Elimination Diet - The first week

So we're now almost a week into our Failsafe elimination diet and it's going well. I've been cooking a lot more snacks, biscuits, muffins etc, as before we started the diet the boys would just go and help themselves to a piece of fruit or two. Before we started the elimination diet a batch of biscuits (Anzacs for example) would last 3-4 days and I'd ration them out. Now I'm lucky if they last one day!!!

I've also noticed a big reduction in our shopping bill, we would easily spend $50 a week on fresh fruit and vegetables. It seemed very strange to be filling the trolley with food we wouldn't normally eat, white sugar (instead of honey or rapadura), wheat flour (instead of coconut flour, buckwheat, quinoa etc), canola and sunflower oil (instead of coconut or macadamia oils).

As I've said before, we're not coming at this from a standard, packaged food diet. We have long been eating whole foods, making most of our foods from scratch and buying lots in bulk through coops (I currently have an unopened 5l bucket of coconut oil sitting in my store cupboard. I've since learnt that coconut products are very high in salicylates ... oops!!).

Behaviour wise, we've had a rough couple of days while everyone detoxes. The boys have been great in terms of not eating the foods they used to eat. No major tears or upsets over not having something (apart from Master 2 crying because he wants sultanas, but he's two and doesn't really get it.)

But about everything else, it's like walking on eggshells around here. Master 6 has been the worst, getting super cranky with his brothers, angry and frustrated with both of us grown ups when we call him out on being mean or bossy. If things don't go his way then it's the end of the world! Master 5 hasn't been too bad, but there have been snappy moments and major tears and yelling.

Both big boys have big, dark circles under their eyes, not sure what that is about, but Master 6's arrived straight after lunch on Day 1 and haven't gone anywhere.

Concentration (which is a big thing with Master 6 at school) hasn't changed much, but it's early days. I'll be having chats with both the big boy's teachers this week to let them know what we're doing and why, and also to ask them if they can keep an eye on any changes they see. I'm confident that they'll stick to only eating the food I send for them as the school has a strict no sharing policy and they are well supervised at eating times.

We only have four more days until school holidays and then the real fun will start - sticking to the diet while attending birthday parties, playdates and movie outings!!!

I'm back!

So after failing miserably the first time around (thus the tumbleweeds blowing around here) we're back to it and doing it properly this time. No cheating, no "special occasion" excuses (we have a couple of friend's parties coming up), just 4 full weeks of the strict elimination diet. We are still having dairy and wheat/gluten though.

Master 5 is now Master 6 (soon to be Master 7, where did that time go?). He is still struggling with his emotions, he swings from the sweetest boy in the world to massive emotional, screaming meltdowns. He is a bright boy, struggling to concentrate at school and is often away with the fairies, staring out the window. I'm hoping that his moods will settle and his concentration will improve.

Master 3 is now Master 5 and in his first year of prep. He is an excitable, loving, sweetheart but isn't suited to the school environment. So far everything is going well for him but once they transition away from a somewhat play-based environment to more traditional classroom I am worried about how he'll cope.

Master 2 is just one big bundle of energy!!! He, like most two year olds, is constantly on the go!!!

So, I'm hoping that by going Failsafe we can figure out what the triggers are and get some answers.