Thursday, September 17, 2009

So Long, Farewell...


As I've mentioned before, Lucy is a bit of a fuss-pot. In the back of my head, I kept wondering if maybe it was because she had a dairy issue like Henry did.

I really tried to ignore it.

Pretend it didn't occur to me that she might have a dairy allergy (which by the way, is distinctly different than lactose intolerance).

But finally, when it was painfully (for her) obvious that she was gassy every night...

...and when she full on vomited after I had yogurt...not spit up...but actual gagging, heaving, eyes watering...

I cut all dairy out of my diet for a week.

Dairy is tough.

It includes the obvious milk, cheese, yogurt, chocolate...and the not so obvious butter, margarine, and anything MADE with butter.

So, pretty much all I'm left with is meat and veggies and dry bread. Yum.

Not.

I didn't think I saw huge improvement that week. So, I ate dairy again...which is the real test...

...the first day she seemed fine...

I was STOKED.

and then when I really went gung-ho and had yogurt for breakfast, a grilled cheese for lunch, and ice cream after dinner...

...the poor kid was miserable and vomitted again.

And Jill...she sure seemed to spit up a lot more than usual.

The Good News? These last 9 pounds should come off quickly.

The Bad News? All good food is off my plate for about a year. And considering that I really love dairy and I love to eat....this is not fun. Poor Andy will inadvertantly end up on a severely restricted diet too...because I might be a good wife, but I'm not about to make up an entire batch of mashed potatoes so that I can watch him eat it...


Challenge of the Day: for the next couple of days, take stock of everything you put in your mouth...and make a mental note of the things you eat that have dairy products in them. You don't have to join me on this crazy diet, but just to give you insight into how restrictive this whole thing is.

(eggs are not dairy products...they are just in the dairy section at the grocery store...and be sure to read labels!!! Anything with cassein or whey are OUT! You'll be surprised how often dairy is used as a filler in pre-packaged foods!)

7 comments:

Elyse said...

Bummer! When I first found out I had food allergies, I found this website and it really helped me: http://www.foodallergykitchen.com/

You can register and tell it what you want to avoid, and it will come up with recipes for you! It also has good ideas for substitutions.

Good luck!

Elyse said...

This one is similar, and actually I like it better. I just couldn't find it when I first commented:

http://www.cookingallergyfree.com

Joanie said...

Yes, they really do put dairy in almost everything. Bummer.

Carrie Haughey said...

sooo, mashed potatoes, I LOVE watching America's Test Kitchen on PBS and the other day they aired an episode where they made mashed potatoes without milk, cream, or butter, just olive oil and garlic, they looked really good! here's the link, I think you have to register or something, but it might be worth it... http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/login.asp?recipeids=3430&LoginForm=recipe&iSeason=8

Priscilla Rynning said...

OH, man, that is such a bummer :( I'm with you as far as only eating meat and veggies, but also I'd probably start losing the weight I have been whining about that won't come off - I LOVE to eat and NOTHING is out of the realm of existence, but with menopause came elevated cholesterol and blood pressure along with the weight gain so my greatest pleasure has become my NEMESIS - sorry, just a bit of venting too :P

Priscilla Rynning said...

Oh, I like that idea Carrie wrote about!

Kristen Borland said...

oh man! i'm not a huge fan of direct dairy, but i know it's in a LOT of things i eat. we've just discovered conout milk "ice cream", which is actually really good, and also doesn't have any processed products whatsoever. we are gearing up to cut out refined/processed sugars... which is in everything including vitamin C. wow. it's a process.