5 GAPS Diet Lies

           I've been on the diet for about six months now, and trust me- it was and is a struggle.  But one thing that discouraged me in this diet was having many misconceptions about it: What it was going to look like, How I was going to feel, What food I was going to eat.  These myths I believed almost made me stop the diet many times!  So, I am going to make it a little bit easier for you all and give you the cheat sheet of lies.  Feel free to print it out so you can keep on reminding yourself that what you are feeling is totally normal.

                     5 GAPS DIET LIES

1. You are going to feel great INSTANTLY.  
          I see this and it makes me want to laugh out loud.  This is what I  had thought for so long because that is a lot of what I heard from other GAPS veterans.  When I first got on the diet, I felt like CRAP.  I went through major die off, mostly because I started out with the intro diet.  I could barely walk across the yard without having to sit down and rest, it was torture!  Even six months in a lot of times I don't feel that great, but it is just a big roller coaster, sometimes you feel amazing and sometimes you feel like a load of crap and guess what?  You have more of that ahead of you!

2. There's nothing actually good to eat
          When I got on I thought that I would be eating a lot of soup, actually I thought I would be eating TONS of soup.  Nope, actually I eat breaded chicken fingers, spaghetti, chili, muffins, pies... the list goes on and on, what you can eat is essentially unlimited, especially if you have pinterest ;p

3. You will be able to eat whatever is on the allowed list
           There will be some things you won't be able to tolerate, for me it is coconut flour and bananas, for you it might be dairy products, beans, or even nuts!  You just have to really pay attention to what your body is telling you.  If you don't listen you will prolong the diet or even stop it from working well at all.  

3. At the end of this you will be able to eat the American diet.
           Let me give you a simple answer for this one: NO.  No, you won't be able to eat McDonald's and Taco Bell every meal.  If you do all of your problems will probably start to come back again, and we all know that NOBODY wants that!  You are going to have towatch what you eat even after you finish GAPS! (I know, it's a disappointment.)  Not too much bread or processed foods and plenty of natural good for you foods will be part of staying healthy. Sorry for bursting your bubble.

4. This diet will heal me completely of every problem I have.
            My mom told me about this one, my eczema may still be there a little bit at the end, or maybe even my heartburn!  I may not be totally and completely free of complaints.  This is just part of it, but there are many GAPS success stories and so I believe that it can heal (or mostly heal) many things, especially if you stay on it for the right amount of time.

 I hope this helped you with your misconceptions!  Just keep going, stay strong, and be happy!

Emma <3

GAPS and Chocolate

 

While you're looking on websites for GAPS dessert recipes, you have probably found a trillion  ones involving chocolate!  I was really confused at this because cocoa isn't on the legal list. So I researched it and found that Dr. Natasha said that after your symptoms are gone for six months you can have cocoa, but only if your body handles it.

This was a total ray of sunshine for hopeful me.

I was really, really wanting chocolate but my symptoms weren't totally gone.... but I really, really wanted chocolate!   I first tried a recipe that had a lot of cocoa and not much else and got sick.  I was really sad but still hopeful that maybe I just had too much cocoa all at once so I made brownies.  I learned something through this... I am really not ready for cocoa! 

I got instant heartburn, much like an allergic reaction, and I felt sick and then a couple days later I could tell that I was detoxing out of my armpits because i could smell my brownies in my B.O.  (Disgusting, I know, sorry.)

Moral of the story, try a little bit of cocoa at a time and if you react, don't try it again!  Listen to your body, do what it likes, and in the end you and your body (yes, they are different) will be happier for it.

What foods have you guys tried to introduce and it ended up being a total failure?  Please don't tell me I'm the only one!

Emma<3



Quick Paleo English Muffins (Gaps Legal)

So, I found this wonderful recipe on pinterest for quick English muffins!!  For you people who hate the microwave, this recipe is not for you, because it uses the microwave!  For me this less than five minute recipe is great for when I don't feel like making anything for lunch. 

I eat it with homemade peanut butter and jam for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich taste!

Enjoy!!

Emma <3