Don't get too excited...this post is not full of life-changing research or mind-blowing statistics. I'm just going to explain the 2-3 month journey of how I got to this place of even considering taking gluten/flour out of my diet. And believe me, I've been kicking and stamping my feet the whole way.
Since last fall (I pinpoint it to when we began homeschooling), I've been increasingly more annoyed with my body. I'm not monstrously obese or anything, but I haven't been comfortable in my clothes or even in my own skin for a while. Maybe it's that I'm getting older, maybe it's that I don't eat as well, maybe it's that I don't work out the same...honestly, I can't find a rhyme or reason to the extra 10 lbs that has suddenly made residence on my body. I feel like I've tried to make changes to my lifestyle, but clearly I'm not fully committed or the weight would be gone.
A few months back, my BFF mentioned that she read a book about eating for your blood type and said that the book claims that there is a personality component to her blood type, which is O. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I was so intrigued with the personality aspect that I called my OB/GYN (the last place I had blood work) and had them look up my blood type in my chart.
Sure enough, my blood type is also O.
The problem is that, according to the book, I don't eat right for my blood type. The author recommends lots of produce, meat and fish, little cow's milk, limited eggs and peanuts, limited complex carbs. (*sigh*)
I wasn't interested in making major life changes at the time, so I tucked the information into my mental rolodex and went on with my life.
Over the next few weeks, seemingly out of no where, I came across tons of people switching to a Gluten Free (GF) lifestyle. (and have learned of several more, since my post last week, who never mentioned to me that they made the switch, too) I watched from a distance in awe, and continued on with my life.
Until a couple weeks ago. I came across a blog of a girl who had gone off of her GF diet for a few days and taken a picture of her stomach from a side profile. She looked four months pregnant. Then she went back to her diet and took another picture a week later. Her tummy was flat as a pancake. Granted, her stomach was normally flat because she's a runner, but the bloating from adding gluten back into her diet shocked me.
Suddenly, I was paying attention.
Yes, everyone's body reacts differently to different types of foods, but what if her GF claim was true for me? It was worth a shot.
Yes, everyone's body reacts differently to different types of foods, but what if her GF claim was true for me? It was worth a shot.
The next day, I took the 26oz box of GF flour from my pantry (that was $7 on sale) and made crepes for my family. They tasted exactly the same. While we ate, I explained this long, drawn out story to Mike and asked if he'd be on board for trying a GF menu for a week. He reluctantly agreed. I decided to let the kids eat up what we have in the house that includes gluten and that Mike and I would be the guinea pigs for this major lifestyle adjustment.
At first, neither of us noticed major changes in our weight or waistline. After a few days, I realized that we were trying to replace our old habits of eating with GF substitutes. I spent $112 at Trader Joe's specifically buying on-the-go items that I could use for Mike's lunches and snacks for me. Anymore, they have GF everything: cookies, crackers, chips...it's just more expensive. I couldn't find GF granola bars, so I made my own and ate the entire double batch in a matter of a few days. What's that about?!?!
So I shifted gears and made the conscious effort to stop replacing flour-filled carbs with the same GF carbs and, instead, replace them with new snacks altogether.
Old Daily Meal Routine:
Breakfast - eggs and toast/oatmeal/coffee cup sized bowl of Go Lean or Cheerios/occasionally a smoothie
(on weekends I'd usually make waffles, pancakes, crepes, apple fritters or something else very bread-y)
Morning Snack - granola bar
Lunch - a healthy salad almost every day/sandwich in a pinch if I'm out of salad ingredients
Afternoon Snack - something sugary and unhealthy
Dinner - I never realized how easily I was adding bread/tortilla chips/complex carbs to our evening meal
New Daily Meal Routine:
Breakfast - a smoothie with whey protein powder every day as my meal, either eggs or oatmeal as an alternative (no more cereal)
Morning Snack - fruit or almonds
Lunch - salad
Afternoon Snack - popcorn/yogurt/fruit/rice cake with almond butter and jelly
Dinner - chicken or fish with veggies and rice/soup with no bread to accompany it
As far as the rest of the recommendations for my blood type, I'm trying to use less cow's milk and replacing it with Almond Milk or Coconut Milk. I was never a huge milk person anyway, but the limited eggs is killing me. I've added in more fish to our meal plan and replaced peanut butter with almond butter. I'm also considering trying to be dairy free for a while, which would mean giving up cheese and butter, even greek yogurt.
This is certainly a process, to say the least, but I'm hoping for some positive results. I'll keep you posted!
This is certainly a process, to say the least, but I'm hoping for some positive results. I'll keep you posted!
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6 comments:
I think I told you we virtually cut out starchy carbs over a month ago. We were expecting big changes in weight/body shape, and have been supremely disappointed to find that neither have happened. We took a break from this during our past week in London, but are back on it with a vengeance now. If nothing else, we know we're getting more vegetables than ever before, and can honestly say we physically FEEL much lighter, even if the scales say differently about our overall weight.
Good luck to you guys. I hope it works well for you!
xoxoxoxooxox
This is probably one of my favorite posts you have done so far! You had me with that story on the girl who went back to gluten after being gluten free.
Try not to have protein powder with whey in it. I know it is difficult to find a protein powder that is both dairy AND gluten free that is affordable. Whey is cows milk. Whey makes digestion difficult. Arbonne sells protein powder that is does not contain gluten or whey! If you have an Arbonne consultant give them a call! If not, then contact me.
I was in the same boat you were in October. I'm 37 years old and was tired of being frumpy and tired all. the. time. When I made the switch to the Arbonne Essentials line within days I had energy! Since October I have lost 30 pounds! My doctor has told me I do not need to lose anymore. During this process, I found out I am allergic to tree nuts (no coconut milk or almond milk for me), sesame seeds and wheat!
I know you are a Tastefully Simple representative, what TS items are gluten free?
Keep on, keeping on. We'll figure this out come hell or high water. xoxoxo
Hmmmm, now you have my attention too!! Do you happen to remember the girls blog where you saw the before and afters and info? I'm intrigued now and may just try this out ;)
Hey Katie,
I had a similar experience. I swapped to a very low carb diet while doing p90x (i still had an english muffin for breakfast, but other than that not much gluten). When my turn to bring a meal to community group rolled around I made an old standby dish of pasta and french bread. I ate it and blew up like a balloon. I actually measured myself because I was so horrified and my waist was 9 inches larger! I felt terrible and was in serious pain. I have never "felt" like I had any sort of intolerance until I removed most gluten from my diet and then went back to it.
Good luck1 Gluten is one of the hardest to rid...we had to get rid of gluten, eggs, dairy, and peanuts last year due to Kimber's allergies... thankfully we have been able to bring all but dairy back. The nice thing is there are so many options out there. Just a note, they do have gluten-free Cheerios (as well as several others) now if you want to bring your cereal back :) Will be praying for you! :)
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