OnFitness Magazine - January/February 2015 - 41

4
Elimination diets
Strategy

Determining if unknown food
allergies could be keeping the
weight on
By Erin Salb
---------------------
YOU'RE DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS. You exercise

regularly and have a relatively clean diet. So why aren't
you losing weight? Hidden food allergies may be the
reason.
When most people imagine food allergies, they think
severe allergic reactions like hives or anaphylactic
shock. This is not always the case.
Allergic symptoms vary from person to person and
can range from congestion to gastrointestinal problems
to arthritis. The symptoms depend on the severity of the
allergy and whether it's ﬁxed or variable.
If an allergy is ﬁxed, and usually more severe, you
will have that allergy forever. If an allergy is variable, the
most common type, you may be able to manage the
allergy and consume the trigger food in limited
amounts.
But how does one determine the presence of a
variable food allergy? One simple way is to perform an
elimination diet. With an elimination diet, you
temporarily remove common allergens from your meals
in order to determine what, if any, are your triggers.
Some of the main culprits are dairy, soy, wheat and
eggs, although this list is not inclusive. Citrus and meat,
for example, can often be allergens as well.
How many of us consume the same food items every
day? The answer is most likely more often than not, and
this could be the surprising reason why the allergy
developed in the ﬁrst place. No variety deﬁnitely does
not do a body good.

So what someone eats each day is important to keep
in mind when determining what foods to cut out for the
elimination diet. If you consume little or no soy, then
most likely this isn't a trigger food.
Usually an elimination diet removes four types of
food, but more or less can be removed depending on
the individual, their diet and any potential symptoms
they may be experiencing. This is performed over
several weeks.
In week one, remove all of the potential allergens
from your diet. For example, remove all dairy, soy,
wheat and eggs. It's important to note that these items
often hide in products, so make sure to read labels!
Many people feel worse the ﬁrst three to four days as
the body starts to go through withdrawal. However, by
days ﬁve, six and seven they feel much better. Keep this
in mind and don't get discouraged during the ﬁrst few
days.
On day eight, add back in one of the potential
allergens; for example, add dairy. Keep track of any
potential allergic symptoms during this time.
Remember, these can be something as minor as a
headache or fatigue.
On day eight, remove dairy and add back in wheat.
Repeat this sequence for each of the potential allergens
removed. It's important to add only one back at a time
for proper monitoring.
Once you have completed the elimination diet
process, how do you feel? What did you notice about
when certain foods were removed or added back into
your diet? Did your mood or physical symptoms
change?
If your symptoms are more minor, you may be able
to effectively manage your allergy by allowing yourself
to consume the allergen in moderation. Many people
have found that a four day rotational diet often helps.
The key is to pay attention to how you feel. In doing
so, you're going to be more in tune with your body and
what it needs to function in a healthy manner. Z

Why are Americans
getting fatter while
the sales of weight loss
pills are booming? One
explanation is that
people put too much
faith in pills and thus
don't work on
healthier lifestyle
choices.
In a study, subjects had
free access to
chocolate cookies. But
one group was told
ahead of time about a
new pill that blasts off
fat. The subjects who
were told about this
phony pill gobbled
down signiﬁcantly
more cookies - as
many as 30.
A secondary
experiment revealed
that the more
fattening the cookies,
the more that were
eaten - that is, by the
participants who were
told about the amazing
pill. Sorry, but weight
loss just does not
come in a pill. But it
does come in a barbell.

4 1 W W W. O N F I T N E S S M A G . C O M | V O L 1 5 N O 4 | 2 0 1 5

Weight loss
pills =
skyrocketing
obesity rates
__________
http://WWW.ONFITNESSMAG.COM
OnFitness Magazine - January/February 2015

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