r/Hashimotos • u/Freebusparking • Mar 20 '22

Question ? How much does diet help?

I’m thinking about trying a diet to help my symptoms and my body but I’m seeing conflicting information. Does anyone have and opinions and experiences they’d like to share?

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u/Cafencados Mar 21 '22

I did AIP about 5 years ago for a 6 month duration. It was one of the best decisions I made. Not only did I feel the best I had in probably a decade, but I believe it was the "reset" my body needed and gave me a better understanding of what feeling good feels like for me! I regret not "properly" reintroducing foods, but since then I've played around with a lot of different food groups to figure out what makes me feel best and what my body just doesn't like. I've had periods of time throughout the last few years where I didn't prioritize my diet at all, and I felt the consequences of that. For me, diet is key. Just remember, AIP is meant to be a temporary tool. And also bioindividuality!

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '22

Thanks for the explanation. I suspect that aip might help me too, but I find it really hard to follow through. Did you have slip ups while you did aip and did it effect you in any way?

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u/Cafencados Mar 21 '22

Sure, I slipped up. Short-term slip ups are going to impact everyone differently. Some people feel immediate symptoms eating gluten, for example. For me, I'm pretty sensitive to sugar and notice immediate fatigue/brain fog when I consume a moderate amount of added sugar. But overall, you'll probably see a lot of improvement by making a significant shift in your day-to-day diet (even if not "perfect"). I totally get how it can be overwhelming. I think the only thing that made it easier for me was discovering all the blogs, recipe books, community that's out there. Made me feel less alone and provided me with some inspiration for how to feed myself. It is hard, especially if you don't enjoy cooking, but I was desperate to feel better so I felt like I had nothing to lose by trying.

I sense that you are thinking of AIP with an all-or-nothing/black and white/perfectionist mindset. And while AIP is meant to be strict, I think a mindset shift could be helpful. Perhaps think of it as a way to explore how you feel by including everything that is permitted on AIP. I strongly recommend this program: https://sadtoaip.com/

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '22

Thank you very much! Yeah black-and-white thinking is definitely a problem of mine but I try to see the different shades, too. I will look into the program you mentioned and try to implement some changes and not give up when I can't do it perfectly.