Low-FODMAP Diet-What Is It?

So, in my previous post, I talked about how I'm trying different dietary changes to see what's been causing my GI problems. For the first month, I did lactose-free. The plan for this month is lactose-free, low-FODMAP. Most people have never heard of low-FODMAP diets, but it can be an extremely beneficial lifestyle if you have symptoms like I did.

What are "FODMAPs" and what foods are they in?

FODMAP is an acronym for Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. These are a collection of molecules that are found in many foods. The FODMAPS in the diet include:
-Fructose (some fruits, honey, high-fructose corn syrup)
-Lactose (dairy products)
-Fructans (wheat, onion, garlic)
-Galactans (legumes such as beans, lentils, soybeans)
-Polyols (sweeteners containing isomalt, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol; and stone fruits such as plums, avocado, cherries, peaches, and apricots)

How do they affect the body?

FODMAPs may not be digested or absorbed well. When these molecules are poorly absorbed in the small intestine, they travel to the large intestine and become a food source for the bacteria found in the large intestine. The bacteria digest/ferment these molecules, which causes symptoms often associated with irritable bowl syndrome. These symptoms include diarrhea, bloating, gas, and cramping. Since I had all of those symptoms, my doctor suggested trying the low-FODMAP diet.

How do you do it? Isn't it hard?

Yes. It is hard. It requires A LOT of planning. Many foods that I enjoy eating have been cut out of my diet. I'm still trying to get used to it, but I have a list of foods I can eat that I carry around with me everywhere. I pull it out at the grocery store, and had it out when we went to a restaurant for lunch on Mother's Day. I have to read EVERY food label. If the ingredients list a high-FODMAP food, it's out of the question (unless its the last ingredient on the list). Since I'm "testing" myself, I'm trying to be very strict.

So, what's next?

Although wheat, barley, and rye are on the "NO" list, technically being strictly gluten-free is not part of the low-FODMAP diet. Gluten-free breads do not contain wheat, barley, or rye in them so low-FODMAP diets can sometimes become gluten-free. I haven't really been paying close attention to my gluten, as the FODMAPs are the most important right now. But next month, I will start a strict-gluten free diet along with  lactose free and low-FODMAP. It's definitely going to be hard. But it will be worth it to get a diagnosis.


I go back to the GI doctor at the end of June, and we will decide how to proceed from there. It's important to note that I can still eat pretty much anything if I wanted to. It will just be followed up by bloating and gas, but I can still indulge if I choose to. There are lots of people on low-FODMAP diets that only stick to them 90% of the time. Eating these foods will not hurt me and is technically not life-threatening (unlike with Celiac disease or Crohn's, where specific foods MUST be avoided).


My doctor put it this way:

" Feel free to still eat what you like...but maybe not on date night *winkwink* "



Baby I'm Back

Hey betches. Did you miss me? You probably think I've been sitting on my ass the past 3 months but that could not be further from the truth. Yes, I took a step back from heavy lifting, but it ended up being the best decision I ever made. Here's why.

I've talked about my health issues on this blog before, but here's a quick recap. In October I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia. My doctor told me that it was small so I shouldn't worry about it. I had a meet coming up in December, so I didn't give it much thought. After that meet, I allowed myself one month to eat whatever I wanted and enjoy the holiday season with my family.

By January, I was feeling shitty all the time. I was constantly bloated. And not just a little bloated--uncomfortable, looks-like-I'm-pregnant bloated. I couldn't hold my stomach in, it hurt to do direct core work, and if I lifted too heavy it would be 10x worse. I had no idea what was going on and just blamed it on the hernia I THOUGHT I had. I was having major digestion problems (throwing up, diarrhea, constipation, you name it. It wasn't pretty). I was feeling shitty about myself. I was in a dark place. It's important to note (as much as I HATE to admit this) that my weight went up to 130 lbs. I compete in the 114 weight class and my weight usually sits around 118-120.

I finally reached out to my friend Jordan Syatt of Syatt Fitness. We talked about everything I had going on and he agreed to train me. We decided that until I saw the doctor about the hernia, everything would be light. We would work on building a strong base with high reps and lower weight. This ended up being the best thing I ever did for myself. Using submaximal weights has had a HUGE impact on not only my training, but my physique. I am getting leaner and dropping weight while also getting stronger. Proof? My 1RM bench press before all this happened was 105. In the past month, I've repped 105x3 twice and repped 110x2. It's awesome!

My appointment with the GI Specialist finally rolled around (after waiting 4 months). The exam went something like this:

Doc: "Uhhh Christine...I'm not feeling a hernia"
Me: "Sorry what?"
Doc: "Yeah you definitely don't have a hernia"
Me: "WUT"

She did say I had abnormal inflammation and ran a few tests. The blood test results showed elevated CRP, which is an inflammation marker. For now, we're just doing 3 months of dietary changes first to see if that helps. Then I'll go back and have further tests if necessary. First month was lactose free. THIS SUCKS. You all know my favorite food is cheese. My top 5 favorite foods are grilled cheese, cheese pizza, cheese and crackers, ice cream, and mozzarella sticks. Well, those are gone from my diet now. Interestingly, I lost 3 pounds the first week I cut lactose, and my bloating has gone down significantly. Karma is a bitch sometimes! This month I'm adding low-FODMAP and the third month I'll add gluten-free. So, in June, my diet will be low-FODMAP, lactose-free, gluten-free. That one will be tough, but it will be worth it to finally get a diagnosis. For those wondering what low-FODMAP is, I'll be doing a blog on it coming soon!!

Anyways...after being seriously pissed off that I was misdiagnosed with a hernia for a day or so, I realized that maybe this was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because I *thought* I had a medical problem, I was forced to take a step back. I was forced to work on my weak spots (like my bench). I was forced to use lighter weights. And this ultimately made me stronger. I know, it's crazy and weird to think about. I was skeptical at first. I don't know how many nights I spent crying on my boyfriend's shoulder about how I was "losing all my gains".

BUT I DIDN'T! I didn't lose my gains!! They just took a little break for awhile. But now that I've got the green light from the doc, I'm ready to KILL. IT. I have seriously never been this motivated in my life. My diet is on track, I'm getting my weight back down, I look so much better, and I feel amazing. The future is bright for this lifting diva, and I could not be more excited!

So be on the look-out for new things coming from me. I've already done 12 weeks with Jordan, and I started my next 12 today. This blog will go back to being my training log, with some useful info thrown in here and there. I'll go back to doing diet updates and I started #TRXTuesdays on my Instagram which I will link up here as well.


LET'S DO THIS, BETCHES! It's good to be back!

Pancake Party

Going on day 2 of being snowed in and although yesterday I went a little stir crazy, today I am fully enjoying this time off. Monday night and yesterday we had 8 people in my apartment (with 1 bathroom!) and it got a little crazy! Today there's just 3 of us here, so I feel like I can finally relax! I spent the morning shoveling the driveway with my cousin, so that's my workout for today! Currently have a bag of ice on my back....can't wait to go back to the chiro!

Anyways....yesterday we made a breakfast buffet feast which included corn muffins, scrambled eggs, sausage with peppers and onions, bacon, and...protein pancakes! It was an amazing meal, everything was so good! And my protein pancakes were a hit with all my roomies and their boyfriends. Protein pancakes that are boyfriend approved?? I did good!! :) Now, I'm going to share my two favorite pancake recipes with you guys! I make pancakes at least once a week-they're that good and that easy. Plus, you can save them for other breakfasts throughout the week! I've saved them up to 3 days and they've tasted just as good, if not better heated up! 

Recipe 1: Classic Protein Pancakes

1 cup raw oats or oat flour (I use oat flour)

1-2 scoops protein powder (I use 2 scoops of EAS Whey vanilla protein)

3 egg whites (for fluffier pancakes, use the whole egg)

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I actually never measure the cinnamon, I just dump it in)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 packets stevia

Mix all ingredients together and bake like regular pancakes. I use coconut oil on the pan instead of cooking spray. 

Recipe 2: Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

1-2 scoops protein powder

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs whites

1/2 cup oats or oat flour

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water

3-5 packs stevia (I use 3)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth and bake like regular pancakes! Again, I use coconut oil in the pan. For both pancakes, I use sugar free, low calorie syrup. Yum!

Here's a bonus pic of our breakfast spread from yesterday:

What are your favorite protein pancake recipes? I've been wanting to try the classic recipe with chocolate powder (sans cinnamon) and topped with protein peanut butter. I think that's going to be my next baking adventure!! Hope everyone stays warm today in the snow! Don't hurt yourselves shoveling!! :)

I'm in a relationship with grilled cheese.

No, seriously. I am. And it's a problem. Grilled cheese and pizza. If I could eat these 2 foods every day for the rest of my life I would probably be happy.

Diet has been my weakness for my entire life. I am the world's pickiest eater. I'm not saying that lightly and I'm not exaggerating. It's a well-known fact in my family and social group that I'm very limited in what I'll eat.

I don't like fish. I don't like most meats, although I do eat burgers and chicken (but only chicken tenders, must be boneless, cannot be breasts/thighs, and I do not do wings). I don't really eat fruit. I eat certain vegetables, the list is short but getting longer. I'm not a big soup person. Sushi, no way.

So what DO I eat? I do LOVE quinoa and kale, so that's good. I eat salads and I do eat SOME Mexican and Asian foods. I'm obsessed with bread and cheese, obviously. I'm Italian, so I love pasta, pizza, and pretty much all Italian foods. I love potatoes in all forms as well as sweet potatoes. I love chocolate, sugar, pancakes, ice cream, and candy. I love crackers, chips, pretzels, and popcorn. I  love hummus, guac, salsa, and queso (duh). I'm warming up to protein shakes. I used to only be able to drink them when I mixed the powder with almond milk, but I found a product that tastes just as good with water (shoutout to 1st Phorm for their amazing protein!). I've never done smoothies mainly because my old blender sucked. Now that I have a Nutribullet, I'm going to find some smoothie recipes I like and actually drink them!

There are a few foods I will absolutely never eat. These include sushi, bananas, pickles, and tomatoes (tomato sauce is fine though). And let me tell you-those smoothie recipes that call for a banana but say you "won't taste it at all!" are LYING. You CAN taste it. And it's disgusting. I once threw away an entire smoothie after one sip because the banana in it made me gag.

SO.....you can see my problem!! Since I am such a picky eater, trying to "diet" is a challenge for me because I only eat certain healthy foods. I eat them all the time and then get completely sick of them. And then I fall off the clean eating wagon and don't get back on for months. It's a vicious cycle and I'm in the middle of it right now. I've decided that this time I'm going to do things a little differently. I'm not going to jump into a "diet" all at once like I normally do. Instead, I'm going to ease into it and make small life changes every week that will stick with me. Trying to do everything all at once is a sure way to set yourself up for failure. I learned that the hard way multiple times, and I'm determined to do it right this time!

Last year one of my new years resolutions for 2014 was to expand my palette and try new foods. I'm happy to report that I did that and actually ended up liking a lot of things! Chicken stir-fry is one of my go-to meals now. I've grown to love quinoa and kale. I've experimented with protein pancake recipes and found a few that I like. I started eating bacon (I know, I know). I tried my dad's lentil soup for the first time and actually enjoyed it! So, I am headed in the right direction.

Another big challenge for me is cooking. I hate cooking. If I had unlimited funds I would hire a personal chef to cook me delicious healthy meals. Since I now eat more healthier foods, one of my resolutions for 2015 is to cook more. Prepare more meals ahead of time. Use my new kitchen gadgets to make quick and easy meals even when I don't feel like it. I think this will be a huge step in my journey to healthier eating.

The last challenge I have is getting enough protein in my diet. Since I don't really like meat I have to force myself to eat chicken. Nothing is fun if you have to force it. I usually stop eating chicken after a few weeks because I get so sick of it. I'm hoping to incorporate protein into my smoothies. I got vanilla protein powder for this reason. I'm also going to continue eating protein pancakes, which I know aren't the healthiest but they're also not the worst thing in my diet. I do eat tons of eggs, so I get protein from those. I'm a huge fan of Quest bars, and I ordered the protein chips during their Cyber Monday sale and they are AWESOME. Total game changer. I had to stop myself from eating all 8 bags in one sitting! My roommates love tofu, so I think I'll put that on my list of foods to try. Other than that, I'm really going to try for a protein shake a day, even on non-training days, just to make sure I'm getting enough protein. Muscles can't grow without protein!!

So here's my plan:
-make one new recipe each week, or, at least 4 new recipes a month
-set aside time for cooking and meal prep
-go grocery shopping. just do it.
-prepare breakfast the night before on mornings that I leave at 5:15am
-also don't go to Dunkin on those mornings
-TRY NEW FOODS!
-more protein pancakes

At the end of each week I'll do a post about what I tried that week.

Last week, I used my new spiralizer for the first time to make zucchini noodles! I loved the spiralizer so much that I also used it to make a salad, a hummus wrap, and a mason jar salad....I went a little crazy with it last week! I started with the zucchini because it's supposed to be the easiest veggie to spiralize since it's so soft. I used my mom's homemade sauce that I had in the freezer for the sauce. Raw noodles are a substitute for regular pasta. The zucchini was a little crunchier than normal spaghetti but it did taste pretty much the same! I loved it and will be making them again. Next time I might even try to make my own sauce to go with them! So, successful first week of 2015 and staying on track with my goals!! Anyone have any healthy recipes I should try out? Let me know!!

Top L: Zucchini noodles with tomato sauce and parmesan. Top R: spiralized cucumber and carrot over kale salad and quinoa. Bottom L: Spiralized cucumber and carrot with hummus on whole wheat. Bottom R: Mason jar salad