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Big improvement after 4 days on Wahl diet. Anyone else seen this?

Everyday living
#1

I was so desperate about the state of my health that I started on the Wahl diet on Friday. I’ve seen posts about this diet, which consists of a plate of greens, a plate of onions/leeks, a plate of red/yellow/orange fruit or veg and 4oz of meat every day, and no gluten or dairy (for the first couple of weeks! after that you can add them back in and see if you see any deterioration). I started this on Friday lunchtime. By Saturday evening, I could lift both legs high enough to walk upstairs (just using my leg muscles, not my hands). I haven’t been able to do this with my left leg for a couple of years and over the past couple of months I have had to lift my right leg with my hands as well. The improvement in my stair climbing hasn’t been consistant - I’m not so good in the mornings, better by noon and for the rest of the day.

My bladder control has improved, but I’m still taking the Regurin. My leg didn’t twitch last night, even though I didn’t take the Clonazepam that I normally have to take. I have tried going without it before but always been woken by leg twitches. My sleeping was really messed up last night - I woke at 3.30am and couldn’t sleep again. I think this might be because I no longer need Fampyra. I started taking this back in October - it improved my walking and also meant that I went from sleeping for around 10 or 11 out of 24 hours back to a more normal 8.5 hours.

I’m finding it hard to believe this diet can work so quickly but I can’t believe I’m imagining it either. These are really concrete things - you should have seen my husband’s face when he saw me walk upstairs - he really could not believe his eyes. I know there have been posts about the Wahl diet on here but can’t find them by searching for ‘Wahl’ or ‘Wahl diet’. Has anyone else had experiences, good, bad or indifferent with this?

#2

Well done - this is good news! - l found that l was much better if l cut carbs out - anything with grain - Do still eat natural greek yoghurt - but l do not eat cheese.

Do let us know how you get on - and if there is anymore improvement.

l try to follow the Barry Groves eating ‘regime’ which is the same as Terry Wahls. Barry Groves books on natural healthy eating have been around much longer then Terry Wahls. He did not write them for MS - but for everyones general health.

The darker the leaf and the darker the fruit - and lots of meat/fish - Hunter/gatherer.

l have been growing chard - which like kale - will grow all year round. You pick it and it just keeps growing.

#3

Good post. I will respond before any negative responses, to say I will give it a go. My diet is pretty good but I am prepared to try this on a trial and error basis, nothing to lose!. All the best, Peter

#4

Cutting out dairy helped me, but in terms of me not being bloated and having an upset stomach. I question the lack of fish in the diet though, as we need omegas 3, 6 & 9.

#5

Hi sewingchick,

I need to improve my diet. I’m really glad you found something that has helped you improve. The having to lift your legs up each step is something I’m too familiar with.

I hope you continue to improve and thanks for sharing this with us

lynn

#6

excellent news sewingchick

i’ve looked at the terry wahls diet but havent tried it yet.

for the first 2 years after my dx i kept losing weight.

i went from size 14 and 10 and a half stone to size 10 and 9 stone

being a girl i was really chuffed but my dad thought i was seriously ill and my husband wanted my JoLo bum back!!!

during that time of weight loss i tried the best bet diet (no gluten, no dairy, no legumes and loads of other rules.)

i couldnt stand gluten free bread or non dairy milk alternatives so i gave it up.

back to 10st 7lb and size 14

the wahls diet seems to be more about eating the veg and seems more do-able, as long as i can still use spices.

thanks for this post - i really need to address my diet for the sake of my ms raddled body!!!

carole x

#7

Out of interest, what do you have for breakfast? I think the thing I’d find hardest to do is give a bowl of cereal, mostly because it’s cheap & easy.

Dan

#8

Hi SewingChick,

That’s brilliant. I am a massive believer in a really good diet. I sdon’t follow aney paorticular diet but I am on a really strict one. I avoid dairy, gluten, sugar and caffeine. I know that gluten definitely affects my symptoms and I am pretty sure that dairy does too.

I do slip up occasionally. Oops, as I love tea and Magnums but in the main I am pretty good. Especially with wheat.

Thank god for gluten free pizza at pizza express though. :slight_smile:

I’m not on any medication and I am feeling pretty good. I am going to try Copaxone at the beginning of October but I am pretty convinced that my diet and supplementation has helped enormously and I think that I would be a lot worse now if I wasn’t so disciplined. It’s understandable that spinach is good (used int he Wahl diet) for MS as it has a lot of vitamin K in it which is used in the production of Myelin.

Good luck with it and I hope that you continue to improve.

Adrian x

#9

Hi sewingchick

really great news,i have read up about the diet,and i am tempted to try it myself,please keep us updated,and i really hope you see more and more improvement.

jaki xx

#10

Hi great news. I just love your posts they are always so positive. As MS is unlikely for me I still do have nerve damage and find lifting my right leg to go upstairs difficult. I wonder would the diet help with nerve damage too. Maybe I should buy the book too.

keep us posted on your improvements.

Moyna xxx

#11

I had great results from this type of diet as well. I could hardly walk 10 feet, but after a month my energy came back. This was the tail end of a 9 month relapse. Terry Wahls’ recovery has been a bit of a miracle, but I think she had stem cell treatment as well.

The diet isn’t a cure, but it can give you a much better quality of life. I still eat like this, for the most part, no gluten or grains, but that’s because I’m at risk of type 2 diabetes and we have mild coeliac disease in our family. I don’t miss cereal, but I do love bread and miss that. I occasionally have a bit of good bread just as a treat, but just a bit.

My neuro was very surprised at my improvements and said ‘well, whatever works for you…’

It’s not for everyone. Like all diets, if after a week or so, you are feeling miserable and no better, then go back to eating what makes you feel good.

I still need all my drugs. Rebif, Amitriptyline and lots of blood pressure drugs, but feeling better and walking better and having normal energy levels, have stayed with me for 5 years now.

#12

Thanks to everyone for all the positive replies to this post. For MrsChicca - the diet is actually 4oz of meat or fish a day. For he_funk, for breakfast I cut up lots of fruit and add flaked almonds and fruit juice. Definitely takes longer than pouring out a bowl of cereal and part of the reason I can do this diet now is because my youngest child has just started taking himself to school so I’m not so rushed in the mornings.

I forgot to mention that I can also put on a necklace that has a tiny clasp, that I bought more than a year ago and have always had to get someone else to do up for me. So my manual dexterity has improved as well.

I was walking really well by the end of yesterday but had another horrible night’s sleep. I went to bed a bit before 11pm, woke at 1:30am and was still awake at 3:30. I dropped off after that but woke up again at 5:30am and didn’t go back to sleep. I feel really tired now and my walking is poor. I didn’t take the Fampyra last night so that can’t have caused it the wakefulness - might be one reason why I’m struggling with walking I suppose. I wasn’t hungry in the night (which used to wake me up sometimes when I was on the Best Odds diet - I know, I’m a sucker for diets). On the upside, I didn’t get leg twitch although I didn’t take the Clonazepam.

#13

ibu and I posted at the same time and when I read his/her post, it made me think about energy levels - that is the biggest change I think. Although I’m not feeling up to much right now, over the last few days I have got so much more done than I usually do because I have energy, a huge change. Hopefully, my sleep will settle down again and I’ll just end up like ibu, with normal energy levels (you need plenty of energy to do all the veg prep this diet involves).

#14

And eating it takes a while too!

I did have salad lag for a while and couldn’t face lettuce for several months. There is a cheat if you can find cartons of gazpacho and eat that for breakfast or lunch and then protein + whatever (like fish and broccoli). I eat dairy. I found I really missed yoghourt. Unsweetened of course.

I hope you carry on feeling better. As my neuro said …whatever works…but it’s not a cure. Just makes life better.

#15

Hi, I’ve been on the Best Bet Diet since 2008, but have been following the Wahl’s diet more since July/August. I feel I’ve stumbled into it, even though I read her book a few years ago. If you “like” her Facebook page, you get regular articles to your wall. I’ve asked a couple of questions via Facebook and she’s always replied. Benefits of the Wahls diet I’ve found - I have more energy first thing,though still suffer with terrible fatigue from mid afternoon onwards. But, I’m sleeping better at night. The alarm now wakes me up which was unheard of before. Every now and then I’ll do something and think “I haven’t donethat in ages”. I’ve restarted doing stretches when I first get up, though I’m suffering today with achey legs. I’ve just listened to a recording of a webinar Dr Wahls did yesterday. I can email you the link if you’re interested. Just PM me. Thanks, Heather

#16

I’m really glad this diet works for you.

A healthy, no cr@p diet has to be better for all of us than processed foods, the incidence of MS is on the rise in ‘developed’ countries (and with high populations of caucasians of European origin) wheras it’s almost unheard of in some parts of Asia, Africa etc where people eat a more ‘natural’, unprocessed diet.

Feeling positive about something can also increase our energy levels and our enthusiasm and belief in the efficacy of a particular ‘thing’ - be it diet, religion or therapy.

I agree that we can all improve our general health by increasing our intake of ‘good’ food and omitting the rubbish that we eat because it’s ‘more convenient’ .