I've been Glutened! What Happens When I Eat Wheat

So, one of the biggest questions I get after saying I'm gluten free is "What happens when you eat it?"  Since I got "gluten-ed" (ate something with wheat in it) today, I figured it was a good time to talk about it!

After feeling the effects of it, it makes me wonder how I ever lived with it all the time before.  I'm not completely sick (only had a very limited exposure to it today) and even when I have a lot, I've never actually puked from eating gluten.  But with what I'm experiencing today, and knowing that I felt like this often before, makes me realize how hard it was for me to function at 100% all the time.  And no wonder I was tired and withdrawn a lot.

Anyways, here is what I feel after I eat gluten.  Many of these are fairly typical for people with allergies to wheat/gluten.

Headaches.  For me this is one of the biggest signs that I've been gluten-ed.  I used to have them ALL THE TIME.  Right now if fairly mild, but I would get migraines frequently before I switched.  And when I do get gluten-ed, they tend to linger longer than the other symptoms.  Sometimes, kind of associated with this is light sensitivity and vision issues.

Brain fog, or what I call "The Dumbs."  I have a hard time concentrating on any one thing, I get easily distracted, short term memory is slightly impaired.  Putting enough thoughts together to write this is stretching the limits of my mental capacity at the moment.  I tend to like to talk a lot, but I ramble or switch topics quickly.  Be glad for spell check- it's a good thing you can't see all my mistakes as I'm typing.  This usually lasts for 24-48 hours after.

Digestive issues.  I tend to feel tight, painful, and/or uncomfortable in my lower abdomen (intestines area), with the other lovely issues of gas, diarrhea, or constipation.  I'll feel slightly nauseous, and go back and forth between starving and not wanting anything to eat.  Loads of fun. This lasts about 24 hours or so.

Acne.  I'll break out afterwards, plus my skin will take longer to heal for a while after.  This effect lingers.

Aches and pains.  For me, these center in my hands (I'll have lovely arthritis one day), back, hips and sometimes knees.  Makes it hard to want to exercise when you hurt.  This clears up quickly when I avoid gluten, though.

Sometimes I get shaky, but this is rarer.  This is the more extreme cases, plus comes with ALL the others.  If I'm shaky, get me protein, water, and sleep, in that order.

Anyways, that's what happens when I eat gluten.  I know there's other symptoms, but that's what I get.  Since going gluten-free, head-aches are rare, digestive has settled down, acne has cleared (except for hormonal flares), and aches disappeared.  It's been much nicer.

Now I just need to convince myself I really can do sugar-free.  Permanently.  Sigh...

Sugar Free: Week One is Done!

So, been doing sugar free for about a week now.  It's actually been much easier than I thought it would be!  I even visited family and managed to not eat any sugar there!  Hooray!

I really think that it helps that I'm gluten free as well, and been doing that for the last 8 months or so.  Already having cut one thing out of my diet, and a major thing at that, I was more prepared and knew what to expect.  I haven't been perfect (I'm pretty sure my bread has sugar in it, plus I had some fruit that was in light syrup, not juice), but just avoiding sugary treats has been my major focus.

Things I have avoiding:

• Soda or pop of any kind (not too hard, I don't drink much anyways)
• Candy and candy bars
• Ice Cream
• Cookies, cakes, sweet breads (like zucchini or banana bread)
• Chocolate (sigh)

Things I can eat!

• Fruit!  Lots of fruit!  Mostly fresh fruit, or fruit I have frozen myself.  I have had some canned fruit, and try to do in fruit juice, not syrup.
• Veggies!
• Honey- gives me the sweetness I crave without the drawbacks of refined sugars.  I've used it in fairly limited doses- a drizzle on toast or on my oatmeal.
• Protein- this has been fantastic.  
• Lots of water!  I think my body has been thirsty forever, and I misinterpreted thirst for desiring sugar.
• Peanut butter.  Watch your peanut butter- look for one that is just peanuts and salt- no fillers or sugar!  
• Cheese- yum!

Overall, this has been fairly successful!  I have felt pretty good.  Light headaches a couple times, but I think I can trace those to other sources, not just sugar crashes/cravings.  A couple times I've had cravings, but as soon as I feed myself something else, the craving goes away. Biggest indication of success for me- I've lost weight!  And not just a pound, I have lost over 4 pounds in a week! Holy cow!  I'm fairly sure that this trend will not continue at that drastic of a rate, but it is so nice to see something happen.  Fantastic!  Even eating late at night this entire week, I have lost.  Hooray!

Favorite snack I've done this week that's refined sugar free (this totally saved me one night that I was starving and craving sugar to the max):

Easy Yogurt Dip:

2 Tablespoons plain yogurt (not vanilla, PLAIN!  No added sugars!)

2 Tablespoons peanut butter (make sure no added sugars)

dash of cinnamon

drizzle of honey

Apple slices (or other fruit!  Would probably go well with pears, celery sticks, berries...)

Mix together yogurt, peanut butter, cinnamon and honey.  That easy!  Serve with fruit!  YUM!

  

Sugar Free! Tips and My Progress

So, been doing sugar free for about 3 days now, and it oddly hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.  Yes, I still have cravings, but feeding them with the fruits instead of sugar has been a lot better.  I did get some Stevia to help where needed, but haven't opened it yet since I just got it yesterday. So far, I haven't been excessively picky- I'm still using the same ketchup which I know has sugar, I had some canned fruit which might have been in light syrup, not fruit juice.  I've also had some jam: I know, I know, a little fruit and a whole lot of sugar.  I'll need to invest in some sugar free stuff.

Things that have helped when I've had the cravings: fruit and water.  I think that my body has been so dehydrated that I have been misinterpreting my body's need for water for a desire for sugar instead.  Between drinking more water and eating more fruit, I've been pretty good.  Nothing out of control, no huge headaches, no super cravings for a cookie.

Some tips I've received from friends, several of whom have done sugar free successfully!

• Eat a lot a fruit and veggies- they taste better once you get off sugar!
• Exercise away the craving (but nourish the body in other ways when you do it).
• Use natural sweeteners such as honey and pure maple syrup instead. 
• Chew sugarless gum.
• Find a healthy snack to eat instead such as chips, popcorn, nuts, fruits, veggies, plain yogurt, water with lemon, etc.
• Sugar free chocolate.  I need to find this.  
• Reward yourself for progress!  I need to find something to reward myself with.
• Make achievable goals (one sweet a day instead of two) and gradually get off sugar. (This is why I haven't been super picky- I know going straight cold-turkey no sugar would be awful.)
• Fruit as a dessert was repeated by several people.  Peaches, apples, bananas- slice with a little cream or cinnamon.  Yum!
• AND...  almost everyone said that if I can do it for one to two weeks, the cravings will dissipate!  No more sugar cravings!  I hope that's true!

Anyways, making progress with the sugar cravings!  Next week, I will try doing without even more sugary stuff- cut it out of salad dressings and stuff like that.  I had ketchup this week on some fries (super healthy, I know) and the first bite I took my reaction was "the ketchup is sweet"!  It surprised me to find sweetness even there!  I'll have to find sugar free stuff next time I buy some.

So, there is hope!  I'm definitely making progress, got some great tips, now just on to less sugar!  I can do it!

Health Journey! Beginning (Again...)

So, anyone that knows me should know that I would like to lose weight- to be healthier, be more active, live longer, and hopefully have kids.  Both of us gained weight after we married (he likes my cooking!) and it's stayed with us for 9 years. Almost everything I've tried, while I might see temporary success, I either have issues staying with it, not seen results that I felt my effort merited, or as soon as I have a bad day (one bad day) it would negate my efforts.  I've been extremely frustrated with my health efforts.

Some other issues I've had: shin splints.  Ouch.  Walking, one of the easiest, cheapest and beginning level exercises is painful for me.  I've tried replacing my shoes, getting inserts, stretches, but that didn't help.  Just finding motivation to exercise is one of the biggest hurdles I'm trying to get over.

Hopefully, figuring out I need to be gluten free will help.  It's helped with some stuff (reduced migraines, no sore joints in the mornings, less break outs on my face, and stomach does much better), but I haven't seen a huge reduction in weight after an initial loss right when I started eating gluten free.  There are still days I don't feel perfect, but gluten free helps.

So, this time around, trying some new stuff.  See if I can really kick some bad habits!

First thing I'm trying: sugar free!  I don't know that I will be super picky, but I will avoid sweet treats like cookies, cakes, brownies, sugary cereals, candy, chocolate and everything like that which contains way too much sugar than what is good for me.  I crave sugar daily if I don't get it.  I've talked to several people about it, and I have more hope than I started with.  Initially, I was scared that I would be a plagued by those cravings for a long time.  They all say about a week, maybe a little more and they go away.  I can do that!  At least I really hope I can.

Another thing, in connection with sugar free and gluten free, I will be trying is just more whole foods in general.  Less processed, full of who-knows-what, and more whole, wholesome, good foods.  Fruits and veggies will be my friend!  To complement all of this, I will need to focus on drinking enough water.  That's another thing I really struggle with.  I just don't get thirsty, I'm so used to being slightly dehydrated all the time.

Final thing I really need to do- find a workout I enjoy, find motivation to workout consistently, and just get it in!  I do usually feel better after working out regularly, I feel more powerful, more muscular.  The more muscle I have, the more calories I will burn, the faster I will lose weight.

So, three things to focus on!  Sugar free (eek!), whole foods, especially lots of fruits and veggies, and exercise.  I can do that!  Today was my first day of sugar free- worst craving was right after dinner- had some canned fruit to tame it.  Yay!  Next time will be tips on how to beat those cravings as shared with me by several of my friends.