Wanting To Be Well

An interview with Lois Carter Crawford about her new release It Ain’t Just The Diet Food Journal.

Note: This article contains affiliate links. While I do not collect a commission, when you support an author on my page, it does help my business blossom. Thank you in advance for your support!

It feels like every day when I hop onto social media, someone is starting a health journey. Maybe there is a new fad diet. Maybe there is a miracle powder mix. Maybe it’s a completely organic wellness journey that is centered on combining restorative yoga and HIIT.

And to my friends, family members, and acquaintances who have found success, I can say wholeheartedly that I admire the hard work, dedication, and vulnerability it takes to begin, persevere through, and complete programs and diets that bring desired changes to the body and mind.

But what happens when the efforts feel in vain? When the diet or the lifestyle changes leave pounds adding up and the negative health consequences to go with? These questions are near and dear to me as I struggle with hypothyroidism as a result of my Grave’s disease treatment. I feel like I’m doing all the right things, but still holding on to weight. 

I recently worked on an editing project with Lois Carter Crawford, owner and operator of Recipe Idea Shop, who has been navigating her own health journey for over 30 years and has turned her research and action plan into a workbook: It Ain’t Just The Diet Food Journal. Lois’s book helped me see that there might be other factors involved in my own inability to lose weight. Her passion for shedding light on how food choices impact the body shines through this recent book, and we took a little time to dig into her inspiration and publication path.

Q: What inspired It Ain’t Just the Food Journal?

I had a lot of illnesses that started creeping up initially when I was in my 30s and that blossomed in my 40s and 50s. I had a “moderate” heart attack in my mid 50s in the LAD artery that they call the “widowmaker.” Put me flat on my back for 5 days in the hospital. I wasn’t allowed to get up or do anything. It felt like more than “moderate.” Thankfully, I lived. And over time I got better, but I didn’t get well. I wanted to be well. 

I wanted to be well.

Different symptoms kept cropping up. Lots of pain in my joints. I was having bloating. I alternated between diarrhea and constipation. I had itchy eyes and seasonal allergy-type responses. I had been having a soy latte every day since I was 38. Then, about 20 years later, one day I didn’t have any soy. It was spring and my allergies were usually awful. That day, I didn’t have itchy eyes. And I thought What the heck? What just happened? Was it because of soy? 

At the time, I had already been kind of researching food allergies. And was haphazardly checking out different foods to see what would happen, but I hadn’t researched how to go about that. So I’d eat something, write down what symptoms I had, go hmm okay my ears itch after I had that raw apple. And I would keep track of that the next time I had a raw apple and maybe it would happen and maybe it wouldn't, but it might have been something else. Because I wasn’t very scientific about my discovery process.

I had a book called Is This Your Child? which is a huge allergy book for diagnosing allergies in children and adults written in the 90s. It’s a fabulous reference book. That book had a suggested process in terms of how to check on an allergy.

To test my theory that soy was the problem, I eliminated it for 4 days. On the 5th day, I got a soy latte and within 15 minutes I was completely debilitated. I was pretty sure I was allergic to soy because my reaction was severe and immediate. I had such a huge reaction that I took a Benadryl and went to bed. I never finished the drink. I haven’t had soy milk since.

I have tried other soy products and I am fine with them. Because sometimes, as the doctor says in the book, you can eat one type of product but not the other. I can eat soy sauce, I can eat tofu, I can eat edamame. 

After I figured that out, I started to pay closer attention to other things that were causing problems. I figured out that I was intolerant of cow's milk. But I can eat butter. And I can eat goat's milk, it’s a different protein. I was really happy about that. I can occasionally sneak a piece of cheese. But never cheddar. And of course the thing I love the most—bread—I found found that I’m gluten intolerant. That was a  difficult one because I usually have a 3-day delay in reactions. 

When I got rid of those three food categories, I slowly started to lose weight. About 1-2 pounds per month until I had lost 40 pounds, and then I leveled out. After 40 years of trying to lose weight. I might lose a few pounds, but it would always come back. All I did was get rid of those 3 things. I didn't reduce any fat. I ate potato chips or whatever I wanted to eat. Tons of starch, tons of meat. But not gluten, soy, or cow's milk, and I lost all of that weight. 

Q: There’s something interesting you say in the book that really stuck with me. About what’s happening to your body when you continue to feed it things you might be allergic to. Can you speak to that?

I want to point out that I am not an expert, this is just a theory. But I think what you are doing when you give yourself the things that you’re allergic, insensitive, and intolerant to, then your body thinks you’re starving it. And it holds on to every pound it can. When your body is starving, it needs those things to survive. To me, logically, if you get rid of those things, your body says Hey! You’re treating me well now! I’ve got good food, I'm okay. And it realizes you’re not starving. That’s what I think happens. 

And the thing is, your brain tricks you. If you are allergic to something, your body craves it. I need a bite of this or gluten is so tasty, let’s have some! It’s like an addiction. It's the same kind of craving that your brain gives you. I don’t know why it does that, but it definitely does. The same with sugar. Sugar isn’t good for anybody, but everyone likes sugar. If I eat it, I want more and more and more.

Q: What were some successes or challenges in your writing process?

My biggest problem was not knowing exactly what I wanted to accomplish and making my project (as with term papers!) too “wide.” That is, trying to accomplish too much in one book. I eventually decided to separate it into two books, but that was a long process.

So, at first I wrote the whole thing which was my research about allergies, my own personal story, my whole life history, enough recipes to make it worthwhile, and then the forms.

As someone who has to write down my blood sugar everyday, occasionally track blood pressure, keep tabs on my weight, keep track of symptoms, and medications, the form is useful for anyone who wants to write down stuff.

If you're diabetic, they don’t give you a book to write that down. They tell you to check it and then ask for it, but with the testing machine you can't necessarily go back to the data. Most people write it down on a scrap of paper and lose it. And memory isn’t that great. I had a tiny notebook where I would write down my morning/evening blood sugar readings, but then the tiny notebook would run out and I couldn't find a replacement. It wasn’t convenient. And I am someone who likes to keep track. 

I wanted a food journal, and I also wanted to share my health journey, and I also wanted to share recipes. It took me a long time to figure out how I could separate those in a way that made sense. Why would someone buy the book multiple times? I needed to figure out the logistics of that. It Ain’t Just the Diet Food Journal focuses on research and the form, so there is less of my story in this book. 

I wanted a food journal, and I also wanted to share my health journey, and I also wanted to share recipes.

And then I have the memoir cookbook. I was kind of inspired by Jennfier Esposito who was acting in the TV series Blue Bloods when she discovered she had celiac disease. She wrote a memoir with recipes in the back. That’s the approach I plan for my next book, hopefully at the end of summer. 

The poor designer had a hard time trying to figure out how to put it together cohesively and ultimately quit on me because I'm such a problem child. It wasn’t worth his time, and I don’t blame him. He created a wonderful design, a beautiful cover. I’m very appreciative of his time and skills.

When I began with a second designer, I needed to be more realistic. We originally created it in one size. I had my second designer recreate it a little bit smaller because it allows people to be able to put it in their purse or briefcase. I had to go to black and white; it was originally designed in color. I’ve learned a lot in the process. The first thing I was trying to do is create it in spiral format, but Amazon doesn’t do that. There are traditional publishers that will do that. But I decided not to go that route, I went on my own and promote the book through my own website. 

Q: As an experienced editor, what was it like working with Anjuli Rose Editorial (ARE)?

Yes, I have worked with lots of editors throughout my career. I edited magazines, short articles, but they were difficult: written translations for a journal about difficult subjects like land mines. I had a team of student and on-staff editors at my disposal. We  worked multiple types of editing throughout the process. Working with ARE, a single editor, not someone who is on staff. That’s an entirely different thing. 

Anjuli Rose Editorial was very responsive, and I really appreciated that. When you have staff and you’re the boss, they do your bidding when you ask them to do it.

People who are freelancing often work FT during the day, and do these other projects at night, while also wanting a life. So they aren’t as responsive. I used to be able to just walk into the designer’s room and ask them to move something and it was done right away. It’s not as easy with freelancers. However, I found Anjuli Rose Editorial to be very prompt and responsive. 

We did miss a few things—a couple of minor typos—but I expect it. It’s not until you publish that you see some errors. Clear as a bell. But Anjuli Rose Editorial did a great job standardizing things and providing clarifications and justifications for her recommendations.

Q: Who is your food journal for?

I think it is for anyone who suspects they might have food allergies or sensitivities or health issues that they need to track. That could be any age. But mostly people in 40s+ because at around 40 your body gives you flack. You might have issues when you’re younger. But I have to say, when I was in my 20s I could eat a Big Mac, fries and a shake every Saturday when I was out running around. Gluten, cheese, milk. But it didn't bother me as much back then. As my body started to change because I got older and it affected me more. I see people in their 40s starting to have those problems. And by your 50s if you haven’t corrected it, you’re going to have major problems. 

People go to the doctor and say Here’s a symptom! and the doctor asks how long it’s been going on. And you think and feel like it’s been forever that you've not felt well. But you say I don’t know because you don’t keep track. Disease is insidious. It's a little bit at a time. Pretty soon you just don’t feel well, and you don’t know why. And your body says enough and gives you a heart attack, diabetes, or something else. Your body saying you have slammed me way too many times. 

Disease is insidious. It’s a little bit at a time.

You’ve also put yourself in stress. By your 40s you’ve got kids, career, parents who are aging, animals to take care of, bills, moving all the time. When I was that age, 35-55, I was up at 6am and didn't go to bed till 11pm, working the whole time. No down time. Coffee, breakfast, kids out the door, running off to work, working while scheduling appointments, get home, making food, get the kids to bed, read a story, 9pm, gotta do laundry and dishes, go to bed. That’s your life as a mom. Extremely draining. And, to focus specifically on women, if you are a business woman, you’re also going to meetings, monthly or weekly evening meetings, never having any time to yourself. Women need to know how to block that out. 

My book won’t fix that, but it will help you take back time for yourself by seeing what you are doing.

Q: Do you have any other books you plan to write?

Of course, I have my memoir cookbook, It Ain’t Just The Diet Cookbook: How I Beat Food Allergies One Bite At A Time, in the works.

In addition, because of the pandemic, I have found that I need more uplifting stuff, as do many people online. So, I have started to write daily affirmations for myself. And I intend to compile them in a book. 

I have also always thought I should write a book about my crazy family. Everyone has crazy stories and mine has an abundance. I grew up in an alcoholic family with crazy traumatic things happening. It Ain’t Just The Beer, which will be about how it is not just the beer that makes families crazy. They weren't born that way.

Hopefully it will just be funny stories. Not focused on the back story. There were a lot of funny things, too. I don’t want to re-experience the negativity. I’m happy to have had all of my experiences; they made me who I am. Would it be nice to not have that? Probably. But my experiences, even the painful ones, make me empathetic and the person that I am. 

Lois Carter Crawford Recommends:

A Year of Yes by Shonda Rhymes--She’s written a few TV series (Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal). Nothing to do with a food journal, but it has to do with taking care of yourself. She does discuss her food issues, she takes control of her life and stops stuffing your face with feelings.

Jennifer’s Way by Jennifer Esponito--She writes about her discovery of celiacs and offers recipes she enjoys. Referenced in It Ain’t Just The Diet Food Journal.

The Wahls Protocol by Terry Wahl’s, M.D.—Referenced in It Ain’t Just The Diet Food Journal. Terry has MS and was in a wheelchair. She got herself up and walking by changing her diet. She has done studies with patients. All of them get better.

Is This Your Child? by Dorris Rapp, M.D.—Also referenced in It Ain’t Just The Diet Food Journal. Focuses on allergy identification process.

Also, there are many reference materials in the end notes of It Ain’t Just The Diet Food Journal that will lead you to other studies and articles about the subject of food and how it affects you.