Starting "The Diet"

Our family is going through a major transformation that is known around my neck of the woods as, “the diet”. I am referring to the GFCF or Gluten-Free/Casein-Free Diet. Riley is in withdrawal and the whole house is suffering!

It all started around Christmas break when we ran out of COLORED Goldfish. I emphasize colored because he would pick out the red, green, and purple ones to eat and leave the orange ones. I’m serious, he would have nothing to do with the orange ones. That was my first thought that maybe I shouldn’t let him keep eating them. I rationalized it with, “Well, he only eats 8-10 things anyway so why would I take these away from him?” Okay, so we ran out of them and he kept asking for them by name. We were really busy and in and out of town so I never really had a chance to go to the store and get any. He was without them for maybe over a week and we noticed a big change. He was alert, talking more, had better eye contact, opening presents, things were going pretty good for him, and us.

That’s when I noticed the big flashing light above my head that was saying, “Wake Up and Notice that some foods are NOT good for your child!” We had already learned that his allergy count was a whopping 300 something when a normal count is in the 20’s or 30’s. I immediately started doing research and came across an article talking about the artificial dyes that are added into some foods, especially Red Dye Number 3 which is synthesized with petroleum. Seriously, petroleum! I immediately went into the kitchen and noticed that the majority of foods that Riley likes craves are laced with artificial dyes.

It has taken a couple of weeks to rid him of the goldfish and fruit roll-ups that he craved daily. There have been some set-backs as well. Like the time we were all in Wal-Mart and he was yelling at the top of his lungs, “I WANT GOLDFISH!” Of course, I caved in a let him have some. And the time where he stayed with a friend and I had forgotten to tell them about the no goldfish policy. And the time, just this week, where he begged for them at Early CLASS. They only had the orange ones but he was so desperate that he ate those ORANGE goldfish!!!!

So, without having to put a sign on him that says, “Please don’t feed me goldfish” I am going to try to make him have a goldfish-free existence on this earth. And, while I’m ticking him off majorly, I may as well detoxify him of other things that may be hurting his system or simply find a stand-in for that particular food that is wheat and dairy-free. Let’s see, out of those 8-10 things that he eats, which ones will not make the cut? The aforementioned snacks are on that list, pizza, and the one thing that he lives life for- McDonalds! Now, I have no idea how I am going to take his burger and fries away. How can you substitute that? Especially when he has to eat in the car five days a week and he knows how to spot them out the window. Am I really going to say, “No” to him?

Well, “No” has been the secret word around here this weekend. And for the first time in Riley’s life, I am not afraid to tell him that word. I am going to abandon the theory, “If you say it, I will give you anything you want.” I’m not afraid of him anymore. I know that if he is going to be mad, it won’t last forever. And giving in is doing daily damage.

So, here we are. Over 24 hours into the diet and he has eaten what we have given him even though he has asked for several things that are certainly not on “the diet.” We gave him bacon and he looked at us and said, “Orange Rolls!” We gave him hot dogs and he looked up at us and said, “McDonalds!” But after a moment he sat at the table and ate them. He may not have eaten them all and licked his plate, but he didn’t throw a fit and he told us, “finished” when he was done. Success #1.

Hopefully the better he starts to feel, the more foods he will want to try. He hasn’t eaten spaghetti or soups in a couple of years but I feel that he may get over that hurdle eventually. As far as fruits and veggies, I don’t think that he will ever put any into his mouth. Bananas are the only fruit that he will eat. Sad, but true.

We are all a little bit cranky today from having to endure the wrath of Riley. He is doing well in spite of having his world rocked a little. I’m going to need special prayers during the week to be strong enough not to cave in to him. So, in the words of The Little Engine That Could, I’m going to leave the weekend behind and start the week with this thought.............”I think I can, I think I can.”