Things I’d wished I’d known before starting The Low FODMAP Diet

Everyone’s journey to find their happy gut place looks a little different. My journey has been a long one and I’m grateful that I now have a happy gut and a varied diet. I made so many mistakes along the way, so today I want to share what I’d wished I’d known before I started the low FODMAP diet.

Even though it’s now eight years on from when I started my journey, I still remember struggling with my IBS symptoms and the day my dietitian placed me on the low FODMAP diet. She explained the three phases of the diet and gave me some useful food lists, but that didn’t ease the despair I felt when I was sent off to do my first low FODMAP supermarket shop.

I didn’t know what to eat and I didn’t know where to start. I trudged around the supermarket crying and left with a bag of carrots and a chicken breast. Talk about depressing!

When I reflect on my FODMAP journey, I know it could have been easier if I had known where to look for resources.

Here’s what I wish I’d known before I started the low FODMAP diet 👇

 

Where do you find a low FODMAP food list?

You don’t realise how many different foods you eat until you get put on the low FODMAP diet. I was often left wondering ‘is this food low FODMAP?’

Then I asked Google. Unfortunately, lots of high and low FODMAP food lists on the internet are inaccurate, and even some of the handouts given out by healthcare professionals contain incorrect information.

For up-to-date food lists, we recommend you download the Monash University FODMAP Diet app. Monash University is the leading researcher of the low FODMAP diet and they developed this app. This means your app lists are updated as soon as new information comes through.  The money you pay goes straight back into low FODMAP research.

A Little Bit Yummy also has convenient downloadable low FODMAP handouts of foods you can enjoy, as well as quick snack and meal ideas in our FODMAP Made Easy programme.

 

How do you find low FODMAP recipes that are actually low in FODMAPs?

Well, dah… just Google. Or Pinterest. Or Facebook right?

Online searches will give you a flood of ‘low FODMAP’ recipes. But what I learnt the hard way is that many of these recipes aren’t low FODMAP. Instead, they often contain high FODMAP serves of foods or just high FODMAP foods in general.  These recipes aren’t going to help you settle your gut and will just leave you feeling like nothing will work for you.

My dietitian taught me to cross-check the recipes I found online with the low FODMAP serving size information in the Monash University FODMAP Diet App.  This strategy is super useful but very time consuming because you need to consider:

1. Does the recipe contain low FODMAP ingredients?
2. If the recipe contains a high FODMAP ingredient, could it be in a serving size low enough to actually be low FODMAP?
3. Is the overall recipe ACTUALLY low FODMAP or has the creator just guessed?
4. Is it going to taste good?

Going through that checklist was a bit overwhelming, especially when I wasn’t feeling great due to my gut symptoms.

I wish I’d been told exactly where to go for credible low FODMAP recipes. Recipes that I could just cook and enjoy without having to think!

To go back to my private dietitian and have them assess recipes for me was going to cost WAY too much, and I know some of you struggle to access dietitians where you live.

This is one of the main reasons why I started A Little Bit Yummy.

I’ve spent hours creating and testing recipes that I know taste good and won’t hurt my gut (or yours). I got a tech team on board and launched the FODMAP Recipe Club where you can instantly access 700+ drool-worthy low FODMAP recipes.  I’ve also made sure all these recipes are dietitian reviewed so you and I can eat with confidence.

Our Recipe Club is by far the easiest way to find safe low FODMAP recipes – you can set filters around your personal needs and you can email with my team if you need help finding suitable low FODMAP products. When you subscribe, YOU get an easier gut journey, but you also make it possible for me to continue to do this. Your support is so important.

 

How do I figure out what to eat when it’s all so complicated?

I know that many of you are foodies at heart. Food is comfort. Food is life. And food should be good enough to share with your whole family, right? In that case, you need a meal plan that will keep your food soul happy. I’ve got your back.

I get that meal planning can be your number one enemy. Some weeks that’s me, and I hate sitting down on the weekend and planning everything out.

To start with keep things simple. It’s okay if you need to transition onto the diet over a couple of weeks. Start by swapping in 2 low FODMAP breakfast options, 3-4 snack ideas, 3 easy lunch ideas, and 5 dinners. This is enough to get you started.

A Little Bit Yummy also has easy-to-read low FODMAP food lists and super-yummy recipes. We’ve created the FODMAP Made Easy programme to help those who just want someone else to sort it all – full meal plans, easy FODMAP and allergen filters to help you tailor it to your needs and 850+ recipes including quick and easy snack and meal ideas.

So, if you want someone else to organise a schedule of tasty low FODMAP meal ideas and give you a grocery list, then we’re your go-to!

Join the FODMAP Made Easy programme now.

 

Do you need to do all three phases of the low FODMAP diet?

Yes, you do! Not only will this protect your long-term health, but it will also help you find your food freedom and make eating out so much easier.

The trick to making this process easy is finding the right information. Hopefully, you have a dietitian guiding you through this process. If you don’t, then A Little Bit Yummy has the up-to-date information and dietitian reviewed resources you need.

If you’re tired of spending endless hours researching and are still confused, then our FODMAP online courses in the FODMAP Made Easy programme are for you. These online courses will guide you through each phase of the low FODMAP diet and tell you what to do each week. At the end of the program, you will know what foods are triggering symptoms and what FODMAPs you can enjoy without making your gut unhappy.

 

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to struggle through the low FODMAP diet as I did. We’ve created all the resources you need to make your journey easy. Come and join us in one of our FODMAP Clubs and find the help you’ve been looking for.

Image credit: Alana Scott – A Little Bit Yummy