If any of you are like me, you are one of those people who say you are going to commit to your lifestyle change (by the way, I don't believe in diets...they are only a temporary fix for until you can fit in those size X jeans, only to go back to the sugar/fat binge and gain back twice the weight), and then after only a month, you are back to where you started...the story of my life, until tomorrow, November 1st, 2011, All Saints Day.
My co-worker one day asked me if I wanted to do a sort of "Biggest Loser" for the office. I was totally game because the incentive is a better me AND money! We got more people in the office to do it, and looks like the prize will be $100 in 6 months (3 categories to win in: Weight (lbs), Weight (%), and Inches Lost). $30/person and we got about 10 people in it. I am so excited! I'm already on that journey, but to keep me more motivated and focus, I got more people to support me and do this along with me! We even set up weekly Group Walks every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. This is great because I already know what my body can and cannot have as far as food. This quest for the Biggest Loser prize starts 11/1/11 for 6 months. Now if only I can convince myself to give all that "bad food" up so that my body does not feel like $h!+....which brings me to my next topic: Gluten Intolerance/Celiac Disease
What is Gluten Intolerance/Celiac Disease
Well, I could give you a Wikipedia definition, but instead I will give you a definition based on what I understand from it because there is too much medical jargon in the definitions to go through and I am in no position to summarize it! (LOL).
So, gluten is a protein found in processed foods made from wheat and most grains. Gluten helps bread rise, make the dough elastic and gives bread its chewy texture, just to sum it up. People who are gluten-intolerant have difficulty digesting this protein and have symptoms such as bloating, gas, indigestion, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, vitamin and mineral deficiency, and infertility, to name a few...kind of like an allergy (I'm not surprised..I am or was allergic to shellfish, certain types of weed, mesquite/kiawe wood, smoke, dust, dust mites, and certain types of pet dander...I'm glad I'm not allergic to my pet kitten Oreo). I mention only these symptoms because those are my symptoms.
After going on this new lifestyle change (I'll mention it later what that specific lifestyle change is), I've really discovered what my body can and cannot handle. I have to cut out all wheat-based food, including pasta!!!! And of all foods I love, pasta and pizza are my most favorite of foods. I had really severe symptoms (see above list). To top it all off, those who are gluten intolerant are also lactose-intolerant. So once I cut all the gluten and lactose-containing foods out of my life, I was fine! TMI, but I was never gassy, no headache, etc (I was always really gassy before until this change). What an eye-opener!
But alas, life, friends and family come in the picture, asking you, "Why aren't you eating?!," as if you've committed the ultimate sin. I have to admit, this past weekend was the worst. There were two Halloween parties and a birthday party this past weekend. The first party had pasta as their main course, with the garlic bread, and all kinds of baked goods. The second party was a Pirate-themed party (loved it, BTW), involving lots of food and alcohol (yes, alcohol has gluten too...sigh). Yesterday's party wasn't so bad, but because I had given in to temptation, I chose to eat the bad foods....I've never felt so sick in my life! I loved the food, but man oh man, talk about non-stop headaches that won't go away, bloating, constipation, etc. all of the above for 3 days! I don't know why I do that to myself. On top of it all, I gained weight :(
Enough with all this crap, right? I gotta stop before I get more sick!
The holidays are hear, and my goal to achieve optimal health is going to be hard to accomplish for the next few months. But I am willing to decline all those foods so that I don't feel like how I'm feeling now. I'll just save those foods for everybody else.
Okay, so what is Celiac Disease? Again, I'm not a medical guru, so I will just put it like this: you can have severe symptoms like I listed above, where you can also have a coma or die (yes I'm being blunt) if you ingest or come near gluten. On the not-so severe end of the spectrum, you can become malnourished when ingesting gluten because your small intestines cannot absorb gluten, and will keep you from absorbing other nutrients.
I don't have Celiac Disease, but I am told that anyone with gluten intolerance should be tested for this disease...it's on my To Do List.
Moving Forward
I may not be perfect, and may even get off the Health Wagon a few times along the way, but I pledge to myself that I will try my best to stay committed to my new life. I will learn to embrace my short-comings because it lets me know that I am only human, and I will learn from my mistakes. Don't let anyone put you down for your short-comings.
I will continue to practice a healthy lifestyle so I can enjoy my life...note that I said PRACTICE! Happy Halloween Everyone! No recipe today. But I'm thinking up a few things to make for this holiday season. I wanna try and make gluten-free pumpkin pies, pecan pies, etc. Should be interesting.
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