We have been trying to help people get started on the diet for a while now. We are so passionate about it because we know it works… it’s worked for us and worked for quite a few people that email us every day.
The question is, will it work for you? We strongly believe the answer is yes…
But the real question is: are you going to try starting the SCD Diet?
We want to be there to help you every step of the way to stop your diarrhea/constipation, stomach pain, and low energy and take control of your health!
So I have a favor to ask…
I have a question for you and if you have 60 seconds to answer it it would mean the world. What’s stopping you from starting the SCD Diet? In other words, if there was one thing that would help you finally take the plunge… what would it be?
Leave your comments below, and if you are already on the diet, please share your thoughts too… together we can help other people in the SCD Community heal on this incredible diet.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I am about to start the diet! I am excited yet worried about cravings. I will take it one day at a time. I am reading as much as I can and your site has been great…The book, linking SCD sites, the articles….Keep up the great work!
Hi! I have been on the SCD for a couple of months now. Lately, I have been “cheating” here and there with illegal foods. Even though I know I am going to pay in pain, I still take a bite or two of those forbidden foods. Any suggestions for getting back on track?!
Thanks Jeannine and Rachel! We are working on a cool free project for people based on the feedback from this post, so look for that to come out next week… Rachel ~ that is a struggle many of us go through in the beginning that is driven by bacteria signals and old habits… when I get cravings like that I usually just take a spoonful of coconut oil because it is so good for me, it’s antimicrobial, and it makes me feel full, give that a try next time (make sure you get virgin organic coconut oil though). Keep the great feedback coming!
Because of the results I have had, I’ve never wanted to cheat! I did have 2 setbacks though which was not realizing that the sausage I was making had sugar in it! I learned that right before month 2. Cut that one out. Then, for some reason, I thought Provolone cheese was allowed. My stomach reminded me it wasn’t and when I got the book out, I read it was Parmeseon not Provolone! Figures bc I never usually eat cheese anyways:/ I was telling my husband thar I wish someone would make an iPhone app containing the legals/ illegals for when we are out.
With others hesitation, I am finding that it’s about giving up the standard American diet. The above poster had it right though, you have to live it day by day. You can’t think about how long you will be on it..only what you will eat that day to make you feel good. Also, others are waiting for their doctor to tell them about SCD. Well, that’s not going to happen. I’ve tried telling my dr and he doesn’t believe in it. Very sad that they don’t want to improve a patients quality of life:(
I haven’t started the diet yet. I’m still not sure if it will solve my problems. I have not be dianogesed with IBD,Chrons,or Colitis. I have problems with gluten, and I find I still get really sick eating “gluten free” foods. Even when I am really really careful about it. My doctor thinks I am lacking enzymes to digest somethings but has no idea what. Would I have to stay on this diet forever to feel good? That wouldn’t be terrible, but just nice to know before I change my life forever. I’m a little weird like that. Thanks a lot for all your help and this website.
That’s a very good question!
Here’s one reason: What if it doesn’t work? That would be pretty disappointing to me. I know it’s silly, but that’s one psychological aspect to it.
Anna
Wow, thanks for the insights everyone! This is great stuff… Tiffany ~ Your so right about waiting for Drs… ha-ha. Ellie ~ Steve can sympathize with never having a diagnosis… it makes it tough to comitt to a diet when you don’t know if it’s going to work for you… Anna ~ good point, how do you know right? Keep the great feedback coming!
In good health,
Jordan
Ellie-I was gluten free for 5 years and I started that diet even before my diagnosis because I swore it was wheat! While my flare ups were better in check, it didn’t help:( With SCD, I get NO pain, no flares, no d, no fevers, fatigue, and none of the other symptoms I had previously. I also added early in the diet an SCD legal pro biotic which sped up my healing;)
Also, what if we designed easy recipes and meal plans for after they began bringing in foods after the starter phase? Maybe even a grocery list for that week? Sometimes people find it difficult to prepare and plan meals because of having such busy lives.
I am considering it (I have read the book over 4 times in the last year). I think what is holding me back is my laziness! Sometimes I don’t feel like cooking, maybe you could have directions about making things in large batches and freezing them.
Wendy,
Thanks for the tip… we’re working on some great stuff in that way. Sometimes I don’t feel like cooking either, some days just suck the life out of you right? Here’s what I do, sometimes when I do feel like cooking (like on a weekend) I make a little bit extra food, enough for another meal, and freeze it like a frozen dinner for another day when I know I am not going to want to cook. It’s all about tricking yourself and setting up the conditions for you to be successful later on… give it a shot!
You will never know if you can feel good again if you don’t give it a shot!
In good health,
Jordan
My daughter has been on it for nearly a year, but before then it was my own bad attitude and stubbornness that kept us from doing it. I was really good at explaining all the reasons why we shouldn’t do it (cost, time, etc). But once we actually started, it wasn’t that bad. You can do all kinds of crazy things when you know it’s helping your child
Awesome insight Cara! Thanks for sharing it… and great job talking control of your daughters health, you rock!
I am very eager to start the diet for myself and two young children (4&2). We all have “troubles”, my son being the worst with what seems like Celiac. My setback/reason is very personal and – I would guess- not uncommon in these times. We live with my husbands’ parents and are unemployed at the moment. With almost nothing to live on and the stress level in our lives, starting this diet seems impossible. What if this week we have grocery money to cover SCD, and the next week we don’t? What about the large impending transitions as we find work and housing? My in-laws also have financial woes, and none of us can afford to refill the propane tank… that means no oven! I cook everything on an electric skillet and a camp stove on the porch. Life can be VERY challenging right now. Waiting until we are stable seems like the best plan, if only to avoid adding any more stress. Thanks for taking comments on this topic.
@ Lori – Wow, thank you for sharing your powerful story. That is pretty incredible that you have been able to do what you have so far… an inspiration. We all have challenges in our lives that make things seem impossible, and one of the most fulfilling things in life is overcoming those challenges to take control of our lives. I know that you will find a way, even though it seems so far away right now… hang in there, keep pushing day in and day out, and things will fall into place sooner than later. I look forward to hearing your success story very soon!
Jordan
Pizza! Real, New York-style pizza. And bread–sourdough bread–there is no SCD-legal substitute for it. I know that I’ll pay for eating these things later, but the UC isn’t so bad that I will be in pain. However, this website is really inspiring…making me want to give the diet a good, cheat-free try. Thanks for the inspiration!
@ Erin – Thanks for the kind words! That pizza sounds really good – but I will take my health and long living anyday over some pizza, I have two kids that I want to watch get married and become a grandpa… not be stuck fighting for my life with cancer. Sorry if that was depressing, but it’s what pops in my head automatically now to fight off cravings – works awesome, ha-ha!
Jordan
Erin – I was reading through these comments and I can’ t help commenting on yours. I have had UC for 15 years, I thought I knew what it was about. I learned to live/manage my flares as they came. I suffered through them and always got back on track. Sometimes I would eat foods knowing they might throw me off a bit, but, hey, it was worth it. Then after all these years, my UC threw me for a major loop! It advanced into what feels like a whole new ailment. I have had two major flares in the past year and a half. I have barely stopped bleeding in that time. I am no longer responding to te regular medical treatments, I developed Pyoderma with this flare, I spent three weeks in the hospital, and the doctors are ready to throw up their hands. They keep mentioning surgery – an idea I am not ready to wrap my head around. Mostly out of fear – fear of knowing how close UC has come to taking my life and how close I am to losing my colon – and at insistance of my family, I have embraced this SCD Diet. I don’t kknow if it will work. Yes, it is a huge change and a lot of effort for a gamble. But I would rather take the gamble on a diet than with my life. You may be comfortable with your life with UC now, but I am telling you UC can turn into something much scarier.
FEAR! My son has leaky gut which results in terrible food sensitivities. He can not eat eggs or dairy among many other things which are not SCD legal. We where suggested to follow a rotation diet as we where told he will develop sensitivities to whatever he eats. It seems like following the diet he will have to eat the same things over and over again. My fear is he will develop a sensitivity to what he is eating on the diet and therefore we will not be able to break the vicous cycle. Has any one had experience with this?