The Elimination Diet

After struggling with crippling migraines 2-3 times a week for 2 years, and visiting the doctors numerous times after each new prescribed pill stopped working for me, I decided to start looking for the cause of my migraines, instead of treating them. I sort of knew they were food related, as I only ever got migraines after eating certain foods - for a long while I thought it was chocolate (I was kind of right!)
My doctor mentioned to me the elimination diet (also known as the exclusion diet), really not believing that I would complete it. However, by Christmas 2013-2014, I was desperate.
The elimination diet is, untimely, what it says on the tin. You live on a incredibly restricted diet for 3 weeks (honestly the longest and most miserable 21 days of your life), avoiding all manner of food commonly thought to cause food allergies/intolerances/sensitivities. The basic idea is that, when your body is constantly subjected to a food, it learns how to deal with it, even if it does not like it - and gives us very subtle but manageable symptoms to tell us it does not like the food, that we ignore (migraine, stomach ache, bloating, feeling sluggish...)However, when this food is removed for a considerable length of time, the reaction your body will have when it is re-introduced will be more noticeable and severe. Furthermore, it is a amazing way to discover how your body responds to different food groups (for example, dairy gives me migraines and wheat breaks me out).
 This wipes out pretty much every food you've ever eaten! As a vegetarian at the time, I obviously could not eat the meat, further limiting my food options.
For 3 weeks, I ate fresh fruit and vegetables, and the odd tea spoon of rice. and that was it. I cried every day for a week because I was so hungry, and laid awake at night with hunger pangs (so now when I hear Tinie Tempah rap "have you ever been so hungry it keeps you awake?" "Yes I bloody have".
I made the also slightly idiotic decision of undertaking the elimination diet over christmas - my christmas dinner was fruit 'salad' (banana, apples and grapes).
After your 3 weeks of fasting, you are then meant to reintroduce one food at a time back into your diet, leaving a gap of 3 days. Allow me to explain. On the monday, you could introduce brown bread, then go back to your elimination diet for tuesday and wednesday. If no abnormal reaction occurred, you could then re-introduce another food on thursday ect... However, you must be extremely careful about which foods you introduce, as they must be only be 1 food group/type re-introduced at a time. For example, you could not suddenly eat a pizza, because if an abnormal reaction occurred, you would not know whether it was the wheat in the dough, the tomatoes (yeah, these were banned too!) or the cheese...
I was very lucky to discover very quickly afterwards that dairy products were the culprit for me, causing severe migraines I re-introduced bread first (and ate an entire mini loaf in one day), then cheese 3 days afterwards (I just wanted a cheese toastie, to be honest with you!)
The elimination diet is undoubtedly one of the most challenging things i've ever done, and it took me 4 months to have a normal relationship with food again. I tried at first only eating small amounts of dairy, and pre-empting migraines with prescribed tablets, but after 6 months, it was easier to cut it out all together and become fully vegan.
If you're considering doing the elimination diet, I cannot recommend it enough, as you will learn so much about your body, and learn how you really can survive on such a small amount of food (2000 calories a day is far too much, in my opinion!). You will completely change your attitude towards food, and probably for the first time in your life appreciate real hunger, which is an eye-opening experience.
Here are some tips to consider before you start:

• PLAN! Find a plan you want to follow and stick to it religiously. . Find some recipes that are compatible (I never bothered and regretted it), and make them up in big batches, so you always have food to hand. I don't think there is a need to be as hungry as I was for the 3 weeks.
• Keep busy - try not to sit around the house all day, or be with people that are eating normal food. When people ask why you're not eating and you explain this to them, they will literally try and force feed you. You don't need this sort of temptation!
• Have something to chew - it may sound gross, but the chewing sensation makes you less hungry. I used to sterilise bobby pins and carry them round in my pockets to chew when i was at school. It really does work! 
• Know your limits - You have to be sensible and most importantly safe if you do this short diet plan. 3 weeks is a maximum, any more than that is completely unhealthy. It is not, nor is it meant to be a sustainable, permanent diet, and should not be treated like one. If, after 2 weeks you can't go on, eat something! You may just have to be more vigilant of your bodies reactions. The amount of time you spend fasting is also dependant on your age and body weight. Children under 10 should fast for about 10 days, whereas healthy adults can do it up to 3 weeks. It is your body and your choice, only you will know!

Good luck!

Have you done the elimination diet? What was your experience with it?