# What direction or foods to try?



## lowone

Hi everyone,

So I have found breakfast of nacy's probiotic yogurt with a little jam. Lunch and dinner each of 1/3rd bowel Campbell's split pea soup with ham, 2 potato bread cheese toast.  With 3 ensure plus drinks mix in through out the day. And finally a late night snack of saltines with cheese. Gives me a huge jump on the Bristol stool chart. The above gets me #5 on the chart.

So far I have tried to switch up just which soup i use and i immediately go back to sad #7 on the chart...

What direction should I go in to try and very things up? Tomorrow I am thinking of trying to buy some simple ham and making a ham &cheese sandwich and steam some peas for good long while and eat that since it would be similar but different.   Other ideas? At the very least now I have a control food to reset to!



Happy soup http://www.campbellfoodservice.com/details.aspx?code=705
Potato bread, is just safeways generic stuff
Tillamook medium Cheeder cheese
Nabisco original saltines 
Ensure plus vanilla or strawberry 
Nancy's probiotic low fat yogurt (my Safeway does not carry the whole milk version)
Smuckers blackberry jam
Drinks: Water, weak crystal light fruit punch, Canadian dry ginger ail


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## ekay03

Hi lowone,  What about chicken?


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## SnowDay

Turkey is even better than chicken imo. Very lean and very non-inflammatory. If you buy it with the skin on and on the bone it tastes way better and stays way moister throughout cooking.


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## rygon

Using the chicken/turkey to make a soup is great and cheap. 
One thing to look at is the low fat probiotic. Normally low fat means higher sugar which can be bad for crohns

Also a lot of people have problems wholemeal, so it might be worth trying white bread if you havent already


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## lowone

ok so ham/cheese sandwich with peas on the side did not turn out so well... disappointing since it is so similar to the one thing that makes stuff happy.

I am going to get some plain white rice and turkey for tonight and test that since I hear plain white rice is one of the better things to try. 

I will get some plain white bread too, is there any brands to avoid? I also am wondering if I should split my one happy meal above apart and just test each individual piece and see if I can isolate what part of it convinces my gut to be happier vs everything else I eat.


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## SnowDay

If you are going to be eating white bread, i suggest you try to get some gluten free bread. Gluten is generally not healthy and does not agree with people who have digestive problems.


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## ekay03

Maybe you should try eating less. I'm not saying that one sandwich and some peas is a lot of food, but I personally have learned that I cant even eat an entire sandwich all at one time. Maybe try cutting it in half. See if that doesnt help out. Also ham is kinda hard on the gut. There is just a tiny amount in the soup, there is much more on a sandwich. Also split peas are not the same as the kind that comes in a can. Are you eating canned peas cause they are also kinda hard on the gut. Do you like broccoli? I eat a lot of broccoli.   About isolating each food and trying to find what is causing the problem never worked for me, but you cant try that.  What worked best for me is eating tiny little mini meals. Ok good luck


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## handle

Peas are high in insoluble fiber, and usually not advisable. Are you on a low residue diet?


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## lowone

I am supposed to be avoiding fiber. I was told to avoid all things from the cabbage family which includes broccoli. Other veggies if I eat them I am supposed to cook them tell they are mush.

The peas I ate were just some frozen peas in a microwave steamer bag. I did eat the sandwich slowly half of it then a 45 min break then the other half. But no luck.

The next day I finished off the rest of the can of split pea soup and it did its magic. Then yesterday a friend invited me over to their place and I had salmon. I was a bit worried cause they coated it in lots of spices... She also made a pear pie and I had a small slice later. I figured I was already in for it cause of the spice on the salmon. But but supersize suprize the salmon and pie ended up coming out better then most foods I have eaten, but not as good as split pea soup.  So weird.

I got 1/4 of the pie so tonight's experiment wil be just pie, it's a little sweet though so we will see.  Tomorrow I will get to turkey and rice hopefully. I am watching the sushi thread too cause cause that stuff is yummy.

What different kinds of peas are there, can I buy which ever kind are used in the soup to try?  Both peas and the pair have some fiber in them I wonder if light fiber is the key here? Since everything else is no fiber?


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## handle

Yes you are on the right track there. Quantity of fiber is an important factor. The fiber content of the split pea soup is a lot less than that of the frozen peas you ate.
A lot of the fiber of pears (and apples etc) is in the skin, and they would have been peeled before being cooked in the pie.
Good luck!


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## Gutrot

lowone said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> So I have found breakfast of nacy's probiotic yogurt with a little jam. Lunch and dinner each of 1/3rd bowel Campbell's split pea soup with ham, 2 potato bread cheese toast.  With 3 ensure plus drinks mix in through out the day. And finally a late night snack of saltines with cheese. Gives me a huge jump on the Bristol stool chart. The above gets me #5 on the chart.
> 
> So far I have tried to switch up just which soup i use and i immediately go back to sad #7 on the chart...
> 
> What direction should I go in to try and very things up? Tomorrow I am thinking of trying to buy some simple ham and making a ham &cheese sandwich and steam some peas for good long while and eat that since it would be similar but different.   Other ideas? At the very least now I have a control food to reset to!
> 
> 
> 
> Happy soup http://www.campbellfoodservice.com/details.aspx?code=705
> Potato bread, is just safeways generic stuff
> Tillamook medium Cheeder cheese
> Nabisco original saltines
> Ensure plus vanilla or strawberry
> Nancy's probiotic low fat yogurt (my Safeway does not carry the whole milk version)
> Smuckers blackberry jam
> Drinks: Water, weak crystal light fruit punch, Canadian dry ginger ail



Sounds like you are eating a huge about of dairy, sugar, and protein.  Probably 3 things you want to almost totally avoid in general, even more so if you are in a sickened state.

Try the opposite.


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## Cross-stitch gal

One of our favorites is smoked salmon or if you are in a hurry use a type of rub with love.  Fred Meyer carries their own brand that you can buy in a small jar and you can cook it in your frying pan.  The salmon isn't actually fried so no worries.  The rub is sort of a spicy sweet taste and found in the meat section for about $4.  It'll last awhile depending on how often you use it.


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## lowone

Things have been going pretty well with pea soup, turkey, rice, cheese, etc.  So far since my last post here i have been able too keep myself up at #5 on the Bristol chart which is absolutely amazing compared to the last 3.5 months of hell.

I have found with a set rotation of Gatorade and crystal light favors I can dye my output and keep track of which meal is what. Gross but usefull!

Though on Tuesday I had a short relapse... I tried some sushi. I ate a rainbow roll, a tuna, a shrimp, and a salmon thingy as well as purple Gatorade. I was full so put rest in fridge. 3ish hours later I had the rest which was random assorted fish on rice thinges, one of which was processed crab, another that seemed cooked and slathered in a ??? sauce, and red Gatorade. Had a little pickled ginger with both, skipped the wasabi and dipping sauces.

Rainbow roll bunch dyed green/blue came out happy. The second group came out dyed red and very unhappy. So wonder what caused this????  

Late night snack of saltines and then a normal day ending with split pea soup, today a experiment of a real lunch (qdoba, bowl with rice, chicken, bell peppers, and no sauces(naked chicken fajita burrito)) and turkey dinner have been two more days of good immeadately after the one bad instance.

So really really wonder what it was that was bad in the second half of sushi... I could tell it was going to be bad about 30min after eating the second half...

Adventure continues!


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## SnowDay

Sounds like you're doing well. And it's good that you're getting a lot of variety and rotation in your diet. I know everything people say prob sounds like ''stop eating this, stop eating that'' but if you can, i would for sure cut out the gatorade (or any sugary drinks). 

They are highly processed and loaded with sugar. Unlike water, which helps your liver function, and helps your body purify, those sugary drinks only give your body _*more*_ work to purify _*them*_.


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## handle

I think you are doing really well. That's an intriguingly clever way to mark food by dyeing it with coloring!
I suspect the crab may have been the problem... 
Keep up the good work.


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## Gutrot

SnowDay said:


> Sounds like you're doing well. And it's good that you're getting a lot of variety and rotation in your diet. I know everything people say prob sounds like ''stop eating this, stop eating that'' but if you can, i would for sure cut out the gatorade (or any sugary drinks).
> 
> They are highly processed and loaded with sugar. Unlike water, which helps your liver function, and helps your body purify, those sugary drinks only give your body _*more*_ work to purify _*them*_.


I agree with this.  Not to discourage you and your attempts to find what is bothering you, but you realize you are trying to figure out what is causing an upset stomach, and your diet is anything but balanced or healthy to even a non-crohn's person.

I don't have the money to fund the study, but if you took a healthy person and put them on your diet for a month, I'm sure they would develop health issues (a la supersize me the movie).


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## handle

Gutrot, I have no idea why you are rubbishing Iowone's diet. Sushi, chicken, rice, and turkey are not 'supersize' foods!
Please understand that each person's dietary needs are unique and largely depend upon the location and severity of their illness. So called healthy, whole food diets are not often possible, especially during flare-ups or with damaged intestinal tracts. People need to progress slowly towards their ideal diets.


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## lowone

I am getting 700~900 calories per day from soup/rice/cheese/turkey/yogurt/gatorade/etc. I still have no appetite and feel full really fast. So am getting most of my calories from 2ensure plus and 1 boost plus per day(1060 calories).  I am still loosing weight slowly but much better then the 1.5lb per day I was at for a while. I also know I need to force more real food in and try and shift away from the food drink things. Some time here I need to figure out which vegetables to eat but doctors orders are still to avoid fiber and most vegetables so its hard to know where to start. The calorie counts are also assuming full absorption.

My instructions say to avoid cabbage family and greens which removes a lot of stuff. Though as mentioned here contrary to these rules some fiber seems to be helpful. New years I went to my parents and I had turkey, broccoli (cabbage family so not supposed to have), and yams. This turned out happy. So am tempted to experiment in this direction.

Re Gatorade and crystal light, are diluted 50% and amount to 2.5 cups per day diluted. I drink far more plain water as well, but didn't mention as it doesn't give the coloring effect.

I would like to get away from the yogurt cause it doesn't feel to good right after eating but it is my "probiotic" source per doctors instructions and comes out the other end alright. The Safeway (grocery store) in my area has two pill types (one still dairy, other non) but neither offer as many different bacteria cultures as the yogurt does(and that's with the hope those bacteria survive the stomach acid...).


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## rygon

Does gatorade have caffeine in it? I know that upsets my stomach


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## lowone

no caffeine... 

ingredents are:

water, sucrose, dextrose, citric acid, natural flavor, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, modified food starch, coloring, glycerol ester of rosin, more coloring


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## lowone

Ok a few more good days, today almost looking like #4 on Bristol chart (aka normal) though still semi frequent.

Ultimate question left here tomorrow (well today I guess sense it is past midnight local time)... I am tempted to try some scary red meat. I haven't had any in months. I have read that steak and/or hamburger is best to start with. What cut do folks think would be best to try tomorrow? I have most cuts still. I am thinking of trying to pair this with well steamed carrots and a small steamed potato. (had potatoes before, with success. But have not tried carrots yet)

I have a freezer with 60~lb of beef sitting in it... It's from a cow that was named bert (Ernie is still walking around my sisters pasture) Bert was grass fed and grass and oat finished. Is about 97% lean overall. As well as very tasty. It's been hard not to eat him. He had a good life... More peoples need to know where their food comes from!


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## Cross-stitch gal

We have some spoiled hens in our backyard that have stopped laying.  We don't have the courage to eat them ourselves so they will be going to one of the guys at my husband's work who will eat them instead.  The way they've been fed, they'll probably be the best chicken you will ever taste.  Eating seeds, watermellon, blue berries, strawberries, corn, etc.  In some ways, those hens have been eating almost better than we have.


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## SnowDay

lowone said:


> Ok a few more good days, today almost looking like #4 on Bristol chart (aka normal) though still semi frequent.
> 
> Ultimate question left here tomorrow (well today I guess sense it is past midnight local time)... I am tempted to try some scary red meat. I haven't had any in months. I have read that steak and/or hamburger is best to start with. What cut do folks think would be best to try tomorrow? I have most cuts still. I am thinking of trying to pair this with well steamed carrots and a small steamed potato. (had potatoes before, with success. But have not tried carrots yet)
> 
> I have a freezer with 60~lb of beef sitting in it... It's from a cow that was named bert (Ernie is still walking around my sisters pasture) Bert was grass fed and grass and oat finished. Is about 97% lean overall. As well as very tasty. It's been hard not to eat him. He had a good life... More peoples need to know where their food comes from!


It's great that you have such a reliable source of top quality meat, wish i did . I would guess that the fillet is the best cut to start with, not the most flavour, but very good quality, lean and tender. 

I think it may be a good idea to eat it on its own, no spuds, no carrots. The body processes foods much easier when it does not have to deal with multiple food groups at a time, ie. just protein, just grain, etc. Also you have the added advantage of knowing for sure what it is that's causing the potential reaction if you can narrow it down.

Good luck buddy, hope it works, as beef is a good thing to have on your side


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## Juansin

Well the Foods such as Fish , Chicken and Vegetables such as Broccoli,Green Beans,Okra and Cucumber would be good selection . What do you think over all these ? .


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## lowone

Hi all,

So red meat bad  and I have so much of it in the freezer  stress level is way up yesterday and today too so maybe it played a roll??

I really like cucumbers and the diffrent types of salads that include them. But not supposed to eat raw veggies.  I was actually really craving this last night after reading your post. I have tried other bean types with success. Today is all safe foods. Tomorrow maybe I will try a cucumber salid scary high fiber! But sounds soooo good!


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## dietsavedme

SnowDay said:


> Turkey is even better than chicken imo. Very lean and very non-inflammatory. If you buy it with the skin on and on the bone it tastes way better and stays way moister throughout cooking.


Um....nope not even close to being correct! 

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/827/2

Turkey is NOT anti inflammatory.  It's actually very, very, very inflammatory.  More-so than chicken, which is also very, very, very inflammatory.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/685/2

I wish people would stop giving dietary advice based on folktales and what they think or feel...foods you eat can really help you but there is tons of mis-information on this board, so much so it's bordering on criminal.

If you're drinking ensure and eating meat - you're setting yourself up for some hurt and ill health in general.  Both are highly inflammatory.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/7708/2

Eat natural foods - ditch the boxes and prepared food.  Limit yourself to the fruit and vegetable section of your grocery store and possibly some rice.


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## dietsavedme

handle said:


> Gutrot, I have no idea why you are rubbishing Iowone's diet. Sushi, chicken, rice, and turkey are not 'supersize' foods!
> Please understand that each person's dietary needs are unique and largely depend upon the location and severity of their illness. So called healthy, whole food diets are not often possible, especially during flare-ups or with damaged intestinal tracts. People need to progress slowly towards their ideal diets.


Everyone's dietary needs are actually more or less the same.  2000-3500 calories, vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, amino acids, etc etc....we're all people.

That's a false premise to start from, that our dietary needs are all different.

So much mis-information here it's scary.


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## dietsavedme

.


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## bangarang

What about ripe bananas? Mashed sweet potatoes, or yucca or anything you can mash with some nutrition and will go down easy or even making a bone broth?

Also are you able to get yourself a juicer? If so please do you need to get some fresh fruits in veggies in your diet somehow. Most people with this illness usually become deficient in vitamins/minerals etc since we are suggested to stay away from the healthiest things for our body due to the fiber content.


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## lowone

Interesting!~ there were a few more posts here that seem to have been moderated away! I did not respond right away as I was trying to think about how I wanted to, as well as try and get a photo for the members section so yall can see how scary I am.

for disclosure here though:
Male 
200~204lb daily variation, stabilized now. 
6'2"
33 years old.
resting metabolic rate: 3300 calories, currently getting 1900~2000
stabilized weight cause other then going to work I sleep or poop!
would like to get it down a bit more but not at the rate I was loosing weight when I first posted this. 

---

I have been eating lots of rice and fish since last posting. I have also been eating store bought fresh(ish) fruit salad thingies (cantaloupe, pineapple, apple, honeydew, grapes). This has led to me floating between 4 and 5 on the Bristol chart which is pretty awesome. I think things are working on healing up pretty well as frequency has finally started to decrease too!

experimental things tried:
mocha! - success (does this mean I should individually experiment with coffee, chocolate and milk sense I have been avoiding them this whole time tell just yesterday?! i would really like to at least start back on some daily coffee/tea so I can see if i can finally squish my headache)
assorted fruits - success
lettuce/carrot salad - success
pot stickers - success

peanut butter -  fail (I am really unhappy about this one and want to retest... i dunno if its worth being alive with out peanut butter)

cucumbers, still need to test! Need to go to store tonight so might as well get some. need to experiment with more stuffs even from the cabbage family even though not supposed to cause its all yummy. 

I want to add squash/sweet potatoes etc also but need to look up some recipes as all I grew up with was dosing them with a few gallons of butter and maple syrup which probably isn't the healthiest but is tasty!

Juicer is a interesting idea, I have always wondered at the random commercials for them, I dunno If I have the discipline to clean it out all the time though. Prior to this last few months I would drink naked brand 100% juices for my "snack break" at work.


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## ekay03

Hi Iowone, rice and fish is good  I am glad you are finding things that you can eat. I don't do well w/rice. I agree, it is sad about the peanut butter. I like peanut butter too.  I can tollerate peanut butter, but maybe it is to fatty for you. Just cause you cant do peanut butter now doesn't mean later when you are more healed you could try again.


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## rygon

smooth organic peanut butter is ok with me, no added sugar either


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## SnowDay

Just a word on juicers. They can be a pain to buy/clean, you do get used to it. But there is just *NO* comparison between store-bought juices and juice that you juice yourself. Juices start to lose their potency within 10 minutes of being juiced. You can choose your ingredients and use organic veg when doing it yourself, and you _know_ where your produce is coming from.

Juices are _loaded_ with nutrients/vitamins, and stave off hunger while giving your digestive system no work whatsoever to do. Good luck.


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## lowone

Nothing new experimental to report....  But oh my gosh my old original insatiable hunger has returned!!! Hungry all the time since yesterday morning.


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## handle

Sounds good!


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