Starting Over

One of the most challenging things about Feingold is the "infraction" process. When the dieter reacts to a trigger, the reaction can often last for 3 or more days. Such is what happened to Max on Monday after eating almond flour. It was literally, literally like he'd lost his mind. It stayed that way for two days.

As is the FG procedure, we took Epsom salt baths to cleanse his system. They also recommend you drink some baking soda, but I couldn't do that to him -- I always taste his juice before I give it to him, and with 1/2 tsp. of Baking Soda in it, it was unbearable.

Now, 48 hours later, it seems like we've weathered the storm, but it was a doozy. I'm hesitant to say that, but things are much calmer today and he had a good day at school. So, now, since an infraction occurred, we have to start again -- we go back the number of days from the infraction and start from there.

If I'm being honest, we really weren't following the diet to the letter. I was trusting my instinct and intelligence to choose FG products that weren't in the approved manual -- just stuff I was "sure" couldn't be a problem. We've put so much money into this already, I hate the idea of wasting food. But seeing now what an unapproved food can do, especially one with hidden salicylates, I've made the decision that I'd rather waste food than experience this again.

So now, we're sticklers. Only stuff from the manual. No diversions. And, hopefully, we'll see the results we were starting to see -- except this time, they'll stick...

Pulling the Trigger on Watermelon

Sigh.

Well, I figured I'd give watermelon one more chance. It wasn't a positive experience.

Since there are so many fruits eliminated for the first six weeks of the Feingold Program, I've really been struggling with finding enough fruit for Max to eat without getting bored or unwilling to eat it. Bananas have lost their luster. Pears were never a favorite. Mangos are a no go. Even the canned pineapple sits lonely on the shelf. But melon has always been one of Max's preferred fruits. And since his go-to berries and raisins are banned for the moment, melon has been a good alternative.

Now, of course, it's March - early March - so there are no local melons agrowin' round these here parts. So, like any good capitalistic consumer, I've taken to buying chunks in plastic containers at the grocery store. I've cringed every time I see that the melon is all the way from Mexico, but what can you do? I buy everything local that I can this time of year -- but sometimes, you just need to get stuff from Mexico.

Anyway, the cantaloupe and honeydew haven't been a problem. But the watermelon. Oh, the watermelon. I've yet to see such a sure-fire trigger for Max. He eats it and, like clockwork, three hours go by and he has a melt down. This happened a few weeks ago -- the day we really decided to go hardcore with FG. Watermelon contributed to a little boy pretending to shoot guns and scream and kick -- and just as soon as it came, it went. Max became contrite, apologetic, even regretful.

So, because watermelon is one of the FG Stage One fruits, I decided to try one more time. It was a big mistake. He had a similar instance in school as a few weeks ag0 - this time he was told to sit down and he yelled, screamed, tossed aside a chair, and tried to hit a teacher.

The experiment was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because it was a lesson - I've learned that Watermelon is a trigger and needs to be avoided. It was a curse because every behavioral set back makes me feel like a failure.

So, right now, Max is taking a nice long bath in a tub full of warm water and two cups of Epson Salt, which is said to help detoxify the body after an exposure to a trigger. To be fair, Max managed to stay "pulled together" after his incident at school. I could tell by his mood that the effects from the melon were still with him, but he had a pretty good handle on his behavior. I really think that he's learning how to control his impulses. While I truly believe much of his behavior is food-driven, I think there's something to be said for learning good habits.

To Market, To Market, To Buy A Fat Goldfish

So, Saturday was a learning experience.

Max and I headed out to the Leesburg Farmer's Market this morning. Leesburg is my favorite NOVA town -- mostly because it's close and I know my way around. But also because the downtown area is really cute, it's got great restaurants, and it's the gateway to much of NOVA wine country - which I also love.

Anyway, the Leesburg winter market is as good as a small town summer market -- I mean, it's still seasonal, obviously, so we're talking root veggies and green leafy varietals. But there are dairies, wineries, LOTS of meat suppliers (butchers/farmers), coffee roasters, etc. So Max and I picked up a nice loaf of cheddar and black pepper bread from Staff of Life bakers, some fresh Mozzerella from Blue Ridge Dairy, and various greens from Quarter Branch farms. Wondering what they looked like? I was hoping so...

ANYWAY...

Since we were so close to a wine-carrying Wegmans, I figured there would be no harm in swinging by. And, for the most part, there wasn't. It wasn't until we got home that things took a turn for the Crayola.

I should mention that Max, at this point, had eaten a breadstick from the market (whose ingredients I reviewed and cleared), a bag of FG-approved gummies, some homemade soymilk smoothie, and PF Whole Grain Goldfish.

We got home and, within the first ten minutes, Max was running around like a maniac. In general, he was happy, so I wasn't particularly concerned. It wasn't until I was sitting and chatting with my brother in law that I noticed the marker in Max's hand. I thought it was a Matchbox car and that he'd been driving around the room.

No. Not driving. Drawing.

Drawing a road.

With a red marker.

ON MY WHITE CARPET.

Now, to be fair, my reaction sucked. I believe I screamed, "Oh my god, Max, are you crazy???" which, in general, is probably not the best way to address my child. From then on, things just spiralled down. He was upset and yelling and crying and running around. We finally got him upstairs in his room for a while while we worked on the carpet. Then I talked to him, handed him a wash cloth, and made him come down and participate:

So, here's the point -- I'm pretty sure the goldfish are what set him off. I checked my FG Foodlist and, sure enough, no goldfish in the approved section. I could have sworn...

No matter. What's important is:
a. We're replacing that carpet anyway.
b. We saw what reintroducing a trigger really looks like. (i.e. crack.)
c. We got him involved in the cleaning and talked to him about the incident.

What I want to believe is that a four year-old should know better. That a good boy would never draw red marker on carpet. But, when he explained the (Lowes) commercial he'd seen with paint flying out of the bucket and all over the house and instantly transforming the house into a beautiful place, how can I fault him? I mean, really? I have a literal little boy. And this commercial told him drawing on the carpet wasn't what bad boys do -- it's what artists do. Click on the link below to see what commerical I'm talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0aPwhDDi7Y