Scaling Back

Well, still scaling back on the gluten, that is. And I can't say that so far I've seen any improvements with my skin ailments. However, I did commit to go gluten free for at least one month, and I'm not going to give up so soon, after less than two weeks. It has certainly NOT hurt me at all to give up the processed snacks and junk food, even if I'm still itching and scratching away.

But I will be upgrading my actual scale very soon. The scale we've been using for the last few years met with an unfortunate accident over the weekend- no I didn't get mad at it and drop kick it. So this weekend I will be scale shopping. I have been looking at a few models online. I know that scales now have some really cool features, almost like mini computers, where they can record and save all your weigh-ins and even (supposedly) calculate body fat. I'm not sure I need all of those extras- I don't have a problem with weighing and recording it on my calendar by hand. Well, I have a problem with the results, but no scale on the market is going to just show me what I want it to, without me doing the hard work to earn it.

I am happy to report that before my scale bit the dust, I had already lost the few pesky vacation pounds I brought home with me. I give credit to giving up the snacks, because that's the only thing that has changed with me lately. With my ongoing leg muscle issues, I still struggle to get any exercise in. I look forward to the day when that will no longer be a reason (or excuse) for me to be able to get on the treadmill every single day! The time change and warmer weather lately has encouraged James and I to play basketball in the evenings after work. James more than me, but I stink at it anyhow. But, even so, I get more exercise chasing the ball after all my missed shots than I do standing in one spot shooting!

Catch up with you all soon!

(137.5- right! Not any time soon! And not for the last 20 years!!!)

Sandy

Charting A New Course

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.

Sandy

(No, I didn't lose weight, this is just a super big chair at the Ripley's in Gatlinburg.)

That Darn Tootin' Gluten

Okay, so this isn't wheat- just the weeds growing in the empty lot across the street from us, but I didn't have any other photos to go with this story.

After a lot of research and many evenings of feeling like crap and wondering what I can do about it, I have decided to go gluten free for awhile. It seems like many of the issues I'm dealing with right now, are also symptoms of an intolerance to gluten. And since I am a carb queen, it won't hurt for me to see if indeed gluten is the culprit behind my recent physical ailments. I have decided that once we get back from vacation, I will give up gluten. All the way, not just some foods, and not just some days. 100%. That is the only way I will find out if I have a gluten intolerance or not. Yes, I know there is a blood test I can take, but if I stop eating gluten and my symptoms improve then that's all I really need to know to keep me going.

By the time we return from our trip, it will be a few days before April. I am going to spend the entire month of April learning to eat gluten free. We don't have any trips planned or family coming to visit, so it seems like a good time to start this new venture. The reading that I've done says that as many as 3 million Americans are gluten sensitive and don't know it, they just feel crummy all the time and get misdiagnosed with things like IBS or chronic fatigue. And if April goes well, then I will aim for one more month gluten free, and then etc etc etc.

I was very uneducated about what gluten is. I thought I knew enough about it because I read a lot of health magazines. I just assumed that since gluten was in bread and pasta, that it meant gluten was in all carbs. Not so. Things like rice or potatoes or corn do not have gluten in them. Neither does sugar, thank you! But unfortunately almost all processed foods do, and I rely heavily on frozen dinners or pre-marinated meats and fish or bottled sauces to doctor up dishes. No more. It will be strictly whole foods like lean meats and veggies and fruits. No crackers or sodas or spaghetti or salad dressing. Nothing that comes out of a box or a bag or a jar. I know they make gluten free breads and cake mixes and pastas made from funky stuff, but for right now I don't plan to experiment too much with that.

As always, my focus is to lose weight, but it's also to be healthy overall and feel better and have energy and live a life that I can love. Although I won't be blogging while we are on vacation next week, I look forward to coming home and starting on this new phase of taking better care of myself. And recording it here. It may work out, or it may be a big flop where I just can't give up bread, or it may turn out that even if I stick with this it may not cure my ills. I know right about now, my husband is reading this and will say that he supports me in any decisions I make. He is more than willing to eat a whole food diet, sans carbs, and hopefully we will both benefit from this.

But until then, I have nine days on the road of eating to (dread) look forward to and enjoy. Everyone take care until I get back!

Sandy

Budget For My Belly

Will eating cheap equal eating less food and less calories? I don't know, but we are planning to test that theory very shortly. James and I are counting the days and hours until our vacation commences next weekend, and my husband has been working very hard to plan out our many days on the road. We have all our hotel reservations made (one of them, above), James signed us up for a show one evening, we are going to a zoo, several museums, a birthday party, even a hall of fame. All sorts of fun stuff that you will see over on my other blog eventually.

And as I've blogged about before, one of my biggest challenges in trying to lose weight is eating out. I usually eat as though I will never ever get a chance to enjoy that menu ever again- even if it's a local pizza place. I have trouble treating the experience as quality time spent with the man I love, and instead act like I am auditioning for a spot on the competitive eating circuit. And on vacation, James and I have a tendency to be even more relaxed with our dining out practices. But we are going to try to set rules for this trip.

James and I know we have to eat out all our meals the entire time, but we are going to try to keep a tight food budget this trip. That's something we've never really done before, but we realized the other day that sometimes- okay, a lot of times- we overspend and overeat. Not sure if the two go hand in hand or not. For instance, this past Saturday at the Hard Rock, we both ordered burgers with fries- before the tip it was almost $40. A recent Sunday lunch at Red Lobster ran us almost $50. And while that's okay for an occasional splurge, we don't want to spend $100 a day on food, especially because we will be gone for nine days.

All but one of the hotels we're staying at have complimentary continental breakfasts, so we are going to save money by starting off our days with a free meal. I just have to remind myself that it's unlikely there will be a sudden bagel and cream cheese shortage any time soon- in other words, there is no need for me to indulge in one of my favorite breakfast "treats" every single morning, which is what I always get on vacation. Most hotels offer much healthier alternatives like yogurt, fresh fruits, whole grain toast, skim milk and cereal. There are many other choices for me to make besides doughnuts or danishes.

We are going to try to eat light lunches- no $25 shrimp lover's feast platters or $15 blue cheese burgers with endless onion rings. Yet we don't want to waste our taste buds- and feed our fat cells- by only sticking to the 99 cent menus at the fast food places either. Since this trip will be a little more leisurely than some of our others, I think we will have more time to make wiser choices instead of being starved and saying "Oh thank the stars, I see a Cracker Barrel up ahead!" We do have one very indulgent dinner out planned here, a place I've been wanting to visit for a long time now, but other than that, I see no reason for us to treat the evening meal as a pig out fest.

I plan to bring plenty of bottled water and healthy snacks for the truck, too, because I have a tendency to run amuck in the convenience stores whenever we stop for gas or a bathroom break. I can't remember the last time I walked out of one without anything. Usually a Coke and bag of chips.

This is the first of three big vacations this year, and since right now I am so down about my weight, I want to do everything I can to keep moving in the right direction. I love James, but he knows that he needs to lose weight as much as I do, and I feel as though if we don't work as a team, we will never succeed individually. And there is no better time to depend on a teammate than a long vacation together!

Sandy

Today Is Another Day...

...And tomorrow will be too. And here is the beautiful sunrise this morning to prove it. Taking it one day at a time this week and not doing too badly. I guess my last post upset my dad and my husband. My dad sent me a very heartfelt and encouraging email, and my husband has started me on a month-long assignment to help my self-esteem issues. Sorry, I was whining and feeling sorry for myself. But I was just frustrated with myself and my lack of commitment or willpower or however you want to put it. It seems as though the only thing that is stopping me from losing weight is actually making the effort! I have all the right books and support system and exercise equipment. It is time for me to get my act together.

I am disappointed that I won't reach the goal weight I set for our vacation in two weeks, but on the other hand I'm happy that I found enough blouses and jeans that fit me at my current weight, and I am ready to pack and even more ready to GO. But, I have two more vacations coming up this year, and I am going to have- and keep- a good attitude and believe that I will move closer to goal before our trip to Florida in the summer, and then our cruise in October. James and I have taken five cruises now, and with every one I look back at the photos and instead of enjoying the stunning scenery or reliving the fantastic moments I just say "I'm so fat! I hate these pictures!" I am not going to let that happen this year, and I must must MUST take control of my life and move it in a positive direction.

No more whining, and no more excuses on this blog, I promise.

If anyone reading this has any firsthand information they can share with me about eating a gluten-free diet, I would be interested in hearing about it. I've been doing some research online about a long-time (and very very painful/annoying) skin condition I have, and a lot of stuff cropped up repeatedly about gluten allergies and intolerance. And seeing that I eat such a carb-laden diet, I can see where a gluten issue might concern me. Please, if you have any ideas or stories or info you want to share, I am listening!

Sandy