It’s normal to feel overwhelmed, frustrated and even sad or angry as you think about the changes you will need to make. Questions will run through your mind like: “How can I give up this food? Will I ever be able to eat my “red” foods again? I don’t think I can give up certain foods!! What am I going to eat for breakfast?”
Hold on! Don’t try to answer all your questions at once nor try to solve all the potential problems you may think of in the first week.
Over time you will adjust to eating differently – and even enjoy it! Our tastes do change and you learn to appreciate new flavors and different foods. If you have ever eaten cold pizza or leftovers for breakfast then you know that you can adjust to eating different foods at different meals.
Mental Preparation: It is OK to take a week or two to prepare your mind for the changes you’ll want to make before you start the program. During this time you could start by eliminating just your “red” and “yellow” foods, chemicals and ingredients. You might even have a “going away party” for your reactive foods that you may have to avoid for 6 months or even years. (What’s that? A meal where you enjoy/savor your FAVORITE reactive food, and “say goodbye for now.” I don’t recommend a party of ALL your reactive foods at one time, or you may feel absolutely horrible for up to 3 days!)
Consider finding a “Support Person,” ideally, other than your LEAP Therapist or your spouse. Somebody that will just be willing to listen as you talk, complain, cry, whine about the diet until you get to the point you can laugh and tell the good news of how much better you’re feeling!
Step One:
Read over your results and learn what your red, yellow and green foods are.
Q: One of the most frequent questions asked is “What about foods that were not tested. Can I eat them?”
A: they must be eliminated for at least 6 weeks, possibly even 3-6 months or more. This means they can be added into your diet after you are eating and tolerating all of the “green” foods. Just as you added one food per day during earlier phases, you will need to add these foods back into your diet one at a time, while you continue to log your LEAP Menu Planner and Food Symptom Diary
Become acquainted with the chemicals and ingredients you reacted to and where they MAY be found. Many of the foods listed, esp. if organic, do not contain reactive chemicals.
FYI: arugula and baby beet greens are NOT “lettuce.”
Step Two:
After you become familiar with what is involved in getting started, set yourself a start date. You may want to start when you have some time off work or during a week where you don’t have any social commitments. Start on a Monday after you have prepared some foods for the week on the weekend or stocked your freezer with “ready to eat” foods. During the time you are preparing to start the diet, you may want to prepare your body by eliminating the “yellow” and “red” foods and possibly weaning yourself off caffeine.
Step Three:
Look at all your foods in your cupboards and pantry and give away, throw away or set aside for other family members, foods that contain “red” and “yellow” foods or ingredients. Note the foods that contain “untested” ingredients. They aren’t allowed for at least 4-6 weeks either.
If the foods are too tempting for you to have around the house, it is best to get them out of the house. You might consider having separate cupboards or shelves for your food and their food. Also, check your medications and supplements for chemicals or ingredients you reacted to. You may possibly want to check with your pharmacist about fillers or colorings that may be contained in your medications. (Or review your package insert or go online to a site like www.rxlist.com). You should NOT stop any prescribed meds without the prescribing physician’s approval.
It is best to avoid any supplements that are not pure vitamins or minerals (no fillers) and to limit intake of these to only essential ones, at least for the first 4 weeks of LEAP protocol.
Step Four:
Begin planning your foods/recipes/menus for your modified Phase I (your strict 2-week immuno-calm plan).
It is important to incorporate all or most of the foods chosen for your Phase I to give yourself a variety and to provide your body with needed nutrients. Remember, you are to eat only pure, simply prepared foods using the foods and ingredients chosen for your Phase 1. Reading all labels is essential.
Keep the following in mind when planning your menus:
- Plan to eat 3-4 times per day.
- Include protein foods, fats and fruits or vegetables at all meals and snacks.
- Make your snacks something that is easy to carry and convenient to eat, especially if your time is limited.
www.Supercook.com and www.Pinterest.com/LEAPMRT and https://recipes.doctoryum.org/en/makers are a couple of places for recipe or food ideas.
Step Five:
Purchase your foods, reading your food labels carefully. Expect this to take a lot longer than your normal grocery shopping, as it will also be an “educational trip.”
You may need to go to a specialty food or health food stores like Thrive Market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, your local supermarket or your local health foods store. Many items may be ordered online also.
Step Six:
Keep a daily, detailed food and symptom diary. If doing by hand, make extra copies and keep a master on hand – or let me know and I can send you an electronic version via email as a Word or Excel document. This will help you, and me, identify any foods that may be related to symptoms you may experience. Keep one clean copy as an original. If you don’t have the success we expect, I will not know how to help you without your Food/Symptom Diary. So, this is mandatory! LEAP Menu Planner and Food Symptom Diary
Remember: The most difficult part of the program is the first few weeks. Planning, preparing and eating the food becomes easier and more enjoyable as the weeks pass, especially when you’re feeling great! Commitment to the plan and this new way of eating is much easier when you are feeling better! And, your new, good habits may improve the eating habits, choices, and health of those around you.
Step Seven:
Acknowledge your feelings. You may feel worse before you feel better. You might feel sad or angry about giving up favorite foods, or even for having to do this in the first place in order to “get well.” You might feel a bit more tired or depressed. Hang in there, stay positive, and take care of yourself! Say “no” to some other things if you need to!
