Replies or thoughts on the JJ diet to Wendy

[Sharon]

If people respond here maybe your log on the JJ Virgin and TMAU diets combined will be easier to follow??

[Sharon]

Wow, you are doing it and making progress!!! No carbs or sugar, has the craving for these diminished?

[bethemiracle]

Thanks! I have been eating HEALTHY carbs like brown rice, strawberries and sweet potatoes. I have to say, I'm really not craving them. Every now and then I'm hungry, but not really like craving like I used to. I think it must be due to the balance meal, eating protein and oil, etc. It fills you up and keeps you full.

[Sharon]

Can you eat sweet potato fries?

[bethemiracle]

YES! I'm going to try them. I think they're hard to get to come out just right, crispy but no too overdone. I'm going to give it a try though.

As I said in my "blog" I'm really tired of chicken. Any suggestions? I will try tuna soon here, probably after this weekend, but I really don't like it, just would eat it for some variety. Do you think a little bit of red meat would be bad? It's okay as far as the Virgin diet, but I'm afraid for the TMAU. Or what about turkey? Do many folks eat turkey? Although it's not really much different that chicken.

[Sharon]

I think that you could eat other proteins at this point. Myself I would avoid red meats that's all. They give me underarm odor?

[Sharon]

Wendy you have been on this almost a week so in your case try switching to some higher proteins( same proportion as the chicken). Your tma must be very low!!

My diet is similar but with carbs, turkey and occasional pork or blt. When it has been low for awhile I do slip in some fish as a treat.

I am still trying the tuna. The fresh tuna, if cooked fresh, has NOT caused any odor. I have 1/2 a tuna steak only. The frozen bag tuna was soooo gross tasting to me.

I use to love canned tuna and do not believe one sandwich or in salad with NO mayo has caused an odor but just the smell of the product does NOT make it a treat. Remember these do develop Tyramine in leftovers so eat them fresh.

So you haven't seen any inches lost, just pounds? That can happen in the beginning just make sure you throw in some exercise to keep you muscles toned and increase a little more protein. You want to loose the fat not muscle.

If you feast tomorrow then try another protein and plenty of some non cruciferous veggies. No fruit allowed?

[bethemiracle]

Thanks for the input!
Fruit is allowed. It counts as your carb. Sometimes my stomach has trouble with fruit so I kind of stay away from it, except strawberries and blueberries and maybe peaches. I do plan on eating more of those.
I love the fresh tuna. I plan on having some of that soon.

[Arun Nagrath]

Hi Wendy, it's been ages since we chatted. How are you keeping?

Thank you so much for posting about the JJ diet. I have changed the topic as requested.

From what I remember, you had TMAU2 but with poor conversion.

I do believe the issue of diet (for people who have tested positive for TMAU) is a complex one. Choline restriction alone might be useful if the odour was entirely due to trimethylamine. However, I believe most sufferers (around 90%) have a variety of odours so I don't like to give advice about TMAU diets as there are too many unknown chemical triggers other than choline.

For this reason, for TMAU sufferers who have been successful in controlling their odour through diet, I would say that they have been lucky and should stick to that same diet as much as possible, especially if they can't smell themselves. Copying a diet which has worked for others can help and is always a good start.

I know diet plays a big role in my breath and body odour but getting accurate feedback from others is what prevents serious dietary research (I can't smell myself).

I believe you had mentioned your condition to a friend a year back. Did you ever get any useful feedback from her? Most people are too worried about offending us to be truly frank about the issue. I guess it's understandable although not very helpful for us.

How about your husband/children? Have you ever managed to get feedback there? I recently went on holiday to Bali and got feedback from a masseuse. I was ecstatic but disappointed that I had to return to the UK before I could get dietary feedback! Anyway, it showed me that this kind of food research is possible.

How often do you run? Do you still have a cold? I find that when I have a cold, if I reduce my calorie intake, unfortunately the cold takes longer to clear.

Wendy, I can see that you are trying to loose weight as well as reducing the odour. Like you, I have suspected IBS issue although I tend to get bloating and loose motions/diarrhoea (IBS-D) rather than bloating and constipation (IBS-C).

Would you feel encouraged if I join you on a similar diet? I need to loose a little weight, want to get trim through exercise, and want to control my IBS. I also want to observe the effects of diet on my odour by observing people I come across (really difficult).
Arun

[bethemiracle]

Thanks for changing it, Arun!

Yes, you remember me correctly.

I have confided in several friends and family, all promising to be truthful, and I have taken the liberty to ask them. They all tell me they smell nothing. I can only hope that what I'm doing is helping, rather than that they are all lying to me.

I don't know if you saw one of my posts - I can't remember where I posted it? - but I went to my integrative doctor about a week ago. She has been great, very open. She helped me get tested over in the UK and she learned about TMAU from me and was then able to diagnose one of her other patients who was searching for answers regarding her odor. I was happy about that! Anyway, last week, by suggestion of my therapist, I asked her if I could stop in periodically, either when I think I'm having a bad day or when I've eaten something bad, or just whenever. She said absolutely and even called in another co-worker who she said had the best nose in the office, and they are both going to make themselves available for me to stop in.

I told them it may not be enough just to breeze in and say hello. So they will give me a room that I can spend some time in and they will come and see if there is any odor. I believe they were sincere.

Have you had any success with your odor? I hope so.

I am on the tail end of my cold now and feeling much better. Strange, but I think it came at a good time, in the beginning of my diet, because it made me not feel like eating!

I was a runner for a lot of years and then I quit because my knees were hurting me. I guess I had acquired Runner's Knee. The farthest I ever ran was a four-person marathon relay, so my portion was, if I remeber correctly, 7.8 miles.

I've attempted to pick it up again but have never really gotten to the point of running organized races again. I'm going to give it a shot again this summer.

I guess I have IBS-c. This diet has made my stomach feel better. The best way I could explain it is it is quiet, less rumbling, gurgling, gas.

Yes, I do want to lose weight. I don't know what you know about this Virgin Diet, but it has 3 cycles: Eliminate 7 possibly offending foods, re-introduce each food one at a time, and lifestyle. I'm not sure yet how far I'm going to take it, if I'm going to do the whole re-introduction or not, but I really should because I know something I had been eating must have had a bad effect on me because I am seeing some changes. Ironically, speaking or running, the slight pain that I normally have in my knees is basically gone! Must be an inflammation reaction that is gone since I've stopped eating whatever food is the offender. With my luck it's cheese or sugar So I'll get through the 3 weeks and then see what I want to do, just keep going or re-introduce.

There are several folks trying this now. That would be awesome if you want to join in too. I think it helps to trade ideas and so forth.

It was fun catching up!

[Sharon]

Wendy, something that you could add to a wrap or stir fry is Mung bean sprouts. They are also sold as Chinese/Oriental bean sprouts. I find them in the produce isle. They also come canned in the oriental food section. The fresh are much better.

The USDA list has them as low in choline and other's have posted they use them with no problem. Its not a cruciferous either so??

It seems that once a bean sprouts it has used most of the choline (and probably sulfa) in the sprouting process. If you got ambitious you can buy the mung bean and sprout it on your own!! It is also a source of plant protein and the only plant protein that may fit our ok foods?

[bethemiracle]

I have heard a lot of talk of them. If anyone else reads this, has anyone had BAD luck with them? I'll put them on my list to try when I get daring. Do you eat them, Sharon?

[Sharon]

They are not something that I know a lot about , so can't give you recipes. Yes I throw them in salads, wraps or a stir fry. Someone posted that they made desserts with them too. There are lots of recipes on the web if you google it.

If I buy a bag of fresh sprouts then I throw the leftovers in just about anything to use them up . No dessert yet though. Try a search on yahoo for mung for the old posts on them. If I find a post I'll bump it.

[Arun Nagrath]

Wendy, sorry about the delay in replying. I have a busy lifestyle and it can sometimes take me a while to reply.

"Anyway, last week, by suggestion of my therapist, I asked her if I could stop in periodically, either when I think I'm having a bad day or when I've eaten something bad, or just whenever"

That's wonderful Wendy, this is exactly the sort of thing we need. We need frequent feedback (from the same people) so that we can alter the consumption of foods that are the worst offenders.

Also, I am impressed that you considered the time dimension when considering obtaining feedback (our odours can often be intermittent and can switch on and off just like a light).

"I told them it may not be enough just to breeze in and say hello. So they will give me a room that I can spend some time in and they will come and see if there is any odor. I believe they were sincere".

If you have acquired Runner's knee, it may be an idea to do running part of the time and another sport, such as swimming, the rest of the time. Can you swim? Do you enjoy it? Are there pools near you?

I did have some success reducing the odour when a past girlfriend helped me for a short while. However, she did not stay with me long enough to do some serious research. I found that I have to avoid smelly foods and highly spiced foods.

My problem is worst in my underarms and I know that I must shower and apply antiperspirant immediately prior to any social events.

I will start a new thread for my diet but I want to spend a while doing a baseline before removing any offending foods.

I have observed that my odour is stronger when my IBS is playing up so my main aim is to change the JJ diet to control my IBS symptoms.

I will start my daily record tomorrow and plan to record my IBS-D symptoms as mild, moderate or severe.

Which foods have you found to be the biggest culprits so far? (for aggravating your IBS)
Arun

[Sharon]

Wendy I think I would throw the tape measure away or see if someone is playing tricks on you!! Actually if you are exercising a lot it may be that the measurements are the same due to muscle development?

Great job and do you find keeping a log here makes it easier to stick too? I enjoy following you. You take calcium supplements?