Making the Maker’s Diet work
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I mentioned in my Menu Plan Monday post that my husband and I have decided to go back on the Maker's Diet yet again, right on the tail end of the Candida cleanse that I have been doing. This brought out a few questions about doing the Maker's Diet, so I thought I would take the opportunity to give a quick review of the book and diet, and how it has worked for us.
If you've never read The Maker's Diet
I believe that this will be either the 3rd or 4th time that my husband and I have embarked on this diet (which should tell you that we think it's great!). I'll say this upfront- it's not a particularly fun diet to go on. The first time we did it, I remember that we were both ravenously hungry for the first two weeks. However, I also remember how good we felt as we came to the end of it, and how glad we were that we had done it.
In a nutshell, the diet consists of:
Stage 1- No grains, no fruit (except for some citrus and berries), no beans, no starches (potatoes, corn), no processed foods, few nuts, no sugars, no cow's dairy (goat's dairy is ok).
Stage 2- Add back in fruits and beans and more nuts and organic cow's dairy.
Stage 3- Add back in starches, appropriate sugars (honey, molasses, etc.) and properly prepared grains
Now for a few questions...
I was wondering how it makes you feel to go on a cleanse like this?
Hungry! LOL, I'm mostly just kidding, though not entirely. In the first week or two, I think that most people do feel hungry. Grains, starches and sugars are filling, and without spending an extravagent amount on animal/fish protein, it can be difficult to stay really fully between meals. We do find, though, that this decreases the longer we do it, as our bodies adjust, and adding a few more foods back in for Stage 2 helps a lot.
Aside from that, many people will feel worse when they are doing a cleanse before, and although this can be difficult and discouraging, this is a good sign and it means that you should keep up what you are doing! When your body begins to release toxins, you will feel the effects of those toxins through fatigue, mental cloudiness, crankiness, skin breakouts, digestive issues (gas and bloating), some body odor, etc. Though not pleasant, this is a necessary season to walk through, and it is usually short lived. Once through this, you will begin to feel wonderful, so much better than you did before. You will have more energy, alertness, ability to concentrate, clearer skin, smoother digestion and elimination, etc.
Do
you feel bad when you start eating your regular foods again?
Well, yes and no. Depends what you mean by regular. When I start to eat sugar or processed foods or chemicals again, then yes, I don't feel well. A cleaned out body reacts to foods that it should not be having, and this is a good and natural response! When we continually abuse our bodies over a long period of time, they begin to go into a state of shock, and stop responding to the abuse.
We might like to think that our bodies are tough, and that we're healthy enough to handle garbage foods once in a while, but it's actually quite the opposite. Your body has stopped giving you signals because you ignore them. Cleansing your body and giving it whole, nourishing foods ends that state of shock, and so when you eat poorly, your body says "hey, wait a minute, I was enjoying all that good stuff and this pop/donut/white fluffy bread just doesn't agree with me!".
When I go back to eating healthful foods that I temporarily stopped eating for the purposes of greater healing, my body can handle them quite well. It's still wisdom to ease back into anything that our body isn't used to having regularly, but I am feeling quite well eating eggs, raw milk, beef, tomatoes, etc. once again!
It must be
really hard to have your foods so limited. Do you and your husband get
hungry?? And do you stick to it even when your out?
I will definitely say that walking through this type of diet requires extra effort and discipline. We get hungry when we don't plan adequately for it. However, when I carefully meal plan and shop in accordance with our diet, considering breakfasts, snacks and treats, in addition to regular lunches and dinners, then we are able to do quite well with it. Planning is one of the key elements to making something like this a success!
And yes, we try our hardest to stick with it when we go out. If we are going to be hosted by family, I will be specific about what we can and cannot eat, as they understand it well. If we are going to eat with friends, I will give them basics (no dairy, no sugar, trying to avoid grains), avoiding the more nitpicky specifics, and we will make small compromises. We will also offer to bring something that suits our diet, such as a salad, or veggie dish, etc. And eating out? Well, we just don't do it as much. We bring snacks or a bag lunch whenever possible. If we need to, we can eat a hearty salad with meat and skimp on the dressing, or perhaps a vegetable soup, or steak or chicken breast or fish with seasonal veggies.
Where do you get your recipes?
When I first did the diet, I used several of his recipes at the back of the book, just because I didn't know what else to make. I know that on his site, you can also pay a membership fee and have access to many more recipes and other resources, forums, etc. Personally, I didn't see this as being necessary.
I simply make a list of what we can eat, and then start to go through my own list of recipes to come up with ideas. For simple dinners in Stage 1, you can do some sort of protein (red meat, poultry or fish), and a big salad, or perhaps some steamed veggies and baked squash. Egg dishes work, like a goat cheese omelet with veggies. Or vegetable lentil soups. I mostly use my regular recipes, with alterations. I do a lot of substitutions, and just get a bit creative.
Do you follow his recommendations for supplements? If I remember correctly, it was expensive wasn't it?
Yes, they are expensive, and no, we don't really stick with his recommendations. We've never done the SBO's he recommends or used his particular pro-biotic (although we do use one, just a different brand). We've never tried Clenzology. We do buy the good coconut oil (but I do that anyways), and we do use Cod Liver Oil (again, not his brand). We sometimes use green foods (spirulina powder or liquid chlorophyll), but not his specific brand.
I hope that is helpful for anyone considering going on this life changing diet! His principles are very much in accord with those found in Nourishing Traditions
If anyone has any other questions about our experience with The Maker's Diet
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Thanks so much for posting this. I have read through The Maker's Diet twice and added certain elements of it into my cooking/our eating habits. It always seemed just too expensive and too limiting for me to pursue it any farther though. But you have made it sound so doable. Again, thank you for all the information. Have a great week.
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Thanks for this info. I'm going to check out the book from the library and read it.
I believe in one of your posts about your candida diet you spoke on that it is not harmful when you are breastfeeding. What are your thoughts on this one while you are nursing?
I have a 5 month old, I don't know if I will do this diet or not and if I do it won't be for several months probably. However, I'm hoping to nurse her 'til well after she is one and didn't know if I should wait until after she's done nursing to do something like this.
Linds
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This looks like it might be a great option for me. I've had chronic hives for several years, and they finally went away once I started a gluten free diet. But they've returned again, so I think it's time to get rid of the toxins and see if that helps my hyper-sensitive system! Thanks for the info!
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I've seen so many diets like this one that severely restrict certain types of foods, and one hallmark I've noticed is that they require a person to take dietary supplements. Without meaning to sound nit-picky, and surely not to bash you or anyone who follows such a diet, I'm wondering why the supplements, if this is God's original intention for our diets? My reasoning is along the lines of thinking He would supply every nutrient we needed through our food, if this were the only way we should eat.
Having said that, I probably should be taking supplements, because I don't eat even close to this healthily! I've enjoyed reading about your diet, and have considered making a few changes to ours. Thanks!
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Susan, thank you for the excellent comment. I actually agree with you very strongly, although I do have reasons for taking certain supplements, especially for a short season. I would love to answer this comment more fully in a post, as this is actually a topic that I am passionate about, and a question that is very worth asking, in my opinion!
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Linds, I actually don't think cleansing while nursing is a great idea and it can be harmful. The reason is was appropriate for me was that my baby was receiving toxins and developing food sensitivities as a result of my high Candida levels. My naturopath felt that it was more beneficial to deal with it (knowing he would receive toxins in the process) than to allow it to continue (as he would continue to receive toxins over the long haul, and develop worse sensitivities).
The only way that I would recommend doing it is with an experienced naturopath or nutritionist who specialize in these types of diets, and who are able to do the testing to make sure that it is actually a serious enough issue to warrant dealing with while nursing (I was tested, and my level was found to be high enough that my naturopath was concerned).
The post that I wrote about cleansing while nursing is here:
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2008/02/qa-on-a-cleanse.html
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Stephanie-
Thanks for the info. I should've looked more for the previous post. I'll stick to waiting until I'm done nursing. Thanks for the help!
Linds
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Thanks for taking my comment in the spirit in which it was intended! I'm looking forward to what you have to say about supplements.
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In response to Susan's question about the need for supplements (my opinion): As believers we need to remember that the earth (including our food sources) started out as a perfect source of nutrition for us but, as with all creation, was cursed and is becoming exponentially worse. God's initial plan was for our food to provide enough nutrients, but that is no longer the case. I believe one example from The Maker's Diet is where oranges from different locations were tested for Vitamin C - some had none! Supplements aren't any good for people who eat poorly - but they are helpful to 'supplement' a healthy diet and maximize it's positive effect on our body. Again - this is just an opinion.
Thanks for the great post! Maybe when we get our allergies figured out, we can try to follow this diet (I loved the book!).
Andrea
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You and your husband are so brave! My husband was on the Maker's Diet when we first got married. I tried to cook and follow the diet as best I could, but it was a struggle! We still make many eating decisions based on Maker's Diet but find it is too strict for our lifestyle. My husband often works on the road for 16 + hours/ day and he found eating meals on the road difficult especially when he hadn't planned on eating lunch and dinner away from home. (ie, not packing enough food for the day and ending up eating out instead) Some day the Maker's Diet might be more workable for us, but in the mean time we just try to make as many health decisions as we can.
Good luck!
Jeannie
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Thanks to Andrea for mentioning how the original plan included perfect soil and growing conditions. I hadn't thought of that, and it's worth thinking on for a bit. I still see supplements as a bit too expensive to justify using in our family at this point.
I checked out the book at the library, and I've been reading and making notes for the past two days. There are several things that I agree with the author on, one being the use of antibacterial everything and the almost phobic fear of germs in North America. One thing that still kind of bugs me, though, is that his good points are followed by how his products are things you need. He does, however, give you some alternative ideas if you can't afford them or don't want them, so that redeems him a bit!
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Thanks so much for posting this. I have read through The Maker's Diet twice and added certain elements of it into my cooking/our eating habits.
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Can you post several frugal Maker's Diet recipes? We had to stop a few months ago due to needing to cut back on spending. I really want to go back,... can you offer some frugal recipes/tips/ideas on how to do the Maker's Diet on a small budget?
THANKS!!!!!!!
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I just wanted to let everyone know that this diet/life-change is the best life-style change that you chould possiably choose. I have done the 40 day cleanse and I have been living on the change for about a year. I never really looked fat because I have always been the type to hold my weight very well but I lost 40 lbs. on this diet and am still loosing. I feel great and my family and I look and feel so much better. I would suggest not only this advise from our maker but every word of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Please if you are over wieght and un-healthy do this for your temple it is what God intended for us all to be healthy.
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