Half way through January and still going strong
I had a couple of false starts before getting going with kicking the gluten. I was still away on my New Year trip with friends sharing food until the 2nd January and then visited a friend who had baked brownies especially for my visit on the 3rd January. I did trying to say no but it’s was hard when people were pushing me to accept one, and my resolved crumbed as quickly as the delicious fresh chocolate brownie that I bit into that day. Finally on the 4th January, I actually managed to get through the day without any gluten and have been just about managing to every day since.
I initially thought the Wheat Belly just meant cutting out wheat but when I read it actually turns out to be way stricter than that, limited sugar, no processed foods and only small quantities of other carbs. I’ve really had to completely change the way I shop, cook and prepare food as the easiest way to make sure everything it really is gluten free is to make it yourself. It does mean having to be a bit more organised and buying some ingredients that haven’t graced my cupboards before – coconut oil, chia seeds along with a lot more fresh fruit and vegetables and fish. However it hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. Part of the reason for that is I convinced my sister to follow it as well so we’ve shared the cooking, shopping and food preparation. The other reason is that I am enjoying the fresh, home prepared/cooked food and so it hasn’t really felt like a diet in that I am denying myself all the time, although there is a lot more ingredient checking.
I thought breakfast was going to be the hardest meal as I’d be going without my much loved toast and marmite but actually the smoothies we’ve been making with our nutribullet have been pretty tasty. Plus when you are rushing through the morning routine it’s more eat and dash rather than sitting down to enjoy and savour the taste so that’s fine with the smoothie. For lunch I usually make a packed salad although did manage to go out for pub lunch with colleagues and, while there were only a few options on the menu that I could eat, I enjoyed my superfood salad. Dinner we’ve used the spiraliser with courgette, made ratatouille, curry and tried two of the recipes in Amelia Freer’s Eat. Nourish. Glow. – simple chicken and sweet potato chips and monkfish with broccoli mash both of which were really tasty and I’ll definitely make again. Shopping I’ve been sticking to the outskirts of the supermarket, as recommended in the book, so lots of fruit and veg, but also treating myself to things like prawns, smoked salmon, avocado and various nuts.
It may help that January has been fairly quiet socially so I haven’t been tempted by loads of dinners or nights out, no hangover munchies or parties with canapés. I’ve been working on Eat. Nourish. Glow. which has lots of helpful advice and recipes too. Plus work has been very busy so I haven’t had much time to think about food. Anyway two weeks in and it’s not been as difficult as I thought it would be. I’m feeling really healthy, have lots of energy and I think it’s even helped my mental as well as my physical health. Even better after Christmas weight gain I have lost over 3kg in weight and am even contemplating keeping on for more than just the month of January, which when I started I never thought I’d say, but I guess I'll see how I am doing in 2 more weeks.
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