Hi, My name is Hannah and I've been gluten free for 5 days.
It seems to me that "gluten free" has been a fad in our society for the past year or so. Before the wave of anti-grains, I knew one or two people who were either compelled for health reasons, or chose to give up gluten, and it's family of delicious treats. Now, every other person I meet is gluten free. There are a plethora of recipes on Pinterest for gluten free substitutions, and the grocery store has all the alternatives stocked and ready to go.
I decided to go gluten free as an experiment. I have struggled with anxiety for some time now, and giving up gluten was the final step (before pharmaceuticals) to try and combat it. Believe me, I've tried everything from melatonin before bed, to running daily. Recently, I noticed my moodiness and anxious behavior was effecting my relationship with K-man. I was snapping at him for little to no reason, and was having a hard time getting motivated for any of our fun activities.
Finally, I woke up one morning, and decided I would try going gluten free. I had heard stories of this helping other people with similar issues so I thought "What's the hurt in trying for a month?"
Nothing. There is no hurt at all. Within a day, I discovered the benefits. I woke up in a better state of mind, and had an easier time falling asleep. My day isn't over at 5 when I get off work. I feel motivated to continue my day, and get more accomplished. I am much more pleasant around everyone, including K-man. He turned to me the other day and said "I like you like this, you have no idea how it makes me feel when I come over after work and you are in a great mood."
I know I'm not allergic to gluten. I don't get stomach ache eating it, nor do I have any other muscle aches or pains. I can eat it and I digest it fine. BUT, for some reason it affects my mood, and state of mind. As much as it pains me to say this, going GF worked for me.
Believe me, my mom has been trying to get me to go GF for some time now, and I've avoided it at all costs. Now, however I don't believe I will be going back to my good friend. I may treat myself every once in a while, but I will be 99% GF from now on.
(Side story, the other day, I really wanted pancakes so I made some, and I regretted it the rest of the day. I was moody, and negative, and worriesome all over again.)
Along with going GF, I've been juicing. K-man and I have been trying to lose weight, and get more active, so I welcomed the gifted juicer into my home with open arms. Every morning for breakfast I make some juice, and start my day off with a punch of vitamins and minerals.
So there is my success story. At this point, I've had my mom help me with finding alternatives, and K-man encouraging me to just say no, when bread calls my name. Last night for dinner, and today for lunch I made SUPER yummy cauliflower crust pizza. I normally shudder at the thought of cauliflower, but anything smothered in cheese, and covered in garlic ranch sauce sounds good to me. The night before that, I joined my family for dinner, where we had fried chicken and gravy, with chocolate cake, all without sugar, gluten, or dairy... (My mom is a miracle worker). It was delicious and I didn't feel like I had indulged or broken my diet. It was awesome. I can still eat most of the wonderful things I love, with little modification.
So the moral of the story is your mom is right. Mine had been telling me I could feel this great for some time now, and I couldn't (or wouldn't) hear her over the call of doughnuts.
So there ya have it.
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