It’s time for Week 5 – Last but not least: Fructans. This means, that I’m almost back to normal now & most importantly onions and garlic are back in my dishes. YES!! This was literally the hardest challenge for me. Onions and garlic bring so much flavour and depth to meals, it was incredibly hard to cook without them. I’m only reintroducing non-grain fructans this week, which means any gluten or Amaranth as well as Lupin, Chestnut & large servings of Almond flour are left for next week.

What are Fructans?

They are often mistaken for fructose. Fructans are basically multiple fructose molecules chained together with an added glucose sugar molecule at the end of that chain. Check Monash University for more input.

Day 1: Week 5 – Last but not least: Fructans.

As a surprise to myself and probably most of you, I didn’t start the day with porridge. I did however have some leftover egg whites, from yesterdays Spaghetti Carbonara and therefore decided to make some egg White Omelette with Mushrooms, Bacon Bits and Spinach. Since we got up quite late and had a brunch rather than breakfast. We skipped lunch then and had Pasta for Dinner. I am currently testing Kerrygolds new Cream Cheese Selection (Thank you, Oh! Of the Day) and incorporated the paprika and tomato cream cheese into a veggie sauce for my pasta. It was really delicious!!

Day 2: Week 5 – Last but not least: Fructans.

Since we visited the Internorga today, I opted for my good old boring Porridge as breakfast. I knew there wouldn’t be a lot of things I could eat at the fair and I wanted to have a good base for the long day ahead. As I am a person that really eats a lot, I was obviously very hungry anyways by the time we got home and opted for my first Kebap in 5 weeks (without bread of course) on the way. I also wanna highlight that we tried a vegan meat alternative made with a 3D-printer – how cool is that?!

Day 3: Week 5 – Last but not least: Fructans.

I’m obviously reluctant to change, so I had porridge for breakfast, again. For lunch I made Gnocchi with green asparagus and it was the first green asparagus I had this year. Since they are high in fructans, I had to wait for this week to eat some. It was a tough few weeks, but it was a great reintroduction of asparagus. Dinner consisted of a Potato and Broccoli Bake.

Day 4: Week 4 – Workout Thursday.

Thursday is porridge Day. Or everyday is porridge day in my case haha. I had the leftover potato bake for lunch and a Rogan Josh paneer and cauliflower curry, inspired by a recipe from Jamie Olivers “5 ingredients” cookbook. I am cooking a lot of things out of this book. Since I love cooking more complex dishes, I usually use the recipes as a base and keep adding a few more ingredients. To all of you, that lack inspiration and don’t have a lot of time for cooking (or don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking), I can highly recommend this and other books from Jamie Oliver. You can buy it here, if you want (not an affiliate link – I just love it!).

Day 5: Week 4 – TGIF!

It’s Friday and therefore time for Yoga class. After that I had some porridge for breakfast and took my bike to meet a friend for some coffee. We went to Lowinsky’s and if you’re in or around Eppendorf I really recommend you to go there. Do order one of they gluten-free pistachio and dark chocolate cookies – they are to die for!!! I went for a little bike tour afterwards and once I got home I took a really long nap. It wasn’t only a lot of exercise, but also a lot of sun and I was feeling quite exhausted. Dinner, therefore only consisted of the leftover Paneer from yesterday.

Day 6: First Barbecue of the year!

Day in, day out, I start my day with porridge – so, today was no exception. As you might know, we got a new kitchen. Nevertheless, we waited 2 years to buy one, so I couldn’t be happier (I’ll be sharing the progress soon). The countertop is going to arrive next week, which is why we spent the entire day trying to drill holes into the kitchen wall of our Altbau flat (kind of oldish house with terrible walls!!). Anyway, we managed quite well and after that we went for our first barbecue this year. Following our current FODMAP state, we had no gluten. I made a soda bread from Arans “Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple” – check it out here. We also made my favourite cannellini bean salad and vegan wild garlic butter. My friend provided chickpea battered cauliflower, salad, sweet potatoes and some meat. It was outstanding!

Day 7: Sunday Funday.

It’s “Me-Time” Sunday again and I was very active this week. Therefore, I actually spent the day in bed, watched some Harry Potter and sorted through huge amounts of clothes, I wanna sell off. I had Porridge for Breakfast (big surprise) and I made some Italian inspired potato mash and meat balls for dinner (Recipe coming soon, too.). I also made some gluten-free oat cookies.

This was basically the last week for me. I’m still unsure if I should try gluten again or not, but I will let you know, if I do!!

In case you missed it, check out my reports on Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 of my low FODMAP diet.

Welcome to Week 4 – Reintroducing Fructose. Week 4, guys. Week 4, out of 6 – we’re getting there!!! 🙂 Explaining Fructose in detail is probably not necessary. Basically, it’s a form of sugar predominantly present in fruits. 🙂 I am reintroducing fructans by adding Sugar snap peas, Mangos, Honey & Fruit Juice

Day 1: Welcome to Week 4 – Reintroducing Fructose.

It’s day 1 of the 4th week, which means, I am halfway through! This also means, that I have re-introduced almost everything by now. This week I’m reintroducing fructans! Say hello to Mango and all the lovely fruits!! I’ve started breakfast with porridge (same old, same old).

Many of you are probably getting tired of having the same thing over and over again and also having something warm every morning, but I am a person, that actually needs warm food. I’ve tried the whole raw and uncooked diet, but really, my body isn’t responding to it very well. I almost always still feel hungry, if I don’t eat anything warm and my body cools down really easily, too. I could, however, eat an entire pot of curry, as it really energises me.

For lunch were some gnocchi and I had some tempeh and rice noodle stir-fry for dinner.

Day 2: Welcome to Week 4 – Reintroducing Fructose.

This morning, I went to my Yoga class and actually had to go home again – seems I’ve used all my included yoga classes this month! I was pretty sad about it, as I was looking forward to it a lot – it was also my favourite teacher in todays class. But anyhow, I went back home and reminded myself, of how well I did going to class that often already.

For breakfast I had porridge – who would’ve thought! Haha. For lunch we visited my dad and had some pasta with mushrooms, spinach and parmesan. Sort of a agilo olio tagliatelle, without the garlic… (Garlic is back next week and I CANNOT wait!!!). For dinner we had some brown rice, veggies and sticky ginger and sesame meat balls – YUM!

Day 3: Welcome to Week 4 – Reintroducing Fructose.

Today was a lovely day, where I did a lot of stuff at home. We just bought a new kitchen (literally paid for it seconds before I received the notice from my former employer – talk about timing!! :-D) and we’re still waiting for the countertop. Therefore, we started with building up the cabinets one by one, exchanging them for the ones we already had which we then sold off one by one – simply because there wasn’t a lot of space to do everything in one go! We’re sort of living in the heart of chaos at the moment. So, yeah, I did some cleaning, building, moving around, selling, re-organising and tidying up. It was also quite relaxing, to be honest. Breakfast was porridge, of course. Lunch were leftover meatballs with veggies and rice and for dinner we had some dinner rolls with cheese, Jamon and avocado.

Day 4: Week 4 – Workout Thursday.

The day started off with an early morning Yoga class. Afterwards, I had porridge for breakfast. As I am officially unemployed since Monday, I also had to visit the Agentur für Arbeit today in order to apply for unemployment benefits. Since it’s close enough, I went there by bike and enjoyed the ride in the sun. For lunch, afterwards, I had some cheese, dinner rolls, Jamon, great Italian olive oil (check it out here) and the most delicious sea salt from Mallorca. Seeing that the past couple of weeks have been quite stressful and I did quite a lot of exercise today, I was so tired I had to take a nap. I am really getting a lot better, but those are the moments, when I notice how tough it’s really been. Anyways, after writing this blog entry, I had some rice, chicken & veggies for dinner.

Day 5: Week 4 – almost weekend.

Hi and happy Friday! I am actually struggling to remember, what happened today, apart from my lovely chicken and rice stir fry for dinner and some avocado and cheese platter for lunch. I probably had porridge for breakfast (seeing as I almost never have anything different for breakfast :-D). Other than that, I don’t think I did much. I’m still feeling the slight ups and downs of all the reintroductions, so I’m really trying to take it easy. 🙂

Day 6: Hamburg Coffee Festival.

So, I actually managed to go to an event – The Hamburg Coffee Festival. I went 2 years ago, though I was working there, then. I literally hadn’t seen as many people since the coffee festival 2 years ago, which was just before our first covid lockdown. While it was nice to see a lot of people again, it was also quite overwhelming, tbh. It was also my goodbye (for now anyway) from gastronomy. I’ll keep you postet, what comes next. 🙂

For breakfast I had porridge, of course and since I wasn’t home for lunch and I am still stuck on my low FODMAP diet, I skipped lunch and then had a big bowl of rice stir fry for dinner. 🙂

Day 7: A little me-time

My partner is mostly working on Sundays, which means it’s the one day of the week, I’m actually all by myself. I used to hate being alone, but during my mid-twenties I discovered I actually love spending time with myself. Therefore, on Sundays, I usually stay in. I don’t do much, except of literally spending time with myself, allowing myself to feel however I’m feeling, doing (or NOT) doing whatever it is I feel like and just breathing and finding my own balance.

I had a late brunch consisting of grilled cheese today and a tagliatelle carbonara for dinner – without cream (seriously people, don’t add cream!!!!).

Next week is gonna be exciting. We’re reintroducing fructose. I cannot wait and I hope I’m gonna feel okay with fructose!! Let’s see what week 4 is gonna bring – stay tuned!

In case you missed it, check out my reports on Week 1 and Week 2 of my low FODMAP diet.

Welcome to Week 3 – Polyols are back! Yay, Polyols! This weeks re-introduction means, welcome back avocados, mushrooms, stone fruits, celery, sweet potato, cauliflower and a couple of other things! This is the first week I’ve actually been looking forward to, as it gives me the slight feeling of “normal eating”. So, I’m very much excited about food this week,

What are Polyols?

Now, what exactly are Polyols? My personal guide these past couple of weeks has been the Monash University. The Monash University defines Polyols as:

“… sorbitol and mannitol. These are naturally occurring sugar alcohols (also called polyols) found in a range of fruits and vegetables including stone fruits and mushrooms. There are other sugar polyols that are added to commercial products such as chewing gums, mints and diabetic products. These include xylitol, maltitol and isomalt. …”

The Monash University also has an app, with recipes, easy to track FODMAPS and much more. If interested check it out, here. Otherwise, there is a lot of good information and recipes on their website.

Day 1: Week 3 – Easter Monday

Well, of course I didn’t realise it’s easter Monday and supermarkets are gonna be closed. Therefore, I didn’t plan ahead at all and didn’t do any shopping or meal plan! HA, what a start! Typical me, though.

Nevertheless, I had some scrambled tofu and buckwheat pancakes for breakfast, broccoli soup for lunch and a nice pasta for dinner. I was feeling a little tired (due to the stress of the past couple of weeks), but quite good.

Day 2: Week 3 – Polyols are back!

Today it was time for some reintroductions. I made a very yummy risotto!! with allllll the mushrooms I was able to find. In this case, as I love mushrooms, I took the reintroduction quite seriously. And, boy, was it delicious. (Recipe coming soon, hopefully! :-D).

I had more scrambled tofu for breakfast, as it’s quite filling actually. I also really enjoyed it – Kala Namak makes all the difference. Hopefully, I’ll get the recipe postet soon, too. As I was feeling quite full today, I listened to my body and skipped lunch.

Day 3: Week 3 – Polyols are back!

Back in Hamburg and therefore back to my Yoga classes! It was very good and relaxing. I had another interview today, so I wanted to feel as much myself as possible and Yoga always centres me a lot. I had a millet porridge for breakfast (Recipe coming at some point, too.). Dinner was the left-over risotto with half a black Angus steak on top. Oh yum! Oh, I almost forgot, we had low FODMAP Tuna Melt for Lunch – I mean, could it get any better? I told you, this week is gonna be great!! Thank god for the reintroduction of celery!!!

Day 4: Week 3 – Polyols are back!

Okay, I’ve got to admit, this week has been a little unorganised, food wise. So I’ve had left-over Tuna melt for breakfast, Pasta for lunch and some bread with avocado and cheese for dinner. Polyols were present in form of mushrooms, avocado and celery. It was delicious!! Other than that it was a quiet day, as I was in a relaxing mood. 🙂

Day 5: Getting creative with low FODMAP.

I started the day with a very early Yoga class and had a Porridge afterwards for breakfast. After that, I had to drop off mz remaining things at my old job, which was kinda weird, but also nice to see the team again. For lunch, I had some homemade Galettes which were just great. I decided to go for the traditional Galettes bretonnes complètes, in this case. If you haven’t tried them yet, please do. If you don’t want to make them at home, here’s a great place to go: Ti Breizh. As I made way too much dough, I had Galettes for dinner, too.

Day 6: Time to go leave the house again.

I had Galette for breakfast – big surprise! haha

As the sun was shining bright, today, I decided to go out and basically leave the house for the first time, since I started feeling worse again. It was also the first time, I went to a coffee shop since starting the low formal diet and tbh, it was a real challenge to find something acceptable to drink (other than coffee). I ended up having a cold brewed herbal iced tea, which was o.k. Moved on to the next coffee shop and actually had a coffee – YUM! Do check out Balz & Balz, when you’re in Hamburg. They are fantastic!! Dinner brought more Galettes (I’m kinda over it by now…).

It was a really good day and I felt a little like my old self again, which I enjoyed immensely. Yay, FODMAP diet!!!

Day 7: Hamburg Marathon and restorative Sunday.

So, I gotta say it: I made way too much Galette Dough. It’s day 3 and the 5th time I’m having Galette today. It’s too much to continue eating it. I had it for Breakfast & Lunch…. At least I got something different for dinner: YAY!!! Switching it up with a berry and yoghurt filling, this morning, was okay, but the excitement is looooong gone. For dinner I made some very quick Gnocchi (store-bought) with mushrooms, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and a spring onion greens.

Next week is gonna be exciting. We’re reintroducing fructose. I cannot wait and I hope I’m gonna feel okay with fructose!! Let’s see what week 4 is gonna bring – stay tuned!

In case you missed it, check out my reports on Week 1 and Week 2 of my low FODMAP diet.

Welcome to Week 2 – Galacto-Oligosaccharides. I’ve got a feeling this week’s gonna be a tough one for me. Firstly, it’s time for my first FODMAP reintroduction (Galacto-Oligosaccharides) and secondly, I can already feel unsolved issues creeping up and waiting to be dealt with…. Fingers crossed it won’t be too hard!!

Day 1: Week 2 – Galacto-Oligosaccharides

Well, today was one of those days… I miscalculated almost everything I did today… I got up feeling okay, though. For breakfast, I had coconut yoghurt, some granola and berries for breakfast, followed by a stew & my first reintroduced FODMAP!! I’ve simply added some split peas to my stew. So far I’m feeling okay, but I can tell my stomach is working.

I also got my notice today and I can’t say I’m completely surprised, yet I feel a bit sad, that my IBS is the reason to loose my job. I really hope, going forward, that I’ll be able to combine my health with a great job and not having to compromise on either anymore. This also leaves me with a very big question: “What am I gonna do now?”

Day 2: Week 2 – Galacto-Oligosaccharides

Today was a weird day. I had an interview, I had an argument with my soon to be ex-boss, I had the most amazing yoga session and overall I just felt really overwhelmed… I mean, how can so many entirely different things be happening at the exact same time?! Anyways…. I only had a little yoghurt and granola with berries for breakfast as I don’t like eating too much before doing exercise. For lunch was another bowl of lentil soup and dinner was some veggie stir fry with noodles.

Day 3: Week 2 – Galacto-Oligosaccharides

This morning, I REALLY wasn’t feeling well at all. My IBS was acting out a lot. Seems I have identified a sensitivity towards galacto-oligosaccharides. This means mostly beans and lentils. I used to notice not feeling perfect after having loads of lentils or hummus. So I guess now I know for sure. Now it also means I’ll have to find out how many I can eat without feeling sick… Anyways, I made a really great quinoa salad for lunch and a Massaman inspired curry for dinner. I’m going to dial down a little on this first FODMAP group for the rest of the week and get myself ready for the next FODMAP.

Day 4: Struggling with Galacto-Oligosaccharides.

I did it. I got up, I had breakfast & I went to yoga class. Struggling more with my IBS, due to the first reintroduction, it wasn’t easy. Yet, I pulled myself together and just went for it. I also drove out to my parents house for the extra bit of relaxation. I had the rest of the Quinoa salad and Massaman inspired curry for lunch and dinner.

Day 5: Goodbye Galacto-Oligosaccharides.

I didn’t even get up today and I also skipped lunch. Those galacto-oligosaccharides simply don’t agree with me. So, no more for me. From now an I’m going to eat only very few of them. Anyhow…. I had a porridge for breakfast and vegan shepherds pie for dinner. Due to increased IBS symptoms I didn’t get up to much else, today.

Day 6: No rest for the wicked.

Skipping lunch, yesterday, was a good call. My stomach calmed down and I was feeling much better today. So, off we went to have a coffee and keep moving a little bit. Here, at my parents, I don’t have a yoga studio close by, so I had to get my exercise from walking, which I did. I also decided I want to create more delicious low FODMAP dishes. It’s been mostly curries, as the few allowed components don’t leave a lot of room for creativity. So, I bought pasta, a couple of veggies, wild garlic and some stuff for baking low FODMAP brownies – YUM! Breakfast was a porridge – again! I know, porridge, porridge & even more porridge. It’s really good for me, though. Lunch was a rice noodle salad and dinner some more shepherds pie.

Day 7: Finishing week 2 of my low FODMAP diet.

I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks already. One third is already done!! Yippie! To celebrate it, I started the day off with some more porridge. 😀 Lunch was some more of the rice noodle salad and then I went for a really long walk, around the nearby lake. I’m not gonna lie, it was a struggle. The shepherds pie is basically made off lentils and peas… so much for avoiding galacto-oligosaccharides. Due to easter, I couldn’t buy anything else, though and had to eat the rest of it. Anyway, to make myself feel better, I treated myself to a big bowl of pasta with spinach and mushrooms, some olive oil and chilli flakes helped elevate the dish and it was soooooo good. Let’s see what week 3 is gonna bring!

In case you missed it, check out my report on Week 1 of my low FODMAP diet.

IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success? After the past 2 years of CoVid hanging over my head, not visiting family or friends and hanging on by a thread, financially speaking, my IBS got a lot worse, recently. I decided to re-take a 6 week low FODMAP diet, which is inspired by The Happy Pear. I was lucky enough to win it a couple of years back and it helped me a lot back then. To keep everyone in the loop & for those, who may want to try something similar, I decided to write down my progress & at the same time, revive my blog. I also think it’s a great way of highlighting the struggles of IBS and creating more awareness for this illness.

What’s IBS?

IBS stands for Irritable Bowl Syndrom. Basically, your stomach is very susceptible to stress. This may be, so called, positive as well as negative stress.

NHS UK has the following definition on their website :

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common condition that affects the digestive system.
• It causes symptoms like stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. These tend to come and go over time, and can last for days, weeks or months at a time.
• It’s usually a lifelong problem. It can be very frustrating to live with and can have a big impact on your everyday life.
• There’s no cure, but diet changes and medicines can often help control the symptoms.
• The exact cause is unknown – it’s been linked to things like food passing through your gut too quickly or too slowly, oversensitive nerves in your gut, stress and a family history of IBS.

What are FODMAPs?

A diet low in FODMAPs is supposed to be of great help, as it is a nutrition free from many things, that are potentially stressful for your gut, in a sense that they are difficult to digest, cause bloating, ….

FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols. They are basically short-chain carbohydrates, like some sugars, carbs & sugar alcohols, such as fructose, lactose and xylitol or sorbitol. They are mostly part of our everyday nutrition (though sometimes added to supermarket foods) and they tend to absorb water & ferment in your colon. This is all perfectly normal, though it means a lot of work for your gut – and if it’s already stressed, it might be an overload.

Please be advised, that it’s never a good idea to exclude certain foods from your nutrition altogether, unless you’re allergic or sensitive to a certain food and you have talked to your dietician about it. Sometimes, though, it might help to take a step back, do a reset & re-add FODMAPs step by step. Which is what I’m doing those next 6 weeks. Here’s my report of the first week.

Day 1: IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success?

On day 1, I actually had a lot to organise. Bake bread, make energy balls, do the shopping for the entire week, cook breakfast, lunch and dinner & not stressing out. Admittedly, the last part didn’t quite work out as well as I’d hoped. Of course, it was too much for one day. Nevertheless, I started my first week with some buckwheat pancakes, a broccoli soup & a vegan Bolognese. I had 3 energy balls & 1 coffee as a snack, in-between. I felt okay, though I definitely noticed the withdrawal from sugar. The past months had been tough and I fell back into old habits of snacking a lot. So, if nothing else, those 6 weeks will be great in the sense, that I’ll cut down my sugar intake. Let’s see about the rest.

Day 2: IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success?

Day 2 started out a bit difficult as the sudden change in nutrition made me feel really sick. Nevertheless, I forced myself to eat properly. I started out with a chia pudding, followed by some broccoli soup with bread and some vegan bolognese. I also had a coffee, a green tea & 1 Energy ball. As some of you might already know, it’s incredibly important to maintain a fix routine, when dealing with IBS. Not only in what & when you’re eating, but also the rest of your time. Which is why I decided to take up Yoga again. I’m integrating it into my routine. So, although I’m feeling pretty bad, I’m going to force myself to a Yoga session every 2 days – no matter how I’m feeling. This & eating at set times of the day is already way more routine, than I had the past couple of months. Hopefully, I’ll see some positive results soon. So there we have it, on day 2 I’m thinking: “So much for getting worse before getting better.”

Day 3: IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success?

I woke up and I actually felt okay. Today was the first day, though, were I was actually very hungry. I started with a chia pudding for breakfast and forced myself to a yoga class. It was actually very nice, but my stomach rebelled a lot. During the whole session people could hear the funny sounds my intestines were producing… At least we had something to laugh about. After Yoga, I had a veggie salad and IT WAS NOT ENOUGH! I was so hungry after, I had to eat a slice of low FODMAP bread & an energy ball right away. Still continued to feel hungry, though it was way better. Note to myself: Don’t eat a no carb salad for lunch after only having a chia pudding & doing some exercise. Tomorrow I will do better! It might also have been tricky today as I’m on my period, so my appetite is much bigger than usual. The greens were particularly good for my cramps, though.

Day 4: IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success?

Today, I started my day with a Quinoa Porridge & topped it off with some Kiwi, Orange & berries – YUM!! I had another soup for lunch & a curry for dinner. Overall, I was feeling a little more energetic today. However, I am still feeling the withdrawal from sugar quite strongly. I hope it’ll get better soon, because it’s really quite annoying. 😀 Other than that everything seems to be going okay: bloating has gone down a lot. Let’s see what the rest of the week brings! 🙂

Day 5: IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success?

Got up at 5:30, had a coffee, a (way too small) breakfast & went off to Yoga Class. I was so not feeling it today. My body still hurt from Wednesday, I was super tired & my breathing & stomach were completely feeling off. I really didn’t want to go. I know, though, that I won’t get any better, if I don’t do any exercise, no matter how perfect I’m eating, so how’s that for motivation!? Only issue though – how do you integrate morning Yoga into your day when you start working at 8 & there’s no class starting & finishing before that? I know, what you’re gonna say. You’re gonna say, I should just do Yoga at home. Sorry folks, not my thing. What about positions being corrected or the energy of all the people taking the class? Just not the same at home.

Day 6: IBS & Low FODMAP – Recipe for Success?

I tried to sleep in, as I felt really exhausted after being hungry all day yesterday, but the idea of breakfast made me wake up at 7:30. Ha! Well, I had a little coffee in bed and then I had a bowl of quinoa porridge. I ate so much, afraid I would feel hungry again, I actually overate! How’s that for moderation?! Nevertheless, I decided it’ll be a productive day, so I planned the second week. I don’t want to get into the position of not having anything planned and eating whatever. That would ruin the whole process. For lunch I went with a soup & dinner was a brown rice & veggie dish.

Day 7: Last day of the first week…

Today was the first day, I actually felt like giving up. Giving up on my meal plan & cancelling my yoga class. I was feeling very, very sick. I just wanted to stay inside & hide under my blanket. Luckily, I had asked a friend to join me for yoga, so I couldn’t really cancel last minute. I took some medication & off I went. The first 15-20 minutes were exhausting, but after that, I got better by the minute during the class and I was so happy I decided to go. I got home and had a salad (gosh, I really DO NOT LIKE SALADS!!!) and a hot chocolate. I had the remaining rice & veggie one pan dish for dinner.

A recap on the first week

What’s important when dealing with IBS (or any other life impacting disease / struggle /…)? Well, healthy eating – of course. But it’s not enough. A healthy body also needs exercise & most importantly, a healthy mind.

I am “lucky” right now, really. Because I am off sick & I live in a country, where sick days are paid. So, although I’m feeling like shit and I am struggling a lot and barely manage to get out of bed right now and I completely ignore my friends or any other interactions on social media, I am lucky. I am lucky in the sense, that I can deal with my issues, that I have the freedom to force myself to go to yoga classes, do a 6 week meal plan & deal with my issues.

I mean, at the end of the day, the question is: “How can I lead a happy & healthy life, while working full time, living in a society with certain expectations, that I might not be able to fulfil (and do I event want to?) & at the same time being completely true to myself and therefore living a fulfilled & stress-free life?” That’s it for me, anyways… I figured out how my ideal life is supposed to look like. That’s the first (maybe the most important) step. Now it’s time to find a way to actually combine, what I need with real life and create a new reality for myself.

And here’s my final note:

This first week was tough and on so many levels as well… Nevertheless:

I managed to finish the first week. I did not give up, I am facing my shit & I am quite proud of myself. Also, I couldn’t have done this without my boyfriend, who decided to do those 6 weeks with me (although, he doesn’t need it). Thank you for the support! And thanks to my friends, for being patient again. For not pressuring me into leaving the house. And for your kind words.