The Adventure of a First Year Teacher : February 2014

Two Months Full Gluten Free & Why I'm Never Going Back

2/06/2014

I think the world has stopped, or I'm dreaming... I have been fully gluten free for two months! Now, to some this may be a psh whatever that's easy but for me, the queen of pasta and breads, it is like winning a national championship.

To start, my mom (who's a certified nutritional therapist and GAPS practitioner) has been telling me for a long time that I should really consider taking gluten out of my diet. Back in high school I had the worst skin, but not cystic acne just acne consistently and I never thought it was because of what I was eating. Then I went to college my freshman year and was eating like CRAP, I mean McDonald runs with my roommates at 11 pm to get a dollar menu McChicken - oh my Lord I can't believe I did that and I'm sharing this - it also didn't help that our dining center was not exactly high quality food either. I remember calling my mom in tears because my skin was getting worse and she'd always ask, "well, what have you been eating?"

I would also get the worst stomach aches after eating a gluten heavy meal. You can even ask Jonny how many times we'd be driving home from the restaurant and I'd be doubled in pain in the passenger seat. Yes, it was not pretty. But I was always in denial that it was the gluten because I LOVE my pasta!

So fast forward to three years later. In early December I had went out for a work Christmas party and we ate at a local, hometown pizza joint. I was telling myself to go gluten free since they had a GF pizza crust but caved after reading the menu. A pasta dish later and some wine from the local art galleries, I woke up the next morning feeling like a 90 year old arthritic woman. Not even kidding, my joints were so stiff and my hands couldn't grasp a thing to save my life. That was when I finally faced the truth. I needed to stop eating the gluten because I was on the fast track to celiac disease. I started that day taking gluten out of my diet.

Two weeks later our family was Christmas tree hunting for the third time we went for our traditional Starbucks drink and treat stop: Eggnog Chai Tea and a Cranberry Bliss Bar. My mom who had already been GF for some time, and I decided "screw it we're getting a Cranberry Bliss Bar because you know what it's Christmas and we only get this once a year" (I'm pretty sure those were our exact words). Now this is when you should stop and scream NO FAITH DON'T DO IT! But, this is also the turning point where I ate the gluten, woke up the next morning stiff like a 90 year old and realized, no I am for sure allergic to gluten and will not be eating this.

So. It's been two months with out gluten and I'm loving it! My acne is pretty much gone except for the occasional stressed because I'm a college senior pimple. And if any men are reading, I'd advise skipping down to the next paragraph... I used to get the worst stomach problems during that time of the month, but ever since I've not been eating gluten, I've had little to none cramping/issues. IT IS WONDERFUL! And best of all, I'm not even craving gluten, it doesn't even sound good to me anymore.

I wanted to share this with you all to encourage anyone who has thought about going GF. If I, the queen of pasta can do it, you can do it. Yes you have to plan ahead so you don't get stuck starving on campus and buy a beagle but it's honestly been the most worth while health investment I've ever made. I know I was probably boarder line celiac and now, my belly is healing and I've never felt better. Also, so many restaurants are now offering GF menus and options that it's not impossible to eat out once in a while. When Jonny was here we limited our eating out but I never had a problem when we did go out (we just couldn't go quick through the drive through somewhere, which was kind of a pain ;)

So, go gluten free. You can do it! If you'd like tips or recipes send me an e-mail or put them in the comments bellow. I'd love to help you out and get your health and mine back to tip top shape!