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!
