The quick answer is to cut the cravings for sugar and non-gluten carbs. After just 2 days in, I know the craving for carbs like white potatoes and corn is directly related to a craving for sugar. After eliminating gluten, it didn’t take long for me to latch onto the things I “could” eat. 3 Cokes a day during the school week. Chocolate as more than just a treat or a Dove bite of dark each night. Heavily salted potato chips that do not contain gluten. Junk food. And I was eating more than I was prior to a Celiac diagnosis. I’ve battled sugar for a very long time and of course, this has elevated my fasting glucose levels faster than anything else.
More reasons? I’m tired of feeling tired. It may be because I was sick with flu for so long. Then again, some days, it felt like my body was literally fighting me. I thought maybe it was all the drugs for flu/sinus infections. I finally just stopped taking them, but I still felt as unhealthy as I did before. The only thing avoiding gluten helped was the digestive issues. I miss that feeling of vitality. I miss waking up without an alarm clock. I miss feeling HEALTHY. I’m going to find out why I don’t feel good…and then do something about it.
The quick version of Whole 30. Everyone wants to focus on what I CAN’T eat:
- Dairy (cheese included)
- Non-gluten grains
- Legumes/beans (exceptions: green beans, snap peas, snow peas)
- White Potatoes
- Processed crap
- Alcohol (ouch!)
So what CAN I eat?
- Seafood
- Meat—lean, as far from industrial raised as possible, and anti-biotic free
- Vegetables. Tons. Often. Explore ways to prepare.
- Fruit. Moderation especially if battling sugar cravings. Use these for pre/post-workout carbs.
- Eggs and clarified butter (milk/dairy solids removed.)
That’s it. It really is that simple. The hard part is spotting all the sugar and preservatives in simple canned foods such as tomatoes. The only salad dressing on the market right now that is can be classified as “real” is a mix of olive oil and vinegar.
The HARDEST part in all of this is the PLANNING. Because of the restrictions, I cannot depend on the cooked vegetables in the school cafeteria. They all have a ton of butter. I need to plan my lunch bag each night and not think I’ll do it the next morning. I need to prepare some dishes on the weekends to last a few days. I used to do all this! But the tiredness and lethargy have taken over since this time last year. Now is the time to make some serious changes and I’ve got 30 days to do it!
Check out my review for the book that explains it all.
Running Recap Jan 6-12
Monday: 3 miles. I walked a lot, ran some, and felt like I was dying.
Tuesday: 2 miles. I got them done and that’s all there is to say about that.
Wednesday: rest
Thursday; 3 miles
Friday: 2 miles
Saturday: long (bahahahaha) run of 5 miles. I felt good after they were done, but I wish I felt like a runner again.
Total: 15. My first double digit week in a very long time.
