The Cleaner

I can't believe that it's been two and a half weeks almost since I've blogged.


The journey has actually been an interesting one-- rounding the corner into two months of being wheat-free. I actually did a cleanse two weeks ago (w/o 7/7 - 7/14) using The Cleaner 7-day detox. Can I just say, it was nothing short of amazing.

I carefully read the reviews and spoke with different people who actually used the product. I got the fact that everyone's body is different-- but I was actually surprised how well mine took to it. Again, it was definitely to help get a jump on being wheat-free and clearing out the aftermath of having horrible wheat withdrawls the first two weeks in.

In that 7 days, I lost about 7 lbs. I know some of it was post-4th-of-July water/meat weight, but it was still nice to bounce back from splurging that weekend in just a few days rather than the rest of the month. I could really tell that everything was getting cleaned out and I really felt alot lighter after the regimen was done. During the week I ate mostly salads or soup; if I ate meat it was fish/chicken/turkey in small quantities. Lots and lots of veggies, fruit and water. I was taking a probiotic, too, to help things stay regular and replace anything that could have been lost in the mass exodus. I totally recommend the cleanse to anyone who wants a jump-start to a healthy eating/diet regimen to help motivate you and give you a blank slate. It was defintely like taking everything out of the room first before shampooing the carpet/wiping down windows and walls and placing everything (neatly) back inside!

Coming into the first Month.

I really believe that I have to be the only person in history that has managed to gain weight after starting Wheatbelly, lol. While I know (hope) that's not true, I very well know why. Not eating wheat AND making healthy choices have to go hand in hand, and while I've been successful in one area, I have not been in the other.

With the fourth of July holiday happening, I went ga-ga over smoked ribs, slow-cooked pork, GF/WF potato salad, potato CHIPS, nuts, nuts and more nuts. I even made a GF pizza from the Bob's Red Mill line and tried my HARDEST to eat the whole thing. ::sigh:: It was shameful, but the one thing I'm actually proud of is the fact that I couldn't eat the whole thing and I had to put the rest of it in 3-square slice intervals in the freezer for some other time.

It is, however, getting easier to avoid the obvious wheat items. I was faced with a pound cake this weekend. Didn't touch it. I even made a all-the-way-from-scratch-except-for-the-canned-peaches peach and apple cobbler and didn't even sample a bite. I had my husband and the guests from the party taste it to make sure it had everything that it needed to taste right.

I really wish, though, that my husband would get inspired enough to do WF for a while. There are just so many health issues that he has that I really feel like he may benefit from going WF, but like any diet change, you have to make the decision to do it on your own. Secretly and selfishly, I hope that the benefits of going WF AND making healthy choices will motivate him enough to make a few tweaks here and there on his own.

Well-- here's to happier moods and healthy bellies!

Finishing Up Week 3

So, we're rounding the corner of the end of week 3 into week 4. I wish I could say that I've experienced a significant weight loss like some of the posts on the WheatBelly blog have proclaimed, but I haven't. Pretty much still holding steady and fluctuating within a few lbs of my lowest weight. I'm ready to pick up the bottom my skirt and keep on moving along in this weight loss journey.

My appetite has finally evened itself out-- I'm not nearly as insatiable as I was the first two weeks. I'm actually able to keep within my daily points. I find that if I do eat more, I actually do it consciously, not because I'm genuinely hungry. Its because I want to try something or just want to experiment with a recipe when I'm bored. I'm having more days of eating breakfast and being okay until lunch-- and then having a small snack before getting on the road to drive an hour to get home (and then spend another hour cooking/walking the dog/etc).

My mental fogs are coming farther in between and I may even venture to say that my eyesight has even gotten a tad clearer. My attention span is still pretty short, but overall I seem to feel happier. I still have moments when I want to snap on someone (PMS notwithstanding) but walking around with a chip on my shoulder has been kind of taboo these days.

Now that I'm exercising, I'm able to sleep a lot better at night. I'm starting back slowly-- adding what I call "15 Minutes of Fame" where I get up in the mornings and go jog around my (very hilly) neighborhood. Since I know my workout is short, I'm more inclined to really put my energy into it rather than some of my longer runs when it just seemed like time wasn't passing fast enough. I know eventually I'll incorporate longer runs into my regimen 1-2 days a week to build back up to running 3-4 miles straight w/o stopping.

I know I started a wheat-free diet for my physiological support rather than for weight, but I'm slowly wanting to make even more healthier eating choices so I can see more of a drop in the scale. I've decided this morning that after losing another 20lbs, that I will treat myself to my own photoshoot: hair, makeup, costume(s), the whole nine. Its something about being the center of attention every once in a while that can be a little boost to help you stay focused and keep going!