GAPS Intro Diet: The First 10 Days

These past ten days have seemed like an eternity. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. But they have been some rough days, for sure. On Saturday, October 4, we began the GAPS diet as explained in this post. There was a ton of prep involved in the weeks leading up to beginning, storing up on lots of veggies and grass-fed meats, processing lots of squash, and making large amounts of chicken stock. There are six stages in the intro phase of the diet, from the most strict to gradually introducing more foods. The purpose is to reduce fiber or any irritating foods to the digestive system and giving the chicken stock a chance to heal and seal the gut lining of the intestines.

So, since I am still nursing Norah, we were advised to go fairly quickly through the intro (about 3 days per stage) so as not to detox too much through my milk or lose my milk supply (from lack of carbs/calories). The first three days were definitely the most difficult. Stage one only included ginger "tea,"chicken broth, boiled meat, juice from fermented sauerkraut, meat fat (such as tallow) and non-fibrous veggies such as boiled carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, and leeks. We had a lot of soup! Spices and herbs aren't even allowed in the beginning stages, so crushed garlic and salt are the only seasonings we used. Even though it felt like we ate constantly (we ate at least 5 "meals" a day), we still felt like we had bottomless pits for stomachs. I must also mention the fact that we aren't supposed to use a microwave while on the diet ever. This makes food prep take even longer. On the second stage we were able to add in ghee (purified butter), and raw pastured egg yolks (to put in soups).The third stage introduced squash/nut butter/egg "pancakes," soaked/dehydrated nuts, and avocado. We are currently in the fourth stage and have started juicing carrots along with baking "muffins" made from almond flour, eggs, and squash. We are also finally allowed to cook meat in other ways besides boiling! It's the little things.

The first day went fairly well, except Charlie only tried one bite of soup, two sips of broth, and one bite of boiled veggies. After day one, things rapidly went downhill. That first evening, Charlie woke in the night several times to vomit. We were up all night. We were warned that when you have a lot of healing to do and your bacterial balance is off, you will go through a tougher time detoxing and may feel very sick. We were also told that due to the lack of starchy foods Charlie was used to, his body would crave those things and possibly cause him to reject most other foods until his taste buds started changing and the bacteria that fed off the starchy/processed carbs died off. So, Charlie basically refused to eat anything (especially broth or soup) for days. Stressful for any parent to watch. He cried a lot, slept a lot, and absolutely refused any of our "tricks" to try to get him to eat or drink (broth). He kept hydrated, and we gave him small amounts of honey in his water or with coconut oil to keep his blood sugar up until he decided he was hungry enough to eat. On the third day, I also had a hard time and had some blood sugar issues, feeling faint and such. So I made sure to eat more (even when I didn't feel like eating) and add some honey into my diet. After day 3, things got much better. Charlie still refused to eat until stage 3 (when he scarfed down "pancakes", eggs, nuts, and avocado), but we pressed on and he was happy enough as long as we didn't try to coerce him to eat or drink broth. It wasn't until yesterday when we started juicing, that we figured out we could sneak half a cup of broth into his carrot juice and his scrambled eggs without him realizing it!!! Victory! :)

We are increasingly looking forward to finishing up the intro and starting the full diet (in 8 days!), which is similar to a Paleo-type diet, yet more restrictive in some ways. When we are on the full diet, we will also slowly begin to introduce limited types of dairy and see if Norah tolerates it (through my milk).We will still need to make all of our own food at home, and are not going to be able to eat out or purchase any processed foods from the grocery store. Sugar (aside from honey), grains, starches, and many other foods are out completely. Please pray for us! ;)

The Lord has been faithful in strengthening us and carrying us through a not-so-fun and time-consuming diet so far. We are trusting him for healing, and are thankful for what He's already done.

Side update on Norah: She is gaining weight well, still (19 lbs now!), and we were able to add avocado to her diet ( day 3 so far) without side effects/symptoms of a reaction! She is a happy girl, and we are so thankful for how she's been doing on her version of the diet so far!

(Meanwhile, Dan and I have lost about 8 lbs each so far. At least there's one positive tangible result so far, ha!)