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October 25, 2011

We Have Been Living Without...

Wheat, grains aka gluten, carbs, sugar.

Watch This Video my hubby made:




We read the book Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, an amazing human being, a preventive cardiologist, and a best selling author, and now, our friend.

When we do something, we do the Full Monty.

It was a one day chore to clean out everything in the cupboards and fridge with a grain ingredient. Then we purchased almond flour, buckwheat flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, and searched for wheat free, gluten free, low carb recipes.

Now: No more yucky stomach after eating!

For my entire life, after milk and cereal, my stomach was so bad, I thought I was lactose intolerant. I bought pills to take before I put any milk products into my mouth. Now I don't need the pills at all. I can get a piece of cheese and eat it without taking pills first. Who knew?

No more headaches!

No more water retention. (No swollen fingers, toes, face). Do you look at yourself in the mirror and see swollen puffy places under eyes, in cheeks, in neck? Just maybe it is the wheat causing that in you too.

Not as many mood swings! (Notice I didn't say "no more". I am a woman and I reserve the right to swing my mood any way I want.)

I have more energy and more interest in doing things, not just putting things off for another time!

I am weaning myself off blood pressure medicine. My blood pressure is better than it has ever been.

Eating natural foods has increased my sense of taste. Fortunately for me, I really enjoy all veggies and fruits. And I like meat and cheese and nuts.

I am losing weight and I am not on a diet. Changing the food I eat is a lifetime change for me, not a fad diet. Why would I ever want to return to a way of eating that aggravated my insides, made me moody, and packed on weight.

My internal thermostat has changed. As each week progresses without wheat, my body temp becomes more normal. I am not cold, or sometimes shivering. I have long ago said goodbye to menopause, so this was not night sweats or chills. Now I have a warmer body, able to enjoy outside activities in cooler weather.

I am sleeping better!

Now for some more big big news. James wrote a song about our experience of no wheat. It is really a cool song.

If you go to Dr Davis' blog and read his post about James here, you can go listen to James' song from Dr Davis' blog. Be sure to leave Dr Davis a comment and tell him thank you from James and me. His book has literally changed our life and I am sure it is not easy for him to stand firm against the pressure from many directions.

We are working on a video that will be done soon too so that will be here when it it finished.

Let me know what you think of the song. And while you are checking things out, give some thought to eliminating wheat long enough to see what I am talking about. Take care of yourself. Be the best that you can be. You are worth it.

Update: I added the video to this post.

Hugs,

33 comments:

Rock Chef said...

The more you two talk about this the more I think I should be looking into this stuff.

Great post - although you might want to change "frig" to "fridge" :-)

Lisa said...

Good info. I'll check things out.

Brian Miller said...

woohoo! nice...sounds like this has had some wonderful affects....cant wait to her the song...

Anonymous said...

I haven't gone gluten-free, but a few years ago I cut way, way back on any grains, sugar and additives and switched to whole grains only - but I mostly just increased fruits, veggies and nuts. It's an amazing what those changes can do, isn't it?

Jeanie said...

I'll go listen to the song....
Kudos for making these changes that are working so well for you.

DJan said...

I bought the book yesterday on your recommendation, and my sister downloaded it to her Kindle. I'm already pretty wheat free, not completely, but I'm really enjoying the book. Now over to the link!

Kristina P. said...

I have the biggest sweet tooth on the planet. Don't know if I could do it, although there are some pretty good gluten free desserts out there now.

Bill Lisleman said...

Your post had looking up buckwheat since it has the word wheat in it. As you probably know it's not related to wheat at all. That alone was interesting. It's good to know more about eating options - good post.
I love plain shredded wheat cereal but I don't have problem with it.

Jerry said...

You are beginning to convince me!

Anne H said...

LOVE the song - and your sweet contribution!
Love it all! How clever of us to discover this gluten-free lifestyle! I'm glad every day!!

Anyes said...

I am so interested in the no wheat approach since I first read it on James blog the other day.
Having no more headaches sounds so attractive...

terri said...

I hear of more and more people with Celiac disease and how they feel phenomenally better after switching to a gluten free diet. I know it's a lot of work, and more expensive to eat that way, but the changes you've described make it very tempting to explore the possibility of changing.

James' song is GREAT!

Ina in Alaska said...

That is an amazing transformation. Glad you are weaning off your meds and doing so well!!! xo

LL Cool Joe said...

I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to mention just what I had to eat, so I'll go and check out the song instead! :D

CiCi said...

Rock Chef, I would highly recommend it.
Thanks for the tip on fridge.

oceangirl, get the Wheat Belly book by Dr Davis.

Brian, click the song thingy here on my blog and hear the fun song.

Barbara, if you take it to the next level of no wheat you would feel even better. For reals!

Jeanie, thanks, my dear. It is amazing how easy this has turned out to be.

DJan, I am so glad for you. I know as you read the book you will "get it".

Kristina, the key is wheat free. I was pre-diabetic but now I am not. Starches spiked my blood sugar levels thus I am also low carb now.

bill, glad you looked up buckwheat. I make buckwheat pancakes and put pear sauce or apple sauce on the pancakes.

Jerry, it is a matter of taking care of yourself. You should get the Wheat Belly book. We did and that is how this started for us. I had no idea I would feel this good.

Anne, you are such a sweetie yourself. Yes, amazing how much better we can really feel.

Anyes, truly, no more headaches. And I had headaches just about every day. Was living on Ibuprofin. So glad you are learning more and taking care of yourself.

CiCi said...

Terri, for me, the only work was about an hour of looking through the cupboards for any wheat product and also the fridge. As for costing more, we are on our social security income budget and we are eating better and not spending more. We found we didn't want to eat as much for one thing. And we are eating lots of eggs, cheese, nuts, meat, and tons of veggies. We had homemade chicken soup yesterday for breakfast. I cook a roast and put portions into the freezer and use a portion to cut into chunks and add veggies to make stir fry. It is easier and not costly at least in our house.
Glad you like James' song.

Ina, no more French fries (starches spike the blood sugar levels) and no wheat. Easy peasy. Not having it around the house means I don't have to think about what I want to fix because there aren't any bad foods here. I use spinach in soups and stews and plenty of meat. Our portions have shrunk as we find we don't want as much.

Joe, tell me what you think of the song, my dj buddy.

Anne H said...

I love that you are happy and discovering the best-kept secret in the world of food.... and dieting!

Shrinky said...

What a wonderful track!

Um, I eat healthy, and don't have a sweet tooth, but.. with Sam we have tried EVERY way of eating, including a strict wheat-free diet (not easy with four kids). Yes, it is good, but no, not worth it for what it costs for my fasmily. We've struck a balance, and taken much of it on board, it is a sensible step to strive towards, and we do heed much of it!

Shrinky said...

ps., my sis also recommends this way of life - she's a nutritionist.

Shrinky said...

And very overweight.

Liz Mays said...

He did such a great job on that video. I always thought my issues were lactose based too. This is really interesting, and I'm going to look into this even more. Thank you!

beth said...

wow....this is great. i think i might have to try this. just yesterday a friend told me she was doing a no flour, no sugar, no wine thing for 5 weeks. AAACKKK

but if you can do a similar thing, i think i can, too !!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I am going to order this book today!

stinkypaw said...

Good to know, I'll check out his book for sure. Thanks for sharing!

Stickup Artist said...

That song is so catchy. It's really really Great, and the video is hilarious but totally made a point. I do yoga, run 3 miles, and lift hand weights every morning, then treat myself to a 1/2 piece of toast with (organic) peanut butter. It's so yummy but maybe not the best thing to have? I will look into this. Thanks! Wheat belly blues... I'm still singing it in my head!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Good for you girl. Lifestyle changes make the difference.

We all know diets don't work. While visitin' my Mom I craved fresh fruits and veggies like crazy. The first thing I did when we got back to the Ponderosa was to make a big 'fresh' salad!!! Mmmmmmm!!!

God bless ya sweetie and keep up the good work! :o)

Little Ms Blogger said...

I went vegan/gluten/alcohol/sugar/caffeine free for 21 days last year and it was amazing! It was part of Kathy Freston's Quantum cleanse and I did it between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also felt amazing.

It's funny how much food sensitivity plays a role in how well we feel.

Big Dave T said...

So . . . our quest to eat whole wheat products has been misguided? I'm confused. I'll have to have my doctor listen to this song. By the way, I liked the harmonies and the guitar licks. Great song. Is that you doing the background vocal?

Unknown said...

I am so impressed! With the weight loss and with the passion! I am glad you have found something that worked beautifully for you. I am very depressed about my weight loss. Discouraged beyond belief.

Syd said...

So far, I don't eat much bread or cereal. I like salads and fruit, fish and foods that are healthy and not red meat. There is going to be news about what to eat and what not. We just do the best we can.

Sandi said...

All I have to say is "WOW!" I'm heading out to buy the book! I loved the video and I think I'm a good candidate, (This after I just finished my raisin bran and 2% milk breakfast!)

I popped over from DJan's blog, and I'm so glad I did!

DJan said...

So far, so good. I am looking forward to making the flax wraps. Maybe today!! :-)

Feeling much better today, and I linked this post in my "Eye on the Edge" blog this morning. Love, love, LOVE the video! You guys did great. I'm sure James had some help... :-)

Cheryl Kohan said...

What a great video! I'd like to post it on Twitter and my Facebook page.

I am also going to buy that book. No promises because I LUV bread and all things related but, hey, I'd also like to lose a few pounds AND feel healthier, too.