Yesterday was the last day of week three of our “dieting” game. And I finally made weight! Yay. It’s a lot more fun eat particular foods, exercise at the end of the night when I don’t want to, and give up most of my lovely chocolate when it actually shows results.

What I have learned this week though may be an even bigger game-changer than just dropping a few pounds. I have tip-toed into the land of the gluten-free. I never said “I’m not eating gluten anymore,” but I have consistently avoided it for about five days now. (Right after eating some to-die-for bread and Havarti cheese.) And hello! My pants fit again. My stomach is the same size when I go to bed as it is in the morning. I am not completely bloated and inflamed.

Whoa.

The difference is HUGE.

HUGE, I tell you.

Gluten (for those of you, who like me, have heard of it, but kinda wondered “what the heck is it?”) is a protein found in foods made from wheat, barley, and rye.

I’m reading a book my friend loaned me called Wheat Belly. <– that link goes to the website that PROMISES YOU EVERLASTING HEALTH! This link —> goes to Amazon for the book, plain and simple. (I get the same thing if you click through and buy or not, which is nothing.) Do I agree with everything he says 100% of the time? No. But I do think there he talks about a lot of interesting things. Like how much wheat has changed in the recent past. We are not eating our grandparents’ wheat. Wheat used to have 24 chromosomes, and then we (people, not actually, ya know, you and me) turned it into a 48 chromosome man-made product so it could be manipulated and genetically engineered to be bigger, faster, stronger… But less, you know, healthy.

So, I am trying a gluten-free/low gluten life. I’m not checking my toothpaste or my chapstick or my shampoo (all items that are likely to contain gluten) but I am avoiding gluten whenever I can. And I feel so much better. So much. And it’s been less than a week.

Dessert is of major importance to me. The idea of giving up brownies and pastries and soda bread… I could go on, brought tears to my eyes. But I have found some gluten free bakeries like FiddleCakes, and decided I could do this. A lot of things can be made with alternative flour mixtures to keep them gluten-free.

Of course, I ran out to the store and stocked up on some cookies, cereals, and pancake mixes before I got to the part in the book about not just substituting other products for gluten. Sure, it is doable, but the best way is to eat a diet that doesn’t include gluten and gluten-like products and occasionally allow the gluten-free substitute as a treat.

I am weaning Nick off gluten as well. That’s a whole other story and one that I will be sharing soon, but for now I’m just happy to feel more like myself again. Since Nick is a kid and doesn’t have to worry about the belly bulge, he will likely get more treats than I do, and I’m OK with that.

Now if I can just get my knee back in shape, I will be unstoppable.

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