Choices

When choosing to go gluten free, for whatever reason, the challenge is reminding yourself that it is not a diet or a health fad to be tinkered with.  Gluten free is a life choice and I believe that is the hardest part.  Diets come and go and most people go into them with short term goals such as weight loss or lowering their blood pressure, etc.  But as soon as said goal is reached they are done and more times than not they go back to whatever they were doing.
Choosing gluten free is different.
I chose it because of my health.  I literally felt like I was dieing and didn't know why.  Dr.'s diagnosed me with Lupus and wanted to start me on all kinds of medications.  They wanted to put drains in my ears because the pressure was so intense I had head aches all the time.  I had irritable bowel issues, couldn't sleep, night sweats, foggy brain, arthritis type issues in my joints, swelling feet and hands, weight fluctuations like you couldn't believe (I lost ten pounds in two weeks while eating more than my husband at every sitting plus snacks all day long!)
A friend gently suggested to try gluten free and see what happened.  Sure, what could it hurt?
Within days I felt better.  My ears weren't pounding anymore and I could sleep again.

But even though I feel better when I don't eat it, I still make bad choices once in awhile.  This last go round, if you have been reading my blog, it has been affecting my feet in a profound way.  I developed severe plantar facietis and every step felt like I was going to fall over from the pain.  Then as I waxed and wained on my gluten journey, so would my feet.  If I watched what I ate, my feet felt better.  If I cheated on my food, no walking the next day.  I did this cycle for so long, now I have to wear orthodics in my shoes because I have damaged my feet by not letting them heal.  Not only was I causing extra inflammation by eating stuff my body rejects but I was also trying to do all the things I love at the same time. ...running, hiking, weight lifting, dancing, etc.

One other thing I'd like to mention is that once a person chooses this lifestyle change they will feel better for awhile and then may notice other culprit foods that bother them.  My husband tried to explain this phenomena to me with the "this is how allergies work" speech and I nodded like I understood and left it at that.  I now notice m.s.g. does nasty things to my body and mind, almost drug like, too much dairy and I am irritable, aspartame (in diet drinks, store bought teas, flavored waters, ice cream, some yogurts, and gum) will give a head ache that feels like a vice squeezing my brains and so on. 

So at the beginning of this rant I said gluten free is a life choice because once you feel better a little you will want to feel better more.  As you move forward and desire health you may realize barbeque's don't seem so fun anymore when all you can eat is the lettuce someone brought to throw on the burgers.  Birthday parties, celebrations in general, and family get togethers are laced with culprits to effect your optimum health. 
Sometimes I go ahead and eat the cake or the bun or the MSG laced chips but as I lay in bed that night with hot, on fire feet and belly bloat I remind myself that it just wasn't worth it.