My husband making gluten-free muffins with the boys. Notice how they trashed my kitchen, but after they were finished it was spotless, thanks to my sweet husband. And the muffins were incredibly delicious.
As I am sure you are aware, there has been so much talk about gluten-free lifestyles the last few years. I personally pooh-poohed the entire thing (unless you had celiac disease) because I am not a fan of "fad" diets and kooky eating styles. After all, people have been eating wheat forever and why would it suddenly be an issue? But as often the case for me, I had to eat my words.
I have always been pretty "average-sized for my height" without trying (not too thin, not too big), but I have exercised pretty regularly (walking, elliptical, exercise tapes, etc.) since my 20's. I don't go crazy, but I try to get at least a couple of hours of aerobic exercise every week. However, the few years or so my weight has been creeping up and I have the dreaded "muffin top". Even my husband who is stick-thin and works out regularly has a small pouch (invisible as far as I am concerned, but it haunts him) that he can't eliminate.
I blamed it on my hypothyroidism, but I have had that for years and am medicated (natural thyroid), and my numbers are fine. I blamed it on my age, but that just seemed lazy. I blamed it on my late-night snacking in front of the TV. That one was real. ;-) But why I was suddenly gaining weight when I didn't have any changes in my lifestyle was concerning, so I decided to start investigating on-line and found this book: Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health
. This started my new adventure in going gluten-free.I think I read all of the reviews (over 700, almost all positive) and decided to go ahead and order the Kindle version. I read it in one evening (parts of it were too detailed for this genetics major), but found it very interesting and inspiring. His theory that the wheat we eat these days is different (modified beyond all recognition) than the wheat of 50 years ago makes sense. I had noticed that all of my family in old photos were thin, and even the overweight ones of that time where not much bigger than I am now. And every one of them would have been mortified to be caught exercising...
There are so many arguments (some good, some bad) why Americans are gaining so much weight, but the gluten theory makes some sense to me and I decided to try to go gluten-free for a while to test it out. I would like lose some fat, but most importantly, I want to be more healthy. And since I am the major "chef" of the family, if I am going gluten-free, everyone is going gluten-free.
I already had a Paleo recipe book Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen (love it), and I also am using the recipes from Wheat Belly (love the blueberry muffins, flaxseed wraps and flaxseed cereal)
and free recipes I find on the web. Eating gluten-free has not been too difficult for us because we like to cook and most of the ingredients are things we already buy; such as fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy meats and hard cheeses, and even hummus. It does make it more challenging to go out to eat, but I won't complain since staying at home saves us money and we eat better.The items I ordered on-line in bulk to save money are almond flour, coconut flour, and coconut oil. I am staying away from most gluten-free snacks (since I am trying to lose weight), but I do keep a few on hand for the boys. The boys are 100% OK with this diet since I still make brownies, cookies, and muffins (almond flour) and they love fruit. We also include dairy in our diet; mostly yogurt, smoothies, and hard cheeses. I can't go Paleo because I love my dairy, but I do limit it somewhat (as I do meat).
It has been almost two weeks and so far so good. We aren't eating out much (once so far) and our diet is so much healthier. I have lost a few pounds and my stomach is already visibly shrinking, and my husband says he has not had this much energy since he was in his 20's. I have also cut out most unhealthy carbs including potato chips and most sweets (this is probably why I am seeing some weight loss), but we do have roasted potatoes, and some rice and quinoa. I can't see going completely carb-free, especially for the boys. Funny, we haven't miss the bread, but I do plan on making some gluten-free bread this week for peanut butter sandwiches.
Some weird but good things are already happening. My carpal tunnel issue seems to be disappearing. It started about a year ago in my right wrist due to bad typing positions and was really painful. I wear a brace when I work on the computer, but it would still ache at times. Since I have stopped eating glutens I can type for hours without a brace, and no pain. My index and middle finger were stiff and now they are loosening up.
My husband was sure he was lactose intolerant. Since going gluten-free, he eats cheese quite often, along with some yogurt and milk and has no issues. Perhaps it was the wheat in the cheese pizza and cheese sandwiches that affected him?
The boys are pretty much unchanged, still crazy and adorable.
Some people say going gluten-free is expensive, and it can be if you buy gluten-free prepared foods. $8 for a small frozen pizza, $6 for a small loaf of frozen bread, and $5 for a small pack of spaghetti; crazy, right? But if you like to cook at all, you can make your own gluten-free food for a reasonable price. The only thing that I find really expensive are the special flours, but I would rather eat ground-up almonds than wheat flour anyway; almonds have more protein.
For dinner we usually eat a snack plate. We have a small salad and a plate with some uncured or naturally cured meat (like smoked salmon, Canadian bacon, pastrami, sardines, etc.), some hard cheese, olives, uncooked veggies (carrots, celery), bits of fruit (apples, grapes, etc.), and hummus for dipping. The boys love finger foods and this substitutes for the sandwiches we used to eat. Plus it is easy for mom to put together. :-)
I will keep you updated on our new gluten-free lifestyle (and if we are still sticking to it in a month).
If you are gluten-free and know of some good blogs/websites with recipes, please link them in the comments, I would love to visit them. And if you think I am crazy for going gluten-free, I was you just two weeks ago!!!
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