GFDF - One Year In

Rex has now been eating a gluten-free, dairy-free diet for almost a full year.  I am not sure that we’ve seen the intense behavioral impact that some children experience with this diet, but Rex is doing better behaviorally which could be a function of time and maturity and have nothing to do with the diet.  We have been happy with the diet's effects on Rex’s growth and willingness to eat a greater variety of food.

In June 2012 at his medical check-up, Rex was diagnosed with clinical obesity.  Now, you’ve seen the boy and while short and stout, it seemed crazy to us that his weight placed him into that category.  Since starting the GFDF diet Rex’s weight has stabilized and he has gained height.  His current BMI is around 19 which solidly puts him in the normal range.

Rex is still a picky eater because he struggles with textures.  Foods like grapes and carrots go into his mouth where he tries to chew and get them down, but gags on them and then, understandably, spits them out.  Despite these challenges, we have found GFDF options for each meal of the day that work for Rex.

BREAKFAST

Coconut yogurt with granola

Bacon and waffle

Toast with jam/jelly

Go Free Dark Chocolate Trail Mix bar

Greens Vegan Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Crisp bar

Homemade fruit smoothie

LUNCH/SNACK

*Most of Rex’s lunches are at school.  I pack his lunch box to cover a morning snack, afternoon snack and the actual lunch, using a mix of these foods throughout the week:

Sandwiches (pbj, salami & cream cheese, hummus, cinnamon raisin bread with cream cheese, garlic and chive cream cheese, cold grilled cheese, Bee’s Knees Dark Chocolate Dreams, chicken pesto)

Tater Tots

Bananas

Chocolate almond pudding

Almonds

Two small cookies per day (about the size of Oreos)

GF Chex and other cereals

Applesauce

Van’s Cranberry Almond bar

Baked potato chips, tortilla chips, or veggie chips

Waffles / pancakes

Homemade muffins

Fresh fruit or vegetable (which he never eats, but sometimes tries with the help of his therapists)

DINNER

Homemade pizza with chicken, artichoke, garlic, and mushrooms

Homemade bagel pizza with ground beef and marinara sauce with hidden veggies

Grilled cheese

Banana avocado dip with rice crackers

Homemade chicken pesto dip with tortilla chips

Mashed potatoes

German potato cakes

Shepherd's pie with hidden veggies

Rex exclusively drinks 100% juices that are diluted with 50% water.  At school, he has begun to accept some plain water.  He prefers a salty snack over a sweet one any day.  On the rare occasions that he asks for dessert, he wants a spoonful of peanut butter or his peanut butter chocolate spread.  It’s hit and miss with soups and casseroles when it comes to Rex.  Sometimes he will eat them, other times not.  

Unfortunately, these dietary changes have not alleviated Rex's chronic and painful constipation which directly affects his behavior.  A few months ago, we got a big lab work-up for him and it turns out that his GI tract is very healthy.  He does not have yeast overgrowth, no bad bacteria, and lots of beneficial flora.  There is no bio-chemical explanation for his constipation.  The one and only thing that anyone can figure at this point is that it is a matter of muscle tone.  Rex had very low muscle tone when we adopted him and while he is much improved in this regard in the muscles that he consciously controls, the muscles of his GI tract may still be weak.  Hence, they do not move waste through his body as they should, causing the constipation.  We have tried many natural remedies, but they only had limited success. Right now, we are back to the evil Miralax of which Rex receives a dose every 60-72 hours.  In-between he takes soluble acacia fiber and an aloe based supplement called Guna Bowel.  We have had wonderful success with this combination so far, helping Rex with regular and much easier bowel movements.  However, we are not keen on making Miralax a long-term "solution" to this problem, so we plan to experiment with OTC laxatives in the new year.

Keeping a GFDF diet at home has been much easier than I anticipated a year ago.  Even when we are out and about, we can usually tie the kids over with a banana and an almond bar.  The most challenging aspect is eating at other people's homes, not to mention restaurants.  We usually have to bring a meal for Rex which is no problem.  However, Rex is very smart about food and he knows that what he is eating is different from everyone else's food.  He recognizes that what others are having may be more appealing to his own taste buds.  For example, we attended a Christmas party last week where the main dish was pizza.  I had packed Rex his favorite pizza which he gladly ate, but he still reached and looked with longing eyes at the cheesy goodness we were enjoying.  Fortunately, he has gotten much better at accepting a no though it's heartbreaking to deny him when it comes to food.

For now, we will continue on the GFDF path with an attempt to get more supplements into Rex's diet in 2014.  Wish us luck!