Gluten-Free Transition and Health

My goal is to write in my blog at least every other day.  I have been bad about keeping up with it lately with good reason.  Managing stress and getting as much rest as possible have been my primary focus for the last couple of weeks.  I ended up with a sinus infection and bronchitis, and was told by my doctor that it is likely that my immune system is just plain tired right now.  So, I need to watch the stress, get lots of rest and try to stay away from germs!

The last couple of weeks have been good otherwise, I’m settling into the gluten-free thing pretty well.  I am getting good at noticing what does and doesn’t work when feeding my body.  For instance, I think I may be allergic to soy.  I’m not positive it’s an allergy, but there may be a sensitivity there.  I often have headaches after eating it, and I no longer have gluten to blame for that.  So, I’m watching the things I consume, note when I am having soy and make sure to note how I’m feeling a little later.  I had a headache after eating my chicken/veggie “fried” rice.  I’m having it for lunch today, right now I don’t have a headache, we’ll see what happens.

One good piece of news is that my body finally seems to be settling out when it comes to weight.  I have been tracking what I’m eating, entering it into my WW journal, but haven’t seen any losses, there were a couple of weeks where there were slight gains.  This past week I broke even.  I’m hoping that’s a signal that I’m finally leveling out.  Now I can get the exercise worked back in, keep on tracking, and (hopefully) see the results.

I have been doing some research on gluten-free recipes, there are a ton of resources out there, including some recipes on the WW site that look really good.  I have even discovered that there are a lot of things in the store that are GF as well.  It’s a whole new world.  I miss bread though, I’m not going to lie, whenever I smell it I am tempted.  I try to remember the pain I was in before, that usually keeps me from having anything.  I haven’t given in, and I’m getting used to the bread made with rice flour (it isn’t too bad when it’s toasted).  It’s a good thing I’m not a sandwich for lunch type of person, I usually only had toast with my eggs in the morning.

Dinners (and leftover lunches) for this week have been….Sirloin Black Bean Chili (~6 points/serving, my own recipe), Chicken and Veggie Stir Fried Rice (~7 points/serving because I opted to add in some sesame oil), Baked Pork Chops (~7 points/serving, they are covered in a great salty/sweet/sour sauce that is amazing).  When I need a side I will usually add a cooked veggie of some sort and a salad.  Sometimes I will have some potato, but not often because my husband is diabetic and they aren’t great for him.

In the next post I will share some things I have found on GF eating….happy day everyone!