Smurf Milk

"I don't want smurf milk, mom, I want leprechaun milk". 

"Leprechaun milk is gross, I only like the smurf milk".

Husband shouts, "this is so confusing! can you just get one type of milk?!" 

How did we even end up with blue and green cartons of Blue Diamond Almond Breeze milk that we affectionately refer to as smurf and leprechaun milk? Years ago, my husband realized he couldn't tolerate dairy milk. I also stopped drinking dairy a long time ago as a way to decrease our baby's colic. (Have you ever had a colicky baby? You'll do anything to try making that situation disappear.) Plus, I actually liked the taste of almond milk better than dairy milk. I was a little confused for a while though, to dairy or not to dairy....

I know we aren't the only ones who've felt confused about what to eat. When the media, the news, the so-called diet "experts", the government, celebrities and every other Youtube star has an opinion about what you should and shouldn't eat, it can be really confusing. 

The confusion shows up as an enormous amount of noise in your head screaming at you to stop eating anything that can possibly cause a problem. On top of this confusion, maybe you have a diagnosis and have sought advice from a medical expert who recommended that you eliminate one or many food groups to improve your condition. 

When you tried the elimination, maybe you felt better initially, but the restriction was so intense, that you noticed an increase in binge eating and felt addicted to carbohydrate rich foods. 

I want to assure you that the addiction you feel isn't real addiction. What you're feeling is your body's intense desire to have enough calories and nutrients to survive. Your body is actually brilliant in trying to keep you alive. Your body cleverly increases your appetite and also your thoughts about food. 

The constant thoughts about food make you feel crazy around food and at some point, you can't sit on your hands anymore. You eat a lot more than you normally would (aka binge). This is a good thing (even though everyone tells you binging is bad), this is your body's way of surviving. 

If you've been tempted to restrict a single food or whole food group or many food groups, please consider the following. 

1. Why are you restricting in the first place? Honestly ask yourself if there's any weight loss motivation behind the restriction. If there is, DON'T RESTRICT this item(s) from you diet. 

2. If you're feeling physically unwell after eating certain foods, you can experiment with eliminating them. This elimination doesn't need to last a lifetime. Once you can identify something thats bothering you, you can experiment with having the food periodically or in various amounts.  If there's a food you love, you don't have to stop eating it forever. 

3. If you are going to restrict a food group completely, you need to get enough calories and macronutrients elsewhere. Many elimination diets are so restrictive that you inadvertently go into a negative energy balance which isn't physically or mentally good for your body.
 
4. If you've eliminated a lot of foods or had disordered eating for a period of time, you're likely experiencing gut or digestion issues because of a lack of nutrients and calories, not because you can't tolerate certain foods. It seems counterintuitive, but the more restrictive your food intake, the less diverse your gut microbes are and the more susceptible you are to a variety of GI issues like constipation and bloating. 

5. If you're truly allergic to or can't tolerate a food group because of a condition like celiac disease, do your research to food good alternatives so you don't feel physically or mentally deprived. 

Back to the smurf milk. Our kids still enjoy yogurt and ice cream and cheese. We've just opted to skip the dairy milk not eliminate dairy completely.

Elimination doesn't have to be all or nothing. Maybe you can tolerate a certain amount of a food and you don't have to go cold turkey on an entire food group. 

We'll be going over this topic of elimination and confusion around what to eat in Peace Out Diets! It doesn't need to be confusing. You can go back to hearing your own voice which usually has the best advice.