Not a diet!!

Today there were left over donuts in the office and I mentioned to someone that I wasn't going to have one because I haven't had wheat in 11 days now... The comment I heard was "Oh you are on the "no bread DIET""...  The comment made me take a step back as he was commenting on it like it was a fad diet...  Oh, oh, oh the uneducated out there...  I tried to tell him it wasn't just "no bread" it was no wheat/or grains...  

His comment back, well if you are going to eat bread, wheat bread is better than white bread for you... Really?  Does he know that both come from the same grains - just one is processed more and BLEACHED???  Insert some head shaking here...

This has always been my philosophy - at least this go around on losing weight... It can't be a temporary diet, or time that you exercise a bunch, or eat a certain way - in order to have long term weight loss we have to find what works for our bodies as far as exercise and the foods we ingest that we can live with forever...

I love the logo above enough that I may put it as my Facebook profile picture for awhile...  :)

For the record (mainly mine) I stopped eating wheat containing products on 8/17 and ended the consumption of oats on 8/26... and once the 2 loaves of commercial "gluten free" breads are used up from my fridge I will be pretty much done with rice flour - may use it here and there - but enjoying trying recipes with almond meal and coconut flour and flax seed right now...  So happy to have received the Coconut flour from Amazon so I can try baking some more stuff tonight :)

Checking out the Wheat Belly way of eating

So I started to read up on the theory behind the wheat belly book after hearing some people talk about it on Facebook  I put a hold request on the book at  the library, but it is like a 60 day wait, so I just decided to purchase the book - thanks Amazon!

I started reading a bit of it - with my limited reading time available each day, and decided last Friday to start to give it a try... I have eliminated WHEAT from my diet for 5 days now & feel pretty good... I figured out making some of my oatmeal monster cookies with rice flour & some oatmeal pancakes to have as part of my meals that I have throughout the day... I have sought out stuff that is labeled "Gluten free" at stores - with a few different loaves of Gluten free bread in the freezer to try out...

That has gone pretty well, until I started to read more on the Wheat Belly posts (while looking for recipes) and in the book - and came across the fact that the stuff they commercially sell as "gluten free" isn't the best stuff for you - it contains the cheapest wheat alternative ingredients you can find - rice flour, potato starch and tapioca flour... All things that are fine if you are not trying to lose any weight - but if you are trying to lose weight they aren't good - as they cause higher blood sugar level spikes than the wheat itself does!

Color me frustrated when I realized this...  I felt crushed and defeated that I wasn't making any better of choices for myself...  Which also explains why I haven't seen the scale move at all from my change 5 days ago too...

Just when I was thinking that I would have to resort to only eating egg white omelets and drinking my protein milk - I remembered the one place I haven't checked out for a local source of almond meal/flour and other "better" flours that won't cause a blood sugar spike that counteracts all I am trying to do...  Trader Joes... I am hoping to go there today & then be all set to try some recipes tonight and see what sort of creations I can come up with that might make this way of eating tolerable, or even enjoyable in the long run... :)

I sort of remember a similar thought process of being overwhelmed when I was thinking of changing my eating habits to be more "balanced" eating a balance of protein, fat and carbs at each meal - but that worked out - it is just time to figure out a new balance using some different ingredients... Hoping to be able to do the wheat-free and balanced eating all in one and find a way to shed another 20-25 lbs to be healthier...

I will still slowly use up the stuff that I have purchased that was commercialized gluten free items - but I feel a bit better now...

Had to share this funny from my husband as well - I was talking to him about my frustration this morning & he suggested I just go to a corset... I asked him what the heck he was talking about ...  He said isn't that the solution to it all - no need for a band, or to cut out part of your intestines, or staple your stomach - just wear a corset and you won't have room for anything else in your stomach... LOL  Silly guy - that's why I love him!

Hungry?

Here I am at work this morning and all I can think of is eating something... Do I need to eat right now?  No... I at a decent and balanced breakfast just two hours ago, I shouldn't need to eat anything else for another hour...

The mental hunger drives me nuts... Causes me to graze on stuff that I don't need to be eating...  The red vines in the other room, the cookies at home, the junk that is just around - mind you I am working on clearing out some of the stuff at home so there will be better choices around - not junk...

So for now, I blog to share my feelings, as I know others are out there with the same feelings - I am not alone in that...  I walk at my trekdesk - because it is hard to reach the redvines in the other room while walking at my Trekdesk.  And I sip at my water bottle, and chew some gum...

Time to eat will come soon enough and hopefully it will satisfy that little guy in my head that is telling me I need to eat sooner than I should...

Enough

It is time to be serious about my health again...  I find myself just eating and eating to be eating and not even enjoying what I am munching on...

I set a goal for myself to be at a certain point by my birthday in January... It won't be the end of the world if  I don't make it, but at least down the road to get there by then would be good.

My plan for now is to catch myself when I am just grazing and either STOP, or find a healthier alternative to what I am chowing down on...  So today I have carrots to munch on instead of the licorice that is in the office.

Also if I am going to munch on something - I am going to make darn sure it is something that I am enjoying... Eating to be eating is one thing, but if I am eating and not even enjoying the stuff that I am eating then what is the point?

Looking forward to the school year starting again so I can get back into going to the Zumba classes that I enjoy and keep my body moving in other ways... The teacher offers some classes at her home right now two days a week - but they aren't as convenient to go to when they are at her home (though I really enjoy her company), and I feel bad being gone from home so long on these summer days, so I just don't go...

If it would cool off again and be pleasant to walk in the evenings with the kids again, I would like that a lot as well... I really enjoy the walks and talking that we have when we go...