My sweet family!

To get thing rolling, I figured I'd do a quick "About me" post so you know who you are dealing with.  I'm a 30-something wife, mom, daughter, sister and employee of a company that I adore.  I love nothing more than spending time with my family - my wonderful husband, sweet daughters, 2 doggies (Bailey and Penny) and the extended crew.  In my (very limited) spare time, I like to read, occasionally get a run in, watch TV (currently binge watching Ray Donovan) and sleep!


What brings me to this blog?  About 2.5 years ago I started feeling really sick.  Whenever I would eat, I would get intense stomach pains, headaches, and generally just felt awful.  In September of 2013 I started losing weight at a rapid pace.  After losing about 8 pounds in a month, my mom insisted I go to the doctor.  Thus began a whirlwind of test and a very scary few months.  After nearly every invasive test you can imagine with no conclusive results, my doctor decided to put me on a high fat diet (to determine if I was malabsorping fat).  After about two weeks on the diet, I was in back to back meetings at work with nothing to eat so I grabbed a pear from a gift basket we'd received and ate it.  The aftermath of eating that pear was horrifying....I'll spare you the details.  Upon sharing this with my doctor, his hypothesis changed and I was tested for Fructose Malabsorption - which came back positive. 

Having a diagnosis was such a relief, especially one that didn't mean I was dying.  The down side was the I was now faced with managing this new lifestyle and I was so confused.  There is hardly anything on the internet that is helpful, and what I could find was conflicting.  Come to find out, Fructose Malabsorption is a relatively newly discovered disorder so there isn't much out there.  Thankfully, I found an amazing dietician that helped me through the first few months.  She introduced me to the "Low FODMAP" (Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols) diet.  FODMAPS are certain carbohydrates found in foods that have been linked to digestive issues.  After a pretty intense elimination period, I was able to identify foods that were on my good list.  While it was way less than I was comfortable with - it was a start.

Don't get me wrong, this was by no means easy - I went through an entire grieving cycle (which, in hindsight sounds ridiculous) and it took months to come to terms with this new way of eating.  Now, nearly 2.5 years later, I get it - I don't feel like I'm being deprived, I understand what food trigger bad reactions and I avoid them.  Or, I don't and I suffer the consequences. 

Through this whole ordeal, I have found a few reliable blogs and resources that have been so very helpful.  I figured, since I now feel like I am able to not only get through meals but am thriving and enjoying eating again, I'd create a place to share.  What works? What doesn't ?  Most of this blog will be recipes and things I've eaten.  I will pair that with some work out updates because finding a work out that works for you is so important when dealing with a digestive disorder.  While some days it doesn't feel like you have the energy and/or you feel too sick to do it, it definitely helps (as long as you don't over do it!)

Stick around, you might find something you like!