The First 30 Days

Just a month ago, I blogged about the "new diet" that my husband and I started.  In the post, I explained that we were going wheat and lactose free after discovering that my body didn't tolerate either one very well!

Obviously, it's been 30 days since I shared that post--and at the time, we were about 2 weeks into the diet. That puts us about 6 weeks out since we went wheat and lactose free and it's going VERY well!

My husband has no problem with wheat.  He could eat a huge bowl of pasta and within an hour, he would be ready for more food.  In the past, if I tried eating a big bowl of spaghetti for supper, within an hour my belly was aching, I was nauseous and even come morning, things were still funky.  The last thing I wanted to do was eat more food and further aggravate my tummy.  My husband also has no problem with lactose--give him a pint of Ben & Jerry's and he's in heaven.  I, on the other hand, could treat myself to ice cream but within no time, well...I'll spare ya the details ;-)

Point is, his stomach is made of steel!  And mine sucks.  It's just that simple!

Fortunately, we have been able to maintain a normal diet--and it's been affordable, too.  Not only does that make me happy, but Justin's over the moon about it all!  In fact, he mentioned the other day that it doesn't even seem like we've had to make a big change.  We still eat plenty of meat (it's just not breaded or I just skip the bun if it's served as a sandwich), vegetables, fruits and we have rice/quinoa/potatoes for our starch.  On the rare occasion, I might prepare pasta or homemade bread that is wheat-free and my new cookie of choice is monster cookies.  Not only are they loaded with yummy peanut butter, chocolate and raisins, but they're something that never, ever called for flour!  Every now and then, I crave something crunchy and salty--luckily, a lot of chips are naturally wheat-free.  We're getting ready to host a Father's Day barbecue at our house complete with all the typical barbecue fare.  The cool part?  The only item that will contain wheat is the bun for the pulled pork--and who wants to waste precious stomach space on bread when you can fill up with awesome meat and homemade barbecue sauce?! 

I would say that over all, this whole "diet" thing has been super easy!  But, I have learned two VERY important lessons along the way...

1.  Forget about being "polite."  When people take the time to make or purchase special treats, I always felt obligated to take a bite so that I wouldn't come off as rude or inconsiderate.  Well, let me tell ya--I learned early on that it wasn't worth being polite and eating something I know I shouldn't eat. 

2.  Read labels.  For me, it's just not summer without the classic strawberry Twizzlers.  I remember buying them by the yard at the local swimming pool!  Well, last week they were on sale at the grocery store and I picked up several packages, came home and spent the next 24 hours snacking away.  By the end of the 24 hours, I was super sick and couldn't leave the bathroom.  The following day, I still couldn't leave the bathroom and I was in horrible pain...by bedtime that night, I was in tears because I was so frustrated with what was going on.  Ummmmmm, turns out--licorice is made out of WHEAT!   And how in the world would I have known that?!  Oh yeah, by reading the label--duh!  I've since learned that my Rolo's--another one of my favorite candies--also has a bunch of wheat in it.  Seriously?!  But at least I figured that out the easy way :-) 

All in all, the past 6 weeks have been pretty easy--and worth it!  My chronic headaches and migraines are gone, my stomach is 10x better, my acid reflux is greatly improved, I haven't had a single rash develop, I can think clearly, I don't crash in the middle of the afternoon, I'm sleeping better at night and my night-sweats have even disappeared, my joints haven't hurt any, I have enough energy to get to the gym...the list goes on and on.  I'm just glad that it's been so easy--we can keep eating normal food which means the husband is happy and now that I know what WILL happen if I eat something I shouldn't, it's pretty easy to stay on track :-)