#Restricted medical diet

[thebibliosphere]

hey so with your, you know, everything. do you not have problems with your blood sugars, especially since youre on a limited diet? and does the chronic inflammation cause any problems with your organs/metabolism/hormones?

Oh yeah, my insides are fucked. The GI doctor informed me of that quite cheerfully after he shoved a camera into me at both ends. The biopsy showed a bunch of mast cell inflammation through my digestive tract. Christ knows what the rest of my organs look like.

Blood sugar I’m able to manage pretty well because a lot of my safe foods are carbs, but I’m unable to digest a lot of protein or a lot of other nutrient-rich foods so I rely on supplements.

(And before anyone suggests meal replacement formulas-- a lot of them are high in nickel content food and I can’t have them because I have a nickel allergy.)

Still, I’m doing better than I was back in 2019 when I was reacting to tap water and living on oatmeal. By comparison, my 27 safe foods mean I’m eating like a king.

I also try to reintroduce more foods when I can, especially the nutrient-dense ones. It doesn’t always work out, but hey. You do what you can with an illness like this.

[jmtorres]

in a variant of useless arguments that unfortunately i can't just use the block button on, i am reliving a wtfry from like five years ago because i'm trying to sort through my medical history and figure out if i have any further lurking disasters and i'm currently stuck on

me: i am trying to eat healthier so i want to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet

nutritionist: no don't eat more fruits! that's too much sugar! sugar is bad for you!

like really we're not talking about processed foods or added sugars, this person straight up told me there was too much sugar in raw, fresh fruit

[shaniacsboogara]

made a mug cake today. absolutely baller

[monster-noises]

I'll put this under a cut and also don't read the tags if like... talk about what might be disordered eating habits or like.. struggling with food/eating are an issue for you.

I drink my tea and I try not to think about it, I eat my dinner and I try not to think about it, I worry that I've been trying not to think about it too much (despite calculating every meal and snack as carefully as I can with some exceptions for special occasions, which haunt me like regretful specters) and so I've Fucked myself, So I think about it, Everything in my brain starts to scream and, despite being hungry, I don't want to eat anymore or ever again, because clearly everything Bad and Dangerous, doubly so if it's Tasty and brings me Joy and if eating isn't Enjoyable then what's the fucking point? and I'm starting to think there Are no Good Foods Anyway, everything's going to add to the blazing pyre that Will kill me (It's a manageable disease that thousands if not millions of people live with, if it even develops, but it is still very dangerous and that frightens me) and I have no way of keeping track of what's happening inside my body or knowing if I'll ever not feel frayed and stressed and anxious (which affects my work and my art, which is the biggest most heartbreaking theft in all of this) or be able to enjoy a nice meal ever again and then I Spiral Spiral Spiral and Spiral, and then I realize I need to be up at 5am and I keep eating dinner and trying not to think about it.

[fairiencarnate]

I used to love those anti diet posts that were like "eat that cake. eat that chocolate. do what feels good babe" because they enabled me to keep harming my vital organs. Now they make me want to scream bc like girl I would LOVE to. I'm fighting the urge every second. But I would sugar dose myself into a diabetic coma if I just did what felt good. I would bleed myself into iron deficiency if I did what felt good. Doing what feels good would cause some of my favourite organs to stop functioning. It's made me realize... Doing what feels good is a privilege not all are blessed with.

[doomspaniels]

Whoever it was who told me that Purina hydrolyzed kibble looks like Corn Pops, you were so right. Smells just like Corn Pops, too. I blame you for pointing it out and making me crave them 🤣

[allalrightagain]

The issue is that just because I have something to celebrate does not mean I get to eat 30 hostess cupcakes per day.

[tinnifast]

Food log, 11/4: protein shake (500), chicken and egg sandwich (500), steamed rice + grilled chicken (500)

Had to eat really high yesterday because I was with my partner and she’s hellbent on stuffing me with food to help me recover from my sinus infection, but thankfully I was able to purge all of this via-vomiting, minus the shake and of course my meds that I’m on for my infection.

Rn it’s past noon and I haven’t eaten but I’m about to have a lemonade slushie from sonic. We got it yesterday but I froze it to save it for today. Hoping to have just that and some lowcal soup for the day but I’ll let y’all know how that goes come tomorrow- today sonic is having a sale on their shakes and I won’t be surprised if my partner peer pressures me into getting one with her 🤭

TMI, haven’t pooped in a while so gonna use some laxatives and I’m kinda hoping that leads to a big drop in the next couple days. I wanna be at 160 by the end of the month and despite me having been sick and everything I’m actually feeling super motivated.

Speaking of- my partner went to grab breakfast for herself this morning so I actually got to weigh in since she was gone! 167.0! That’s the least I’ve weighed since this relapse started, and I’m really excited about it. I was hoping to be under 167.0 by Monday and now it looks like I may actually get there.

Only issue is I have a doctor’s appointment Tuesday where I know they’re going to weigh me and if they see I’ve lost like 10 pounds since the last appointment in October, there’s going to be questions. I’m going to experiment with layering clothes and seeing how much weight that puts on according to the scale at home. If that mixed with drinking a ton of fluids doesn’t help, I pre-purchased ankle weights in anticipation for this that I can just try and wear under loose pants. I’ll let y’all know how that clownery works out 😂

I’m feeling a lot better since my hospital visit but I’m still really congested so I’m using that as an excuse not to have dairy/milk/anything too fatty while I’m with my partner today.

Last thing; a tip for any of y’all who struggle with stomach acid build up or acid reflux bc of your eating, try Pepcid! It’s over the counter and has been working really well for me lately to manage my hunger-nausea. Zofran is great too but you need a script for that lol.

-tinni💙

[therevengeoffrankenstein]

yeah it's shitty to hate on special diets/strict dietary needs and restrictions btw no matter what always.

[cutesynightmare]

My personal saviors. 🙏🙌

[thebibliosphere]

I'm still, so, so, so fucking scared to say my MCAS is in 'remission' (or as close as you can get with an illness like this), but I just had a gluten-free cupcake with strawberry jam in the middle and a white chocolate ganache on top, and if you'd told me less than four years ago that was a thing I'd be able to eat without going into anaphylaxis and setting myself back months in terms of recovery, I would never have believed you. Hell, a few months ago, I wouldn't have been able to eat this because I wasn't on the right meds.

And today I get to have a little treat with lunch because I feel like it.

[ahhvernin]

The most heartbreaking moment in my life was how when I was a college freshman, I promised myself "I will get a waffle iron when I have my shit together!", 7 shitty apartments and 14 years later, I finally got my shit together, got a waffle iron, only for the doctor, 6 months down the road, to be like, "you shouldn't eat bread anymore."

My life lesson to you....

Don't wait to get the kitchen appliance that will make your favorite food. Because some medical bullshit might come your way if you wait.

And to spite my doctor....I am gonna find a waffle recipe that I can eat. I waited 14 fucking years to make waffles at home for the rest of my life and I ain't tossing this fucking iron. So if any of you gluten free folks know how to make a delicious, sweet, fluffy, CW-ispy waffle, without wheat, almond, chickpea or pea flour, please let me know!!

I'm going to have my waffles dammit!!!

[dorianbrightmusic]

some thoughts on body neutrality, moral perfectionism, and reasons for recovery

I've been having quite a fun time in therapy lately. And I'm gonna be sharing some of the things I've contemplated of late, in part because I am having quite the body-hating week.

In my own experience, having an ED means being a moral perfectionist. I want to point out the present tense here—while I'm officially three years into full remission, I still walk with my ED's voice dictating edicts on all it finds disgusting or reprehensible, and sometimes, I can't distinguish it from my own. The problem with moral perfectionism is that everything is a matter of morals—there is no distinction between logic and emotion. Body positivity feels, at this point, impossible—even if I liked my body (which I don't), it's still too often dysfunctional or achey to really be comfortable with. I'm grateful that it's as functional as it is, but it's still frustrating that it doesn't quite work as I wish it would. Body neutrality should resolve this frustration, or make space for it, at least. But the problem is, how can one be body-neutral when everything, everything, has moral worth? When everything requires judgement?

When I first was ill, my reasons for recovery were thus: I was embarrassed by my illness, and I felt horrible for my parents. So, I forced myself to regain weight, hoping it would mean Mum and Dad wouldn't worry about me any longer. Of course, weight restoration made things better, but it didn't exactly resolve a lifetime of internalised biases and judgements that had culminated in anorexia nervosa. And even all these years later, I still have never had a reason to want recovery on my own terms. I've wanted to not worry others, and I've wanted not to have to ever go back to refeeding. I've wanted not to go back to the vivid, violent intrusive thoughts, or to the possibility of hair loss. But I didn't really want to be well for my own sake, otherwise.

Recently, I've had to avoid FODMAPs, and the result is that I'm restricting again for medical reasons. And it's difficult not to fall back into ignoring dietary advice, difficult not to give into the bit of my brain that wants to maintain the supposedly unwanted weight loss. So, I have to find some reason not to give in, especially when body neutrality feels impossible, and when every percentage of a kilogram lost or gained feels like a sin.

My therapist asked me: if everything is moral, what value do you want to attach weight stability to?

Once, I'd have said 'compassion', because I didn't want to hurt people. This time I stopped a moment, and said 'resilience' instead.

She asks me to elaborate.

'The thing is, if I'm working with "compassion", the problem is that it's all about trying not to upset others. And at the end of the day, that says that my body's inherently an upsetting thing to other people. That it's good or bad. It's feeding back into the same problem as "justice": it's attaching the whole thing to external valuation.

'But if I go with "resilience" instead, it's not about whether it's perceived as better or worse, be that better in terms of"'less large'"or "less sick and less upsetting to others". Instead, the moral worth comes from choosing resistance anyway, regardless of whether other people can see that.'

When you recover because you don't want to hurt people, you still end up believing that your body is either good or bad, and that you are, for all intents and purposes, covered in spikes, and agonising to touch. But if you instead focus on recovery for the sake of your own inner strength, there's capacity for growth, but no chance of feeling judged by the universe itself for existing in ever so slightly a different shape to yesterday. There's still a moral worth and a sense of gratification from working towards resilience, but it's not something you have to scrounge about for.

So, starting from here, I'm in recovery on my own terms. And I think that's important, because it's thus a little easier to tolerate eating, and to tolerate sitting still, and to tolerate aching. It's a little easier to tolerate the weight of being when you exist for your own sake, rather than someone else's.

[christinaroseandrews]

Relevant to my life right now...

What I wouldn't give for a carrot or an apple.

[switchelsweets]

This is not directed at the guy I rb’d it from, and I KNOW this is not a new post or discussion, it’s just under my skin and I’ve decided this is my hill to die on today

Rant below the cut

It’s. It’s mechanically separated chicken.

They don’t throw the damn chicken in whole. They separate it. They separate the meat from the bones etc and use the meat.

Did OP think that chicken meat is white when it’s raw? Cuz it’s not. It’s pink. Naturally. There’s no dyes. It’s that bright right now bc the fine grinding process incorporated air into it.

And the ammonia is a gas that naturally kills bacteria and then dissipates on its own. There’s none of it left behind in the food. You know how you can tell? Cuz your chicken doesn’t smell like piss.

I know this is an old-ass post but for gods’ sakes I’m tired of seeing food processing being sensationalized into absolute devilry. (This is not an ‘everywhere’ phenom, I know, nor is it a vegan thing. Vegan chefs could process lead into gold and it’d be delicious. It’s a diet culture thing.)

It’s just food. We reshaped the food for you. Is it any healthier for that? No. We probably added breading that has salt and fat and simple carbs and not much else. But it’s not gore and it’s not poison.

Food does not need to be ‘pure’ or ‘whole’ or ‘all natural’. It’s fine to just eat the food. As long as you’re getting fed and it’s not making you sick. Take care of yourself in the way your body needs and allows. Some days, that’s a chicken patty. So be it.

Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it. Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this. There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color. But, hey, at least it tastes good, right? High five, America!

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books by Michael Kindt

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[gay-jesus-probably]

As a general rule, if you're having food cravings, you should probably pay attention to that, because it's usually a sign that your body needs something. Like, if you've just finished a workout and are suddenly desperately craving fries? Maybe you're low on salt, you did just sweat a whole bunch. Period cravings for junk food? Your body's under some stress and working hard, you need energy, and foods with a lot of fat and/or sugar are an easy way to get that.

Back in the early 1900's when exploring Antarctica was all the rage, y'know what was a major part of everyones daily rations? Butter. Just butter. The men out on the sledging teams would have cravings to eat entire sticks of butter with nothing else, so that was included in their rations. And that happened because under those extreme circumstances, their bodies desperately needed as many calories as possible, so their diet consisted mainly of butter, chocolate, and animal fat. Eating entire sticks of butter was the healthiest possible diet for them.

That's an extreme example of course, but my point is, there's no such thing as inherently Good or Bad food. Anything that's edible can be healthy under the right circumstances, just like anything can be an unhealthy choice under the wrong circumstances. Your body knows what it needs. Listen to it. Unless you're actively going through a serious medical situation, you do not need a tightly restricted diet. Diet culture is a scam, body fat is natural and healthy, food is good for you, and calories are the fuel your body needs to power its continued survival.