Specific Carbohydrate Diet?

[PreOptMegs]

I was just introduced to this diet yesterday by a member on this forum. Just wondering what some opinions of this are and any success/unsuccessful stories are from this, and how hard it is to stay on it!! Thanks

[Guest gfinnebraska]

I have been doing the SCD for @ 7 weeks. It is VERY hard to stick to when you see temptations that are gluten-free all around you!!! BUT, the rewards are great as well. I feel SO much better already, and a bonus has been that I have lost 20 lbs. so far!! :) Soooo, it is up to you ~ the book suggests doing the diet for a year.

You have to ask yourself if you are willing to give up sugar, dairy, processed food, gluten-free carbs, etc. for a year!??!

Good luck and good health!!!!

[shimma]

I have found the diet very time-consuming - I spend many hours prepping food. But I've been on it for three weeks and I'm willing to stick it out because I think that even if I don't feel 100% better at the end, at least it can't hurt. At this point I'm willing to try anything! I've been gluten-free for two years and I don't feel significantly better.

[PreOptMegs]

gfinnebraska-

how long did it take to begin losing weight? I gain weight with gluten intake, so I am not sure where to start on the diet. I just sort of jumped in it (I ordered the book- it ins't in yet...) and everything I have eaten has been "legal", but is there some sort of chronological sequence to the way things should be introduced? I am sick of being stuck at this weight, so I hope this diet begins to work soon!!

[shimma]

The website Open Original Shared Link has a Food Preparation section that shows the order of introducing food. It is not really a timeline, but more of a guideline of how to build up from the basic diet. How long you stay at one stage or another depends on you and how you're feeling.

[Guest gfinnebraska]

Thank you Shimma ~

I am also a gluten "gainer" ~ I started losing weight right away ~ I had diarrhea for the first two weeks, so at first the weight loss was just from "cleaning out." At least that is what I believe! Then I started to lose... a pound about every other day.

Hang in there... stick with the eating program, and you will lose too!! I am sure of it.

I also exercise. I either go for a walk (with the dog and hubby) or work out on my treadmill. That helps too.

[PreOptMegs]

Thanks for all of the responses. I am so excited because today I broke the weight plateau I was stuck on. I am finally having success with the SCD and I couldn't be happier!

[celiac3270]

Terrific! Just remember that you cannot cheat at all on this diet if you want it to really work--similar to the gluten-free diet in that respect, I guess.

[PreOptMegs]

I just got the book, breaking the vicious cycle, and I am confused as to what I should eat in the beginning. I guess I have to cook all fruits and vegetables well, but which one's should I start out with? I have been eating lots of natural applesauce and really cooked carrots and broccoli and some cheddar cheese, but I don't know what other things I am allowed to eat in the beginning to try to ad some variety into my diet. I guess raisins and prunes are saved for later? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[cynicaltomorrow]

Check out www.pecanbread.com

There's a general food preparation guideline for adding foods back after the Intro.

[Guest gfinnebraska]

For the first two weeks I ate hamburger patties, eggs and drank fruit juice. After the diarrhea stopped, I added fruit, etc. Don't be surprised if everything runs through you for quite a while... I can only assume that is how you start the "cleaning out" process!! I kept wondering why the book kept saying, "When the D stops..." THEN I started having a lot of "D" and understood! Ha! Hang in there!!!

[PreOptMegs]

I don't have 'D', nor have I ever had it, so it is hard for me to judge when I should start to integrate more of anything in. This diet is known to help all kinds of intestional disorders, and if they don't have the 'D' either, I wonder how they know. Anyway, I sort of have to start over again with the intro diet. I realized that raisins, prunes, and shelled peanuts are for way later down the line. I don't know how to tell if a new introduced food "messes" me up or not because I don't get the 'D' and since all of this food is gluten free, it doesn't make me blow up like a balloon, which is how I usually know i've been "glutened".

[Guest gfinnebraska]

Hmmm... I don't know! I "rushed" the diet this past week, and had diarrhea again. I don't know how you know if you don't have any!!??!! That is a good question. Well, the book says to do the intro for approx. 2 weeks, doesn't it? I would just follow that time guideline and any other ones that are given by the author. I need to read through my book... again!... and see what needs to be added to my diet next. I guess that is all you can do too!!

[cynicaltomorrow]

The Intro is recommended for 2-5 days. This allows your body to start healing. Once you begin to introduce cooked fruits and veggies, you'll be able to tell how well you're dealing with them. Since you didn't do the Intro correct the first time, it would've been pretty tough to tell how the foods were affecting you. Expect to have some bloating and gas when you're first introducing cooked fruits and veggies, as well as raw fruits and veggies. Look for any pain, nausea, or D to help determine how well you're dealing with the new foods. I'm on about week 9 or 10 and I just introduced almond flour yesterday. I decided to work on getting to the raw fruits and veggies before introducing the flour or milk. It all depends on the person.

[judy05]

I just got the book this week and I also ordered the cookbook and almond flour. The cookbook has a lot of nice recipes but call for dry curd cottage cheese and homemade yogurt. At the present time I cannot do dairy(except for cheddar cheese). Has anyone tried substituting these ingredients or modifying the diet? Any help would be appreciated.If anyone is interested the cookbook can be ordered from www.lucyskitchenshop.com. You can also order the almond flour. The recipes sound very good. I don't have diarrhea so I guess I can jump right in. I do have other food intolerances besides wheat and dairy so I will have to work around them.

[PreOptMegs]

On the SCD, is jarred natural applesauce legal? I thought so at first, but now I am thinking not because of the no canned fruits thing. I had been eating a lot of it because I read a guideline that said applesauce and pearsauce should be the first things tried for fruit, but now I think they must mean homemade pear or applesauce.

[PreOptMegs]

Judy 05---

Where are you going to start and when are you going to introduce brick cheese into diet? I don't have 'D' either, so just wondering how you will treat it. Thanks.

[judy05]

I've been using cheddar cheese for over 6 months. It doesn't seem to bother me but other cheeses give me stomach pain. I guess I will follow the book for now.

This is all new for me. I am intolerant of egg whites, corn, and yeast. I also have to watch my carbs because of Diabetes, controlled by diet and exercise.

[Guest gfinnebraska]

I don't have a source for the dry curd cottage cheese either. I am going to try and buy the yogurt maker asap so I can at least use that. I have that cookbook, and the blueberry muffins in there with the almond flour are pretty good! I also made the ginger cookies. Yummy!! I had better stop... I am making myself hungry!!

[PreOptMegs]

I want to make some pecan cookies really badly.... I just need a little dessert break, but I am relatively new to the diet, so I don't know when to start integrating the "good" stuff in.

[PreOptMegs]

I had my first whole banana after 2 days on the intro diet. THings went well. No gas or any other flare ups, so I guess it wasn't too early for fruit?

[Guest gfinnebraska]

No, you should be fine. I think applesauce would be okay if you make sure you get the kind with NO added sugar, etc. I eat canned fruit ~ in its own juice. The book says that canned fruit is fine as long as there isn't any added sugar. I will double check my facts and post again.

[PreOptMegs]

I am sort of frustrated with SCD. Everytime I try to integrate something new, I see signs that I shouldn't have tried it. I have been on this diet for a while and I am sick of eating carrots, green beans, and hamburger patties. Anyone else having problems integrating things? i am dying for strawberries!

[shimma]

I can't add almonds to save my life! I keep trying, getting sick, waiting a while, and trying again. At least peanut butter seems to be ok, so I can make brownies and pancakes.

Is that really all you're eating? What foods are giving you issues? Does cooking them help?

[PreOptMegs]

I got a yogurt maker 2 weeks ago, so I started adding that, but everytime I try to add something, I get excessive gas and constant "gurgling" in my stomach that isn't ever there when I just eat carrots, ripe bananas, green beans, meat/eggs, or yogurt. Natural peanut butter doesn't give me any problems either. I have tried pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, raisins, prunes. I have read where I should de-seed fruit in the beginning, but it seems useless with strawberries!!!!!!