New Way of Eating

September 21,2015 I decided to change my diet to help speed my recovery from my heart attack. The biggest and best change that I made for myself was to drastically reduce my wheat intake...basically I am eating gluten free and replacing those calories with better choices. Eliminating wheat can be challenging because wheat is in a ton of stuff such as breads, processed foods, and packaged foods such as candy, cakes, and muffins. 

Why eliminate wheat? My main reason for eliminating wheat is for my heart health (eliminating inflammation). The wheat that we eat today is not the same wheat that our forefathers ate. It has been modified drastically through hybridization to the point that todays wheat does not remotely resemble the wheat of the past. Our bodies have a hard time with this wheat and  as a result, we  may have a low grade inflammatory response in our organs as our bodies attempt to process this crap. This is not just a response that happens in people with celiac disease (they have a super duper crazy responses to the wheat glutons) but from the research I have read, many people have undiagnosed gluton sensitivities and intolerances causing many negative inflammatory responses in their body. 

Another key benefit in eliminating wheat is blood sugar stabilization. Most people are not aware on just how much wheat...even high fiber whole grain wheat elevate blood sugar which in return  stimulates high insulin release and FAT STORAGE. This is an entire metabolic story that will take pages to explain.

How wheat elimination helped me….

I cannot begin to tell you the significant difference that eliminating wheat from my diet has made for me. In fewer than 3 weeks of a 90% wheat free diet, I have noticed the following benefits:

1) Perhaps one of the biggest changes for me is better bowel health. My bowels used to move very irregularly and I had chronic constipation and bloating. I also had a hard time digesting anything with alot of fiber like apples, lettuce, nuts....all the good for ya stuff. (I used to blend my veggies in a blender  when I was dieting). Now, I can eat anything with high fiber….including raw veggies.

Even more astonishing is the fact that I poop every day....sometimes twice. JOY....from a previously chronically bloated, constipated woman. (I know….too much information…lol)

I cannot believe how flat my gut got in 2 weeks without extreme low carbohydrate dieting. The only way I used to be able to see my abs was when I ate no more that 30g of carbs a day. Granted, there is no six pack peeking through…I would need to lose another 15 pounds to actually see a hint of a  6 pack, but I have NO BLOAT and I can try clothes on while shopping without getting depressed. 

2) My skin is clear and glowing. I have been working on getting this glow with expensive skin care and I have made great improvements with the skin care regime but, my skin looks even better now. I constantly get told that I don't look my age at all. That is because of my skin, in my opinion.

 I used to get this irritating rash on my chest and back that would come and go and last about 2 months at a time. I was starting to get that rash 4 weeks ago. It is totally gone and I don't think that this is a coincidence. I think eliminating the wheat  made the difference. 

3) No achy joints....gone, gone, gone. When I get out of bed in the morning, my ankles no longer curse me when I arise from bed in the am and my knees feel better than when I was 30 years old....in just 2 weeks. No coincidence.

4) No cravings!!! I don't miss the carbs...but I do allow a few indulgences during the weekend. I have found this great place in Toledo called Organic Bliss.

This place makes gluten free....goodies. I hit this place up on the weekend and indulge in gluten free cupcakes and brownies. I don't even want to know the grams of fat and sugar in those foods. Gluten Free does not mean healthy….

I am sure the calories are through the roof, but they are free of high fructose corn syrup and wheat. I find that I can eat this stuff (in moderation) without stimulating my carb cravings and I only indulge 1-2 times a week and I keep it down to 1 cupcake and one brownie or other type of goodie. Most of the time I cut it in half and share with Bob.

5) Weight loss- I have lost 11 pound in 18 days.....wow

One thing that I would like to stress again is gluten free does not mean healthy. Alot of gluten free choices can include high calorie and high fat choices. I also don't want to dis carbs. Some people can tolorate wheat/gluton better than others. I think that I am one of those people that has a sensitivity to gluten, hence the major improvements in my body responses with the elimination of wheat. Everybody is different, but I have a hunch that MOST people would benefit from removal of wheat/gluten.

Another diet change I made is eating primarily organic and I have minimized my fruits to berries of any kind. I don't eat a ton of other fruit…but I will do grapefruit and oranges as well. When watermelon and melon are in season I will smash those too.

I have also included a glass of red wine every night. This is a new thing that I am enjoying. Research supports that red wine has some great anti-oxidative properties and is good for us…in small amounts. I limit my wine to 6-10 oz only….unless I have a bit of a stressful day…I double that :) I even started a blog on my red wine experiences…haha

My Wine Blog :)

I have included the following supplements as well...

1) Multivitamin- For general health 

2) Fish oil- For heart health and anti inflammatory effects 

3) Flaxseed- heart health

4) Curcummin- heart health

5) Probiotics- bowel health

Please note...

I am no longer taking a blood thinner....so that is why I am taking the fish oil and flax seed. I could not take them when I was on the blood thinner because these supplements thin the blood as well.

In addition I have taken a liking to a fermented drink called Kombucha. My son Nick turned me on to this healthy drink….

It is tricky eating out at restarants now. I have become one of those pain in the butt people asking about everything that is in sauces and stuff like that. I prefer not to eat out at all…but eating out is part of the social thing that I like to do. Now, I continue to be a HUGE fan Chipoltle!!!! I still eat there 1-2 times a week.

Oh yeah…almost forgot about to mention that I eat a ton of raw nuts and seeds. When I know my day is going to be busy at work I pack a boiled egg, a mixture of raw nuts and seeds, and about 2-3 ounces of raw mild cheddar cheese and that gets me through the entire day. I enjoy a hearty meal at dinner if I am really hungry.

So…that is the diet I was gloating about in my previous blog post. I am losing weight and feeling good because I am eating super clean.