Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight

So the books says......
Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis.

I had been small most of my life.  But after 30, and after babies, I began to grow.  I'll admit, this bothered me  mostly because I so loved being small!  The health ramifications of being overweight were a  secondary concern to my vain reasons for hating what the mirror was showing me.

As the weight came on, I adjusted my diet to try to stem the growing size of my belly.
I gave up Pepsi.  I gave up daily candy.  I gave up anything with MSG.  I gave up food with high fructose corn syrup.  I gave up food with partially hydrogenated oils.  I gave up all artificial sweeteners. I gave up fast food. I ate more fruits and vegetables than ever before.  Yoga and vegetarianism were a part of my regimen. I even stopped putting sugar in my coffee!

And still I kept getting fatter.

Just the title of the book got my attention, because all of my fat was around the middle.  My legs and butt stayed the same as ever, but my belly kept growing.  When I hid my belly in my clothes, I looked well enough...but when I did not hide my belly, I was being asked when am I due.  Not kidding, it happened.  And the book says the wheat belly resembles a baby bump.  OUCH.

I have always been a fairly active person, but truth be told, I stopped going to a gym when I moved to the sticks in 1995.  Then in 2012, a gym opened right across the street from my store, and there went my last excuse.  I joined the gym thinking this MUST be why I kept gaining weight.... I was not working out.

January 1, 2012, I started sweating in a gym.  Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 7:00 am, I did 40 minutes of cardio, followed by 20 minutes of weight training.  I kept my diet the same, because it was damn near perfect already.  After 8 months of working out, I....had....not....lost...AN OUNCE.  So the trips to the gym became twice a week, and then once a week, until I eventually lost all motivation to keep it up.  I worked out for a year in hopes of losing my fat belly, and still I grew.

Enter the Wheat Belly book.

As soon as I began reading, a dawning awareness began to grow.  Wow, it's the wheat.  We have been told from every angle to "Eat More Healthy Whole Grains", when according to the book, wheat is not fit for human consumption.  The book does a marvelous job of explaining why, so I'll let Dr. Davis do all of that.  But I could honestly say giving up all wheat consumption is something I had not tried..... and as much as I love pasta and pizza, it was a daunting prospect.  So I told myself to give up wheat completely until October 1st, and if there is no change in my weight, I can binge on spaghetti until I puke.

And then....

Day two:  After a wheat-free brekky, I was blown away to find I was not hungry for lunch when noon came around.  That's weird!  I'm usually snacking BEFORE lunch because I can't wait for lunch!  And then it got even weirder.....I was too full to finish my lunch, when usually I devour my whole lunch and look around for more.

Immediately, it was if I was put on an appetite suppressant.  My appetite plummeted.  Cravings, GONE.  Munchies, GONE.  I still get hungry, but with way less frequency and with no urgency.  I was completely astounded that I was eating so little after eliminating wheat!

 One would think that eliminating wheat would result in eating less, because there's not as much to eat.

 Not so.

 I found there were plenty of alternatives once I had my mind set on NO WHEAT.  What I did NOT expect was the tremendous decrease in appetite that set in immediately after stopping the wheat.  My body is simply not craving all the calories it had always craved.  I eat when I want to, and am satisfied with WAY less on my plate.  I am AMAZED!!!!

And now....

One month off of wheat, and I have lost ten pounds.  Just like that.  Just from no wheat.
Not from dieting, not from killing myself in a gym, not from any other weight-loss trick ever invented.
Just from NO WHEAT!  Did I say I was amazed??!!

I can't stop staring at myself in the mirror!  To have results this drastic, this easily, is beyond my wildest hopes.  I am not struggling, I do not feel deprived, I have plenty of energy.  THIS IS NOT A DIET.  This is a permanent lifestyle change I am now full into.  I have found the missing piece....and I am elated.





Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Analogy

I find a toad in my yard
The bigger the better
I easily catch him

In my hand, he does not have the intelligence to describe what is going on
But his instincts tell him he is in danger, and he releases his bladder on me
I have a fish hook, and two feet of filament
I push the hook into the edge of the toad's mouth, and dangle him in the air by the line

He does not have the intelligence to describe what is going on
But he has the brain structure to feel the pain and the fear
He kicks and twists and struggles to try to escape the danger that has befallen him

I carry him dangling by the hook in his mouth to the dogs' water bucket
I plunge him under the water and hold the line to the bucket's bottom
The toad cannot breath
He kicks and twists and struggles to try to escape the danger that has befallen him

After about 30 seconds, not long, I pull him out of the water
I remove the hook from his mouth
The hook has damaged his flesh some, but my conscious is clear knowing I did not kill the toad
I take him to the edge of the woods, and let I him go

I have had so much fun with all of that, I cannot wait to find another toad and do it again
I hope the next one is even bigger