Elimination Diet Prep

Tomorrow is day one of my elimination diet.  (If you're not familiar with what this diet is, I do have a page that goes into some more detail.) I'm not really looking forward to giving up a lot of my favorite foods or coffee, but I am curious to see what will happen once this is all over. I do try my best to eat healthy and stay in shape, but this diet isn't something I read about and decided to do on my own.

Over the past few years I've been having an increased issue with being short of breath. I can admit that I haven't been as diligent with going to the gym as I have in the past, but carrying a basket of laundry up the stairs shouldn't make me have to sit down.

I've always enjoyed running and desperately miss the "runner's high" after finishing a great workout. So what happened? A few years ago, I was doing a quick three miles after most work days. Even on the hottest days I stayed hydrated and went for a run. As it got colder I went into my typical hibernation. When spring came again I tried getting back into the running groove. I started commenting to my husband that it had been really humid and it was making it difficult to breathe when I ran. One morning I was able to drag him out of bed and convince him to at least go for a walk with me. Just as I was about to comment how humid and stuffy the air felt, he told me how nice it was and how it didn't feel bad out at all. This is when I realized I had an issue. My husband is more of the couch potato variety and he was okay, yet the active gym goer and runner couldn't catch her breath. 

I went to see my doctor and had a few basic tests done. She determined that I may have mild asthma with some seasonal allergies and gave me an inhaler. I thought everything was great until this past fall. I realized that I never really got back into running and that I really missed it. I figured that I did need to take it easy to start running again, so I downloaded an app called Couch to 5K. It's pretty straight forward. You gradually work yourself into running 5K by doing a gradual interval running workout over a four week period three times a week. 

At first, I felt like I was doing really well and was happy with the results. As the periods of running got longer and the walking breaks got shorter and farther apart I did notice I was having a harder time catching my breath. Despite my great progress I wasn't able to run for five minutes straight without having to stop. I was finally referred to a pulmonary specialist. My pulmonary doctor recommended trying the elimination diet to see if by chance I have some allergies that may be causing these issues.

Starting tomorrow I go cold turkey on dairy, wheat, corn, eggs, citrus fruits, coffee, tea, alcohol, refined sugars and food additives. Fingers crossed this all goes well!