Kristin Goes Gluten Free: Week 1

Today, I officially made it through one week of eating gluten free.  When I made the decision to change my health and lifestyle last Monday, I never could have guessed how beneficial or easy it would be.  I am not going to lie, there are still foods that I want (like the bread from OIP...so GOOD!), but it helps that it makes me so sick I don't want to eat it.  Some people have asked me to list what I am eating, recipes, changes, etc., so I am going to do that via my blog.  I don't want people to get sick of the constant posts on their FB news feeds. This way, I post the link, and anyone interested can read about my journey on here.  So here are some of the items, struggles and changes I had this first week.  This first entry will be pretty detailed because I wanted to document my first week.  In the future I am just going to post new recipes and foods. My hope is that documenting these things will help others with the same issues.  

Monday (my very first day)

This day was difficult because I just decided to start, even though I hadn't gone grocery shopping.  I had to rely on what was in the house until I got to the store (which wasn't until Thursday!).  I did not eat breakfast, because I didn't have any cereal, granola bars, etc that didn't contain gluten.  For lunch I had strawberry yogurt and a small bag of lays potato chips.  I know, not the best lunch, but it's what I had.  For dinner, we tried the gluten free pizza from Dominoes.  Ham and pineapple on one, black olives and mushrooms on the other.  Warning to those that get this, if you have a family, you WILL need more than one because they are small.  Mike made a salad to have with it and I made gluten free Italian dressing.  

Tuesday

Today I was determined to eat breakfast, so I stopped at Sheetz and got a Kind Bar.  These are great to eat because not only are they gluten free, but they are packed with nutrients from the fruit and nuts.  For lunch I had leftover gluten free pizza. It wasn't as good the next day.  The crust was a bit crumbly.  For dinner we had BBQ Chicken on the grill and broccoli.  The BBQ Sauce we used was Sweet Baby Rays.  I found later in the week not all BBQ sauces are GF! Thanks to my MIL, I tried GF Pretzels from Glutino. I think I liked them better than regular ones!  

Wednesday

Today we had a luncheon at school and I was prepared to eat my chicken and fruit I brought from home.  I decided I would still eat my lunch, but try and eat a few things I thought were gluten free.  Word of advice...mini meatballs are NOT gluten free...at least the ones I ate.  I was so sick within a matter of 10 minutes.  When I got home Mike, Hailey and I were going to his grandma's for her birthday.  The dinner was pizza, salad and cake.  I had salad...lol.  I wanted to visit and celebrate, so I stayed for a little bit, but then I had to go home and make something different.  I was so hungry!  It was a little embarrassing to tell everyone I was leaving to eat.  I went home and grilled myself a steak and had wild rice. To treat myself since I couldn't have cake (which I love) , I had fresh strawberries over Turkey Hill natural vanilla ice cream.  This has only five ingredients and is so good.  I don't even have to take a Lactaid when I eat it.   

Thursday

I continued eating a gluten free breakfast and lunch.  Lunch was just left over steak and rice, which was good.  For dinner we tried gluten free pasta from Ronzoni with my pappy Catullo's sauce.  I couldn't even tell the difference.  That made me happy because that was one thing I was sad to give up.  I also found out I could have Mallow Cups, so I did! Ha-ha.  I won't be making a habit of that snack though since I am supposed to be watching my sugar. 

Friday

Today we dared to try a restaurant.  We went to Hoss's, because I know they have a GF menu.  I ended up getting french onion soup without croutons and fruit from the salad bar. My main dish was steak tips and a baked potato.  First time I have left Hoss's (or any restaurant) not feeling sick. 

Saturday

Rachel and I had a booth at Country Memory Days today, so eating was hard.  I missed breakfast because we had to be up early and I was running late (imagine that lol).  With all the food vendors around, I had no clue what to get.  I decided on pulled pork without the bun.  Bad idea.  I know it wasn't the pork, so I am assuming the BBQ sauce was gluten free.  I was sick within 5 minutes of finishing.  The rest of the day was better.  I had kettle corn as a snack and Mike made steak and rice for dinner.  It was the second time I had it this week, which I know is a lot of red meat, but it was good. 

Sunday

I thought that today was going to be another challenge because we were taking Hailey to Lake Tobias with Darrell, Rachel and Isaac.  We packed a picnic lunch, which worked out perfect.  Mike and Hailey had Lebanon bologna and cheese sandwiches and I just had the meat and cheese rolled up without the bread.  We ate Lay's regular chips, which are gluten free, and gluten free brownies I had made the night before.  For dinner, we stopped at OIP in Burnham for dinner.  They just introduced a new gluten free menu. Their spaghetti is really good, but the bread was taunting me! :(

Symptom Changes

- I typically come home and say to my husband, "I don't feel good, I need to just sit down".  Monday was the first day in a long time that I came home and didn't feel this way!

- Healthy bowels (sorry if that's TMI, but it's part of the change!)

- Starting to feel more awake. Less yawning during the day

- First time I don't feel bloated.  I swear my mid section has gone down a few inches.  I always used to feel pregnant I was so bloated. 

- Today, Monday 5/26, I noticed that the redness and swelling of my gums was gone.  

- I lost 3 lbs and my face looks thinner (see below)