Few questions about diet....

[gagesmom3]

I'm trying to stick with this diet, been on it for about 2 weeks, some cheating Anyways, the peppermint tea...does it matter which brand? what should I look to avoid in those?? The rice cereal, is boxed rice cereal allowed? And, how long should it take to see results if I start really sticking with this diet? I've had a few (very few) good days, but I've also cheated & had setbacks. Bad ones, like today!

[tanicah]

I have to read labels!! The less preservatives, vitamins added, etc., the better. You definitely have to experiment to figure out what works for you as well. For example, some people have no problem with the added vitamins in cereal, others it's a big trigger.

For the peppermint tea, I just finally (after being on the diet for two months) started drinking a tea. It's called Tummy Mint from Celestial Seasonings. Its ingredients are Peppermint, Chamomile, Fennel, Licorice, and Natural Mint Extract (contains Soy Lecithin). This probably wouldn't work for everyone because of the soy lecithin, but it works for me. If you're shopping for a tea, look at the ingredients and you'll want to make sure they're all on the safe list. Licorice isn't on the list at all (that I can see), and all soy products are cautioned. But again, I decided to give it a try and it worked.

So, I guess what I'm saying is it's a long and difficult process. It was really depressing at first, but if you hang out on this board long enough you start hearing about great finds (Bubbes Pickles has a dill pickle that doesn't contain vinegar - yay! and a lot of people can tolerate Marie's Lite Ranch) and finding things that work for you. I ran across something that basically said you might be able to use the lemon/lime zest even if you can't use the citrus juice; I haven't tried this yet, but I'm excited it might even possibly be an option!

Good luck! If you want to chat about this any more you can email me at tanica.h at gmail dot com. I'm fairly new to the diet too, so if you just wanted to vent or hear about new discoveries, I'd be game!!