The Things I Can't Eat

For the last couple of years now I've been continually changing up my skincare routine. It seemed that no matter what I did, my skin was becoming more and more sensitive, red and blotchy and no matter the products I was using, it never seemed to get all the way better.

After putting it off for awhile, I finally set up an appointment with a doctor who immediately suggested I do allergy testing to see if that might be the culprit.

I was really hoping there'd be one simple thing I could remove from my life and make all of my problems go away, alas, no. The results came back and I'm allergic to SOY, WHEAT, EGGS, DAIRY, and SUGAR!

Arg.

At first, I took it well. I'd actually already cut most things as well as a few others from my diet for the last few weeks just to see if it helped and not only is my skin looking much better, I have more energy and just all around feel healthier, in part because avoiding those things means pretty much avoiding fast and processed foods all together. So I left the doctor, thinking, this is great, I can do this! I'm going to be so much healthier!

But then I came home, and looked for a snack to eat, and got very overwhelmed. I'd previously cut soy, wheat, dairy and sugar from my diet, but not eggs. And in trying to avoid all of those other things, I'd definitely been relying more on eggs.

So the plan is to cut all of these things out and then slowly introduce them back in to see if I can actually handle any of them, maybe in moderation.

I've started a running list of all the things that I love that I still CAN eat. Guacamole. Sushi. Steak. Coffee. and well...this is when I start to feel sad again.

I keep telling myself there are actually a lot of things I should be thankful about and I am. I'm thankful I live somewhere that this diet isn't impossible, I'm thankful that my reactions to these things are only minimal, if I accidentally (or even purposely choose) to eat one of them, I'll survive. I am thankful that there's a chance that this is only temporary, that by balancing out my lifestyle (more sleep, less stress, etc.) I can possibly get back to a place where these things can be introduced back in.

I'm thankful that this will force me to live a healthier life.

Shout out to everyone out there who has to deal with dietary restrictions. It's hard!