Happy Monday!  I hope your weekend was absolutely AMAZING.

Brian and I were lucky enough to participate in the second weekend of Yoga on the Rocks with CorePower Yoga and it was just as magical as the first time.  This time, Marisa and Noah were able to join in on the yogi fun 🙂

We also had a lovely picnic with Marisa and Noah in Cheeseman Park.  Marisa shared a rice and lentil salad with herbs and veggies from the garden and a kale salad with ALL home grown veggies.   I made a pesto potato salad (recipe coming soon!), a strawberry, tomato, cucumber salad, and some low FODMAP strawberry shortcake for dessert.  All of the food was fantastic! And the company was perfect 🙂

A pic of Brian’s bowl with ALL the salads topped with some local cheddar cheese Marisa shared.

While I didn’t share a post on Friday due to a slightly busier schedule, I have been eating some really delicious food and wanted to share that with you.  I also wanted to post a little update in my gut healing, low FODMAP-eating journey.

Zucchini Noodles (from Whole Foods since I don’t have a spiralizer) with homemade pesto, basil leaves, cherry tomatoes and shrimp.

Scrambled eggs with spinach, cherry tomatoes, and plantains

Lunch bowl:  roasted sweet potatoes, roasted vegetable mixture, sauteed kale and grilled chicken topped with dijon, salt and pepper.

I was inspired by Lindsay to try a new-to-me food…a rutabaga!

I roasted the rutabaga and served it with orange rosemary salmon and steamed zucchini.  Yum! The rutabaga was kind of potatoey and very delicious.

Now onto the tummy stuff…

While things still are not 100% with my stomach issues, things are definitely better than they were before seeking treatment for a GI doctor.

Back in November of 2014, I decided to see a GI doctor about some issues I was experiencing with my stomach because it was really affecting my quality of life and honestly I was just fed up!

Stomach Symptoms I was Experiencing Prior to Treatment:

• Significant bloating throughout the day (for example, clothes would fit fine in the morning with a little wiggle room and by the evening I couldn’t even button my pants…#embarrassing)
• Sharp stomach pains at least once a week.  The only thing that would make the pain go away was laying down in the fetal position and going to sleep.  Unfortunately, the pain didn’t always come in the evening so that remedy wasn’t always an option.
• Constipation, and incomplete emptying. Like going once a week (sorry for the TMI) and experiencing horrible stomach cramping because of this. 
• Gas

Those were the biggest symptoms I experienced.  I was “diagnosed” with IBS-C and treated for SIBO, although I was not technically tested for SIBO.  After playing around with the amount of fiber I was consuming, probiotics, taking a few different supplements, and a low FODMAP diet I kind of  have a little system figured out that is working for me if I stay very regimented.

What I am currently doing to help with my stomach issues:

• Sticking with a low FODMAP approach to eating.  When I have incorporated foods that are higher FODMAP (such as avocados, more than a quarter cup of oats, more than 10 almonds, large amounts of fruit, consuming protein powder with high FODMAP ingredients like pea protein, eating gluten) my stomach bloats severely, I typically get a stomach pain much like I did before treatment 1-2 days after eating the high FODMAP food, and I am constipated.  Right now, staying pretty strict with a low FODMAP diet and watching my portion sizes is really helping. 
• Taking a daily probiotic
• Taking a magnesium citrate supplement
• Taking a peppermint oil supplement
• Taking digestive enzymes
• Managing my stress (talking about things that are stressing me out, practicing yoga, listening to podcasts, deep breathing, taking more “me” time.)

All of the above items are things that were recommended to me by my doctor or a Registered Dietitian that I worked with a couple of times.  If you are experiencing stomach issues, I can’t urge you fast enough to seek help from a medical professional.

While things are not yet 100% I have definitely seen improvements.  I’ve even seen improvements in areas that I didn’t realize were an issue until things got better!

Improvements I noticed on the low FODMAP diet:

• Clearer skin.  This one was a SHOCKER!! I have never really had “bad” skin but I would definitely get the occasional zit or two.  Over the past few years, I noticed the back of my arms getting extremely bumpy and my face getting more than a couple of zits, yet I didn’t know what to do about it and didn’t do anything to fix it.  Since I started strictly limiting my gluten and dairy in addition to the high FODMAP foods my skin has been SO clear.  I love it! 
• Less bloating (better on most days but still some bad days).
• More regularity but still not 100%.
• Less frequent stomach aches.  When I went to see the doctor, my bad stomach aches were happening weekly.  Since making necessary changes in my diet and taking certain supplements I have only had my bad stomach pain maybe a total of 4 times (YAY!).  
• Much less gas.

One thing that I want to mention is that I did undergo testing to see if I had the gene for celiac disease, and I don’t.  Because I don’t have the gene for celiac disease, there is a very slim chance that I have celiac disease.  That being said I have found that I am still sensitive to gluten, and many medical professionals are noticing similar situations with their non-celiac patients so they have come up with the term “Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity” (NCGS).  So, even thought I do not have the disease, I am still staying away from gluten because I notice a significant difference in the way I feel and the way my skin looks.

Thanks so much for all of your support and following along with my journey.  If some of this information seems to be similar to what you experience personally, please feel free to message me and ask any extra questions!  While I am not an expert in this area, I could help you find resources in your area that will help you begin the healing process as well. 🙂

I hope you all have a fabulous Monday and rest of the week!! I’ll see you guys again on Wednesday with a tasty recipe 🙂