Specific carbohydrate diet

[chief]

specific carbohydrate diet

hey all, just wanted to know how many people here have tried the specific carbohydrate diet and how long for? it didn't work very well for me the first time, i'm not feeling well at the moment and am thinking of giving it another go. Thanks

 

[shazamataz]

Hi chief,

weird that I was just signing on to ask about this myself!

I am still new to all this and currently on low res while things are healing. before I took myself to hospital (and got diagnosed), a newly acquired friend of mine, who happens to have Crohns, had told me about it, as she thought correctly i was experiencing some form of IBD.

She swears by it and so I headed in that direction, though wasn't eating much at the time, so it wasn;t that hard to stop all the 'bad' stuff! I have had no chocolate for over 2 months and that is quite an achievement I can tell you!

I am kinda thinking in the SCD direction now and have cut out/substituted quite a few of the forbidden carbs (eg using pumpkin instead of potato), but am still struggling with all the adjustments of low res as well, so am certainly not doing it fully.

What I am hoping is that one can do it to some degree and still see benefits without turning into a complete food weirdo!

Will be good to hear of others' experiences and how it has worked or not.

I've found the transition to honey in drinks instead of sugar easy but am finding lunches and breakfast quite hard. so, any suggestions from others will be welcome for me too!

 

[Mazen]

Hi Chief. I once tried it for 2 months and it helped a lot.

Now I'm not feeling well also, lots of pain in my ileum and tenderness in my LRQ, so I just started it about a couple of days ago and i'm already starting to feel a little better; let's see. My main problem is I have a stricture in my ileum so my SCD should be low residue also, which makes the food choices even more strict !!! Oh, I'm also taking an SCD multivitmain, Fish oil and Pentasa.

Shaz: My main breakfast on SCD is boiled or scrambled Omega 3 eggs and some cheddar cheese with a cup of weak tea and honey, bananas

For lunch: beef patty, fish filet, chicken soup, boiled veggies (carrots, zuchini, pumpkin.....), vegetable soup.....

 

[shazamataz]

Thanks Mazen,

I really just need to get motivated on the breakfast and lunch thing. Lunch needs to be portable and able to be eaten cold for work.

If I am at home (only work 3 days a week) I often do the omelette thing. I don;t think I could eat all that for breakfast as I generally struggle to eat anything but then end up starving and eating something I shouldn't pre-lunch.

I find dinner not too bad and make substitutes as opposed to doing SCD recipes - there are lots of nuts in there and I am allergic as well as being on low fibre too!

Seems like it may be an answer, but perhaps not the only one. I do think the bad bacteria things is relevant, for me anyway, as I have had candida problems for years - no wonder I always have craved sugar so much!!

shaz :Flower:

 

[Mazen]

Yeah. I'm also having trouble with eating low residue on SCD as well as finding some portable food, as I travel lots. some ideas may be: bananas or any fruit you can tolerate, canned tuna or sardines in water or oil, canned fruits in own juice, honey, ......

Another problem for me is the home made yoghurt since I cannot find a suitable yoghurt maker in my country. any ideas on how to do it without a yoghurt maker?

You can find lots of SCD info and recipes on the below site:

http://www.pecanbread.com/new/recipes.html

My main cravings while on SCD are not sugar, but bread!!!! I die for it each day

 

[fenway1971]

My main cravings while on SCD are not sugar, but bread!!!! I die for it each day

I read all about SCD, bought the book but haven't adopted it. Instead, I have my own Fenway version. Basically, I read the what you can/can't eat list and cut out as much as of the can'ts.

I have sugar and bread every once in a while - but I find I don't crave it. By once in a while, I mean once a week at most. Ok, well, I have sugar more frequently, but I don't eat cookies or sweets on a daily or every other day basis like I used to.

I can also tolerate veggies and salads so that's my lunch. Bfast is always a hard-boiled egg (protein!), bananas and yogurt. I don't do the special homemade type - I can tolerate the over-the-counter stuff.

I believe that following the premise of the SCD regularly works for me. But, I know myself and can't adhere to something as strict as that.

 

[Mazen]

Hi Fenway. Yeah, I think it's very tough adhering strictly to SCD. I just bought some Goat Milk Yoghurt. I will give it a try and see if I can tolerate it. Also some things like Chick peas are not allowed on SCD, so Hummus is out? any ideas why?

 

[fenway1971]

Hi Mazen - haven't seen you in a while. All well?

I laud anyone who adheres to it. No idea on chickpeas - i love hummus and have no problem with it. But, if i just put chickpeas in a salad, my stomach revolts. Very strange. I also can't do falafels because they're fried.

I think if one cuts (or significantly restricts) sugar and wheat/breads, that's more than half the battle.

 

[Guestly]

I am finding diet very difficult at the moment. I have coeliac disease so I don't eat any bread. I am one of those weirdos who hovers around the fresh bread counter in supermarkets - I just LOVE that fresh baked smell!

During the course of this disease I seem to have one by one eliminated all the things I used to eat... I am down to grilled fish and smash (instant mash potato) now.... If I feel like having a party I put salad cream on it! I can tolerate cottage cheese on maize crackers as long as I don't over do it. Ooh and Complan...yum!

What a party eh! And yes - I do get perceived as a total nut job whenever we are out... this weekend we were with family who generally like to eat (all the time, and mostly donuts), and they so don't get it - they just think I'm faddy...

In order to avoid the raised eyebrows situation I just made the best of it and ate fries and chicken from the wimpey menu while we were out. Normally if I was out with hubby and the kids I would just not eat and its no big deal - they understand, hubby would run to costa and get me a soya milk hot chocolate (they are ok and my favourite treat)...

I find its better to simply not eat than be leaving a trail of poop behind me on family days out.... I have nightmares about pebbledashing hundreds of innocent daytrippers while on wild theme park rides...

So, yesterday I ate the chicken (it was rank)... cue stomach cramps and frantic dashes to the disabled toilets for the rest of the afternoon. The relatives thought I was a miserable cow, and smart individuals outside the loos felt they should berate me for using the facilities when not in fact wheel chair bound or in any obvious way disabled...

I'm still funky today and languishing on the sofa like a beached whale in "recovery"... and its back to smash and grilled fish....with a cheeky glass of soya milk - I know how to live!

I wasn't exactly skinny when this started (ok I was FAT), but I have dropped 40lbs in the last four months - my clothes look amazing... my concern is that at this rate I could have a weight problem again, but at the opposite end of the spectrum to the bloater I once was!

Have your Gasto Consultants put you on special regimes for this SCD? If so I will ask mine when I next see him....

Also chick peas.... they are so wrong.... they seem to reform on the way through, and god help you on the way out... to quote my 8yr old.. "It comes out yer bum like a bullet from a gun... DIARHOEA!" (You have to sing it in a jolly fashion to appreciate it).

God I am rambling again... I must leave this site alone, once I start I can't stop.. in more ways than one.

Chin up everyone (if only to keep your nose as far from your butt as possible).

Lishyloo!

 

[JohnPet]

SDC experience

I think this diets helps. I'm also thinking that in general, low carb is helpful. I'm not worried so much about being 100% compliant - but am just paying attention to what seems to work best.

I did get a partial blockage because the diet is so high in fiber - and I had (at the the time) a stricture in my ileum.

I've recently had the stricture removed - and I'm again trying to stay low carb, off the breads/sugar. I favor freshly cooked meats (incl fish and chicken), veggies and fruit. Honey and almond flour didn't agree with me.

For me, the diet reduced pain the ileum - and also I could tell that the effects of the diet were not short lived - but seemed to help my digestion in general. BM became more well formed, etc.

I'm just about to start Pentasa -- and also I need to avoid alcohol - but I still have some red wine from time to time.

Also I am eating gluten free rice crackers, cheese, hummus - for snacks - and fruit (I like berries). Seems to be working pretty well for me. I also take probiotics, VSL#3, and Dan Active (L Casei).

I have low Vitamin D - and so I am getting some sun and taking a supplement. And I am trying to exercise daily.....

 

[chief]

hey all thanks for all the replys, the scd diet is alot of work for me and if i go on the diet i like to do it properly, i dont have the energy to do that at the moment ive being sick for the last 3 weeks now.

It's funny how sometimes i eat trash and i feel great, and then other times i eat healthy and feel **** ???:ybatty: mmmmmm what can u do

 

[littleone]

i don't have the willpower to stick to it.

 

[shazamataz]

Yeah, I reckon every 'bad' thing you cut out or reduce must be helpful, so that's what i continue to do.

No more bread is not so hard. No Pasta or rice or potato is not so hard. No sugar?!! Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh! :ybatty: I can't seem to cut that out completely and still have a buscuit or two for aftrenoon tea - but have cut sugar down by a lot as I was a real junkie before.

I am also doing some natural remedies like probiotics (which help deal with the gut flora issue which is the whole theory behind SCD).

I have no idea whether my changes are helping because I am still tapering Prednisone, but we shall see!

I guess any improvements in diet are generally good for us. We eat so much rubbish these days eh?

Shaz :Flower:

 

[bomber]

Thanks Mazen,

I really just need to get motivated on the breakfast and lunch thing. Lunch needs to be portable and able to be eaten cold for work.

If I am at home (only work 3 days a week) I often do the omelette thing. I don;t think I could eat all that for breakfast as I generally struggle to eat anything but then end up starving and eating something I shouldn't pre-lunch.

I find dinner not too bad and make substitutes as opposed to doing SCD recipes - there are lots of nuts in there and I am allergic as well as being on low fibre too!

Seems like it may be an answer, but perhaps not the only one. I do think the bad bacteria things is relevant, for me anyway, as I have had candida problems for years - no wonder I always have craved sugar so much!!

shaz :Flower:

I find for breakfast that I eat a smoothie. I use homemade yoghurt, almond milk and frosen berries. Also for breakfast I can take with me is a homemade tea buscit with legal peanut butter on it. That way I can take it with me on my way to work. I also only work 3 days a week and |I make salads with avocado in it. I does get alot easier once you get started. I was not the type of person that planned ahead for meals and know I do after two months of being on it. I hope this helps and good luck!!