Diet
“you are what you eat”
In October 2018, I started my new diet. My naturopath, Fiona advised me that a paleo type diet would best support my body. I didn’t know much about this diet so to assist, Fiona provided me with recipes and website links such as Pete Evans, The Paleo Way and Terry Wahls, The Wahls Protocol. For me, a paleo type diet meant a diet that was grain free, gluten free, refined sugar free and dairy free with a range of fresh certified organic produce, wild caught fish, lean organic free range chicken, lean grass fed meat, pastured eggs and no processed foods. As you can imagine, this was a big change! It meant eliminating a majority of the foods I had eaten all my life however I was determined to heal my body and I just couldn't wait to get started!
I started researching about the paleo diet, watching documentaries about food and health (check out The Magic Pill, Netflix - so interesting!), I learnt about certain foods and their nutritional benefits, fermented foods, I looked for new recipes and most importantly, I learnt about the importance of eating certified organic food.
Initially, I found changing my diet challenging. I felt a range of emotions as it not only impacted me, it also impacted my husband, our lifestyle and our loved ones. To help me deal with the change, I decided that when we were invited to a family lunch, dinner or a home event, I’d either bring my own food, eat beforehand or not go at all. However, having such loving and supportive family and friends, I found none of these options were a choice. I was asked what I could eat, how it needed it to be cooked and where they could buy the ingredients from. Even though I felt so grateful and appreciative, I also felt overwhelmed as I didn’t want anyone to go to any trouble. So, I decided to put a list together of the foods that I could eat. I must admit, this felt very odd however I found that it was the best way to deal with my emotions and I also found that this also helped my family and friends.
Another challenge was eating out. I found that many of the places we would previously frequent rarely had an option for me on their menu. This meant that whenever we'd plan to go out or if we were invited to an event, I’d have to check the menu or contact the venue to check if they could accommodate my dietary requirements. Eating out became less frequent and if we did eat out, we would try to opt for places that were known to use organic produce or places that had an option on their menu that could be tailored to my dietary requirements.
It didn't take long for me to adapt to my new diet however there were times that I walked away from a café or restaurant shocked! On one occasion, after I provided my dietary requirements to the waiter, they looked at me and said ‘my god, what CAN you eat?!’. Another time I was rudely told that ‘there is nothing we can offer you, I'd suggest you eat elsewhere!’. On a different occasion, a waiter insisted that I could eat the rice on my dish even after I had explained to them that I could not eat rice as it is a grain! They said “but it's gluten free!”. At first, people’s comments and body language really affected me. I would feel uncomfortable and I would sometimes get so frustrated and end up in tears. I’d constantly think to myself ‘I genuinely have a reason, my diet is not a FAD!’.
Over time, I have found contacting eateries prior to advise them of my dietary requirements has helped. I have found researching eateries prior to travelling has helped with making a decision on what type of accommodation to book; a hotel or an apartment. I've learnt that not everyone understands the importance of dietary requirements and that’s ok. My experiences have taught me to be more accepting, to educate others, to not be so hard on myself and speak up for myself.
Along the way, I have also had an immense amount of support whilst changing my diet - my loved ones are just amazing! They support me by searching for new recipes, looking for ingredients to substitute with, borrowing recipe books from the library, cooking meals for me, making desserts for me, making juices for me, sourcing ingredients for me and researching places that I can eat at! Between them all, they could easily open up a paleo café or restaurant! Even though, I have never asked for this support it has definitely made it easier. I truly feel so grateful to have each and every one of them in my life.
Changing my diet has had such a positive impact on my life. It has now been just over a year and a half since changing my diet and I have found supporting my body by eating well has helped me heal, keep well and achieve results. In general, I feel better and I have more energy. I no longer crave the foods I previously ate and I now understand the ‘truth’ behind the phrase “you are what you eat”.
My team, Wellness Warriors and I participated in The May 50K challenge throughout May 2020 to raise vital funds for MS Research as research is the KEY to changing the future of MS.
You can still show your support by sponsoring me and/or my amazing team at the following link:
https://www.themay50k.org/fundraisers/mirellapetrucci
Please note, our fundraising pages will be active until 30th June 2020.
Thank you, your support truly means so much xx