30 days. No gluten.

I can't tell you how many times I have said that I believe the gluten-free fad is just that, a fad. The latest, greatest craze that everyone is falling into - and that soon, it will be something else. Eating only celery. Or that kale is bad for you, but arugula is magical (actually....something like that was recently written about here). So, just like everything in the health/nutrition craze - I refused to give into the "gluten-is-bad-for-you" mantra.

But I have been struggling with losing weight. I know some of that is my own fault. I know I overindulge on the weekends, and I probably drink more than I should. But I also eat fairly healthy otherwise, and much healthier than a lot of people. I do CrossFit. I go to spin class. I rarely go for runs....but am known to strap on my tennis shoes occasionally for a quick 3 mile loop (well, ok, a pretty slow 3 mile loop). Yet, I do not seem to be improving on the scale. Or, worse, in the way my clothes are fitting (because sometimes I think that is a better indicator than the scale). In fact, some of my jeans feel tighter!

So in frustration a few months ago I saw a nutritionist. She talked to me about gluten, and I half-heartedly gave it up for a couple weeks. If I am honest I did see a dip on the scale. But I am a very intellectual person. She stuck me on a TON of supplement-type pills, didn't talk to me about what those pills should be doing, and just kept telling me to stick with her program. Needless to say, I didn't. If I am seeing a doctor and dishing out $50 a pop on various bottles of pills, I want to know what that is doing for me. I want to know why I am taking them. I want details about the nutritional benefits. Instead I was dismissed with a simple "just keep it up" - so I dismissed her.

I tried to eat healthy on my own, but my frustration continued. So I tried Advocare. It is a big deal at my CrossFit gym (or box....for some reason I can't seem to call it a box...). It seems everyone at my gym is using the products and loving them. So I figured why not?! I did the 24-day Challenge during December. If nothing else I figured it would help me eat healthier during a month that is notorious for weight gain, snacking and treats galore. And it did do that. It kept me more on track than I normally would have been during the holidays. But I saw no results from the products. Also, honestly, I didn't care for them much. Both Spark (the Advocare energy drink) and the Meal Replacement Shake were full of sucralose. Maybe most people wouldn't notice, but as someone who rarely, if ever, eats or drinks anything with sucralose in it - I tasted it right away, and continued to have the (gross) taste of it in my mouth all day. And again, I was taking a ton of supplements, and didn't really know intellectually what any of them were doing. I also struggled with the fact that items filled with sucralose and chemicals were replacing whole, healthy meals that I would normally eat: plain black coffee and eggs with kale and roasted sweet potatoes. Needless to say, again, no success.

Then, over Christmas I received the Beyond Bacon: Paleo Recipes that Respect the Whole Hog cookbook. I had put it on my list thinking it sounded interesting for multiple reasons. First off, the idea of paleo and gluten-free was already in the back of my brain. Secondly, I have been slowly becoming more and more interested in the idea of whole, healthy and local foods. Eating as little packaged and processed items as possible, and focusing on sustainable eating. The bonus is that I love pork, and Mr. X has never been a fan. Maybe this book would offer some new options. The introduction really caught my attention. It discussed how, since switching to a paleo focused diet, their family experienced better overall health. A focus on eating meats from healthy, naturally raised animals along with vegetables, fruits, nuts and eggs lead to better overall health. They got into the science behind this a little bit....but not enough for me.

So next I started in on Wheat Belly, one of the best-selling books on the idea of eating wheat (or gluten) free. Dr. Davis discusses his amazement when switching patients to a wheat-free diet solved a whole host of health issues - from high cholesterol, to diabetes, to eczema. He speaks to how the wheat of today is different from the wheat of our grandparents, and refers to the nutritional science behind the reason the wheat of today is causing such a health crisis.

I was already leaning towards giving gluten-free the real college try, when I received the Against all Grain cookbook. Her introduction chronicles her various (very serious) health struggles, and, although the doctors refused to talk to her about dietary solutions, she experimented and found that eliminating gluten eliminated her health issues.

I thought back about my health over the last five years: unexplained autoimmune disorder; eczema that has appeared over the last couple of years; weight gain, particularly in my gut; digestive issues; lack of energy; not sleeping well...

Although all those things could be explained by other factors - it does seem, from my own research, that a lot of these are listed as symptoms that can at least be treated by eliminating gluten. So it is time. I have decided to do 30 days, no gluten. Today is day #1. So from January 13, 2014 - February 12, 2014 I will be eliminating gluten from my diet.

I have been wanting to get back into blogging, but I was getting bored just posting recipes. So I have decided to use this blog to chronicle my meals, how I am doing, whether I have cheated (I hope not!!), how I am feeling, symptoms (or lack thereof), etc., etc. I will still blog some of the recipes I am trying, as cooking gluten free will be a new experience in and of itself! A lot of the things we eat that are just meat and vegetable based are already naturally gluten free. But I want to experiment with some of the things in my new cookbook as well. And, although I am going to try to stay away from gluten free products and focus on whole, healthy foods some of them will sneak in there. This week Mr. X already requested one of his favorite pasta dishes, and agreed to try it with gluten free pasta. So I will try to add in reviews of those products when we have them. And of course there will be pictures again soon, I don't use my camera nearly as much as I would like to!

So here goes nothing! Wish me luck! I truly hope this relieves some of my overall frustration with my health and body....we shall see...

Day #1
Monday
January 13, 2014

Breakfast
Smoothie: protein powder, vanilla almond milk, mixed berries & pineapple, 1/2 banana, chia seed and flax seed oil
Plus one ounce of almonds
Black coffee

Lunch
Salad with roasted turkey, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocado and homemade lime & olive oil dressing

Snack
Hummus with carrots and cucumbers

Workout
CrossFit

 Dinner
Tilapia fish "tacos" (corn tortillas for Mr. X - lettuce wraps for me) with avocado, cabbage and sriracha sauce
Black beans (I know black beans are not considered Paleo, but I am simply focused on gluten free at this point...)
Gluten-free blonde macaroons from Hail Merry (I love these things! Even before going gluten free!)