Going Gluten Free

Hi, this is Liz one of Dustin’s contributors.

Up until about 2 months ago I have never really worried about food allergies, now I’m obsessed!  About 7 months ago I started having a lot of GI tract issues.  Mostly early in the morning when I was out for a run.  It got so bad that I planned all my runs around local bathrooms.  It eventually got so bad I knew I wasn’t going to be able to train for my upcoming marathon if I didn’t do something.  I was also finding that no matter how well I slept at night I was SO tired in the afternoons.  So as embarrassing as it was (and yes this is embarrassing to blog about)  I went and visited my doctor.  He ran some tests, they all came back normal.  So he suggested that I had Irritable Bowl Syndrome.  I was not willing to accept that diagnosis because I knew something must be causing everything that was going on with me physically.  So I met with the nutritionist that Dustin works closely with Tracie.  After a long once again embarrassing conversation she suggested I try going gluten free, even though my tests came back normal.  So for the next 2 weeks I would do something I never thought I could do give up bread and everything else with flour in it!  I was not excited about this diagnosis but was willing to do ANYTHING to fix my problem.  So I gave it a shot, the first 2 days were very hard.  By days 3 and 4 I had more energy than I had ever had before in my life!  About 9 days in I was no longer having any sort of GI issues.  So while I was really excited to have figured out the problem I was also a little sad about it.  I have been a vegetarian most of my life so pasta and bread were a big part of my diet. So I slowly introduced meat into my diet to help replace the gluten items.  I can honestly say I have never in my life felt so good!  I feel strong and I feel like I have the energy to get me through a busy day working out at MamaTone, chasing my boys around and working evenings!  When I told Dustin about it his immediate response was “Don’t you feel great?!”.

Here is a day out of my food diary:

Breakfast- crustless veggie quiche and a banana.

Snack- almonds and string cheese.

Lunch- Salad with blue cheese, apples, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar with a glass of milk.

Snack- Greek yogurt with berries.

Dinner- chili with sour cream and cheese and a piece of gluten free corn bread.

Dessert- piece of dark chocolate.  I think the most important thing for me has been planning.

I pack a cooler in my car almost everyday so I know I will have access to the foods I can eat.  I know you are saying to yourself who has time for that?!  But I challenge you to try it for 2 weeks!  See how your body responds!  It may not be for everyone but it’s worth a try right?!  If I can do it, you can do it!!!!  I have lost 16 pounds in 13 weeks just by following this eating plan.  Are you up for the challenge?