The Dietician Visitation

Driven to the end of my tether just 2-3 weeks ago I have elected to go on a stomach & gut reset diet.  Many people have heard of the 5/2 diet where you have two days every week just drink and thus no food, and indeed many people have, I think, had positive experiences and some have built it or something similar into their lifestyle.  My diet choice starts off in a very similar way, that is just liquids.

After the first two days my diet goes in a very different direction.  It concentrates on paying attention to your body, listening for changes.  For instance I can play back (in my mind) exactly my bowel movements in the last week and can describe in detail what they felt like.  It is this attention to detail about my body that helps me understand when foods are helping or hindering progress, and by how much.  It also helps me pick out subtle differences that may depend on quantities or other foods combined during cooking.

I am watching for how much anti-inflammatory drugs I need, what time of day/night I need them.  At the same time, besides feeling for pain and inflammation I am looking for stiffness in joints, what mood I am in.  Mostly I am looking for what I can achieve.

But, and it is a big but, I am not a doctor.  If I started now it might take me six years to get a relevant qualification.  So, last night I consulted a registered dietician.  I chose a dietician over a nutritionist since I wanted someone who really would be able to fill in the huge medical gaps in my knowledge.  The Internet is a wonderful place, but especially when it comes to diets there is so much conflicting information.

I see consulting a dietician as, at the very least, a precaution - watching me and my diet for any serious negative consequences, whether short or long term.  It is also a sanity check on what I am doing.  Hopefully it will help give me some confidence in moving forward.  Remember this is not an easy diet, it is definitely a lifestyle-choice with the hope that I will be arthritis free for the rest of my life.

Our initial meeting was spent on groundwork of going in detail through why I had started this diet and where I am now.   One bit of good news, as a result of this low-fat diet I now weigh just 77kg which is at the top end of a good BMI reading for my age & height.  (Six months ago I was a stable 90kg.)  If I lose a bit more that won't be a problem.  Looking back over the years my doctor has always recommended I lose weight, and like most people I have failed to make any serious dent.  However anyone with Arthritis should keep their weight down since it reduces pressure on joints such as knees & hips.

I expect and hope in the future to be largely vegan.  If I do have dairy products then they will be at most once a week and on special occasions.  And in particular I will be looking for ethically sourced products.

A couple of clear recommendation were to keep a food diary and to consider taking a multi-vitamin supplement, just to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything,  She clearly fought hard to avoid saying she would not recommend this or any similar diet.  One reason I selected this dietician is she implied she understood the issues of auto-immune conditions to some extent.

With my diet changing on a daily basis as I add new foods, we set a next meeting up in three months time, when I hope I have finished this first most difficult stage and thus in a fairly stable dietary position.  Then she can particularly advise on anything that is missing.

Was it worth the meeting?  If I am healthy in 6 months time, a year's time and far beyond, then that is the only outcome I want and the only judgement I will make.  In the meantime this is my life, and my body and they are my responsibility.