The whole point of the FODMAP diet (the proven diet for managing IBS) is to give up food and feel better, right? Wrong.
Nope, the point of the FODMAP diet isn’t just having a calm belly. It’s about having the freedom to do anything you want:
- You hike through Yellowstone for a week
- You watch the Mets play the Yankees and stay for extra innings
- You go to your best friend’s destination wedding with zero diet stress
I know most of you don’t need to spend a week in a national park to feel freedom from food (But if that’s you, it’s totally do-able!). Most of you just want to go to a fun friend meal (preferably Mexican) without anxiety.
That’s what my client Kate wanted. She knew just eliminating every possible IBS trigger wasn’t going to solve her problem - being able to eat and enjoy social meals. Read her Behind the Belly Story!
The Before
Before Kate came to me, she eliminated FODMAPs and felt amazing, totally symptom free. But she knew she was in food prison (living on rice and rotisserie chicken and seriously missing her favorite Mexican food) and that had to end fast.
As a crazy-busy high school math teacher taking on extra classes, she had zero time to become a FODMAP expert.
Meet Kate!
Kate Sneed did 1-on-1 coaching with me starting in January. She lives in Denver, CO and in our first session this Denver Broncos super fan realized she’d signed on to work with a New England Patriots fan. Luckily, we hit it off anyway and got straight to business!
Kate’s “Screw this!” moment happened at a tailgate party when some tasty chips and salsa sent her belly into a tailspin and she had to do the mad port-a-potty dash.
She had no clue if it was A) the onions, B) the garlic, C) the tomatoes, or D) something else going on in her gut that triggered this awkward moment. She knew she needed to learn more about her body before she’d be free to eat without fear.
Key results Kate was looking for:
- Learn which FODMAPs set off her IBS instead of just guessing
- Be able to go to a meal with friends without anxiety about what to eat
- Get a lot more food variety back into her life because packing the same lunch everyday was making the snacks in the teacher’s break room way too tempting
Kate not only tested all the FODMAP groups, she also satisfied her food cravings for pulled pork and homemade brownies by trying the new recipes I gave her. She even had a great time on a girls’ wine tasting weekend without any major symptoms.
Let’s hear the scoop from Kate!
Julie: Where were you in the FODMAP diet process when you started working with me?
Kate: I had been doing elimination for a little over a month. I was not having any symptoms and ready to figure out what was causing issues a month earlier.
Julie: What made you decide to work with a FODMAP coach?
Kate: Your blog and website provided me with so much information when I was researching FODMAPs. Also that it didn’t matter that you were not in my town!
Julie: What are one or two surprising things you learned?
Kate: That honey is not my trigger but that onion and garlic could have such a nasty effect on people- who knew! Also that sugar can be stored in so many different types and that my body can react differently to each one!
Julie: Did coaching make the FODMAP Diet easier? Tell us how.
Kate: So much easier- I was overwhelmed by how to reintroduce and the portion size and how to increase the amount of something, etc. The weekly plans made it so easy to just pick up a certain food at the store and know how much of it to try and what to do based on what happened! I didn’t have the time to spend hours researching or figuring it out from different books or websites.
Julie: Now that you're done with coaching, how is your life different?
Kate: I feel so much more confident about eating out or with friends. I know what to expect- before I had no idea what meal would set me off and what wouldn’t- it was an experiment every time. Now I know if I decide to eat something at a meal that is a trigger that I will have a reaction and I can make the choice instead of waiting to find out!
Kate got the results she wanted from her time together with me and you can too!
When I followed up with Kate a few months after working together, this is what she said:
“Things have been great! I am so happy I did this!”
