Flipping My Diet Upside Down

Ham and Cheese Sandwich on White Bread
@bagarad (14283)
Paso Robles, California
May 5, 2018 1:17am CST
For the past five days or so I've been on a low fiber diet. I have been fighting a bout of diverticulosis. I think that's why I was so sick a week ago. This change in my diet takes some getting used to, but my doctor and many health websites say I need to make this temporary change. It turns my normal high fiber diet upside down, as well as my Eat-for-Your-Blood-Type Diet. Normally I start my day with uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal combined with chopped apple, chopped nuts, cut up prunes, and fresh blueberries (when they are in season.) Sometimes I will have a hard boiled egg with fruit instead. For lunch or dinner I have soup or maybe a tuna/red bell-pepper sandwich on whole grain bread with lettuce. Sometimes I add slivered almonds to the tuna mix. Some days I have cold broiled chicken breast strips with fruit. Some days I have a stirfry or salmon with broccoli on the side. I snack on nuts, seeds, and dried fruit most of the time, or dark chocolate mixed with nuts, seeds, or coconut. You get the idea. Normally I'm supposed to avoid white flour, white rice, potatoes, pork, dairy (except for a tiny bit of goat's milk on my morning cereal), and anything made with refined flour. I also avoid MSG and high fructose corn syrup. I'm allowed a bit of beef occasionally, but normally I eat beans, poultry or fish as my main protein sources. So for almost a week my diet has been topsy-turvy. What you see in the photo is what I had for dinner -- a ham and cheese sandwich with a bit of lettuce on white bread, and a few high-quality potato chips without chemicals or artificial ingredients. For breakfast I had an egg scrambled with ham and cheese with a piece of white toast and seedless jam on the side. I would usually have eaten a tangerine instead of the toast. I'm eating my "forbidden" foods. I'm finding it's hard to eat healthily on low fiber. The first day -- after I got off clear liquids -- I could find anything I could eat in the house. I ate bananas and apple juice as fruits. I had canned chicken noodle soup. I went shopping for white bread, a couple of white potatoes to bake, more apple juice, more bananas, cheese, Black Forest ham slices without chemicals, and vanilla yogurt. In an effort to stay regular I have been drinking a lot of apple juice. Yesterday I made some mac and cheese with a healthy Trader Joe's mix I had bought one day a few months ago. I added little pieces of the ham for extra flavor, but not the broccoli I wanted to add. Technically I should not even have put lettuce on my sandwich, but I did it again today. So far it hasn't seemed to hurt me. Do you know how hard it is for me to stay out of the trail mixes I like to snack on? And the BarkThins? I would have preferred an apple, tangerine, or sliced yellow bell pepper with my sandwich to the chips. But I'm not supposed to eat anything with skin or seeds. At least I can have avocado straight from the shell with some salt. But I'm dying for the strawberries that are getting ripe now. What is, is. I'm hoping I can get back to eating more fiber in another couple of days. Meanwhile, I've learned that eating quality white bread with seedless boysenberry jam tastes almost as good as a jelly donut. And I don't even miss the frosting or sugar on top. Have you made changes to your diet lately? What three foods do you think you'd miss most if you had to stop eating them?
8 people like this
13 responses
@Jessabuma (31706)
• Baguio, Philippines
5 May 18
I love to eat but I always choose healthy foods.. I am dieting
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
5 May 18
Just eating healthy foods is all the diet you need, as long as you don't eat too many of them.
1 person likes this
@Jessabuma (31706)
• Baguio, Philippines
5 May 18
@bagarad hehehe!!! Yes I agree with you
1 person likes this
@rakski (112993)
• Philippines
5 May 18
Yes I lessen my rice
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
5 May 18
Why did you decide to do that?
@JudyEv (323672)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 May 18
While I don't eat much chocolate, I'd hate to be deprived of it altogether.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
6 May 18
It's my favorite vegetable!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323672)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 May 18
@bagarad Haha. I like that.
1 person likes this
5 May 18
The three food I would miss most would be :Grilled pork belly , potato chips, fried chicken. I am really trying my best to eat healthily and eventually influence my husband. But it is quite hard.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
5 May 18
I've never been tempted to try grilled pork belly, but I've learned to live quite happily now without potato chips and fried chicken. I will eat them if they are served by someone in their home or as refreshments at an event.
@aureliah (24340)
• Kenya
8 May 18
I have not made any changes to my diet and unless my doctor says so (touchwood) I will not change
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
12 May 18
Sometimes I think my doctor knows less about nutrition than I do.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
18 May 18
@aureliah All the experts don't agree with each other.
1 person likes this
@aureliah (24340)
• Kenya
18 May 18
@bagarad Sometimes I have felt like this seeing experts recommend diets that do not make sense to me
1 person likes this
@anikoonline (3254)
• Hungary
5 May 18
I try to keep my low carb diet, which is not easy. It is an effective diet, but I need to skip it sometimes and it normal foods as it is too strict to eat low carb always.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
5 May 18
I hear low carb diets aren't too healthy for long periods of time. They also tend to be low fiber.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
5 May 18
@anikoonline Exactly! That's why I hate having to limit my fiber.
1 person likes this
• Hungary
5 May 18
@bagarad I think it is never healthy if you don't eat a special type of food for a long time. Our body need carbs, fiber and nutritions to work well.
1 person likes this
@Shavkat (136864)
• Philippines
5 May 18
I am always into eating a well-balanced diet and doing some exercises.
@id_peace (14010)
• Singapore
5 May 18
I adopt a low carb diet after allergic to gluten. The things is that I will sometimes give in to temption and eat some carb then suffer from the consequence
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (454979)
• Switzerland
5 May 18
No, I have changed nothing to my diet, I see no reason why I should. I have not been sick in the last 47 years, my blood pressure is good, I have no diabetes or other diseases. I suppose I am eating the right things.
1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7720)
• United States
5 May 18
I would miss all the junk food I love if I gave it up...but after a while I know I'd get used to it. I am in need of making a lifestyle change.
@wolfgirl569 (93540)
• Marion, Ohio
5 May 18
I have not made any changes. But I know what you need to avoid for the diverticulitis as dad had that. It does cancel out many foods that most people enjoy. He was able to eat apples, pickles, even tomatoes by being very careful. We always made sure all of the seeds were out and that it was peeled. It took a little more work but he got to enjoy most of what he loved to eat
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
5 May 18
I know someone with diverticulosis and he can't eat seeds or multi grain but he is fine with whole wheat and has high fiber cereal
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
5 May 18
When I changed my diet 9 months ago I missed cheese the most, bread, and sugar (Stevia) in my tea. Now, I don't miss any of that.