Starting out GF is a hard choice. Many people will not understand why you are doing this. I am here to say... ONLY do this if it is medically necessary. My journey started with my doctor. After having various issues that seemed unrelated he suggested I try to remove gluten from my diet. I fought him on it for six months. But, I continued to feel horrid, to be unable to function, to experience a debilitating fatigue and to have problems with digestion. So, I gave in. Yes, I'm stubborn. I should have tried sooner. I see that God truly had to let me feel totally out of control and unable to function before I'd stop and listen.
So, I started eating GF and nothing happend. Or so it seemed. You see, for those who have full blown Celiacs or even just gluten intolerance, gluten actually kicks in an autoimmune response and ends with damge to the body...one of the most common areas of damage is the gastro-intestinal tract. The lining becomes damaged and is then unable to process other foods properly. So, if you truly have this issue then a day or two of eating GF (G-free or gluten free) will not suddenly leave you feeling like a super hero. In fact, it may take weeks, months, or even longer till you even begin to feel well.
For me I had inklings things might be turning around, but it wasn't till month four of this new life style that I started to see bits and pieces of improvement. By month six we saw big changes, but occasional crashes as well. Enter cross-contamination and/or unknowingly ingesting gluten. In the meantime, as I mentioned, others may not understand what you are doing or why. But, if you can persevere and truly do find improvement hang in there. I did this with much prayer and the love and support of my family. It was not an easy journey by any means, for more reasons than I care to discuss, but it was doable. Now, here I am almost 2 years later now and feeling so much healthier. For a while I was even biking five miles a day! A huge feat for someone who barely had enough energy to get up and eat breakfast a few years ago. Some set backs have occurred... as I mentioned, sometimes you unknowingly ingest gluten and it can take a while to return to health. You may have days you're just tired... like others are tired... and you're afraid it's starting over. There are other days you get too busy to balance the rest, diet and supplements, but it is doable.
Here are the tricks:
- if you are feeling sick seek medical assistance to rule out other possibilities
- if gluten appears to be the issue, find friends and family who WILL support you as you change your life style to remove gluten
- do research... my first vitamin supplements I took to help with what I was missing from whole grains had gluten in them. OY!
- keep reading.
- shop with your phone in hand and don't be afraid to call and ask if something is GF.
- If you're not sure... DO NOT eat it. Not worth it. Really.
- Start asking around for ideas and tips... I can give you shops, restaurants and more to help, I found some online, some in person, some through books and some through asking others.
- It's worth it to buy a separate toaster, separate strainer, and more.
- Paper towels become your friend. Along with foil.
- We have left over containers that ONLY hold GF free... from apple sauce to GF pasta... if it's in that container I can eat it. If not I leave it alone.
- Try new recipes.
- Give yourself time. First 6 months were hard. Next six months I ate a lot of prepared GF meals, meaning I felt left out at times, but also grateful I had food. Then I began to experiment with cooking, and now I'm working with the GF flours on baking from scratch.
- Don't feel ashamed. You didn't ask for this, it's how you were made and God provides a way for you to still eat, and enjoy your food.
- Keep learning.
- Keep living.
- Find other things that give you joy.
- PRAY.
Hope that helps. Feel free to ask, I'm happy to help. I'll be posting recipes and more here. I won't always have pictures... I'm not the best blogger, but I'll try to be a support!
Blessings, Kim
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