Gluten-Free for a Week

There's a new fad going around the health-food world, and goodness knows I love a good fad.  So hop aboard the trend train and go for a gluten-free ride, right?  Gluten-free diets were originally reserved for those with Celiac Disease, which is literally a physical intolerance for gluten.  But somehow, "gluten-free" got popular and became the cure of choice for not only those living with Celiac, but for those experiencing frequent migraines, severe cases of attention deficit disorder, and those hoping to shake a general sense of grogginess from their bodies.  Well, if something is supposed to make you feel better- I want to try it.  So thus embarks my gluten-free journey.

What is gluten exactly?  And why might it be so bad?  The Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a pretty suggestive definition, calling gluten "a tenacious elastic protein substance especially of wheat flour that gives cohesiveness to dough".  That honestly doesn't sound like something that I would want in my stomach.

Why am I doing this? Apparently everyone who goes gluten-free (read: Miley Cyrus and one of my best friends, Brittany) RAVES about the wonders that the diet does for their overall health and energy.  But of course, there is no way to know for yourself, except diving right in and giving it a try.  Is going gluten-free just another fad, or does it really have health benefits?

First step: Raiding the gluten. Since the diet was only for a week, I didn't actually throw away my gluten-filled foods, I just hid them at the bottom of the pantry.  That means no graham crackers, pasta, or Honey Bunches of Oats :(

Gluten-filled food

Second step: Shopping. I already eat a lot of fruits and vegetables so a lot of my purchases were not out of the ordinary, but I did decide to throw in some other gluten-free staples, including brown rice, rice cakes, and gluten-free cookies.

All Gluten-free!

Third step: Live life! The purpose of eating is to fuel our bodies as we carry on, doin' what we do.  So what if you're not eating one component of nutritional makeup?  You still survive because there are still so many other things to eat... crazy!

So, here goes nothing.  For each day I outlined my food consumption for the day, my workout activity, and my general reflection on how my body was feeling at the end of the day.

Sunday
Breakfast: Latte and almonds
Lunch: Zucchini, onion, and mozzarella frittata
Dinner: ^more of that.
Snacks: Orange juice. More almonds. Open face turkey "sandwich" on a rice cake.

Workout: 1 mile warmup on the Curve treadmill, 30 minutes elliptical and 10 minutes stairmaster.  I feel super energized and totally fine.

Reflection: I feel no overall difference.  But it's only been a day...

Monday
Breakfast: Latte and a banana
Lunch: Stir-fry tofu and broccoli
Dinner: Boca burger, hummus, carrot sticks
Snacks: Chobani greek yogurt, honeycrisp apple, popcorn

Workout: Bulldog Burn class (ow) (Seriously, two days later.. ow.)

Reflection: I'm honestly feeling a bit hungry.  Kind of want a piece of bread.  I didn't splurge on gluten-free bread for the week (the stuff is like $7 a loaf!) but I'm kind of wishing I had...

Tuesday
Breakfast: Latte and a banana
Lunch/Dinner: La Pachanga- Muchos chips and salsa, pollo enchiladas, and a couple of margaritas
Snacks: a peach, practically half a jar of pickles, and some Swedish fish

Workout: 1 hour swim

Reflection: I'm so glad that I was able to enjoy the goodness that is LaPa $1 margarita night (we were seriously there for 3 hours, it's maybe my favorite place to be on Tuesdays).  Corn tortillas are good to go on a gluten free diet!

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Coffee and a honeycrisp apple
Lunch: Pumpkin smoothie (banana, pumpkin puree, milk, honey, protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla)
Dinner: Homemade stuffed peppers (Green bell peppers with brown rice, chicken sausage, corn, tomatoes, and red beans)
Snacks: Just a ton of coffee. So much.

Workout: 4 mile run

Reflection: I felt so energized all day. Possibly because of the coffee. But I was so productive and easily able to focus.

Thursday:
Breakfast: Coffee, banana, chobani yogurt
Lunch: Spring mix salad with boca patty
Dinner: Popcorn and a diet coke (during night class- and I was starving by the end of the 3 hours so I ran home and reheated a leftover stuffed pepper from Wednesday)
Snacks: Rice cake with pb and raisins, milk, soynut trailmix

Workout: Core strength class and Hip Hop cardio class

Reflection: I'm feeling a little crabby.  I would kill for a bowl of cheerios or some pasta or some cookies.  Rice cakes aren't cuttin' it.

Friday:
Breakfast: Egg and cheese omelette, hashbrowns
Lunch: didn't really happen. Too full from breakfast!
Dinner: Sush birthday dinner- I had a salad, california roll, and sake martini
Snacks: Honeycrisp apple

Workout: 3 mile trail run... WE WERE BOOKIN IT.  A hard workout for such short distance.

Reflection: My tummy hurt all day today. I think it was the breakfast (which was from Hyvee... it was tasty, but sort of questionable.

Saturday:
Welllllll about Saturday.  So it was DSP initiation.  And I definitely had a donut for at the alumni breakfast. It was calling my name.  I guess if I had a real wheat allergy I would have to develop a stronger willpower.  But seriously, it was DSP initiation which means I wanted to eat whatever I wanted, especially since we had a Candyland themed party that night! So many cooooooooooookies!

So I went gluten free for (almost) a week.  Overall feelings?  It was a good experience-- definitely an eye opening experience-- but not a lifestyle change that I'm willing to commit to without the presence of a legitimate wheat allergy.  However, I'm really glad that I did this.  It makes you realize how difficult it would be to have Celiac disease and it gave me just a glimpse of insight into the challenges that those individuals may face.