November 26, 2011
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I'm having second thoughts about being gluten free. It most DEFINITELY has its health merits and if anyone wants to try it I say go for it, but lately I feel like my diet is so freaking limited and my hunger is increasing as my pregnancy progresses. I just want to be able to have that muffin at Starbucks or even that donut at Tim Hortons. I want to be able to eat normal cookies AND I would like to be able to order a chicken burger anywhere. Besides, if I'm gluten free while in Mexico (which we have been talking about going to next spring before baby comes) I'll be hosed. It's true a lot of their tortillas are corn based, but I can't be scrutinizing my food while I'm down there. I'll be on vacation and just want to EAT.
Anyway, I think the trick is to eat what I like, but still keep it limited. I don't need to be eating bread every single day, though come to think of it that maybe more difficult said than done which is why I had an all or nothing attitude toward going gluten free. Besides I got pregnant too soon to benefit from any weight loss and pregnancy has screwed up my guts regardless. I'm still bloated and gassy and flip flopping from constipation to other end of the wonderful colon spectrum.
When I read Wheat Belly the most important piece of information I walked away with is that eating vegetables is the most important part of a diet as well as limiting simple sugar intake (which is what wheat turns into when digested) and increasing consumption of healthy fats (from nuts and seeds). This seems like the "healthy eating formula" for anyone gluten free or otherwise. So I think while my efforts were genuine, they weren't necessarily what I needed to change.
Now, it's not that I crave these wheat-loaded things. I'm merely finding it inconvenient that I cannot eat them in a constant state of pregnancy induced hunger, a hunger that has nothing to do with the things I'm eating already (or does it? o_O).
So I'm going out and getting a chicken burger (bun and all) at a gourmet burger place down the street from where I live. The difference is I will have the salad instead of the fries
