Health

4/22/2011: Being gluten and dairy free is hard to sustain.  I fell off the wagon, so to speak, with regard to gluten and dairy from October - March.  I've been back at it, with okay results.  I end up eating a slice of bread or cheese on beans once a day, so I'm not completely on target yet.  I'm trying though, and I'm staying away from pizza and ice cream - at least most of the time.  ;)  January through March I concentrated on exercise.  Well, I'm still at the same weight I have been, even with an insane amount of exercise for three months.  It's frustrating.  On the bright side, I can fit into the jeans I got into way back in mid 2007.

9/17/2010: It's been a while since I've checked in here.  I've been cutting back on dairy (specifically cheese but other dairy as well) and feel a whole lot BETTER!  Yes, it's amazing.  So I think the key is to really limit the cheese intake.  Pizza, oh how I love you, but absence will make both of our hearts grow fonder...right?

In other news, I'm 13 pounds away from my personal "realistically I'd like to be this weight" goal.  Of course I'd love to be less than that, but let's get real.  The only time I was that weight was when I was living on 1200 calories a day AND exercising an hour a day.  I just don't have the time or discipline for that.  So 13 pounds to go, which doesn't seem completely unattainable.


7/28/2010: For the past two weeks, I've stayed away from gluten...for the most part. It's hard to go cold turkey, but let's just say that I substantially decreased my intake. And after two weeks, how do I feel? Freaking lousy. I probably feel worse than I did two weeks ago. The thing is that when I decreased my gluten intake, I think I increased my dairy intake. Not milk. I don't like milk. It's more like the cheese/ice cream part that skyrocketed when the gluten pulled back. So, what's my Einstein plan? Well, certainly a wise woman would curtail both gluten and dairy. But I'm not wise. I'm a slacker, after all. My new plan is to focus on cutting back on the dairy. I'll gauge progress in 2 weeks. If I still feel cruddy, then I think I will have to eliminate both, as much as it pains me to admit it. I really do awesome with fruits and veggies. I can eat a huge amount of those food groups. Protein is iffy with me since I don't like eggs (and not supposed to eat them anyway). That leaves me with beans and meat. I try to like meat, but there's only so much I can eat of it in one day without gagging. I do like beans, but beans are kind of like meat - how much can a person eat in one day? And cheese has protein, right? So perhaps I've been imbibing more on that one source of protein than I should be. Dairy: you are the enemy, at least for the next 2 weeks.

*****

7/14/2010: Despite my dislike of sweat, I do stay very active. I do a lot of walking, weights, aerobic exercise, and toning exercises. Back when I was pregnant, I walked 2 miles a day up until I gave birth. Yes, I was 41 weeks pregnant waddling around and STILL doing my 2 miles a night. I have a long-standing commitment with exercise.

Then there's the BUT. But... I love to eat. I like just about everything one isn't supposed to eat. I have gluten and dairy intolerances that actually do impede my health. I like a lot of healthy foods, but I also like more than my fair share of sugar and cream.

I want to feel better. I want to be less vitamin deficient. I want to have more energy. And I wouldn't mind losing 25 pounds either. The real goal, however, is to treat my body better by focusing on the food half of the equation. Any weight loss is merely a bonus.