Co-Founder of SCD Lifestyle Steve Wright has finally broken down and started his path to intestinal healing. After many years of undiagnosed digestive warfare in his body, these series of weekly posts will take you through his experiences, thoughts, and struggles on the SCD diet. Check back and follow his progress:
Week 1 Summary
Well today is day 6 on the SCD diet, I have successfully survived 4 days on the intro diet and I’m now transitioning into phase one of the diet. Other than making quite a mess of my kitchen everything went smoothly. I started the diet Monday morning and it turned out to be a long and surprising week but in retrospect I think I got it easier than most. My “die-off symptoms” only lasted about 2 days. The rest of the week was an up hill battle in which it seemed like I cooked, cooked and cooked (with lots of sleep too).
Mental and Body Changes
I decided to go dairy-free for now as I’m pretty confident that I have some type of lactose intolerance and figured it best to start the diet on as simple a diet as possible. I experienced some bad BM’s and mental fogginess / clarity problems during the first couple days. I was experiencing some stomach uneasiness after breakfast all week so I cut out eggs for the time being to see if that would help. I’m still not sure if they were the culprits but I will try and introduce them in early next week and how my body responds. My BM’s were all over the place at both extremes form D to nice and solid during the week so I would say that is a improvement and I will chalk up the inconsistency to die-off and my body starting to heal itself. Late in the week I have been starting to notice that I have a much steadier energy flow after lunch when I would normally been scrambling for a coffee (For the first month I’m giving up all caffeine and alcohol). My sinuses seemed to start clearing up as well however the weather changed and now they are back to being plugged up.
Fitness Goals
This week I did 4 weight lifting sessions and 2 steady state cardio sessions. This will be my blueprint for now but could change at any time. The workouts went great and I really don’t see this diet negatively impacting my fitness goals in any way. I actually expect it to help me by eliminating the possibility of binging on junk carbohydrates. I am using the Freeda vitamins at full serving dosages of 3 multi-vitamins caps, 5 calcium caps, and 1 B-Complex cap. For the week I was down 2 pounds.
Diet Details
At this point I’m only eating carrots and pears along with broiled meats, but my plan includes introducing some butternut squash in the next day or two as long as I’m still feeling good. After that I’m looking ahead to some apples and then hopefully break into the bananas near the end of the week! I’m also planning on starting on some probiotics this week.
I did do some experimenting this week; the third time that I made carrots I used my steamer. I was able to produce the same level of cooked and purred consistency in 45 minutes instead of 4 hours of boiling. Based on this test I’m going to continue trying to use steam to replicate boiling and therefore cut down my time in the kitchen when preparing vegetables.
One Line Thoughts On The SCD Diet
- The intro chicken soup is much better tasting than I expected
- Purred carrots taste a lot like squash and I really like them
- Try steaming your carrots for 40-50 minutes instead of boiling
- You really don’t need to add much water when making purred pears
- I think it is almost impossible to understand how much meat one must consume on this diet
- If you thought you cooked in bulk before, double that and you have SCD proportions
- If you’ve never used your oven’s broiler check clearances before cooking things that plump up (burgers) it will save you a big headache!
- More at
Anyone else have some one line wisdom for the first week on the diet? How about good stories? I only set the fire detector off twice…
About the author
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Is there a vegetarian version to this diet? I am alraedy eating pretty close to no meat in my diet, but i am interested in healing my gut. Thinking bout this diet.
Hey Susan,
Yes but eating meat is easier. To do the diet vegetarian style, you will need to supplement with lots of coconut oil (or other healthy fat) and eat plenty of lentils or beans. If you eat eggs or fish those should be consumed regularly as well.
Hi Susan!
I suppose that you could try this diet as a vegetarian, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. It is already so extremely restrictive that it would be almost impossible without meat. Meat is one of the primary cornerstones of the diet… it seems like that’s all you eat at first. I wouldn’t doubt that it’s been done, but I wouldn’t really know where to start…
Jordan
Any update on a vegetarian version of this diet? A significant number of people choose to not eat meat for a variety of reasons yet would still like to manage digestive issues as much as possible. Your reply to Susan Forgie was discouraging at best. It would be wonderful if this challenge has been addressed in the nearly three years since you posted your rely. Thanks.
Hi Karen, Here’s three things you can review today that will help you:
1) Read about Cheryl Cravino’s SCD Success story, where she was starting out as a vegetarian:
http://scdlifestyle.com/2011/05/specific-carbohydrate-friends-cheryl-cravino/
2) Listen to a specific question we answer about SCD and vegetarian in podcast 21 (9:34 The myth that a vegetarian can’t follow SCD and what to try instead of meat – especially in the beginning)
http://scdlifestyle.com/2011/04/optimize-healing-and-feel-better-faster-podcast-21/
3) Read the comments from SCD’er vegetarians Elizabeth and most especially Jenny in this podcast comments section:
http://scdlifestyle.com/2011/04/optimize-healing-and-feel-better-faster-podcast-21/comment-page-1/#comments
I hope that helps you. Let us know,
Jordan
I’m curious about the fruit. I am fighting Candida but should I allow the fruit anyway? Also are there restrictions to portions on the fruit because of the sugar content?
Hi Kimberly ~ just saw your comment for some reason it got lost in the shuffle!
When I was fighting Candida I made it a point to really limit my fruit intake because of the sugar content. I found that it help me feel much better and the symptoms of Candida were much less. I would just focus on having 1/2 cup or so of fruit a day to really limit the fructose intake. It does help. Also, try and see if you can tolerate some coconut oil for it’s anti-microbial properties and the extra ketone bodies.
let us know how it goes!
Jordan
Hi,
I am waiting to get my materials to start the diet, I suffer from UC, have you had many success’ with people who suffer from UC?
Hi Becky – great to hear from you! What materials are you waiting for?
I can’t wait for you to start your healing journey on SCD, congrats! Let us know how we can help along the way.
Just remember, everyone has a different “custom” version of SCD that will relieve symptoms. Don’t give up making tweaks to find your version.
In good health,
Jordan
As an ovo, lacto, pesco vegetarian who is doing the intro diet without eggs and dairy this time, should I stick with two kinds of fish for the intro -like omnivores have two kinds of meat during the intro? I am on day 4 using salmon soup, pureed carrots, and grape gelatin (do not tolerate juice plain), but I ate salmon, tilapia, shrimp, and cod so far, then my brain fog cleared, hence the question. Also at what point do die off symptoms i.e. stuffy/runny nose become intolerance to a food symptoms?
Hi Donna, that sounds like a good plan. This article will help you on die off:
http://scdlifestyle.com/2012/06/5-die-off-myths-everyone-needs-to-know-about/
Jordan
I have never really had a problem with BMs but i’ve been dealing with chronic nausea to almost anything I eat except fruits, which I have lived on for a while now (which is probably why i’m constantly fatigued). Besides a slightly inflammed SI, all my clinic tests are normal. But I suspect that it has to do with some bad bacteria. I don’t know if it could be leaky gut, Candida, or what! I’m really at the end of my rope here. I’m considering ordering an Entero or LEAP kit. If anyone has any experience with these kits, please share your thoughts with me.
I’m on the 2nd day of the Intro Diet now and definately feeling the die-off symptoms. Can I eat the soup, carrots, and gelatin throughout the rest of the phases? How many times a week is it safe to eat fish (due to their mercury levels)? I want to eat it every day but I don’t know if that’s safe.
@Rebecca – Yes you can eating these intro foods as often as you prefer. Fish (the wild caught stuff) is fine to eat everyday if you want. The mercury issue is only for big predator fish like shark. I’d save your money on those test and invest in some good GI testing working with a good functional medicine practitioner. If you don’t know any send us an email.
Hi Steve and Jordan!
I have been sick for about a year now and have spent TONS of money and seen about 15 doctors. I have ended up seeing Dr. Peter Osborne, which you all interviewed with recently. I am now feeling much better since going gluten free and being put on supplements for my vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I am gluten intolerant, have yeast overgrowth in my intestines and have food allergies. So, as soon as I heard your interview, I went out and bought the items needed to start your intro diet. I have been on the diet for 3 days and plan to do it for the full 5 days. So, my question is…..will the carrots and grape juice increase the yeast growth? According to The Candida Diet, we are not suppose to eat those items. Can you share your thoughts? I am not eating any other fruits, just drinking the 50/50 Welch’s Grape Juice and eating the gelatin with the Welch’s Grape juice. Also, where can I find the meal suggestions for the rest of the phases of the diet?
@Stacey – I think as long as your total carbs are below 100g a day you are fine. The anti-Candida diet alone will not rid you of Candida, those who cannot beat this infection normally have 1-3 additional issues. 1. Hormone Imbalance (cortisol) 2. Another Gut infection 3. don’t complete a gut re-population strategy after 1-2 are taken care and the anti-candida herbal / prescription program is done.
Should diahrea stop before you move out of the Intro Diet?
It does for some people but not all. We are looking for long term improvements, sometimes you need to use enzymes or stop dairy.
Two questions:
1. My naturopath has me on various supps (probiotic, enzyme, vit D, calcium, a couple other “gut” things). Should I stop them during Intro and/or during the early phases?
2. PecanBread says drinking green tea helps with die off. I haven’t found this in your eBooks. Is this OK to drink?