Lifestyle Changes

Back before Fiona was conceived and Skip had come home from Iraq after binging on Cheerios and M&Ms for a year weighing near 200 pounds we made a choice to go gluten free.  He was having terrible daily headaches and could hardly button his pants or bend over to tie his boots(seriously it was bad). I did quite a bit of searching for reasons he would be having the headaches and went out on a whim and cut wheat products.  We also got a glucose monitor and noticed his fasting blood sugar levels were pretty bad as well.  The headaches were gone within a week and he dropped 20lbs in about 2 months. His blood sugar no longer had us worried about the possibility of diabetes. We were quite happy and shocked that just that one change could make such a difference.

Since then we have stayed mostly gluten free, failing miserably at times and paying the price with headaches or upset digestive tracks.  Right after giving birth this time to Phoebe I immediately noticed I was  having some serious stomach issues.  I have a terrible history of digestive problems, GERD and being hospitalized on multiple occasions for severe stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea with no known causes.  After a couple of weeks of trying to figure out why I was getting so sick I realized it was the wheat products.  I stopped eating them and within 24 hours all was well again.  Pregnancy and childbirth have the ability to cause very dramatic changes to the body, one of them being food sensitives after birth.  Seriously, I researched it. It would seem wheat is going to be a potential permanent issue for me.

So with that I am back to eating gluten free with a small cheat here and there, being sure to keep it small enough that it's not causing an issue.  As a whole it is safe to say the whole family it about 98% gluten free, Fiona loves graham crackers...

Then we got to thinking about the rest of our diet.  What do we need, what don't we need and what should we be adding and why.  So hours of documentaries on food and health,  The state of this countries farming industries and what the human body is actually designed to digest, Skip made a radical decision.  One I did not expect for him to suggest.

Vegetarianism.

Yes, he did suggest that. And we have moved forward with it. We did agree we will be strict vegetarians at home and would make exceptions and adjustments when eating out or with family and friends. I personally find that I don't have much interest in making that exception for myself or for the kids, but I know Skip probably will take advantage from time to time.

We are going to continue to be wheat free as much as possible.  We do not drink milk, for more reasons than I care to go into here.  Any dairy such as cheese and yogurt I have always been picky about, must be either organic or hormone free.  Since my eggs come from my own backyard I don't need to worry about those.  At some point we may move more toward being vegan, but not at this time.

It's been exciting looking for new recipes, new ways of getting a healthier source of protein and adjusting to a new lifestyle.  We are already feeling less sluggish and digestion for everyone has improved a great deal.  I won't lie, I miss bacon, but that will pass with time.

Now with the holidays coming up, it will be fun to see what decisions we make and how we will feel about them afterwards.

A Gluten Free Post!

It's now the middle of June and we have been doing  the gluten free thing since the beginning of April.  Skip is down 13lbs and 3 inches.   I am down about 6 or 7 and an inch or so.  We both have a ton more energy and a lot of things that were making us feel bad are gone.  Skip's daily headaches are a thing of the past and my GERD has been non existent.  Even Aiden is changing.   His is more willing to try different things and has a better appetite.

Our first month was extremely challenging as we learned how to come up with new meal plans and had to change our thoughts on breakfast and lunch.  We have had to find substitutes for our favorites.   Example, spaghetti.  We tried actual spaghetti squash and were amazed at how much BETTER it was than noodles.  No bloating afterward and the texture is awesome.   I have exchanged bread crumbs for ground flax seed.  It has a much better flavor too!

We also cut out refined sugar as much as possible. We sweeten tea and coffee with an herb called Stevia.  You can get it in little packets.  We allow absolutely no high fructose corn syrup into the house. I read every label if we do buy something that is processed.  It's astounding how many foods are poisoned with that crap.  

We are certainly not sorry for making the switch. Even Skip, who thought he was dying for the first 6 weeks, is VERY happy with the outcome so far and wouldn't go back.  He's even taken to telling other people about it.  We both finally understand that health starts with what you put in your mouth.  We know that our bodies are perfectly able to heal themselves without a bunch of intervention, providing we are giving it what it needs.  No substitutes

Week 5 Check In

Well we missed the all powerful week 4 check in, as that was supposed to be the goal of our experiment.   Instead we have opted to make grain free living a lifestyle.   We both have much more energy, less bloating and feeling sick after eating as well as a slow down in having a ravenous appetite. Aiden has become a much better eater.  We are not seeing the pickieness at the table as we used to.   We are learning new ways to cook and also eating new things. We are becoming more aware of our shopping decisions as well as what we are putting into our bodies and why.

Skip's weight and inches continue to drop, as does fasting glucose levels.  Since I am back on track since my Mother's Day devastation, I am also back to losing weight, getting smaller measurements and my fasting glucose has improved dramatically. I can officially say my levels are under 100mg fasting.  And that's the direction we need to be heading.

Healthy living is hard work when living so unhealthy is easy.  I find myself looking in other people's carts and looking at them and then wondering how this kind of change could positively change their lives.  I talk to friends and family and tell them about the changes, yet I see no one looking to change themselves.  I feel like everyone is a slave to living easy.

I will just continue posting progress in hopes to inspire someone.

Week 3 Check In

Well we are just one week away from completing our 4 week challenge!  Skip has really done well in this. We have decided based on what we have experienced so far, that we are going to continue to eat grain free.  We are both feeling better and we have more energy.

Skip has lost another 2lbs this week, 1/4 of an inch and dropped his fasting glucose 14 points! It's been very helpful for him to see the numbers written down every week because he has solid proof he is getting somewhere.   He is not complaining much about not being able to eat brad or drink soda anymore.  We had the ultimate test when we went out to eat for the first time yesterday. He ordered a tea, soup and salad and left the crutons on the plate...willingly.

As for me, due to some personal matters, I will no longer be tracking how much weight I lost. I will however continue to track my fasting glucose. It was up 17 points this week.  YIKES.   The only thing I can think of is I ate a bit of white chocolate before bed last nite and was up early this morning testing so it may not have been a full 8 hours.  I will try again tomorrow.


Aiden is thriving.  We have seen an increased appetite as well as willingness to eat things he didn't like before. That alone makes me happy!

Week 2 Check In

Well, we now have 2 weeks under our belts with only a couple set backs.  We had the ball on Thursday.  At the time we RSVP'd we were not yet going grain free and so I ordered pasta...yikes.   Skip had chicken, but he dared to have a dinner role. We also had cheesecake.  Neither of us drank and we had water with dinner.  Skip did wake up with a headache on Friday...interesting that he would eat grain and get a headache less than 24 hours later.  He hasn't had one since we started.

Our other weakness this week was ice cream.  We haven't completely cut out ice cream because frankly we don't want to torture ourselves.  But instead of only eating it once or twice, I think we had it 4-5 times.   Soooo that was bad. We talked about that this morning.

Well onto the results.  I did have a gain of 2lbs, but a loss of 1/2 inch on my waste and my fasting glucose level was down to 110mg from 133mg last week.

Skip had a loss of about 1/2lb, lost 1inch from his waist. His fasting glucose level was 128mg down from 133mg last week.

We still go to bed late, but find that we are sleeping better now.  Not near as much tossing and turning.  We haven't been waking up feeling cloudy and have the ability to get out day going without really wanting to get back into bed.

So while we still cheated with ice cream and once nite of indulgence on the town, we still had results from practicing being grain free the rest of time.

A Side Effect for Skip

Skip suffers from headaches.  Almost daily.  Always a dull ache in his head and he frequently can be seen sitting at the table holding his head in his hands.  Neither of us take things for headaches unless it's just unbearable, but that doesn't happen very often.  His vision has been checked, his teeth are fine. So we have been kind of at a loss about the headache thing.

BUT, this morning I had a sudden Ah-Ha moment.  I was reading a status on FB from a friend who is very into all natural healing.  Someone made a comment about their headaches going away after a serious diet change.  Skip hasn't had a headache since we quit eating grains.  It just dawned on me that he hasn't been complaining or holding his head.  I told him my observation and he said," Well can I have some pizza and see if it comes back?".

NO.  LOL.  So that is really the first BIG thing I think I have seen with this.  I will most definitely be monitoring it.

One Week Check In

It's officially been one week without grain.  For me, it hasn't been all that difficult.  For Skip, well I cannot say the same.  Aiden has certainly noticed a difference and between him and Skip there has been plenty of food related whining.  But in another week I think that will get better.

As for the results of week one, Skip lost 3.8lbs and I lost 4.  I am down a 1/2 inch in my waist and Skip is down   1/4 of an inch.  We added fasting blood sugar levels this morning and we were both in the mid 130's.   Still not good on that front.

Skip suggested also cutting  the starches this week.  So no potatoes or rice.  I will have to remind him that it was his idea.  We will see what this next week brings!

Aiden, we are going to starve to death

We are 4 days into our 4 week grain free experiment and Skip has already told Aiden they are starving to death.  LOL.  All because he can't have bread, crackers or any other grain.  You would think that was all we ate or something!

We have been actually eating nicely. Good breakfasts, usually eggs and some meat.  Lunches have been salads with all the fixings and dinner has absolutely been no different.  But Skip thinks he is starving.  Aiden is always asking for more to eat even tho his belly is all bloated and full of food.  They are really feeling lost without a loaf of bread.

I actually don't mind finding alternatives to snack on and I haven't dwelled on the bread I cannot have.  We are both already losing weight, but I will wait to tell you how much on Sunday when the first "official" weekly check in happens!

So, what are we eating?

You are probably wondering what we are eating now that we can't have grains.  I mean that's all food right?  What could there possibly be to eat if we cannot have bread!! That's how Skip feels anyways.

It's really simple. We are still eating veggies, meats, eggs, dairies (that haven't been sugared up for no reason), fruits, nuts, cheese, spices and small amounts of rices and starchy foods like potatoes.  So we can't have a bagel every morning for breakfast or an english muffin.  But we can still have yogurt, eggs, fruits and some nuts.  You could argue that it would get boring and leave us no options, but how entertaining is the same bagel every morning, they come in bags of 6 ya know.

The hardest part about cutting out the grains is reprogramming the way we think about meal time.  Especially breakfast and lunch.  There is no more whipping pancakes together or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We have to think about what we are going to eat and its probably going to take a small about of prep to get it done.

I'm not baking right now, something I LOVE to do.  It all contains grains. At the end of the 4 weeks we are going to talk about adding small treats back into the diet on a TREAT Basis.   But that is still up in the air as to what and how much.  We still have 3 1/2 weeks to go.

Something small I noticed today...

We are still learning to get past the "need" for bread at meal time. Poor Skip seems to be scanning the kitchen constantly looking for something to eat.  Its almost like we don't know what to eat without bread.  And that's odd because we don't eat bread at every meal! Taking away grains is having a pretty serious mental effect for one.

But the biggest thing I have noticed is Skip's fluid intake has increased tremendously. It's very interesting to watch him.  He is just going thru the motion because I said so and explained why. I don't think the experiment has hit home just yet.

Fun Wheat Experiment with the Glucose Monitor

Tomorrow marks day 1 of grain free living as part of a 4 week experiment in our house.  We purchased a basic blood glucose monitor from Walmart to prove how high our blood sugar levels are after eating anything that contains grain.  Normal healthy ranges should be between 64 mg/dl and 104 mg/dl.   So basically when you measure your levels you get a digital readout of your glucose levels.   It is recommended to not allow your glucose levels rise by more than 10 points one hour after a meal.   After that, it just sits and goes straight to your middle.  The fat in your middle is what makes you insulin resistant and makes you a candidate for diabetes.

So on the breakfast menu this morning was whole wheat waffles!  My starting glucose level was 100 mg.  Already pushing that normal level.  Skip and I were up late eating chips and did with no exercise.  Skip on the other hand was already a whopping 145mg!! He was in shock that he woke up with it so high to start.  He had a lot more chips than I and he was drinking beer.

We were supposed to check one hour after eating, but got side tracked and ended up testing at 90 mins.   I tested at 145mg and somehow Skip tested at 90.   I contribute his black coffee and multiple trips to the bathroom for getting his sugar lowered so darn quickly.  But I still don't know how that happened.   He had a glucose level of 160 yesterday after eating Chipotle.  That was a real eye opener.

Tomorrow we are both getting on the scale and measuring our middles.   Once the grain has been eliminated, your middle is supposed to start shrinking.   We also may go thru "wheat withdraws" that can cause sleepiness, moodiness, headaches and over all mental "fog".  

So that's were we are in our experimenting. Skip is enjoying his last 2 liter of coke and we have finished all the bread.   If you haven't already done so I encourage you to take a look at The Heart Scan Blog and follow along.

About to do some serious experimenting

In January I made the commitment to eliminate meat from my diet in an effort to find out why my insides were always feeling bad.  I did notice a large change and it really was good, but something still hasn't been feeling "right".    So I have been pretty unsure of the direction to go.  I've been eating well.  Whole grains, fruits and veggies, limited processed foods and no sodas, no fast foods.

I did lapse a little on our trip and had some fast food and soda, and I noticed that I did feel a little more "off", but  no where what I expected it to be.  So that has had me wondering if the meat and fast food are truly what's making me feel bad?  So I really had no idea what to start looking at next.  I haven't had any weight loss since cutting the meat and fast food. I am watching portion size, no seconds.

I happened to be reading a blog the other day about the death of the Aurthur's grandfather and someone left a link to blog by a doctor he thought he should read.  So I checked it out.  It's called The Heart Scan Blog.   I thought at first it was just going to be some blog about heart health.  But it turns out it is MUCH more than that. It is written by Dr. William Davis of Wisconsin.  He advocates a grain free diet.  Hmmm...my interest peaked.

He talks about "wheat belly" and how modern day wheat is causing us serious health issues. I won't go into detail because it's so much better stated in his blog.


So we are going grain free for at least 4 weeks to see what happens.  We got a glucose monitor to start seeing what our food is really doing to us.   This is a project I will absolutely be updating here on probably a weekly basis.

We are super excited about seeing what this actually does.

Why is it so hard for me?

I am still struggling with the whole dinner/meal planning thing.  I am totally lost and clueless.  I feel like it is even more difficult since I have given up meat and processed things.  I gave them up for good reason, but I haven't a clue how to do anything with raw materials.  I feel hopeless about it.

Hating Food

I have a blog with a friend of mine and we are currently doing some reading and discovering some things about food and our lives.  I wanted to post this one here today as well because after long thought and consideration it really is a big part of me and I feel like I should be sharing it.  So enjoy.  It's a little brutal.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010

I Hate Food

Yes, I have said it. I hate food. I don't dislike the taste or eating. I actually dislike food itself because it's stressful to me. It does not actually bring me any comfort or pleasure. I wish I could sit down to a meal or snack and have it make me happy, have it satisfy me. It never really does however. My stomach might feel full, but I often feel as empty as my plate. I don't know what I just got out of the meal I ate.

Most people have families that grew and shared happiness around a meal and in the kitchen. It was a joyous family event to cook a big meal and sit down together and enjoy what they just created. They might sit at the table and converse about their day or at holidays share family stories. I would imagine food could be a great and happy thing, only I don't actually know what any of that is like.

In my home meal time meant stress. Mom was always slamming cabinets and cursing. It was always hurried. She cooked everything on HI to get it out on the table as fast as possible. Things would be boiling over and she'd be yelling at it. As I got older and was expected to help in the kitchen. I really didn't like to cook. I didn't like to be around all that craziness. It was loud and unbearable, even if I was only stirring gravy or noodles. I just wanted to hide in my room and wait for it to end! Holiday cooking, oh forget it! That was HOURS AND HOURS of Hell! And it would usually start days before with mom bitching at my dad about having to cook this big and perfect meal. To this day any time she is in the kitchen it is like this. Huffing and puffing and cursing. Making faces and throwing an attitude around. I can't stand it.

Now sitting down to a meal, again a nitemare. Mom would always have us sitting down and serving ourselves before she even bothered to sit at the table. I think sometimes she would stand in the kitchen and cry before coming to the table. We never spoke while we ate and we all ate as fast as we could to make sure the table was getting cleared and dishes were being done before my dad got up from the table. I don't know what the reason behind this was. If there was conversation it was usually my dad getting mad at my brother or me about something mom told him we had done. The stress was still the same if we went out to eat. We all sat there in silence. It was always a big deal to figure out what we wanted on the menu. Mom would freak out if the waiter came to ask us how we were doing before we knew what we wanted. We always ate in silence and shoveled it in again as fast as we could so we could leave. When I was 10 we were out having breakfast one morning and my dad hit me in the face from across the table to remove the fork from my hand and mouth. He proceeded to yell at me about how I was eating like a savage and then yelled at my mom about not teaching me how to eat properly. I didn't know that I was holding my fork wrong. No one ever told me any better. I was forced the rest of the day to eat with my hands like a baby since I didn't know how to use utensils.

I spent the first week of every month while I had braces eating alone at a different table. It was very painful to chew and my dad said it was disgusting to watch me eat. No one ever made me anything that was easy to chew. I would cry at the thought of having to eat. The pain was awful. Half the time I would just move things around my plate and not eat because I couldn't.

Holidays at family was much the same. Everyone getting bent out of shape about having to cook such a large meal. By the time everyone would sit down they were too exhausted from their ordeals to even look like they were enjoying what they were shoveling into their mouths. There were never compliments given about what had been cooked. Just words about how this or that could have been better. This is too dry, that is cold. Blah blah blah. My best holiday was Thanksgiving 2009 with Skip. It was just us, we made a small bird and some extras and watched Survivor on the computer at our kitchen table. There was no cursing, no stress. I never felt so much relief about a holiday in my life.

I even hate to fill my house with food because of the shopping trip. While it is better now, I still feel confused and I often don't really want to go. Chris and I always went with mom. We had to hold on to the cart and say nothing. Ask for nothing. She would march through the commissary like a crazy women with a list. We would get the end with our tongues dragging only to listen to her bitch about how much she had to spend to feed us. Chris and I were never involved with the shopping or planning. To this day I still struggle to understand what I am doing. Mom still freaks out about shopping. She still tells me that I am not able to shop for myself. But that's for other reasons that don't belong here.

So that's my lifetime of food pain in a nutshell. Dinner now is never stressful, but I still don't enjoy it the same way Skip does. Yes, it tastes great. Yes, I feel good to be sharing my table with him. But I still finish and stare at my empty plate and have no idea if I am satisfied. I eat fast so that I can just get it over with. I can have my plate cleared and rinsed in the washer before Skip is done with his first helping. He tastes every bit of food he eats and food makes him happy. I don't understand it. I don't cook on HI anymore and I don't worry about everything being perfectly coordinated at finish time. We never slam things or curse when we are cooking. And we never have a set time a meal has to be ready. But I still don't fully enjoy what we have created together. It really sucks.

And before now, I can say I never really thought about it