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Taking the Gluten-Free Plunge
In the fall of 2013, I decided to go gluten-free to see if some of my health issues would improve. I will be honest. I expected lots of weight loss in the first few weeks. It didn’t happen. In fact, I gained weight prompting my doctor to take another look at some blood work. Turns out my thyroid had gotten out of wack again, something my doctor had been reluctant to acknowledge for more than a year until my gluten-free experiment. What I found odd was how good I felt in spite of that. I did not realize how tired and rundown I had felt most of my adult life until much of that was lifted - all because of wheat.
What I came to understand is that I am on a healing journey. Healing will take time, but I am noticing small improvements the longer I stay off wheat. It's now five months since I began my wheat-free journey. The scale hasn't budged beyond the first five pounds I've lost, but my pants are fitting better. The belly bloat is diminishing ever so slowly. This tells me that there is a much larger need for healing than I realized.
I've taken this one step at a time, and I am glad I did. I chose to focus on staying gluten-free throughout the holidays of 2013. I knew that sugar was an issue for me, but I know myself well enough to know that giving up sugar at the same time as wheat would be setting myself up for certain failure. My goal was to successfully get off both, but I needed to take it one step at a time.
Around the holidays, I discovered that I was facing a diagnosis of prediabetes, which might explain the resistance I am having with weight loss. Not one to take such a diagnosis lying down, I began to look at ways to conquer my sugar addiction.
Sugar Detoxing
After several months of successfully avoiding gluten and gradually phasing out other grains, I joined The 21-Day Sugar Detox that started on January 6, 2014, based on the book by the same name. It was another eye-opener. I knew I had bad habits and was using some foods as “comfort” foods or “crutch” foods, but, until I did the detox, I had no idea how bad it was. The best news was that my blood sugar came down over 8 percent in only three weeks. However, within a few short weeks of completing the detox, old habits were beginning to return.
Which brings me to the start of this blog. I love food. I love cooking food. I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a food blog for awhile. Blogging my way through another round of the detox would be a great way to cut my teeth in the blogosphere. The next big group to start the detox will be on March 3, 2014, and I will be part of that group. Please feel free to join me as I once again take the journey to find freedom from sugar.
Resources
Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD
Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo
The 21-Day Sugar Detox by Diane Sanfilippo
