Big Update: No Longer on Swank Diet!

For those of you on Swank, I can imagine your shock while reading this.  I have been on the Swank Diet for 6.5 years, and can honestly say that I have cheated less times than I can count on one hand.  I have been dedicated! Even the thought of being off of it is weird to me.  Being a "Swanker" has been part of my identity for a while now.  

Although I have no idea how my body would have felt the last 6.5 years if I wasn't on Swank, the record has shown that this diet has not prevented my flare ups.  I have had consistent flare ups every six months to a year for the last 7 years.  I had to leave my career as a teacher and have barely been able to hold a part time job.  In my opinion, that's proof alone that this diet isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing.  

I have had more than one doctor tell me that the results of the 35+ year study on the diet are inconsistent and prove that the diet is not a reliable treatment for MS. I recently had my new doctor tell me this again, and I finally decided that the enormous effort I put in to keep up with this strict diet is simply not worth it.  I already have enough to deal with on a daily basis, why limit myself if it's unnecessary? 

That being said, being healthy IS extremely important for everyone and especially for people with MS. Many elements of the Swank diet are rules that everyone should follow.  For example, I still will not eat any hydrogenated oils, MSG, mono and diglycerides, trans fats, or anything from a fast food restaurant at any time. That stuff is poison, people!  I will still eat organic foods as much as possible, and avoid eating anything that is processed, deep fried, or has a lot of saturated fat.  My diet will still mainly consist of white meat poultry and fish/shellfish.  Most of my future recipes will still be "Swank Friendly" and I plan on making a new tag in my blog for those recipes.  Overall, my blog will still be a low fat and healthy blog. 

So, what is going to change? Here's the list for those of you that are really interested: 

• I'm not going to eat fat free cheese again. From now on I'll eat part skim or 2% cheese
• I'm going to introduce some parmesan into my diet (oh the recipe possibilities!)  
• I'm going to eat Neufchatel cream cheese, which has 1/3 the fat of regular cream cheese
• Red meat won't be a staple in our household, but it will probably make an appearance every couple of months.    
• Butter will be used for some baking.  I absolutely love to bake and I am so restricted because of butter.  I plan on baking with it for special occasions and holidays.    
• Cream/Half & Half/Butter will be introduced to some recipes in small quantities.  Sometimes you just need to thicken a sauce or soup and it's just impossible to do with skim or 1% milk. 
• I'll eat low fat turkey bacon, not fat free.    
• Eating out won't be so strict.  If I am at a party I won't necessarily have to bring my own food or have people cook separate meals for me.  I'll avoid the most unhealthiest options of course, but I won't be so limited. 

Well, that's all I can think of for now.  Those of you that are Swankers and follow my blog will definitely be able to cook future recipes.  You may have to make some simple substitutions in some recipes, and I'll point those out for you.  

So far, I am happy with my decision and excited about it.  We'll see how I do and how I feel in the next few months with my new doctor's plan. 

Oh and I almost forgot....

I had pizza last night for the first time in almost 7 years.  It was absolutely amazing and everything I dreamed it would be.  And I didn't get sick afterwards either. :)