Day 2 of Gluten/Dairy Free: 07.02.13

Today was much better!  This morning I opted to leave out the egg and add cucumber to my breakfast mixture.  I found research that said cucumber is good for the gallbladder.  Well, guess what?  I did not have an attach today.

I had the same hunger attacks today as I did yesterday.  I was craving SUGAR!  I swear I now know what an alcoholic feels like.  The more you deny your craving the more you want it.

To make matters worse, I had to go to a meeting at work today.  Guess what they had in little bowls all around the conference room? Candy!  I saw bowls and bowls of Reeses minis, mini Hershey bars, Smarties, and so on...  I really, really wanted that Reeses cup!

Thankfully, I packed something with me.  I reached in my purse and pulling out a baggie of cucumbers and strawberries.  I have to admit that I was only satisfied for about 5 minutes before the chocolate was calling my name again.  It seemed like that 3 1/2 hour meeting lasted for hours!

The cravings got the best of me... when the meeting let out (and no I didn't eat any candy!) I was on the search for something to snack on.  I decided to stop by Trader Joe's.  I remembered a friend of mine buying these corn tortilla chips that had flax seeds on them.  I was so excited because they were gluten free!  I found my way over to the snack section and grabbed them up.  They would go perfect with my homemade salsa (recipe is located on my blog- I omitted the sugar this time though).

I will sadly admit that I was still craving sweets.  So I was on the hunt... I got out three things... 1) Stevia 2) Almond milk 3) Unsweetened Pure Cocoa powder.  I thought if I mixed the three together I would have a nice, sweet treat.  FAIL!  The cocoa powder was very clumpy and it didn't taste as good as regular chocolate milk.

On a good note, once I ate dinner (left overs from last night, brussels sprouts, and a sweet potato) my cravings went away.  Hallelujah!

Day 1 of Gluten/Dairy Free 7.1.13

I woke up this morning fully charged. I had my breakfast and lunch packed. So my expectation that today was going to be a good day was really high.

For breakfast, I had a hard boiled egg, 2 meatballs (Find the recipe on my blog under the recipe section.  I got this off of weightandwellness.com.  However, I like them much better cold than warm), fruit, and green beans.  I ate this around 7:30.  By 10:30 I was having a gallbladder attack (and it was in the middle of a business appointment!).  I had severe shooting pains on my right side and it felt like some invisible person was stabbing me.  This lasted about 10 minutes off and on.  When I felt my side it actually felt like a small round ball on my (near my rib).  While doing a little research I thought the attack could have resulted from the hard boiled egg.

I snacked on pistachios, a banana, and carrots until dinner.  Then, I had my chicken and vegetables.  No attacks here.

Sadly, I have to admit that I was hungry for most of the day and craving sugar really bad.  However, I held strong telling myself that I have to find out what is causing all of my issues.  If I gave in now I would never know.

A bonus from the day was that I got a 1/2 hour walk in... I was even greeted by a copperhead that decided he wanted to hang out on the same trail I was on.  EEWWW!

I hope that my blogs/stories help to inspire others who are facing health issues.  Feel free to add me on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/brandy.randall.90

I would love to hear about your journey!

Chow!

Going Gluten & Dairy Free For a Month

I have made a firm decision to go Gluten and Dairy free for the entire month of July.  This is not a fad diet.  This is not an attempt for extreme weight-loss.  This IS a frustrated individual who desperately wants to find out what is going on with her body.

Sadly, I got off of the "weight-loss" train last December.  I had my bottom two wisdom teeth taken out, and I have been unable to successfully get back on track.

I have been noticing several signs that I am unhealthy yet again.  Here are just a few of my symptoms:

• Bloated
• Constipated
• Hungry all the time
• Acne
• Sharp pains in my head (right side)
• Pain behind my right breast
• Stomach aches
• Breathing issues (stop breathing when I sleep)
• Muscle cramps (including Charlie Horses)
• Spells of feeling sick to my stomach
• Swelling in the legs
• Aching joints
• Floaters and lights in my right eye

I could go on.  When I started my healthy kick start last August all of these symptoms went away.  ALL of THEM!  Yet, here I am right where I started almost a year ago.

The one thing I did not do last year was find out if I had a dairy or wheat allergy.  Either of these things could be causing the symptoms above (maybe not all of them but a majority).  So this is why I am doing this for 30 days.  I will test how I feel and then slowly add these foods back into my diet to see if I have any negative reactions.

To get started, I have already planned out my dinners for the first week.  I will post the recipes as I go along.  I will be having a very simple breakfast of Wild Rice Meatballs, Boiled Egg, Cucumber, and Fruit.  My lunch will either consist of left overs or a homemade soup/chili (I find these keep me full).  I have bought a few snacks which include nuts, fruit and vegetables.

Please keep checking in  I will keep you updated on my progress.