One woman's journey into a new dieting frontier

On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 on what would have been my mom's 84th birthday, I ventured into a new way of dieting based on an article I read in Prevention Magazine   On one page there is a big piece of multi-grain whole wheat bread and it reads "Is this what's eating you?" All about eliminating wheat and other forms of gluten.  This piqued my interest to research this further. I've had digestive problems before, bloating after small meals, IBS, and would just feel lethargic for no reason.  My hunger pangs weren't pure, they were muddled so I didn't know if I felt hungry or just about to be sick.  I would be so frustrating that I would go out of my way to "eat well", get some exercise when I could, have an anchored bed time... and still there more days than none that my stomach would gurgle and I would just feel bleah (for lack of a better word).  I thought it might be dairy, or the yogurt I used to eat late in the afternoons (but I wouldn't always feel bad when I had yogurt). Maybe it was the stress of my job?  Years ago, I had pinpointed drinking too much apple juice would bother my stomach.  But bread?  Bread is what you eat when you want comfort food or something bland to settle your stomach when fruit, vegetables, and cheese seem too harsh.  My favorite comfort food is Cream of Wheat.  I swear by it.  We have been conditioned to believe that whole grains are healthy, full of fiber and have essential vitamins.  The misnomer is that the whole wheat of today is not the whole wheat of yesteryear.

Dr. William Davis, the author of the "Wheat Belly" Book asserts that today's wheat, created from genetic research, is different than it was 50 years ago. It contains an appetite-stimulating protein called gliadin and patients who quit, among other things, report weight loss, reversed diabetes, eased arthritis, and reduced depression. All I knew was the symptoms that were referred to in the Prevention article like bloating (after small meals), mood swings, achiness may not be just signs of what I attributed to perimenopause.  This wheat also has addictive properties.  You mean I could lose weight just by minimizing wheat and not worry so much about "shit-fest"... Sign me up.

The sad thing is the farming industry could change back to the grain it formerly produced, Davis said it could, but it would not be economically feasible because it yields less per acre.  Semi-dwarf high-yield wheat is "chronic poison".

Like most things, I like to march to the beat of my own drum so I thought, why not see what's it like to first limit wheat from my diet. I'm someone who would have cereal in the morning, a sandwich at lunch, cookies for snacks, and breaded chicken and pasta for dinner... maybe this guy was on to something.   I am not someone who believes in going cold turkey.  I always think its more safe and saner to wean yourself off things and diminish your dependence little by little.

The first day I didn't eat any wheat.  By early evening I felt really fatigued and could feel like I was coming off something. It was freaky.  I finished off before bed with a little Cream of Wheat snack. And I felt a little better.  As the days have gone on and I've eaten less and less wheat, eating soup with pasta even made me a bit nauseous.

The biggest struggle I found in the last 5 days is trying to come up with alternative starches to help fill me up, so while I don't like to feel bloated I hate feeling hungry. I have incorporated what I call are "wheat-cheat" times.  Maybe a saltine or some white bread to help settle a growling not gurgling stomach. 

The biggest challenges so far:

• I love sandwiches - finding a mainstream grocery brand without wheat is next to impossible. I think it doesn't exist. (Today I had turkey club, but didn't eat most of the bread) It was amazing after 5 days how wonderful it felt.  Literally like a bad vice. 
• Learning a new way to cook and bake with other flours. 

Today was my first attempt at wheat free-brownies.  I used coconut flour, which I learned absorbs twice as much liquid as wheat flour due to its high fiber content. The recipe called for 6 eggs and I didn't have 6 eggs so I replaced the three eggs with a mixture of oil, baking powder, and water.  The results weren't bad, in fact almost there.  The brownies weren't dry, but had more the texture of moist cake.  So this recipe would probably be great for cupcakes.  They were soft and fragile, but really good. When I get this right I will post it.

Tonight's dinner was:
Steak marinated with soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar and scallions
Lemony Lentil Salad
and Boiled Red Potatoes.... and boy do I feel great!

More posting on recipes to come.  If those of you out there living a wheat free lifestyle have some great recipes for alternate starches to bread, pasta I'd love to hear about them.  (I can only eat so many potatoes and rice).