Apologies for getting to the point & being pretty blunt…not to mention gross, but when I think of my diet prior to being diagnosed, I remember eating anything & everything; and in abundance! I loved all food, fresh, processed & all in-between. My favourite being pasta. Big bowls of saucy, rich tagliatelle smothered in cheese & bacon lardons accompanied by bread, warm crusty rolls and lashings of butter. So not the most health conscious of choices in retrospect. I loved comfort food & was forever in circles as I’d eat on happy days & stuff myself silly on sad days.
A bit about that… I was medically diagnosed with manic depression aged 22 following a bit of a turbulent ‘teen hood’ so to speak. Wrong crowd, experimentation and abusing my body big time. Everything was on self-destruct mode and my diet consisted of alcohol and not much else. I won’t waffle on about my history too much as I’m here to talk diet & food and that’s what I’m hoping to contribute to those reading 😉
I manage my disorder with medication, the support of my family and by keeping certain things out of my diet. I have discovered over the years and the various routes taken to ease my moods, that I should limit my alcohol intake-drastically, cut out bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits, butter, milk, cheese, yogurts, cream…Zzz…Zzzzzzzz… Still there!? Fab, thought I’d lost you then! You get the idea, anything yummy, scrummy and damn well fun was off the menu.
These foods/drinks and anything containing gluten, wheat or dairy cannot enter my body! The consequences are dire; well get me to the nearest loo pronto dire! Lol, and that’s mainly because dairy, gluten and wheat block me up, for like, weeks! To the point I need medical intervention to ease my erm..discomfort? That’s why I have now made it my mission to take on my in-tolerances, my disorder and my health, head on and be good to myself. Starting from the inside with clean, nutritious food that will only effect me in a good way.
I’m working hard to find venues offering freefrom foods & drinks, I struggle to find anywhere that offers more than a soya milk & gluten free brownie option. We need some variety, as do the clueless coffee shops of Southampton! I’m also in the process of creating a freefrom recipe book filled with my favourite home cooked meals and sweet treats. All free from dairy, wheat and gluten. I’m looking forward to sharing some of these with all of you here at #MentalMovement. I really do believe changing your diet can impact your mental well-being and I’ve personally noticed mine improve greatly since I’ve stripped back to basics.
Good, honest, clean foods with no bullshit and no guilt attached when eating them!
Well, I hope I’ve shared enough for now and I look forward to connecting with you through #MentalMovement 😘
That freefrom girl ✌
Left wanting more? Visit Kylie’s Facebook page here or follow her on Instagram here.
