Tears have been shed

I’m finding my biggest challenge is still preparedness. It is so much harder to try and eat wheatless when you have to scavenge. I have made my mother’s muesli for breakfast, covering my carbs, a little fruit and dairy. I’ve been adding some hardboiled eggs to get my protein fix.

The Wheat Belly suggests that wheat stimulates the appetite and makes you eat more. I have found that since I stopped eating wheat I don’t snack as much. Admittedly I’m eating a big breakfast, but I find that I go for more than 4 hours before I want to eat again. I don’t know how much of that is coincidence and how much is my body adjusting.

I don’t really eat a lot of wheat as a matter of course, at least not the things that I would think of as wheat, like bread, pasta or pastries. I think I get more accidental wheat that anything else. About a week before this challenge started, I had a small pasta salad for lunch. While in class, about 30 mins later, I was starting to pass out. Now I’ve been sleepy in class before, but never have I almost fallen asleep while writing, like mid-sentence and the pen slid off the page. Nothing I did seemed to make a difference. It’s a pity because it’s a class I want/need to pay attention in. That decided me. I want no more wheat in my diet! (Intellectually at least)

I think I’ve noticed some withdrawal symptoms. It’s weird to feel so out of whack and realize that the only thing that I’ve changed in my wheat intake. I went shopping at Superstore for groceries for the week. I want to like Superstore, but every time I’m in there I feel murderous rage. It’s always so busy and filled with idiots. I saw a 40 something guy scream at a young mother and her two kids to “get the f—k out of my way!” Not to be left out I got told the same thing, but I was already out of the way hiding behind a post. This dude was scary.

So a shitty experience, but whatever. I got my shopping done and made it out to my car without being sworn at again. Pack the groceries in and started crying. I was just so frustrated and tired. Normally that wouldn’t have started me crying though. Still I chalked it up to the magic of Superstore and moved on. Got home and ended up crying twice more. Now I don’t really cry that much, and certainly not over a grocery shop no matter how stressful it is. I think the no wheat has some effect on my hormones or something. Thankfully that seems to have gone away.

I must say that while I don’t eat a lot of bread watching everyone come around my store all day with fresh baking was hard. I’m picturing hot, fresh bread all the time. Dammit

Two Days Complete

Here in the early days of this challenge, I'm a little concerned about psycho-somatic effects. After all, I want to know what the genuine effects of wheat exclusion are, not just fool myself into thinking I feel what a book told me I would feel.

Wheat Belly suggests, among other things, that those forgoing wheat will feel less hungry between meals and that they will sleep better at night. Over the last two days I've felt those effects: I feel like I tossed and turned substantially less while sleeping, and during both nights so far I didn't wake up to pee until I really needed to pee. Maybe that's a sign that I was sleeping more deeply?

The "less hungry" thing also seems to be true; after yesterday's 10am meal of BBQ chicken, cubed cheddar and potato chips, I did not feel particularly hungry most of the day. I ate a bar of premium chocolate (no fillers) at around 8pm and wasn't hungry throughout the rest of the evening, although my mind kept turning to thoughts of snacks. I definitely have a pattern in my life of eating when I don't need to, so I tried to carefully evaluate whether I was hungry or simply bored.

One effect that I can't yet properly account for is my mood. This morning I woke up to find I had missed a lunch invitation from my dad because I didn't hear a text message come in. I immediately felt very angry and sad about it and lashed out at Chelly. My emotional reaction was definitely out-of-proportion to the situation and while I'd love to blame "wheat withdrawal" and be done with it, the truth is that I'm historically quite capable of being an ass so I think all I can do is monitor the situation as the days go by.

Today is my day to get ready for the week by doing a bit of cooking in advance. I got some steaks and some chicken breasts and I plan to cook them very simply and eat them throughout the week with some rice, cheese, nuts and apples. I'm making the decision to prepare meals in advance not because it's a healthier option, although I'm sure it is. I'm doing it mostly because the idea of going to a restaurant or fast-food joint and limiting myself to wheat-free items isn't very attractive: I don't want to be stared at while I eat a bun-less hamburger with a knife and fork, and I hope to minimize the number of times I have to ask some minimum-wage waitress to tell me where their caesar dressing comes from or if they dredge their fries before cooking.

So far I don't think I miss wheat. I already miss the simplicity of eating without considering ingredients, but I'm very lazy and so that was to be expected. So I'm still very much interested in and engaged in this challenge. Let's see what the first full week brings.

Shocks and Suprises

I admit I was surprised when Ian told me that not only are we going to be giving up wheat for 30 days, but we are going to be blogging about it as well. Maybe a month ago my mother had introduced me to the book “Wheat Belly”, and I was intrigued by the idea that I could lose belly fat with one quick fix! Let me tell you it’s no quick fix, and this is only Day 1.

My first of several shocks was Ian telling me that chocolate was out. Unless of course it’s the 80% cocoa kind, which, let’s face it, is not that good. So I have the choice of figuring out what’s in a Jr. Mint, and likely being horrified (ingredient list) and disappointed (somehow it includes wheat?!?), or abstaining for a month to avoid the dangerous influx of information.

Second I was floored by how many items contain wheat that I didn’t even know about. At least with baked goods it’s obvious. As Ian mentioned in his post, wheat is used as a thickening agent in many foods. So wheat has snuck it’s was into everything. Did you know that it’s listed third as an ingredient for soy sauce? I know!!! And it’s third on the list not even last! I was thinking about ignoring the ban on wheat containing condiments, but in the fairness of trying this project out, I’m going to stick to avoiding them.

Third shock was trying to buy food today. Breakfast was easily taken care of by getting some healthy food at the gym. Lunch was a whole other issue. I walked into Safeway, hungry which was mistake number one, and started to forage. Soups… out either it had pasta or emulsifiers, in salads the dressings have wheat, and finally I turned to junk foods, only to find out they are a minefield of wheat among other undesirable ingredients. I was freaking out. After 15 minutes, of my precious 30 min lunch break, I’d only managed to find an apple and a yogurt that were wheat free. Finally I got a salad, having vowed to get rid of the dressing and the croutons and grabbed a couple of hard boiled eggs. I’m hitting protein and veggies hard.

Today taught me that I need a plan for dealing with meals. Walking in Safeway starving and clueless was a bad idea. 

So lunch made in advance for tomorrow. 

Good news: candy canes don’t have wheat! You’re welcome.

Also I made it through day one sans wheat.

30-Day No Wheat Challenge: It Begins

Starting today, Chelly and I are forgoing the consumption of wheat for 30 days. It was my idea, and I was definitely motivated by the recent book "Wheat Belly", although I haven't read it don't even plan to. I have, however, read that the book claims that modern-day wheat has been genetically altered to such an extant that it's no longer so good for us to eat. I find that to be an interesting claim, and utterly believable on its face, and for some reason I want to know if it's true. But if I read the book, I'll probably just be convinced by it's rhetoric and become a smug conversational know-it-all about yet another topic I have no first-hand experience with. That's why I have impetuously decided to challenge myself (and Chelly) to 30 days of eating no wheat and experiencing for myself the effects.

I definitely did not know what a challenge I was setting when I did it; I've done some reading on what foods I have to eschew in order to avoid wheat, and I wasn't expecting to see entries like 'ice cream' and 'chocolate'. Flour, as it happens, is a common thickening agent in lots of foods I don't immediately think of being bread-y or startchy. Vigilance and constant Googling will obviously be the order of the day until I get used to things.

For what it's worth, I'm not viewing or approaching this experiment as a diet. I could use a diet, to be sure, but the next 30 days are strictly about wheat as far I'm concerned. I'm very eager to know how my metabolism will be affected by its absence, and grimly curious about how many food-choice-related hassles this experiment will cause.

I'll know pretty soon, I bet. I'll be blogging here about my experience, the challenges of the Challenge, and anything cool I learn about wheat along the way.