Imagine it’s six months from now and you have successfully completed the elimination diet. During which you isolated some triggering foods and lifestyle choices that had been causing inflammation and friction, and have since created a new and more balanced way of eating and living. 

You feel GREAT. 

You wake up feeling rested and energized, your body feels strong and healthy, and you are ready to get after the day…

There are many reasons to experiment with eliminating things from our diet, most of which come down to wanting to feel and operate at our best. 

So whether you’re here because you want to try going _______ free for a month, or you’ve been advised by your functional medicine doctor to go on a specific diet to reduce inflammation, I feel you.

First I want to highlight the fact that for many people (me included) eliminating certain foods can bring up all kinds of feelings. From complete dread, denial, and confusion; to excitement and a feeling of power because for maybe the first time you’re taking your health into your own hands. YOU are doing this for YOU. 

The thing to recognize is that all the feelings are normal and might in fact be all mashed together in five minutes of time. 

Everything we eat and enjoy is wrapped up in emotional beliefs, memories, and a long and often complicated story — all that might take some time to work through. Tread lightly and with kindness.

What we eat has an incredible effect on how we feel, and taking time to try new things out can be very empowering.

In our house we have tried many things over the years, and will continue to experiment always. We use food as medicine to support a thyroid disease, as fuel for our brain and body, and also as a time of love and connection — no matter what has been eliminated. 

Now, remember how you felt six month from now? Stong, clear, motivated…

***

A Quick Overview: 

Willingness - Keeping an open mind is crucial to the success of this experiment. 

A Strong Why - Without a strong why it’s very hard to stay on course. 

Get Excited - Getting into a positive state of mind about change makes change easier. 

Find Friends - We do better when we work together, when we’re accountable, and when we’re supported. 

Check Your Blind Spots - When we know what our obstacles and challenges are, we can plan for them. 

Be Prepared - Preparation is power and freedom.

Remember - Eliminations aren’t forever. 

Continue reading for a more comprehensive look at each of these areas, and be ready to work through them. This is you taking action in your life and health.

You’re a badass and I want you to know that I recognize that in you!

***

WILLINGNESS

In order to succeed at this, you will need to keep an open mind. For many reasons, but mainly to the fact that it might work. It might not… but, it might. ;) Be willing to let it work. To try it out. To pay attention to your body. To give it a chance. 

A STRONG WHY.

Why are you doing this? What is your desired outcome? How do you want to feel? How might this affect your life? Who will be affected in your life if things change for you? How will your life change? 

Imagine one year from now, what do you want your life to look like? How about 3 years from now? How do you want to feel when you wake up in the morning? How do you want to feel as you go through your day? What does your life look like?

Take time to REALLY DIG into your why. It is the foundation of your motivation so the more time you spend getting deep into the bedrock of it all, the more you will have to keep you motivated.

Know that your why does not need to be an existential life shattering reason; it can be that you want to support someone you love, that you’re curious to see if you can feel better; or on a more serious note, it can be that your health (life) actually depends on it. 

Getting clear on your WHY will be the backbone of your elimination experience so I strongly recommend taking the time to journal it out — or whatever it takes for you to get clarity. 

Your WHY is where your power is going to come from so keep asking yourself why until you get to the deepest roots you can find.

GET EXCITED. 

Ha, I can tell you’re laughing at me! But I’m serious! 

I know it’s not something most people are excited about, I get that… but this is how we get our brain on board for the challenge, and if we can get our brain on board we’re crushing it.  

When we want to challenge ourselves it helps to get excited about the possibilities, the feeling of accomplishment, and the personal growth that will happen.

So how do you want to feel after this food challenge? How do you want to feel when you wake up in the morning? How might this change your life? How would your life be different if you do this and learn new things about yourself? 

Build up as much positive energy and evidence and excitement as you can. Write it down, email me, and/or tell your friends and family about it. 

Whatever feels safe and supportive.

Getting excited about this will look different to everyone, but here are some things that I do:

•  Because I love to cook I always start with meal options. I go down a serious rabbit hole of recipes and remaking of recipes. I think about what we already eat that will work with the new restrictions. I think about our favourite meals and how I can shift them to fit into the rules. 

• I make lists, start pinterest boards, I follow bloggers, I sign up for emails, I research cookbooks and order them through the library, I follow people on social media, and I mute pages that I know won’t support me during my elimination period. 

• I surround myself with this new information like it’s the most normal way of life imaginable. Packing it into every feed in my life so that my brain starts to calm down. The more normal and supported the idea becomes, the easier it will be. 

• I tell people I love and trust, express my concerns and ask for support. 

This is me arming myself with an arsenal of supportive information, a plan for food options, and a community (known or unknown) of people who have done, or are doing something like me so that I feel prepared. This allows me to feel excited about the POSSIBILITIES. 

FIND FRIENDS.

This can be people you know personally, or people you kinda know on Facebook, or don’t know at all but who you discovered while getting excited and researching on social media.

We do better when we have a group who supports and encourages us.

Family is a great place to start for some, but not always. Sometimes the people who love us the most aren’t sure about us making changes and that comes out… sideways. 

Either way, if you’re eliminating something from your life for a while and live with other people, it’s great to try and get them to support you. I always try and explain my desired outcome, my hope, and my motivation. I also tell them my fears and what my challenges are, and I ask them to help me in these areas. 

If your family isn’t on board or supportive, explain to them that this is important to you, that they don’t need to do it and that it doesn’t need to impact their lives at all.

A lot of time people get triggered by the suggestion of needing to change their diet, and that’s totally understandable. We can be compassionate to that. 

But also explain why YOU are doing this challenge, and that YOU are unsure as well, and then ask if you can share some things that would really help you succeed within the home and family dynamic:

1. Don’t suggest I eat anything that I’m not meant to be eating.

2. Sometimes give encouragement.

3. Don’t talk negatively about the process, even if it feels hard because we’re having veggies… again.

4. Remind me to check with my WHY when I’m questioning why the heck I’m even doing this.

If family isn’t an option try and find friends who are interested in food, who may have done something like this at some point, or who are supportive of new or different health ideas. Even if you don’t know them well! 

What I’ve learned is that people who are into these kinds of things generally LOVE to support people who are TRYING. They have all kinds of tricks they want to share, and tips and recipes and resources. 

When people I hardly know email me and asked for help or ideas or support I am all over it! Because I love the power of food and genuinely want people to feel good and healthy and like they have tools to succeed.  

If known friends aren’t going to be the people to BEST support you, dig into social media. Follow new people and look to them for guidance and inspiration. 

If you can’t find the support you need at home or in your circle, definitely create the help and support you need on every social platform you can. Chances are you will be introduced to some pretty amazing people who will be your champions even if they never know it.

It can also be helpful to unfollow any accounts that might trigger you in a negative way. Just for now. Facebook has a show me less option and Instagram has a mute option.

Another great resource to look into is finding a Functional Medicine Doctor or a Functional Medicine Health Coach who might know of, or be running groups that you can join. SO MUCH POWER IN A COMMUNITY OF LIKE MINDED PEOPLE. 

I should mention, if you’re doing the challenge with friends or family, it’s good to discuss upfront how you will manage if you, or someone slips up. 

It’s good to know that if or when that happens, it is a time to support that person in starting where they are. They are not a failure, they can start right where they are. 

Just because you take a wrong turn on a road trip doesn’t mean you’re back at the beginning; it just means you need to course correct, remember your ultimate destination, and keep going. 

Have a meeting and talk about how you want to feel, what you want out of this experience, what is driving each one of you.  

Reconnect to WHY you are doing this. 

CHECK YOUR BLIND SPOTS.

This is super important to success. 

Knowing the what, when, who, and why we will crash and burn (dramatic statement because of the car reference in the title) on this challenge, and then knowing HOW we will either stay on the road, or get back on the road is supercharging us for success.

Are there situations that you know you will fail in? Groups of friends who you always have drinks and fries with? Family who will pressure you into eating things you're avoiding? Times of day you will struggle with? Events that you’ve built potentially unhealthy habits into?

Looking into our lives and finding our biggest triggers, our weak spots, and the areas when we generally make unhealthy choices is power — because then we can plan and prepare for them. 

Like a warrior. 

BE PREPARED. 

Don’t mess around with this one. 

This is knowing your weaknesses and preparing for them. This is stocking your kitchen with all kinds of food that will support you. This is having a network in place that will encourage you and cheer you on. This is eliminating things from your life that will trigger you. This is knowing what you can eat for each meal that will satisfy you. This is knowing how you plan on managing social gatherings and eating at restaurants and telling friends and family. This is knowing what you can handle and what you can’t and then preparing for that. This is taking time to create a strong WHY and writing it down as often as you need to. This is creating new neural pathways to support gut happy choices for you. This is having a meal plan, knowing what you can cook that takes 15 minutes or less, knowing what foods you love and how to cook them in a gut healthy way, learning to batch cook, maybe even learning how to cook, learning how to shop in a grocery store to make healthy choices...

Preparation is power.   

So don’t mess around with this one. ;)

Also know that if you mess up you will not be starting OVER, you will just be starting where you’re at. If it’s been 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months; you have not failed.

You have made it this far. 

Come back to your why, envision your desired outcome, reset, and start. Go through the list to make sure you’re excited, supported, aware of your weaknesses, and get prepared. 

Make sure you take time to figure out what derailed you and plan and prepare for success next time.

FINAL NOTE.

This is not forever. 

If you’re freaking out (like I often am) about the lack of coffee, eggs, or ______________, I completely understand and want to acknowledge this feeling as legit. 

It’s not easy to remove things that we enjoy. It takes courage and stamina and motivation. It takes knowing our why, mapping new neural pathways, finding support, being honest with ourselves, examining our weaknesses, and preparation. 

That takes a lot of courage my friend. But the good news is that it is not meant to be forever. 

It’s a time to heal. Our gut, and also more. 

Maybe it’s time to look at the stress in our lives, or what we’re doing for joy, creativity, movement, and fun.

Maybe we want to try meditation, yoga, or dancing naked in our backyard… ummmm, perhaps only try that if you live in the wilderness, but I am SURE it would be good medicine. ;)

If we are eliminating possible inflammatory foods from our life for a while, what small acts could we introduce that would bring us joy? 

What rewards can we put in place? 

If you successfully make it a day, how will you acknowledge that success? 

If you make it a week, how will you reward yourself?

When you make it all the way to your end goal, how do you want to feel? How will you celebrate your success? 

***

If at any point you need some encouragement, please reach out to me on Instagram (or email) through comments or DMs. I try my best to respond and interact with everyone because like I said before, I LOVE this stuff and want everyone to feel their best. 

If you’re looking for ideas on how to stay on track on BUSY days read this:

https://www.goodtograteful.com/foodasmedicine/3-tips-to-managing-your-restrictedelimination-diet-after-a-busy-day

If you’re feeling overwhelmed about eliminating food for your diet and trying to figure out how you will stay alive, read this:

https://www.goodtograteful.com/foodasmedicine/its-not-about-what-we-cant-eat

Xox

Gwen

AN IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW! 

I am not a physician and don’t suggest making any huge health or food changes without first consulting your Functional Medicine Doctor. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE ANY HEALTH ISSUES.  

The elimination of food can create some temporary side effects in the first week as your gut biome (the bad ones) goes through a bit of a “die off” stage, but it should resolve itself fairly quickly. If you have a longer period of feeling crap, consult with your Functional Medicine Doctor. 

I do not advise or support any particular elimination diet, I am just a curious person who loves to experiment with food!

Thank you so much for being here with me, and please check out the links mentioned for further reading on this topic, and share freely with friends so we can build a world FULL of HAPPY GUTS!

If you’re looking for food and recipe ideas check out my recipe page…. coming soon.

Kindness for a million days,

Gwen

Get GUT happy!