I have "food issues". Oh, how I ridiculed people who complained of "too rich", "too spicy", dairy and gluten sensitivities (undiagnosed, so not "real" in my mind), too sweet, or not vegetarian, etc etc. I'd roll my eyes and dig into anything put in front of me.
Then a dozen years ago or so I started to get a very dramatic reaction to rich foods and gone were the cream sauces. No more Fettucini Alfredo. Not long after that I noticed a similar reaction to spicy fare. Thai food, among my favorites, became a one-star affair instead of three.
I read two brilliant books a year or so ago, "Salt, Sugar, Fat" and "Grain Brain". The first put me off any processed foods, the second was an indictment of gluten and most grains and carbohydrates. I started to clean up my diet and let my eating choices be not only health-related, but also a statement about my opposition to being sold a lie by corporations that wanted me to be addicted to unhealthy processed foods for profit.
Four years ago (today!!!) I quit drinking alcohol. Two years ago I mostly gave up caffeine (now only a cup of half-caf in the morning and decaf any other time.) For several weeks last fall, including over Halloween (a real test of my commitment!), I went sugar-free.
Then I fell off the wagon. Grains and gluten snuck back in. I started to have a nightly helping (or two or three) of dark chocolate with nuts and sea salt. I reached for the pastries instead of the veggies at church coffee hour.
And then the headaches and gut issues this summer had my anxiety rearing its ugly head, trying to convince me I had something dreaded happening inside me. Hub more rationally suggested a couple of weeks ago these symptoms could be diet-related.
Well, I don't eat hardly any meat -- no beef, just a little pork (oh, delicious pig!), some chicken and lots of salmon and seafood. Pretty healthy. I do love mozzarella cheese sticks and Greek yogurt. Ice cream is a trigger food which I limit due to its addicting qualities. I watch the carbs. But the grains and gluten had snuck back in with the sugar and the ongoing dairy. My weight started to creep up too, beginning to negate the 25 pounds I'd lost a few years ago.
So, here we go....elimination diet. NO dairy. NO gluten. It's been 2 weeks and my headaches have subsided and some days are gone completely. My GI system seems to be on the mend. I've lost 2-1/2 pounds.
I'd feel happy and self-righteous if I wasn't so annoyed that this is working. I know that makes no sense. Of course I want to eat clean and be healthy. I just don't want to be "one of them". I want to eat any damn thing I please! But that is wishful thinking. No one can do that and not pay the price in weight gain and disease or be party to the profit motive of Big Agra and its less than stellar track record with farm animals, pesticides, and creating addicting combinations of tastes and textures in fake processed "food".
So, I'll keep on, slowly and moderately re-introducing a bit of dairy in a couple of weeks to see how I respond. I sorely miss my nightly Greek Yogurt and blueberries with a sprinkling of walnuts and cinnamon. Oh....my....I miss it. And a smidgen of dark chocolate can't possibly be deadly can it? I'd like to reintroduce that soonish too. The other stuff I find I don't really miss.
Except, well, for the occasional "special treat", like the teeny tiny slice of the Key Lime Pie my son and daughter-in-law made for Family Dinner this week...it would have been rude to refuse. See? I'm not perfect, but I do confess my sins of ingestion.
Bon Appetit!©
At least that's the view from here....
Sugar is my big down fall. When I'm being good, I only buy things that have less than 6% listed on the boxes and cans but of course, there are many places where there are hidden sugars. On the plus side, if I have one drink a year, that's out of character. I just don't like alcoholic enough to drink my calories. Congratulations on your four year mark, by the way!
ReplyDeleteI do have two squares of dark chocolate with sea salt and almonds every night, "Endangered Species" brand. I found it easy to stick to that limitation when I buy better chocolate.
I'm kind of a Doubting Thomas about the whole increase in gluten sufferers but I have a great-nephew who claims it makes a big difference in how he feels to give up wheat. I'm trying to be open minded but I believe it's something they use to process the wheat, rather than the wheat. Something they've added in recent years.
It sounds like you give up so much stuff, I wonder what you do eat. LOL
Hi Jean. I never used to be a sugar junkie, but over the past two years I've become addicted to sweets. I don't buy them to have in the house, but if they are there -- church, parties, desserts at others' homes -- I cannot resist! I eat the Endangered Species sea salt and almonds too! So good....and I try to stick to only a couple squares, but sometimes go over....
DeleteI was a total Doubting Thomas about the gluten thing and I still wonder if everyone who claims not to be able to eat it really has a problem, but I have to admit I feel SOOOO much better without it in my diet. My gut issues are almost gone -- nausea, irritable bowel, etc and no headaches since I went off it again 2 weeks ago. And it IS the wheat and how its grown these days, according to the Grain Brain book. It's just not the same grain as it used to be -- better living through chemicals? So, I guess it might make sense that we now have more issues with how it affects us since it makes up such a huge part of our diet.
As to what do I eat? Some days it feels like not much! Ha. Lots of veggies, fish/seafood, a little chicken, nuts, some fruit...popcorn! :) I have a gluten free/dairy free cookbook and everything looks great. Down side -- I'd have to cook. LOL
I don't care that much for desserts...but I love chips and salt. I am always low on the salt levels when blood tests are taken and am one of the few whose doctors always say "eat more salt". My mother is that way and also one of my daughters. There are other family patterns which I attribute to genetics. I HAVE to have protein...lots of it...and I can't eat breakfast until 10:30 or 11 in the morning. I am seldom hungry. All of that I attribute to genetics. But my biggest sin is forgetting to hydrate and up my fiber intake. Which I now work on assiduously. So, on one hand I feel we can control how our bodies make our minds and spirits feel and on the other hand it seems we are each a slave (so to speak) of our genetics. In conclusion (wink, wink) I think we each need to figure out what works for the body we have and let others figure their own way. It seems like you are figuring out your own body - living within it's limits - and once in a while treating yourself. Good for you, my dearest.
ReplyDeleteI hate eating breakfast first thing too! And I never drink enough water. I love chips and salt too -- they pair nicely with dessert. Favorite taste treat -- greasy salty potato chips and chocolate cake! LOL All of this is so new to me -- I never used to give a thought to my food intake and now it seems I have to deliberate over everything and what time I eat it... Used to laugh at Jon's aunt who ate such a bland diet of the yucky gray pea variety and never ate a bite after 4:00 p..m. I hope I don't get to that point, but I wonder....
DeleteDonna, This might be an interesting topic for the WISE - but I believe there might be strong statements and unmanageable emotions galore. My father weighed 300 pounds but I took after my mother and when I raised my daughters I NEVER said to watch their weight or how they looked. I focused on clean and presentable. And we didn't have much money for treats though I love to cook them. I love cooking pies but hardly ever even have a piece - just not my fav.
DeleteJust found your blog (exploring today) and love it. Unfortunately I am a white sugar/white flour girl who has had to made some adjustments on the edge of type 2 diabetes. That said, I eat everything, just control the amount and count carbs not calories.
ReplyDeleteMy kid, a trained holistic nutritionist says almost no one has gluten issues, it has to do with how the wheat is treated and that most of us need gluten. But then again, I drink milk at bedtime and she says cows milk is for baby cows, lol.
Hi Barbara. Thanks for commenting. I KNOW! I actually was tested for celiac disease and was negative and the whole gluten thing is such a "thing" now....I did hear it's the "new" wheat more than the gluten, so I'm just avoiding some grains in general. I feel better, so I guess I'll stick with it 90% of the time. Who knew food would be so confusing?!? Thanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm not yelling "I KNOW" like I know anything....just in agreement. :)
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