Gluten Be Gone!

A couple of posts ago, I complained about my incessant and embarrassing bloating and a dear friend tried to talk me into taking the Gluten Free Challenge by going Gluten free for a week. Now, while I thought it was not  far-fetched concept, this french baguette and olive tapenade loving woman had no desire to give up one of the few passions I still had left in life. But then Spring break happened. I flew and I munched and I blew...up that is. One night my own husband threw his arm around me in the spoon position and awoke thirty minutes later saying that "we" need to get back into the gym, and then nodded back off. I couldn't believe it, he felt it in his sleep! 


So I contacted Dr. Peg and she promptly sent me a "do not touch" list and then volunteered to take me grocery shopping. I don't know if it is because she is an angel, or if misery loves company and she was glad to have a friend suffer with her. At any rate, she was a godsend. She made me realize that there is life after Gluten Free. There are crackers, breads and pastas that are not only allowable, they are supposedly pretty good. That was my biggest fear to say the least. I had visions of me chomping into bread that was hard enough to yank my teeth out. I figured that it would mean I would opt for going bread-less, or maybe even accepting the bloat over the diet. But I bought the bread and bagels and crackers. I began reading my labels. And I prepared to start my challenge.


Well, this was day one of my attempt, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. First of all i started my day with the over-priced little loaf of Gluten Free bread that she claimed was pretty good. And Dr. Peg was right on the money. It was really good -- extremely light and had a crisp crust. By the end of the day i was psyched.  The number one most obvious thing I have noticed at the end of the day is the fact that I have not bloated at all. In fact my weight this morning was 161.2 and I just got off of the scale this evening at 161.8. That in itself is remarkable. I will admit, even though I am not bloated, I am still experiencing a lot of gas. I had one bowl of gluten free Chex in 2% Lactose Free milk and I was still burping with in 15 minutes of finishing it. I will have to keep watching to see what foods elicit this response. That being said, I am ready for day two. Bring it on!