When Your Biggest Trigger Is Your Favorite Food

Changing your diet is hard. Not eating foods that you typically would eat daily, found comfort in, relished in its taste, or had memories attached to can be a challenge that is hard to overcome.

Food is personal. Especially in the Western world, we truly find pleasure in food. Color, texture, presentation, traditions, and memories are all tied up in our food. We have the luxury of not only getting the nutrients we need out of food, but we add the layer of experience to it that can complicate things when it comes to diet change.

Once I was diagnosed with IBS and Crohn’s disease, it was clear that my diet had to drastically change. It was clear that the food I was eating was not helping my health and, in fact, making symptoms worse.

What I craved made me sick

Wheat is a huge culprit for me, among other food items. Wheat is the number one suspect in my diet.

I grew up eating loads of bread. Whenever we would dine at a restaurant, and the waiter would drop off a bread basket to the table, I inhaled it. I absolutely love bread. I love sandwiches as well. Anything with bread is a love of mine. Toast for breakfast is comforting. Bread during a meal comforts me. I love to take a piece of bread and soak up any sauce left on my plate or dip a piece into a warm soup.

Pasta is another offender. In another life, I must have been Italian. Any kind of pasta I would always welcome. From a classic spaghetti or lasagna, to Fettuccini Alfredo or stuffed shells—I’m all in. Pasta with tomato sauce, pasta with cream sauce, pasta with vodka sauce, pasta with olive oil and salt. I love pasta—can you tell? My mouth is watering as I type. But let’s move on before I go down a pasta spiral.

Change was needed to improve my health

It became very clear that my diet was contributing to my diagnosis. I had to change what I ate if I wanted to improve my health. It was quite simple. Change the way I eat, or get more sick.

There is an anonymous quote I read online that inspired me: you cannot heal in the same environment that made you sick.

I was not going to heal and get better if I was going to continue staying in the same environment and my environment included my diet and how I was eating. I had to change. I had to change my approach to food—how I saw food and interacted with it.

Removing my favorite food from my diet

The very pleasure I sought from food was making me sick. The number one food I would indulge in, was the number one food that was giving me symptoms. And I know this for a fact, because the moment I cut out bread and pasta, my symptoms drastically improved. The one food I crave, was the one food that I shouldn’t have.

So here is a piece of advice. Take a look at your diet. Take note of the foods you constantly crave and find yourself losing control over. If it is a food that is not nutrient dense and healthy, perhaps that is a key into a food you should look into cutting out. If able, consult with a dietician for guidance and learn to change your perspective on food. Instead of seeking only pleasure in eating, change your focus on eating for health.

Can you relate?  Have you cut out any foods in your diet and seen great improvement with symptoms?  If so, share below, we love to hear from you.