Farewell Old Friend

So our heroine continues her quest of saying goodbye to the many things in life that cause her angst. 

Nah just kidding - well mostly...I AM saying goodbye to many things. I have realized that while I love a great many foods, they really do NOT love me back. The one that I am going to talk about today is something that I have said goodbye to already. I had a reader request for this one (shout out to Christine!) We are talking today about gluten.

Let me start by saying a great many people can tolerate gluten. I am not one of them. Let me follow that by saying - that is really not my favorite thing to say because while I can live without it..I miss it. I was the queen of breads -- family rule in my house (no joke!) was that if we were out to eat the last piece of bread in the basket was to be saved for mom! Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread...or bread right out of the oven with some butter slathered over it...seriously one of life's little pleasures. However, it doesn't like me as much as I like it -- to the point where I felt daily like I was having a heart attack when I ate. No good!

So, like any good girl getting rid of things that are bad for her -- I stopped eating gluten. And then, I made my first rookie mistake, I replaced it with like items that were worse for me and higher in calories than what I was eating prior. I initially lost weight with the loss of gluten (wheat products) and then I gained it right back. Why? Because without the gluten most foods have to replace that flavor to get it comparable somehow - and they do that by adding sugars and salt and a mass of other chemicals and additives that are equally harmful for you.

Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless - Thomas Edison

So what did I learn from that? I learned that I can live without bread...sometimes its nice, and I will not say that I won't ever turn to a gluten free option, there are some very good gluten free pasta options and bread out there. I just don't feel that I need to replace it the way I did when I started. Let me explain - prior to going gluten free my meal planning would look something like this ...

Breakfast - Bowl of cereal and toast or bagel with a glass of juice
Lunch - sandwich and chips with fruit
Dinner - meat, potatoes, veggie (maybe) and rolls or bread
Snack - crackers and cheese or crackers and hummus (I had a love affair with cracked black pepper and olive oil Triscuits and Wheat Thins)
Dessert - cookies, cakes, donuts...the list goes on.......

So replacing all of those options with a higher calorie option (that doesn't always even taste as good) is not really the way you want to go is it? My meals these days look more like this

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs with green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms and salsa with bacon
Lunch - grilled chicken salad with strawberries and almonds with a strawberry balsamic
Dinner -  a lean protein (chicken, beef, fish) with a starch (potato or rice) and a veg of some kind
Dessert - baked apple, Paleo ice cream or the occasional Paleo baked good

I don't really miss the breaded options - I do use some gluten free flour to dredge the meat on occasion - and as you can see there is the occasional treat in there that has a gluten free flour - but its in moderation - not as a replacement for all the breaded objects that I used to eat.

Now, that being said I do not believe that everyone should have to go gluten free. If you are not sure if you are one of those people - check out signs and symptoms of nonceliac gluten sensitivity.
HERE.

It is also important to say that I did make rookie mistake number 2. After trying my diet without gluten, I found that my chest pain disappeared within 3 days (yay!!!) however, because I did not do it through my doctor - they were unable to test to see if I had Celiacs or just a gluten sensitivity. I find that aside from some people not believing that its a problem for me, I don't care because guess what? The treatment is the same regardless of which way it comes about - you stop eating gluten.

I will also note here that some people don't stop eating gluten because it's a health problem for them - they stop because they want to (Paleo, Primal) and that's ok too. When you are saying goodbye to the things in your life that are not there for your betterment, you don't have to explain yourself. I, in fact would encourage you not to. Why? Because, well meaning family and friends will not always understand and try to talk you out of it. It makes it a little harder on that journey. The reality of the situation is this -- it does not matter! If it's something that makes you feel better physically, emotionally, spiritually. If it makes you a happier or healthier person, and lets face it foods do effect our emotions -- Just say it -- Goodbye to you XYZ food!

So, for me - I said farewell to my dear old friend Gluten (and Wheat) --- what do you need to say goodbye to?