Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Gluten Free

Today is day 4 of my being gluten free. So, I have had a very unhappy gut for sometime. And I have grown very tired of ALWAYS feeling icky, sicky. I am, at least I think I am, lactose intolerant and so I try to stay away from diary. I will admit I am not as diary free as I should be but lately I have tried really hard to not consume diary of any kind and even when I completely removed diary from my diet I still had lots of stomach aches and pains. Someone suggested to me that I might be gluten intolerant as well and should try taking gluten out of my diet and see if that helped. Well, that was a very scary thought because I love, love, love gluten or wheat. It is in all the good food, bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, etc. I love bread, like alot! So, I tried to convince myself that I could not have a sensitivity to gluten and tried to push that to the very darkest farthest place in my brain. But I still continued to have so many bad days, nights and just felt ughh! Last week I had just had enough of feeling bad and decided that I needed to take that leap into a gluten free diet and see if that helped me to feel better.

Day 1 was Saturday and it was hard. I mean what can you eat if you can't eat bread? I was pretty hungry most of the day. But I stuck with it and did notice that my gut was not as bad as the day before but still wasn't great.

Day 2 Sunday - ahh, well it was Fast Sunday which was good because then I didn't have to think about what I could eat as much but it was still hard and I felt really hungry but my gut was feeling better.

Day 3 Monday - I decided that I better go to the grocery store and look for things that I could eat and I found I few things but it is still hard. I need to focus on what I CAN eat instead of what I can't eat. Bitter sweet for me because my gut is feeling so much better which is good but sad because it seems not eating gluten is working for me which makes me sad. To think that I may never be able to eat yummy bread from Panera ever again is devasting. I must focus on the positive.

Day 4 Tueadsay - So, I am still gluten free (yay for me)! The hardest meal is breakfast. I mean what do you eat for breakfast when you can't have cereal, toast, bagels. Ahhh, I have discovered gluten free cereal but I am also not eating dairy so for now cereal is out. I am getting tired of eggs and when I eat eggs I really want toast they just go together! Good news I am feeling so much better. My gut is happy not 100% but so much better. And I think I have lost some weight which is definetly an upside to this adventure.

So, this is my life for now. I can't even think I may have to live this way for the rest of my earthly life. I just have to take it one day at a time for now. I am still not 100% sure I am glucose intolerant or the technical term have Celiac Disease but I will continue on and see what happens. Wish me luck! Life is hard when you can't have bread.

10 comments:

Alisa Pierce said...

Good for you!!! Bread is beautiful I agree but I too feel so much better when I don't eat it! It's a sad cruel world we live in. Good luck you can do it & I'm glad you are feeling better.

Michael Thorn said...

It sounds like a great adventure to improve your health. There is no need to avoid empty carbs if you really feel the need for them. There gluten free breads, bagels and more! If you are avoiding dairy you can use soy milk or other substitutes for your gf cereal.
Rather than focusing on what you can't have why not try lots of fruits and veggies..fresh and organic.

Christie said...

That would be so hard for me, too! I love my empty carbs... We had an appointment to feed the missionaries last month and one couldn't have gluten, so I searched the internet for recipes. There's a lot of yummy things out there! Good luck with it all!

aunt dyanne said...

My sis is going through this same thing....did the whole celiac, gluten free, wipe out dairy etc. just this week she has found something that is working for her wonderfully - you two should chat...if you want her e-mail or phone# let me know!

gfe--gluten free easily said...

Hi Cindy--Saw your comment on Gluten-Free Girl's blog and read your post here and wanted to encourage you. Yes, it seems really hard at first, but it's amazing how quickly you get the hang of it. Focus on foods that are naturally gluten free like others said (I call it gluten free easily or gfe) ... even meals and desserts that are naturally gluten free. (I have a bunch of "cheat" sheets on my blog on the sidebar under "gfe's tip sheets" that can help, like "50+ foods you can eat today" and "50+ meals that are gfe.") If you are seeing results already, then you will just get better and better. It's really incredible when you actually realize how good you can feel after feeling crappy all your life!

Hugs,
Shirley

aunt dyanne said...

BTW...Elder Buckle makes a mean brownie with Potato Flour for his Gluten Free friend.

you should try that.... i didn't know you could make flour from a potato...i guess it makes sense...otherwise - where do "spudnuts" come from?

Cindy Jensen said...

I would love the receipe for the gluten free brownies. send it my way. Thanks!

Rachelle said...

No FUN!

I went milk free when nursing my baby the first trimester. I used rice milk and almond milk. I really like it better than soy. Soy has hormones in it and personally I like the milder taste of the rice and almond milk, even though they don't have as much protein. Good luck!

Rachelle said...

Ooops, I meant until he was three months old, not trimester. Silly me.

And I would continue on almond milk if it wasn't more expensive. IT HAS HALF THE CALORIES OF COW'S MILK!

mrs.naramor said...

Good luck!