1 Week Gluten Free

Aaaand I feel pretty good! I am tired this week from staying up wayyy to late to watch True Blood and beat Andrew at "Set," but I have noticed some obvious improvements, which may or may not (I'm hoping its the former) be attributed to the lack of gluten in my diet.

The pros:

For starters, my stomach and I have not been at war, which is always nice. In fact, my entire GI system seems to be functioning pretty normally. (I should note that I don't actually know what normal GI function is, but I'm guessing this is closer to normal than it was).

Secondly, I have more energy. This was something I noticed pretty quickly, only about 4 days into gluten-free life. For once, I didn't crash mid-afternoon and ache desperately for a nap (this happens to me every. day.) I started Tuesday, by Friday, I was on FIRE (in a good way)!

My scale is inching downwards. This could be because I have been eating a little less. I will admit that wheat and carbs are my go-to snacks and I pretty much always include them in a meal. Instead, I've been having potatoes (hooray for potassium!) and rice and corn based products. And tons and TONS of fresh fruit and veggies. I don't think most people tolerate corn too well either, being that it's usually mass produced and over processed, so I have been trying to stay away from falling into the "I will eat everything corn instead" trap. But its nice to know that things like tortilla chips are still an option. For the most part, sweet potatoes and ketcup have become my new best friends.

Now for the cons:

I want an effing cupcake like my it is nobody's business! Temptation is everywhere. It is hard to say no to that deliciously huge brownie sitting on my counter (thanks, grandmom!). I did indulge in some pasta on Sunday (less than a half a cup) and I did have one tiny nibble of a cookie that my neighbor made on Friday. Here's my justification: I don't have Ceilac's disease so I can, in theory, eat gluten without dying. But I know myself well enough to know that if I give myself too many allowances, I will go overboard. I also know that if I don't allow myself ANY tasty wheat stuff, I will go overboard (as in, restricting. which is no good for former eating disordered peeps). So for me, its about balance. Just a taste is enough. And when I have been tempted to have more, I remind myself of how shit-tastic my stomach is going to feel in about an hour.
That has been pretty effective so far.

Gluten-free stuff is mad expensive and tastes like SHIT. I tried a gluten-free pizza yesterday. It took HOURS for me to get the taste out of my outh. Never. Again. NASTY. NASTY.
I find that whenver food is made to tast like something that it clearly is not, it is crap. Oh sure, they make it look nice, but do not be decieved.
I did read a good review on the gluten free waffles at Trader Joes, so I picked some up. I hope they don't suck as bad as the pizza.
But I don't intend to start consuming mass amounts of gluten free bread and cake. I can't afford it and it's not worth it. I'd rather just have a taste of something WITH wheat in it and stick to things that are naturally gluten free (and a hell of a lot tastier!)



Conclusion:

I feel better. I really do. I am pretty convinced that I do have at least moderate sensitivity to gluten. And I fully intend to continue to eat a diet that is fairily restrictive with regards to gluten. The challenge now is to figure out how much gluten my body can tolerate without pissing of my GI system. In the next few weeks, I will work tiny amounts back in and continue to log how I feel day to day. I love self-experimentation!

What if you can't choose?

Tonight I had a training session for my part time job, where I manage a program that prepares taxes for low income families. Its the most personally gratifying work that I have ever done (despite its challenges, which I'm sure you will all hear PLENTY about once the tax season starts). I really enjoy being a part of this program, really I do.
So tonight, I left right from my 9-5 to go to this training session. At the last training, they had a really nice meal for us: rotisserie chicken, green beans and potatoes (and plain caesar salads for us veggies). Last training session, I had a salad almost dry and half of a piece of cornbread. It was healthy enough and it filled up me up for the rest of the afternoon. So I was expecting something similar tonight.
Instead, we got pizza. Now, I already had my allotted pizza treat on Saturday (and a leftover piece on Monday) so the last thing I wanted (let alone NEEDED) was pizza. I was SO hungry that I ate a slice of pizza. But then I was still hungry and had 3 more hours of training left, so I had another. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I do appreciate that they feed us. But, if given the choice, I would not have selected pizza for dinner. And, thinking I was getting something else, I didn't plan ahead and pack a dinner.
We talk so much about the choices we make every day and the challenges that come alone with them. So what do we (you) do when we don't have the option to choose? Do we intentionally eat something we don't want to, and get back on track later? Or do we become really unreasonable about our commitment and find a way to get something else?
I had a very interesting discussion earlier this week in which someone challenged me to the idea that unreasonableness in our commitments (that is, the idea that we go beyond what we think we can do to stick with our commitments) is what ultimately makes us successful. So maybe I should have excused myself for 15 minutes to go hunt down a salad. But next time I'm in a situation like that, I will. And not because I'm afraid that 2 pieces of unplanned pizza will kill my goals. Because I am committed enough not to look for (and take) the easy way out, even when doing so will make me look completely neurotic.