Diet "fads" & No dairy?

Brattina88

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#1
I'm trying to learn as much as I can and be as healthy as I can for ME ;) I've been having some health issues lately, but I'm getting better. One of the things is I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in Jan. The first time I've had a "solid" answer in a while. I'm working with my doctor, going to a specialist Wed, and doing well with the medication requirements (to avoid the absorbtion issues, etc)

I think paleo, gluten free, etc are great but also I feel nothing works 100% perfectly for everyone. I've been doing "my" thing since right before Chistmas, and I feel like I'm dong well. And my main problem, personally, is affordability. It's cheaper to eat crappy. And that sucks! But it's not an excuse...

But anyways... I feel good! finally.
I'm following my own little variation paleo, so I know I can't really call it that. Meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, yum. No bread or pasta at all, but I will have small amounts of cereal (Cheerios or my weakness Special K) or oatmeal. I'm cutting out as much processed food as much/fast as I can. No sugar, sweets, artificial sweeteners, pop, or caffiene. I do consume dairy, cheese is another serious weakness of mine lol. And I also chose gluten free as much as possible, but again, I'm not going to sit here and claim 100%.

I don't see any of this as a diet. Along with regular exercise It's been a real positive lifestyle change. :)

My question is, a lot of people in one of the FB groups I'm in STRONGLY recommend to me going dairy free, and have a list of reasons that you're suposed to benefit from, and the main thought 'they' all agreed on is that we're the only mammals that drink milk like we do as adults. No one thought that is a good choice.

So, Thoughts?

I'm allergic to tree nuts, so a lot of snack suggestions and milk substitutions I have to avoid (I can have peanuts, though). And it's best to wait four hours after taking thyroid medication to consume any products that contain soy... So I was slightly considering the coconut milk they recomended, if I would actually benefit from it. Who knows :eek:

So anyone, please feel free to share experiences, critique, ask questions, etc about my "diet" :p lol
 

amberdyan

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#2
I think your diet sounds great. I cut out as much processed foods as I can (I occasionally make my own whole wheat bread and eat soy ice cream- but it's not very often!) I mostly eat veggies, fruit, sometimes brown rice and sometimes Tempeh. I also drink a lot of tea. I don't eat meat or dairy, and I cut them out at different times (meat first, then dairy) and getting rid of dairy did way more for my health. I'm sure it's not for everyone but I just have so much energy and feel so GOOD now that I don't eat it. Cheese was hard to break (it has a lot of Casein, which is actually physically addictive. I craved it like a drug, lol) but I don't even miss it now.

I also take powdered magnesium supplements because when I looked at my diet and plugged stuff in to a nutritional calculator, I was always super low and it's a common dietary "hole" for people. Taking it has made me sleep better.

I also drink fermented probiotics like Kombucha and Water Kefir. : )
 

Fran27

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#3
Well I'd rather die 5 years earlier than quit dairy, personally (and I don't believe any food is 'bad' for you in moderation). I love my dairy too much, lol.

I've lost 80 pounds just watching calories and not sticking to any 'diet'. IMO the best diet is the one you'll be able to stick to... It's not just about losing weight, it's about being able to maintain that diet once you've lost the weight too (I really can't eat MUCH more than I did while losing weight, or I'd gain the weight back). Can't imagine never eating sugar anymore, for example, so I have small servings when I want something sweet (I have a mega sweet tooth anyway, cutting it out would have been the best way to make sure I wouldn't stick to it).

For money, it's actually cheaper to eat well, frankly... but no pasta, rice etc is definitely going to make it harder, as those things are super cheap in bulk. But check http://www.budgetbytes.com/ for ideas.
 

Beanie

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#4
IMO more people would do better if they found a definition of paleo/primal that works for them rather than being overly obsessed with IS THIS PALEO OR NOT??? The non-paleo stuff in my diet is there because I needed additional calories, and when I added it back in, I still felt great, didn't get sick, et cetera. So rice is a part of my life, corn is a sometimes part of my life. There's an article somewhere talking about personal paleo and "sometimes foods" but I'm too lazy to look for it right now LOL. It sounds to me like you're on the right track and aren't sweating it too much.

I think people are really eager to suggest things that worked for them. Is the group you're a part of a thyroid group? You're dealing with some pretty specific things because of that. Avoiding gluten products is probably helpful for you for different reasons that aren't entirely related to the gluten but moreso the nutritional makeup of the product. I would have to do some looking again but I do think there's some cases where removing dairy has been beneficial for thyroid problems as well... but I don't remember for sure. What does your doctor say? I do know of some people who are able to control thyroid issues with diet, but they do it working very closely with doctors and being really strict about their diet.
 
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#5
Try it. Cut dairy for a week or two, and see how you feel. Personally, I feel best when I'm not eating dairy. But I feel better if I am, than if I'm not and have some ice cream or milk. I do best dairy free, OK habitual dairy, and worst occasional dairy.

(Even when I'm dairy free, I still use butter and eat full fat Greek yogurt)

I think the "we're the only mammals that drink milk" thing is a little silly. We're the only mammals that cook meat. We're the only mammals that have grocery stores. My dogs would DEFINITELY drink milk if they could figure out how. They love yogurt, cheese, milk, ice cream... For Marsh's birthday this year I'm getting him raw goats milk. He LOVES dairy.
 

Brattina88

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#6
Thanks for the link, Fran! :) yea, see I'm the opposite - I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and chocolate gives me headaches anyway so it's easier for me to steer clear. I'd honestly rather have a fruit salad instead of cake, I don't like icing. :eek: and stuff like that

IMO more people would do better if they found a definition of paleo/primal that works for them rather than being overly obsessed with IS THIS PALEO OR NOT??? The non-paleo stuff in my diet is there because I needed additional calories, and when I added it back in, I still felt great, didn't get sick, et cetera. So rice is a part of my life, corn is a sometimes part of my life. There's an article somewhere talking about personal paleo and "sometimes foods" but I'm too lazy to look for it right now LOL. It sounds to me like you're on the right track and aren't sweating it too much.

I think people are really eager to suggest things that worked for them. Is the group you're a part of a thyroid group? You're dealing with some pretty specific things because of that. Avoiding gluten products is probably helpful for you for different reasons that aren't entirely related to the gluten but moreso the nutritional makeup of the product. I would have to do some looking again but I do think there's some cases where removing dairy has been beneficial for thyroid problems as well... but I don't remember for sure. What does your doctor say? I do know of some people who are able to control thyroid issues with diet, but they do it working very closely with doctors and being really strict about their diet.
See, now I don't feel so bad. I never thought I'd have problems eating enough calories :eek: but several days a week I am! adding in some of the "other stuff" has been beneficial. I still feel better than I have in a long time :)

Yes, it's a thyroid FB group. I don't know why I didn't think to say that lol

Well, there were some issues with the diagnoses doctor, which is why I am going to see a specialist so soon (that and I want to be very proactive about my own health). He's a good doctor, it's just this is not his specialty. I did specifically asked him about foods, etc but he was pretty much like "food didn't do this to you" and "just take the pill and you'll get better". Yeah, no. While his words made me feel better that day - to the effect of, food didn't cause this, it didn't help much. Luckily the Pharmacist knew enough to meet with me about when & how to take the medicine, and foods to avoid.
I've done so much reading and learning, it's been a HUGE learning curve ;) and a little overwhelming at times lol. There's so much to take in, and some conflicting info as well.

Thank you, I suoer appreciate your input :)

Try it. Cut dairy for a week or two, and see how you feel. Personally, I feel best when I'm not eating dairy. But I feel better if I am, than if I'm not and have some ice cream or milk. I do best dairy free, OK habitual dairy, and worst occasional dairy.

(Even when I'm dairy free, I still use butter and eat full fat Greek yogurt)

I think the "we're the only mammals that drink milk" thing is a little silly. We're the only mammals that cook meat. We're the only mammals that have grocery stores. My dogs would DEFINITELY drink milk if they could figure out how. They love yogurt, cheese, milk, ice cream... For Marsh's birthday this year I'm getting him raw goats milk. He LOVES dairy.
Thanks
I'm going to try it :) I got some other milks and "cheese" to try to help me out :p lol

And oh , yea, agreed. I thought it was kind of weird! lol
I'm giving my dogs some of my left over cheese as training treats :D they'll be happy!
 

Southpaw

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#7
When I think about dairy it's kind of disgusting. Like, that milk is for nursing calves. Not us. Ew.

But... if your body tolerates it. Then whatever go ahead and have it lol.
 
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#8
well i just used 4 cups of organic whole milk and 2 more cups of organic half and half creamer and when stuff gets done, i'm adding a cup or two of shredded cheese for one heck of a creamy broccoli and ham soup :)

I think milk is ok smaller amounts. It doesn't bother me that it's for calves, WTF do people think eggs are? or fish, or any muscle or organ meat? :) as for all plant diet, don't even get me started :p

The bigger issue with dairy is what we feed the cows and how we keep them to get the dairy products.
 

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