Simply Liv: To Wheat, or Not to Wheat- That is the Question.

My most recent hair-brained idea has been to give up eating gluten. Hearing those words still make my carb loving self shiver a little bit.

I'm about two weeks in and I've already noticed a huge increase in my energy (because I'm not stuffing my face with a bagel first thing in the morning), as well as improvement in my skin and the infamous "belly bloat" I would feel, but not necessarily see after eating some kind of wheat. While these are definitely awesome bonuses, cosmetic changes and weight loss weren't really my goal in embarking on this wheat-free journey, but rather overall health.

My mom (who has been gluten free for several years and has experienced many of the health benefits since), recommended the book "Wheat Belly" to me. I barely got past the first three chapters when I knew I had to at least try giving it up. In it, Davis talks about how our "healthy grains" today aren't at all what they were even 50 years ago. He explains that many well meaning diets often have the reverse effect because no matter how many "healthy grains" a person eats with his well balanced diet and rigorous exercise, he still isn't keeping the extra weight off. His book is engaging, science based, and has countless stories of changed lives.

While weight loss isn't my goal, self control and health is. I realized that, when it came to things like pastries, bread, and pasta I had the self control of a 9 month old child- which let me tell you, is nonexistent. If it was in my house, I would eat it. A blueberry scone at work? Sure, I'll have three. If Aj asked me to make cookies, I'd eat half the batter before the first batch went in the oven.

Overindulgence in any area of life isn't healthy, and I really felt that I couldn't just "cut back"- I had to quit cold turkey. So far, I haven't even been tempted to cheat. It has been far easier to completely remove wheat from my diet than it would have been to cut back. I've been forced to experiment with food and learn to cook things in new ways. Lettuce wraps have become my best friend. And AJ is thrilled because he can buy oreos without the fear that I'll eat them all before he gets home from work. Seriously.