Rantings from a Gluten Free Week 1

It has been awhile since I posted on my official blog site. I have been posting more on Facebook and Twitter. It feels good to be back!

I have completed my first full week without any gluten in my diet. My thoughts? It has been extremely easy and extremely challenging. The majority of the day it has been easy to avoid gluten containing foods, however the evening hours have not been as kind. I never realized how much I snacked on foods with white flour and the like. The majority of snack foods contain some form of gluten. This has made snacking more challenging. I have found comfort in fresh fruits, vegetables for a lot of my snacks. Not a bad thing.

The Pros so far: To be 100% honest, I cannot think of many direct benefits of being gluten free for a week. I don't feel particularly any different. I have less bloating after I eat, but I'm not sure if I can link it to being gluten free or more to a new cleansing supplement I have been taking. I'm sure the benefits will appear in the long run. I have been eating more fruits, more vegetables, more lean meats, less refined, processed foods. These have been a tremendous pro, but again I don't necessarily "feel" any different. I would imagine my cholesterol, blood sugar have benefited from such a large consumption of fruits and veggies.

The Cons: I am not eating as many carbs, especially any derived from wheat, barely, etc. This has caused my blood sugar to drop at times causing me to be irritable, edgy. I don't care for this feeling because in my line of work I need to always be "on" when I interact with my patients.
Gluten is hidden in many products under obscure references. One must do their homework on what foods are gluten safe and which ones are not. I was surprised on some of the foods that contained gluten.

Eating gluten-free can be a huge change for people. It hasn't been a terribly hard shift for me to this point. I did play in a golf tournament over the weekend that consisted of much beer drinking. I abstained from the beer which was a challenge. I think the greatest challenge has been trying to get people (my family especially) to understand why I would take on such a challenge. I am not doing this for a particular health reason. I am not doing this to lose any weight. I am doing this merely as a challenge to myself. "Can I do this?" That is the only reason.

I will report back my musings every week for anyone who might be curious as to what is involved with a gluten-free diet. There is a lot more to learn than I had initially thought.

Just remember, health is not by chance rather it is by choice. Every cause has an effect in our world. Unfortunately, many of the effects of our actions are not felt or experienced until later in life. Drawing a connection between our habitual actions in our 20's and our health in our 40's is not something we do. Don't forget that the effects aren't instantaneous. Make better choices today so you can reap the benefits in 10 years or more.

Until next week, Be Fit. Eat Right. Think Well.