Halfway through with week one!

Today is day number four! Halfway through week one and leading into weekend one, which I expect to be harder than the weekdays. I am having the girls over for a girls-night-in Saturday night, we are making our own pizzas and I already plan to make a few different gluten-free crusts. So hopefully, if I plan accordingly, the weekend will be easy to get through. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

Yesterday went smoothly - I stuck to my meal plan as posted, with the addition of one glass of wine, and the salad with dinner. I even brought out the croutons for Mr. X's salad and left them off mine! And, as a bonus, I discovered the Ken's Steakhouse Lite Caesar dressing that we love is gluten-free!! Not as good as making your own dressing, but it was still an exciting discovery. 

Health-wise I can't say I have noticed much improvement. This morning I still felt a bit of eczema on my neck and I haven't felt any more energetic than usual. In fact, the past two mornings I have gotten a refill on my coffee. Then again, I am definitely suffering with a little bit of cedar fever and the coffee beans I recently tried are less than stellar - so those could be contributing factors.  I lost a tiny amount on the scale, but nothing significant. So far the jury is still out. I haven't seen any overall positive results, but it has only been four days. 

There has been a lot of interest in this experiment from my friends, family and Facebook. I think, overall, the gluten-free idea has been gaining a lot of traction, but many, like myself, are hesitant to jump on the band wagon. 

My friend Steven recently sent me a link to this article (one of many I have read since starting this journey) as to whether a gluten-free diet is right for you. The author, Dr. Aviva Romm, is coming from a similar position as I am: "cautious - to the point of skeptical - about buying into health trends." Dr. Romm is a Yale-trained physician specializing in integrative medicine for women and children, and through research realized some of her patients could, potentially, benefit from a gluten-free diet. And in fact, after a short-time gluten-free:

Patients were reporting very noticeable and even complete resolution of symptoms such as “brain fog,” hypothyroidism, and rheumatoid arthritis – just a few short weeks after removing gluten from their diets.

So, the big question: When should you go gluten free?

First off, obviously, if you tolerate gluten, a gluten-free diet will likely not do much. Although, it may still help you lose weight - you are cutting out items that are often high in calories and low in nutritional benefits, naturally that could lead to some weight loss. Dr. Davis in Wheat Belly would certainly argue that all people would benefit, and lose weight, from a gluten-free diet. It has also been noted in the research that many people have some level of gluten sensitivity and don't realize it. So if the latter is the case, what type of symptoms could lead you to be suspicious you may be one of those people with a gluten sensitivity and not realize it?

 Dr. Romm lists a few reasons you may want to try a gluten-free diet. Directly from her article, she lists the following symptoms:

• Chronic nutritional deficiencies, especially iron deficiency anemia, B vitamins, and Vitamin D deficiency
• Digestive problems including diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, cramping, or reflux
• Arthritis, or joint pain and swelling without a diagnosis of arthritis
• “Brain fog” (memory and concentration problems)
• Depression, anxiety, irritability, behavioral problems in kids
• Weight gain or difficulty achieving weight loss
• Swelling, for example, rings get tight or there are lines on the ankles after removing your sock off
• Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
• Autoimmune conditions include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s), rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or vitiligo
• Skin rashes, canker sores, eczema
• Seasonal allergies, chronic sinus problems
• Infertility or certain other gynecologic problems

This list was especially helpful to me - in some ways I had started compiling my own list in my head before I decided to do this project. Many of my own symptoms appeared on Dr. Romm's list: Digestive problems, arthritis diagnosis (granted, still unsure if that was the right diagnosis - but there was certainly joint swelling and pain, although I have been symptom free for a couple of years now), weight gain, difficulty achieving weight loss, swelling (not often, but certainly have struggled after long hikes or other activity getting my rings off), autoimmune conditions (again, an iffy diagnosis - but something was happening, and again, symptom free for a couple of years), eczema, seasonal allergies. 

Sure enough! I can check a lot of the boxes on Dr. Romm's list. Of course, this does not mean that going gluten-free will fix any or all of these problems. It could be that gluten is not my problem and that I am completely tolerant of gluten. But if there is any chance that diet could fix these problems....why not at least give it a shot?! It doesn't cost me anything to go gluten-free for thirty days, and it may buy me my health. 

Day #4

Thursday

January 16, 2014

Breakfast

Two scrambled eggs with turkey sausage, refried black beans and a half-ounce of jalapeño muenster cheese
Black coffee

Snack

Nuts and dried cranberries

Workout

Lunchtime Yoga at the Blanton!

Lunch

Leftover garlic baked chicken with green beans

Workout

CrossFit

Dinner

I am going out with an old friend tonight, but the place we are going has plenty of gluten-free options listed on their menu, so it should be easy...