How I Transitioned to a Plant-Based Diet

I get asked how I successfully transitioned into a plant-based diet VERY frequently. Interestingly enough, I started this transition during an ulcerative colitis flare-up, so it wasn’t a walk in the park. But I figured with the success that I have had, there was no chance that I could not share it with you, but please keep in mind that EVERYONE is different, so just because this method to achieve success worked for me, it doesn’t mean that it will work for you.

Where did my story begin?

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in December 2017. It was a very quick diagnosis of which I had endured three weeks of constipation, bathroom urgencies and eventually blood in my stool. Once I started experiencing blood, I knew something wasn’t right. During that time, my stomach experienced loads of gas and bloating. Once I was diagnosed through a colonoscopy, I was immediately medicated with Mesalamine oral tablets that I had to remain on permanently and if they did not help fight the inflammation, enemas were available to support the process. My flare up cleared instantly.

Six months later I had my second flare and it was an angry f*cker. It was worse than my initial one and this time I needed enemas to support the pain. I was put in contact with a functional doctor who used my DNA and blood panel to formulate an eating plant of what resembled the paleo diet but even more restrictive (no fish, limited veggies and fruits, no garlic or onion, no whole grains), and I was on this diet for two and a half years. It fast-tracked my disease into a situation where I was experiencing arthritic pain, migraines, terrible PMS symptoms, acne, weakness, fatigue – honestly, I felt like shit. And I kept thinking ‘If I keep this diet up, I’ll eventually get better. But I didn’t.

When did the plant-based method save my life?

In July of 2020, I was in a severe flare-up where biologics or steroids were starting to look tempting. I was bedridden for weeks and although I had bought Dr Will Bulsiewicz's book, Fiber Fueled, I was yet to read it. My husband said to me, ‘you should read the book’. And so I did. I wept as I read the pages in disbelief of how much damage I was causing to my body, while on a paleo diet. It was scary. And so right then and there I knew what I had to do.

How did I begin the plant-based transition?

Because I was in a flare-up, the transition wasn’t easy. I knew that I first had to ‘put out the fire’ which meant that I had to treat the flare-up with medication and that was enemas and orals. While I was ‘putting out the fire’, I made sure that I was following a diet that was the least taxing on my gut. I focused on healing foods that wouldn’t require much for my stomach to break down. This was inclusive of broths with carrots, zucchini, sweet potato, potato and celery. I also reintroduced oats and soaked them overnight to turn them into oatmeal. This was the first time I had eaten grains in over two and a half years. When I ate my first bowl of oats, my body was dying for more, so I ate more. And it was amazing! I also drank lots of tea and water. Although this diet was bland (minus the excitement of eating oats again), I was so excited to start transitioning from the flare-up into remission, before moving into a plant-based diet.

Once I noticed fewer symptoms, I started introducing more whole grains such as rice and quinoa. Soon, I was introducing lentils (only small amounts at a time) and chickpeas. Eventually, I added cooked garlic and onion but again, small amounts and always cooked. Every plant I reintroduced was only ever in small amounts and cooked until I could level up.

While I was doing this though, I did notice some sensitivities to foods such as soy-based products (tofu, seaweed, soy sauce) and so I noted this. My sensitivities were very obvious, I had tingles in my groin area, as well as noticeable fatigue after eating these foods. So, I did thorough research to find the connection between these foods and what sensitivities they might entail. It turned out that I was sensitive to high histamine foods, so I tracked them individually while eating them and determined what histamine foods I was sensitive to, and what I was not. Once I figured it out, I eliminated the ones I was sensitive to and kept the others in my diet until I continued to heal.

Our stomachs are like muscles, and so when we are reintroducing new plant foods back into our diet, it’s so integral to go low and slow. If not, we may experience digestive distress. This doesn’t mean that we can’t eat this food, it means that we’re not accustomed to large amounts of fiber (the source of food our microbiome need to be healthy). And so to tolerate fiber, we need to focus on eating it in small doses. Raw food, like salads, are especially important to consider because it entails insoluble fibers which are more taxing on the gut to digest.

Another thing to note is that during the transitional process, I spent time educating myself about the importance of making sure I increase specific plants to replace nutrients in animal products, such as vitamin B12, iron, calcium zinc and vitamin D. This is super integral! Eliminating animal products doesn’t need to happen overnight, some people take up to a year to do this, so try meat-free days to begin with.

So what’s the takeaway?

-       If you have IBD find a medication that ‘puts out the fire’

-       Go low and slow in reintroducing plant foods.  

-       Start with cooked foods, before doing raw options

-       Soups and broths are your best friends

-       Educate yourself about the importance of nutrients that you need to support the elimination of meat

-       Eliminate meat slowly (start with meat-free days)

-       Keep a journal to determine food sensitivities (before slowly integrating)

-       Try to work your way up to 30 varieties of plants per week.

-       Progress over perfection.