If you follow me on facebook (bless you...I'm kind of a serial poster...I post every little thought that pops into my head), you probably already know that recently, my husband and I decided to go wheat free. I have been absolutely STUNNED at how interested people have been in this choice of ours! Some people are very defensive about their love for wheat, others think we've gone completely batty, and most are curious and very interested in why we made this choice and exactly how we're doing it. So, naturally, I figured I would blog about it to answer any questions and offer my tips for anyone interested in trying this out.
First of all, I should explain exactly what caused us to make this change in our lives. Recently, my grandfather passed away. At his visitation, my mom's cousin Dianne walked in, stood beside me, gave me that, "Oh, I'm so excited to see you!!!!" look..and I just stared at her, like..um, who are you? I did not even recognize her! Not only had her body completely transformed (weight loss), she was literally GLOWING! I had never seen her so full of life. I bet you can guess where this is going...her transformation was because she gave up wheat.
I was sold! I had heard others tell me about the positive effects of eliminating wheat, but this was the first time I had seen such a huge physical change.
So, when we got home and decompressed from all of the grieving, we decided to make the change. Actually, I decided to make the change, and my husband, being the trooper that he is, promised to do it with me because he wanted me to succeed and knew how difficult it would be if I were wheat free and he were stuffing his face with pizza and biscuits every day. (Let's face it...I would fail miserably.)
So, we are wrapping up week 2 of no wheat and I have to say, I have NEVER felt better. I have not lost any weight yet...but that's probably due to the fact that I can't keep my hands out of the GIANT bag of M&M's that are in our teacher's lounge. However, I do feel a major shift in my energy level, focus, and mental clarity. Now, when I get home from work, I am able to cook and get things done, rather than just collapsing on the couch, completely exhausted. (Which means, it's probably helping my body deal with my Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease. Bonus!) I also strangely feel more calm. I am less irritable, and much more patient. Yay! I know my students and husband love that.
So, if you want to try this out...here are the tips I can offer so far.
1. Read "The Wheat Belly Diet" book. It's a bit radical...but, it does a great job of explaining what wheat does to your body, and what you can and should not eat. I haven't read the entire book...I've skimmed it, and I have it setting out in my kitchen so I can refer back to it when I have a question. (I borrowed this book from my mom...I should probably give it back one day.) http://www.wheatbelly.com/ <- This is the website, where you can look at the book and other tidbits of Wheat Belly info.
2. Realize that this is a lifestyle change and NOT a diet. Cutting out wheat for a while, losing the weight you want, then going back to eating an overload of wheat is not going to do you any good. You have to make up your mind that this is your lifestyle now (unless it doesn't work for you..then, by all means, go back to eating wheat).
3. If it ends up being easy for you to cut out wheat, I would say it's safe to sneak in a wheat snack once in a while. If you have a hard time giving up wheat, don't let yourself sneak any wheat back into your diet! For me, it was easy, so I can confidently have a wheat snack (birthday party cupcake, my favorite Chinese dish), and have no problems staying away from it after that. However, if you have a hard time, letting wheat back into your diet will probably trigger cravings and send you right back to what got you here in the first place.
4. Really research what you can and can't eat. The book has a great section that breaks down what foods you can have all the time, sometimes, and never. You need to understand, that while wheat is the main issue, there are a lot of other foods that you should avoid...like corn, sugar (I'm still working on that one), and "gluten free" snacks.
For me, this transition has been simple and so rewarding. For some, it's like trying to detox from drugs. It all depends on your mindset and how your body processes wheat and regulates insulin.
I hope this gives some insight and answers questions for those of you who are interested in going wheat free! I can't promise it will work for you, but from my experience, I would say it's definitely worth a shot!
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