Back from the big vacation finally; rested and now chugging right along at work. Amazing how it is all "still there" for you when you return! But before Monday morning rolled around, I headed to the grocery store to restock my fridge and pantry with the things I will need in order to eat gluten free. I am on day three now, and as far as I know, I am eating no gluten! I say that because I am still reading up on the subject online and the few books that I found on Amazon. I still have questions on some items, if they have gluten in them or not- my coffee creamer at work, that irresistible hunk of Parmesan, mayo for making egg salad? So I may have consumed some gluten unknowingly. But to the best of my ability, I have given up gluten for this experiment. I do not know if this will lead to any weight loss, but so far I have been eating only whole foods like fruits and vegetables, brown rice, lean meat.
I am finding plenty of "okay" snacks and cereal that are made from rice or corn, but I still am reading labels because a lot of flavorings (malt) are actually gluten- even if the word "wheat" does not appear anywhere. So microwave popcorn has been replaced with plain air-popped, and my old high fiber cereals have been set aside for Rice Chex. I am trying to cut out caffeine right now as well, and this week I've only allowed myself one cup of coffee a day, in the mornings. My afternoon cup has been replaced with either hot tea, or decaf coffee (perhaps because by the end of the day in the office, there is plenty of decaf leftover). I wanted to quit wheat, caffeine, and sugar cold turkey, all at one time. But I got so sick on Monday with upset stomach, and a blinding headache so bad that James had to drive me home from work. That was after only TWO days of no caffeine. Better to slowly wean myself from it. I don't keep caffeinated sodas in the house, so once I get away from the office there is no temptation.
Vacation was about having a good time together and relaxing and enjoying the precious week away from the daily grind. I indulged in every food group imaginable- pasta, pizza, burgers, steak, Japanese, Mexican, ice cream, cake, junk food, Coke, Starbucks. All the old favorites. I realized it was going to be next to impossible for me to start a "new" program while on vacation. So I carried my notes and books on a gluten free diet and studied them while we were gone so I would be ready to start right away once we got home.
Although I plan to stick to a whole foods lifestyle no matter what (I am just too doggone old to continue to have Pop-Tarts or a bag of animal crackers for lunch at my desk), it will be trial and error for the gluten. The magazines call it an "elimination diet"- getting rid of one potentially troublesome component of your diet, and seeing if your symptoms improve. Or hopefully, disappear. My main reasons for eliminating gluten are skin-related, but I certainly have many of the other symptoms of gluten sensitivity like body aches and fatigue (well, I mean, who doesn't?) and I am curious to see if giving up wheat will clear up the problems I've had for long years and the new conditions that have cropped up recently. Articles I've read said that many people who gave up wheat saw improvements with their skin within days.
My father-in-law, who is very knowledgeable about good health through diet, provided me with several handouts and a few books to help guide me. He sticks to a very very clean diet and knows more about clean eating than anyone else I've ever met. I just wish he would share his willpower with me! Today I got a whiff of someone's pizza at work and thought I would fall out. It's going to be a very long month or so. I will update soon.
(No, I didn't lose weight, this is just a super big chair at the Ripley's in Gatlinburg.)I am finding plenty of "okay" snacks and cereal that are made from rice or corn, but I still am reading labels because a lot of flavorings (malt) are actually gluten- even if the word "wheat" does not appear anywhere. So microwave popcorn has been replaced with plain air-popped, and my old high fiber cereals have been set aside for Rice Chex. I am trying to cut out caffeine right now as well, and this week I've only allowed myself one cup of coffee a day, in the mornings. My afternoon cup has been replaced with either hot tea, or decaf coffee (perhaps because by the end of the day in the office, there is plenty of decaf leftover). I wanted to quit wheat, caffeine, and sugar cold turkey, all at one time. But I got so sick on Monday with upset stomach, and a blinding headache so bad that James had to drive me home from work. That was after only TWO days of no caffeine. Better to slowly wean myself from it. I don't keep caffeinated sodas in the house, so once I get away from the office there is no temptation.
Vacation was about having a good time together and relaxing and enjoying the precious week away from the daily grind. I indulged in every food group imaginable- pasta, pizza, burgers, steak, Japanese, Mexican, ice cream, cake, junk food, Coke, Starbucks. All the old favorites. I realized it was going to be next to impossible for me to start a "new" program while on vacation. So I carried my notes and books on a gluten free diet and studied them while we were gone so I would be ready to start right away once we got home.
Although I plan to stick to a whole foods lifestyle no matter what (I am just too doggone old to continue to have Pop-Tarts or a bag of animal crackers for lunch at my desk), it will be trial and error for the gluten. The magazines call it an "elimination diet"- getting rid of one potentially troublesome component of your diet, and seeing if your symptoms improve. Or hopefully, disappear. My main reasons for eliminating gluten are skin-related, but I certainly have many of the other symptoms of gluten sensitivity like body aches and fatigue (well, I mean, who doesn't?) and I am curious to see if giving up wheat will clear up the problems I've had for long years and the new conditions that have cropped up recently. Articles I've read said that many people who gave up wheat saw improvements with their skin within days.
My father-in-law, who is very knowledgeable about good health through diet, provided me with several handouts and a few books to help guide me. He sticks to a very very clean diet and knows more about clean eating than anyone else I've ever met. I just wish he would share his willpower with me! Today I got a whiff of someone's pizza at work and thought I would fall out. It's going to be a very long month or so. I will update soon.
Sandy
Wow! That's some chair!! :)
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