Spring Cleaning for Your Diet: The Power of Elimination

Mar 26

We all know about the urge to start spring cleaning in our homes, which usually consists of purging clutter and eliminating dirt and dust that collected during the winter. Elimination of clutter has been especially on my mind this year. Which got me thinking, what if the theme of elimination could play into more areas than just our homes.

But first, what is elimination anyway?

“Elimination is the process of getting rid of something, whether it's waste, errors, or competition. Elimination comes from the Latin word limen, which means threshold. The Romans added an “e” to the beginning and created the verb eliminare, which means to banish or to push over the threshold and out the door”, according to vocabulary.com.

So, have you ever thought about eliminating foods from your diet? My family all decided to cheer each other on in January and finally jump the bandwagon and try dry January. Some of us were more damp than dry. And you know me, the old, competitive me said, “I am up for the challenge and I want bonus points.” So I decided to do Dry January and February. While I’m not necessarily saying that you need to do this, I will say I am sleeping better and have an easier time going to sleep than if I have two glasses of wine (Scout and Cellar wine of course).

Still, I was a bit shocked when I was told my gut and digestive system were not functioning as they could be and the best thing for me to do was to do an elimination diet. ELIMINATION! What in the world could that mean when it comes to my diet?

What is an Elimination Diet

An elimination diet is a short-term eating plan that involves removing certain foods or food groups from your diet with the intention of identifying potential food intolerances or healing internally. After a period of elimination, usually ranging from a few weeks to a couple of months, foods are gradually reintroduced one at a time while closely monitoring for any adverse reactions or symptoms.

Side note: elimination diets are most effective when performed under the care of a health professional – so be sure to speak with your care provider before beginning one.

In February I took on the elimination diet. Which meant:

No alcohol (check, already got that)
No red meat (okay, I could probably do that)
No dairy, no oils (ooh — okay I can put oil on my body, but no condiments, no dressings, no greek yogurt, and NO CHEESE?!)
No nuts and seeds, no grains, no granola (hmmm well I guess I can’t have yogurt for now, so what does having no granola matter? I can do this, I think I can, I think I can.)
No sugar – (wait, what?! No sugar! Okay now this is officially going to be difficult.)

You may be reading this thinking I am crazy and wondering why I would subject myself to such torture - I am okay with that. I had never done Whole 30 or any other fad ‘diet’ well so maybe elimination was going to be the key. I will admit, it wasn’t easy and NO ONE can do this for an extended period of time. But, I did love the way it made me feel and for a few weeks it was sustainable until I gradually added a few things back – and I sure learned a lot along the way.

What I Learned from Doing an Elimination Diet

Thinking back over my winter experience with an elimination diet, these are my takeaways that I want to pass along in the event you’re considering giving an elimination diet a try for your own health:

Eating out on an elimination diet is hard. I don’t recommend it.
Eating mainly chicken, sweet potatoes, and a variety of fruits and vegetables was satisfying, rewarding, and oooh feels so good!
I didn’t have to think about what to eat when so many foods had been added to my ‘eliminate’ list. Initially I thought it was difficult, but as soon as I pivoted and approached it as ‘one less thing to think about’ I had great success.
I turned inward and had a host of ah ha moments - mainly that my lack of enforcing boundaries for myself caused me to internalize my ‘stuff’, my heaviness, emotions and feelings that I had stuffed down needed to be felt, heard, loved, and removed (or eliminated).
There really is a gut / brain connection. Initially I had been focusing on my mind, my brain, and healing. My gut needed the attention and the release and let me tell you, walking, eating healthy and loving myself keep me relaxed (most days) and grateful.
For those days that I had to have a little sweetness, I found GOOD LIFE brand of chocolate chips. (They have very few ingredients and that helped me sustain the month of elimination from sugar).
And probably the number one lesson: sometimes living your best life requires eliminating some junk!

In the end, I have learned that I wasn’t looking forward to elimination, and yet, after doing it I feel amazing! I am now seeing elimination with a brand new perspective – I’m seeing it as a positive thing!

So, now I am off to the next form of elimination: eliminating unnecessary tasks, like cutting screen time by at least one day a week, eliminating the urge to put others’ needs before my own, and eliminating unnecessary negative self-talk. What will you work on eliminating this spring?

In case we haven’t met, I’m Rebecca. a spunky, Jesus- loving entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and wine enthusiast on a mission to help go-getter women cultivate a happier and more fulfilling life by establishing healthy routines with sustainable, high quality food, beverages, and nutrition supplements. I want to help you live your best life! Here are a few ways to get started:

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