is in her honor and to help her eat less sugar per her doctor.
Good luck!
I hope it helps your lung issue! I found the Whole30 really eye opening for how my body reacted to food and what my relationship was like with food. I still eat crap sometimes, but I now know what to eat to make myself feel good and how to fuel myself properly. I totally agree with your point about bloggers and doing eating challenges – sometimes I want to either clear them from my reader in anger/disappointment and other times I just want to give them a hug. Everyone needs to remember the concept of individualism – what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another.
Awww man, I grew up with chronic bronchitis, but essentially out-grew it thank God. I’ve got to be honest — the elimination diet is probably the hardest things and would be considered one of my biggest feats if I ever had to do it. I think it’s great you’re now monitoring what you put in your mouth, but question regarding the whole 30… did you stop all the above all at once or one at a time, test, and repeat? I only ask because if you quite everything (dairy, gluten, soy, etc.) how will you know — unless you remove all those from your lifestyle indefinitely — right?!
PS: I hate fad food challenges and hope to inspire people to change indefinitely, not just for a week or two, or month:) xoox
I did quit everything all at once to “reset.” After 30 days, I’ll gradually add stuff back in, one by one, to see how my body reacts. For example, I’ll probably add greek yogurt back in for the first week, just to see how it effects me. If I’m still fine, then I’ll gradually start to add a second ingredient back. Make sense?
Heather, I am wrapping up my 5th W30. I think you will be amazed at what happens in 30 days. I eat this way probably 90% of the time. It really has to be worth it to “off road”. I have totally gotten rid of scratchy, bumpy skin, my blood pressure is now nice and low, my aches and pains are all but gone and my moods very level. Plus..the foids that I eat are fabulous. No deprivation here. :0)
I hope this helps you figure out what’s going on! I’ve not done a fad diet or anything. While I am preparing for my competition, I have to follow a program that has been tailored to ME. Post competition, I got back to what works for ME :)Diets (what you eat) is so individual and personal. You gotta do what’s best for you and your body.
xo
Good luck with the challenge! I don’t care about what anyone else eats or doesn’t eat so the whole fad diet and WIAW things drive me nuts. If I see a post with a title for a good recipe then I’ll read it but I don’t want to see 20 pictures of what people ate recently.
Heather,
My husband is on day 27 of his Whole30. He hasn’t needed his Advair or inhaler since the first week! Good luck to you–I hope you get relief from your asthma!
Hey Amanda! That’s awesome! I just finished day #13 and both my dad and my boyfriend commented today on how much “clearer” my breathing sounds– the wheezing and coughing is going away. Definitely looks like they’re related 🙂
As you know, I did a Whole 30 as well…and didn’t mention it once on my blog. Why? I don’t really blog about what I eat, so it wasn’t in character. Also, probably nobody cares.
That’s also another reason– I’m NOT a food blogger! I know a lot of people are interested in Whole30 and recipes, etc., but I’m not nor will I ever be a food blogger, so I shouldn’t be the one to offer day-by-day advice. Plus, my food pictures are horrible 😉
Heather, I am coming across your site for the first time ever…I saw this link through the Whole30 Facebook. Anyway, this article really struck me because I have some similar issues with my lungs, and my problems made their way to my sinuses, to where I needed surgery once…and almost twice. I also developed allergic reactions to things I’d never had issues with all my life, when my immune system continued heading south. When I was feeling my worst, my dad died unexpectedly, and “natural causes” were the outcome. I knew things had to change for me, so I headed my way to the oldest naturopathic clinic, in my town, and found out I was “intolerant” to soy, dairy, sugar, peanut, and a combination of potatoes/grains (if I eat them within 8 hours of each other). All of the sudden it became really evident why I felt so bad! I ate nearly all of those things on a daily basis! And, I actually thought my diet was pretty great, as I ate nearly all whole foods from scratch. All this to say, everything started improving as I eliminated those foods. Lungs and asthma, sinuses, digestive system, sleep…all improved. I had pity party for myself for a while…but then when I saw the Whole30, I realized that every single food I am to avoid, is also on the “avoid” list for the Whole30. I finally felt a bit of hope. There is one important thing though that I wanted to share…there are many people intolerant to fruit OR fruit in combination to with something else…also meat. It really would not hurt for you to get tested. I tried an elimination thing once and it made me so much worse…it wasn’t until I found out about my combination intolerance, that I realized why it hadn’t worked. I am guessing that is why the vegan thing doesn’t pan out for mamy people either. Anyway, I am sorry that you have been getting worse, I hope you find the root of the issue!
Do what’s right for you! Everyone has to follow their own path. I’m still learning all I can and appreciate fact based posts that address healing/remission of autoimmune disease. One can definitely overload on this stuff though. Be true to yourself.
Agreed– that’s actually why I did try the Whole30, even though I’m not a dieter by nature. It was definitely time for me to try alternate means to heal this lung stuff–fingers crossed!
Great post! I did–and blogged about–a Whole30, but my goal was never weight loss. I mostly did it because my energy had been at a record low for seemingly no reason for about a year and a half. I included before and after pictures though, because I wanted to list everything I noticed. As expected, a LOT of people had a lot to say about the weight loss, but even more people celebrated my improved sleep and renewed energy even more!
Good luck!
The energy one is different with me! I’ve noticed that my usual 3-4 pm drowsy period is gone which is great, but other than that, I’m not noticing a difference in my energy, and I’m heading into the start of week #3. When did you notice it?
I so hope all will work out for you, will watch for your report. Best of luck!
I don`t like any diet plans, but ever since I moved from Europe to Canada, how I process food changed, how food tastes is different, and all for the worse. So I was dealing with it for the past six years by reading the labels, cooking every day at home etc. Recently, maybe a month ago, my husband and I watched two movies, which shocked us like nothing before. Well, the next day, we bought a good juicer, and since then we are juicing every morning. It is disgusting, but it is so good for you. People, get a very good juicer, consider it the best investment for your health. We changed some other stuff too, like eating raw as much as possible, start with nuts, dried fruits, and don`t forget whole grains. Good fats like salmon, avocado, olive oil. We are already so energized every day, feeling so much better, metabolism works like a clock and goes well with our gym program. Movies I was talking about: “Hungry for change” and “Food matters” (If you`re in Canada, catch them on Netflix).
My point is, just watch what you eat and where the food is coming from. What you eat is who you are.
Regards from Toronto,
Olja
Thanks for the advice! I actually own a juicer and am a huge fan– I juice once a day (typically veggies with a bit of fruit), and then also make one smoothie a day. I’ve also seen Food Matters, and you’re right- definitely eye-opening.
I hear ya girl! I write a food blog and I am doing a whole30 but I too am NOT posting all about it on my blog. Because my blog is about my delicious recipes, not my eating patterns. Diets are boring. Recipes and stories around them are interesting. In the meantime, I’m posting all of the gourmet dishes I’m making on my blog and tagging them as Paleo – love spreading the good food word discreetly!
I was having huge GI issues for awhile, and ended up doing an elimination diet…it helped me to figure out what foods were triggering my problems. It was painful though!
I hope your Whole30 works a miracle for you. I did my W30 starting December 31st. It changed my life. I had life altering back pain due to a birth defect that has in turn resulted in a horribly degenerated disk. Going strict paleo has dropped my inflammation down so far I went from almost a wheelchair to no pain! I do have to keep my Omega 3s up with fermented cod liver oil not just keep my Omega 6s down. I hope it does for you what living this way does for me.
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Hi Heather
Did you finish the WHOLE30 resulting in no longer needing your asthma meds?
I’m 33yrs old and have been asthmatic since I was 3. I need to carry my inhaler every where with me,plus I take a steroid powder pump in the mornings and a tablet at night. I did the food intolerance test and it came back with over 200 foods I’m so-called intolerant too. I had the test done because I am now suffering with chronic constipation for more than one yr. I have come across loads of reviews or success stories on how the whole 30 has helped people lose weight but that is not my goal. I’m starting to wonder if my asthma meds are causing my digestive issues and am considering the whole 30. Please can you get back to me about how the whole 30 helped/not help your asthma. I will greatly appreciate it!