Today is the today. In the spirit of aging gracefully and taking care of myself, I am committing to becoming gluten free for three months! I want to test out a theory on myself: does gluten rip apart my body and make me feel cruddy? I am 49 and my body is changing, weight is coming off slower and if I even glance at a piece of cake it attaches to my thighs instantaneously by-passing my stomach. Lately, like clock work, or so I think, when I eat a decent amount of wheat, my left foot swells up, my right ankle swells and I swear my face looks puffy. If I drink a beer my stomach revolts and tortures me by not allowing me to purge in any way, but to agonize until it is digested. Even my joints ache. Ya, I complain of joint pain more than my 83-year-old dad does!
Therefore, I am going to do an unscientific study on myself: if I simply don’t eat wheat will I feel better?
Here is my plan to begin life in this brave new world!
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- Read Living WithOut magazine monthly
- Only eat gluten-free foods that I LOVE–no choking down bad tasting foods
- Replace wheat crackers with ones I love, like Edwards and Sons Brown Rice Snaps
- Openly and freely shop online at Live Free Foods where gluten-free and allergy friendly shopping is king and they have a community & blog, so I can begin my learning!
- Find new recipes and get into the gluten-free “zone”
- Attempt to stay conscious and stop myself from mindlessly popping a cracker in my mouth when making lunch for the kids, etc.
- Make a list of local gluten-free restaurants and fast snack ideas so I don’t get myself backed into a corner
Not very scientific, not dictated by a physician, just plain old simple avoidance to see if feel better and lose weight. I have some weight to lose. Somewhere along the line after having kids I basically attached the equivalent of a toddler to my butt and am around 30 or so pounds heavier. I want to lose weight and I don’t have a particular size in mind. I truly am aiming at simply maintaining good health at whatever poundage that might be! That I will have to work out with my doctor. I loosely avoided wheat a year ago and felt great and lost weight. But last summer during our house remodel I began eating wheat on a daily basis. The pounds came screaming back and my clothes tightened-which is SO unattractive.
Being that we already avoid nuts, seeds and dairy in our household I feel that even though I’m adding another thing to avoid all will be well since I’m really just focusing on myself. My family philosophy is that we all pretty much each the same thing and the only wheat the kids consume is bread for lunch, baked goods and occasional pasta.
I am EXTREMELY grateful that I am not trying to learn about and manage a wheat or gluten anaphylaxis allergy. I am at a point where adding another allergen to our family’s list would make me cry.
Hope this week kicks off well for you-[typography font=”Lobster” size=”20″ size_format=”px”]Caroline[/typography]
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
It isn’t as hard as you think!! We are gluten free due to intolerances (not to where they need an epi pen, but red face, red eyes, intestinal distress, rash, major behavior change and takes a while to leave their system) plus my boys are all casein intolerant and my youngest cannot have soy, strawberries, oranges, broccoli or anything artificial either. My nephew is allergic (epi pen) to tree nuts, sesame seeds, soy, peanuts and navy beans.
I manage to cook for holidays and times when he comes over without any of that stuff and it works out fine.
I say now that if eggs get taken out, I might end up in the looney bin!!
Have fun with it and I must say I can no longer have gluten and at first it was hard, but it is possible to recreate most things and the cravings really go away!!
Lisa
Hi Lisa, thanks for the encouraging words! You have a nice long juicy list of foods you avoid too, so if you are saying “have fun” with it…then it must be very workable! Off to day one!
I think that is a great idea. we used to be gluten free when the kids were 1-5 years of age. I think we need to start again or at least get down to 1 a day. You are right about the decade changes. Each decade is harder to lose weight and you usually put on 10 pounds per decade. Good Luck and maybe I will join you!
Rice breads and noodles are good. I used to make most everything from rice. My kids already drink Rice Dream daily.
Join me!! Which rice breads do you like best? I just bought a flax bread from Haven on Earth bakery on Double R (Reno). Although, I do like “naked” sandwiches rolled up in lettuce. Looks I like I followed the 10 lbs a decade rule well!
I’ve been reading a lot about gluten-free as well, and am interested in trying it for our family! If anyone knows of gluten-free breads and pasta that are also made in peanut/tree nut-free facilities, please share!