Day 3 and 4 have gone well…half way there! The ironic thing about this diet is that I am limited in what I can eat and how much, yet all I think about all day is food and what/when I am going to eat next!
Yesterday and today have been good days. My stomach still is having a difficult time adjusting to this formula. The taste is something I am not sure I am going to learn to tolerate in one week. The metallic taste is quite bothersome, especially since it is not just during the time I am drinking the formula, but throughout the day. I have thought a lot about individuals who have come off diet for a significant amount of time. Is this how they feel going back on diet – having to change their palate back to tolerating the formula? I say this because my daughter loves her Strawberry flavored Bettermilk, but if she were to come off diet for 3-4 years, would it be this difficult for her to get back to drinking her milk?
Another eye opener is how much of our lives and activities all are planned around food or involve food in some sense. We take for granted the ease of eating whenever and not worrying about quantities. That is tough for me – the low protein foods I have tried have been really good, but I have to be good about my portion control! Like with our low protein pasta and sautéed veggies last night! I just want to be able to sit with a bag of chips and eat until I am content.
I have to say, aside from my stomach, I am feeling ok so far. I do notice that I easily tire when I work out or climb the never ending stairs at work. It’s difficult to describe, I just don’t feel as good at the end of a workout as I do when I am consuming my normal amount of protein. I think part of that problem is I am finding myself trying not to eat too much protein (or phe as that is what we count in our house) early in the day so I have room later in the day for my meals. By the end of some days, I am not reaching a healthy amount of phe. It’s funny how I can plan this out for my daughter, but for me I try and hoard that phe!
And now a little positivity! Since doing this challenge, I have watched my daughter take on a lot of meal prep and trying of new foods. She has even gone food shopping with her dad so that they can pick out some snacks for me to take to work. This challenge has also formed a special bond between us – I feel like we are part of a secret club. She told me tonight that she likes me doing the challenge because she doesn’t feel alone with PKU. That makes me want to do this forever!!
Inspired by Jack Everitt’s PKU documentary film, So What Can You Eat?, Karen Ward was challenged by her 8-year old daughter, Lauren to take on her PKU Diet for 1-week. Wow, Kudos to you Karen! I’m so happy you got through the week successfully and delighted all the more to know what it meant for you and Lauren to share the experience that she lives with everyday on her own.
I admit that 20+ years ago, the diet would’ve been much more difficult than it is today. The formulas back then in addition to the low protein foods were so different and there was an overall attitude that having PKU was equated to a lifelong sentence of bad tasting food.
One of the formulas I'm on is Phenyl Free 2HP.. I think that's the formula he's talking about. It's alot like the old one - Lofenelac. The other 2 I'm on are the Glytactin RTD Original and Chocolate. They smell good and taste good too. 🙂
Wow Karen, you're doing it all. 🙂 Even the formula. My Dad doesn't even like the smell of my formula. Yeah, I go through that what do I want for lunch/dinner question too. It gets monotonous, but I guess it's the cross we adult PKUs bear.