My Allergy-Free Experience

At the beginning of each new year, our church has a three week fasting period. This year, I decided to give up each of Colin's allergies for the three weeks. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what he faces (or will have to face) on a day-to-day basis. I also thought it would be a good excuse to find some new foods for him. I set up a menu for each week and spent extra money at the grocery store (allergy-free foods are more expensive!). I had it all mapped out. Little did I know how difficult it would be!

The most difficult time I had was during the day. Since I'm not home and I'm on the road, I had a very hard time finding lunch options. Very disappointing availability. If I had packed, this wouldn't have been such a problem. Note to self: continue to pack Colin's lunches until he out-grows his allergies!

The second week in, I began to notice that I had very little energy. I wasn't hungry but I could tell that I was definitely not giving my body enough fuel! Colin obviously cannot communicate this to us so we will just have to be more aware of this for him. I actually lost two pounds during the first two weeks- and I wasn't even trying! I didn't watch portions or calories so I was very surprised that I lost weight so quickly. This could also play a huge factor in Colin's smaller size- something else that will have to take into account more often.

It's over now- and I couldn't be happier! It's nice to be able to enjoy a pizza or other snacks every once in awhile and not have to worry about the ingredients. Things as simple as salad dressings have to be avoided because of all of the unknowns! It will definitely be much harder for Colin once he gets older- so let's pray that he out-grows them fast! I will say, the first weekend of being back to my 'regular' diet, I noticed that I was extremely bloated and uncomfortable- which is also not fun. I don't think I gave my body enough time to recover from my allergy 'detox'. It was an interesting experiment! And definitely opened my eyes to a whole new world that Colin will have to walk in daily. We realized that we need to make our own kitchen a little more allergy-sensitive for his sake. Our home should be his safe haven- not another allergy land-mine!