gluten...

Read this: What you don't know about gluten can kill you... As I suspected and have learned about my own health....

small victory in the midst of ill

yesterday i went to the urgent care facility near my dr's office because my throat was hurting and my lymphnode under my right ear was swollen. my body was [and still is] definitely fighting off sickness. i felt awful and when the nurse called me in, she made me immediately step on the scale. oh great. step on the scale and see how fat you are. well, to my absolutely pleasant surprise, i have lost 8 pounds! yippee! 3 weeks of gluten free and 8 pounds lost. i haven't completely cut out sugar yet, but i am working on it.

actually last night, i was perusing some youtube videos and i watched this one.
his philosophy about food that comes from the ground is right on. this video made me think even further about food choices for myself and my family.

how i have come to be where i am

i was up late one night and saw that infomercial. you know the one -- "lose up to 30 pounds in 6 weeks. watch the fat just melt away!" i started investigating body types. i discovered that i am body type B -- a metabolism ruled by the thyroid. that means no sugar, no flour, no caffeine. i laughed.

this is funny because back in 1997, 4 months before i got married, i joined a weight loss group with some friends that was biblically based and its focus was to eat as God intended while decreasing the amount of intake but increasing the frequency of intake by doing this very thing -- eliminating sugar and flour, but caffeine was not a requirement.

by doing this program i had lost 60 pounds by the time i wed my husband on july 20. i continued eating this way and kept off the weight until i got pregnant with my first child in january of 2000. i specifically remember when it happened... i craved an apple fritter and a glazed buttermilk donut [my mouth is watering right now....] i ate them both, my teeth sang and i never looked back [well, maybe once or twice].

so here i am now, looking once again at making a lifestyle change, but this time for some different reasons. my health has become affected by the foods that i eat. my stomach hurts and i feel bloated after i eat bread or anything with wheat [though i have tested negative for celiac]. my heart palpitates from drinking caffeine [chocolate is included here] and eating wheat, fried foods and sometimes sugar. and all this has come to play in the past month. basically, i feel miserable when i consume these foods. the Lord God is using my body to tell me that i need to eat more healthfully.

so, i have started by cutting wheat products out completely. i have inadvertently had wheat a few times in the last few weeks; my heart has gone crazy, my stomach has hurt intensely and i have felt light-headed and a bit dizzy. i absolutely hate the way i feel when this happens, so i am committed to eating right.

my favorite quote fits nicely here:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

i am on the road to a healthier me.

Salud!