What’s wrong with gluten, dairy, and sugar? Part 1 – gluten.

You may be wondering, “What’s wrong with gluten, dairy, and sugar?!”  I have been getting this question a lot lately, so with the help of my husband, I am going to break them down for you in a three part series.  For the record, my husband is not only devastatingly handsome, but he also has a brain that he chooses to use.  The man reads nutrition textbooks for fun.  Seriously?!  I swear he’s not a total nerd.

As a refresher, gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species including, barley, rye, and malts.  It is also used as a food additive in the form of flavoring, stabilizing, and/or thickening agents.  It’s in everything, especially the food that is currently touted as “whole-grain.” 

In the simplest terms, gluten is one of the single largest food allergens.  The way it manifests itself is not necessarily what most people would associate with an allergic reaction i.e. sneezing, rash, etc.  It manifests itself in a much worse way.  It causes damage to the lining of the digestive tract, which can lead to systemic inflammation.   This can cause a whole host of diseases and conditions, including but not limited to infertility, diabetes, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, narcolepsy, and hypothyroidism. (*).  I am not saying these diseases and conditions are caused by gluten.  I am, however, saying research shows there is a relationship between these diseases and gluten. 

Additionally, grains, particularly the gluten-containing grains, contain molecules that fit into the opiate receptors in your brain.  These are the same receptors that work with heroine, morphine, etc (*).  Now I know why I am having such a hard time letting go of my cupcakes.  I am legitimately addicted! 

Finally, grains are not nutritionally dense when compared with other plant matter i.e. fruits and vegetables.  You can get more fiber from a serving of broccoli than you can from any product marketed as “whole grain”.  Not to mention most “whole grain” products are highly processed and full of unnecessary sugar.  Sorry to pee in your Cheerios. 

The above information is fact, not fiction.  For more information, go to http://robbwolf.com/, http://thepaleodiet.com/, and/ or http://www.marksdailyapple.com/.  As a side note, I have met Robb Wolf and attended several of his seminars.  He is a legitimate scientist, researcher, athlete, and New York Times best selling author.  

(*) Wolf, Robb.  The Paleo Solution; The Original Human Diet.  Las Vegas, NV: Victory Belt Publishing, 2010.  Print.

Unfair advantages

In good faith, I feel like I need to disclose a few unfair advantages I have in completing this challenge.  First and foremost is my husband.  He is incredibly dedicated in both his training and nutrition.  He doesn’t eat gluten or sugar, and hasn’t for some time.  I was always the evil one trying to get him to fall off of his program and join me in Candy Land.  My husband is also my very own personal trainer.  He programs all of my physical conditioning, including both metcons and strength workouts.  He works in the physical conditioning world, so who better to program my workouts?

Second, I have a gym in my garage.  I don’t have to get in the car to go to the gym. I can walk into my garage and work out when the mood strikes me.  Having a garage gym is great, except for the fact that there is no air conditioning.  I live in southeast Georgia, where the heat and humidity run rampant for about five months out of the year.  Yes, I am from Arizona.  No, that doesn’t make working out in the heat any better.  I haven’t figured out if training in the heat is making me tougher or more stupid. 

Third, from mid-April through the end of May, I did a practice run of this nutrition program.  I didn’t eat gluten, dairy, or sugar during this six-week time frame and saw considerable results.  This short period of time gave me the confidence to know I am capable of surviving while eating this way.  Let’s hope I can make it longer than six weeks this time around!

I may have three unfair advantages that give me a leg-up in this challenge, but I also have day-to-day obstacles that make training and eating healthfully difficult.  What gets in the way of your fitness goals?

Preparation and my first week

You may wonder how I prepared myself to begin this 365 challenge.  It’s pretty simple actually; I ate!  Macaroni and cheese, cupcakes, Twinkies, ice cream, Cheetos, brownies, and iced sugar cookies from my favorite bakery in town, where the icing to cookie ratio is 10 to 1.  I also drank about a gallon of sweet tea from McDonalds and anywhere else I could get my hands on it.  After I woke from my sugar coma, I was ready to face this challenge head on!

People have been asking how I feel after giving up gluten, dairy, and sugar.  Overall, I feel pretty well.  I had a significant sugar headache for a few days as I came off of my above-mentioned sugar binge.  I have yet to crave any gluten-laden treats or dairy.  As you can see from what I ate before beginning my challenge (above), I have a small issue with sugar.  I am, therefore, craving sugar like a kid on Halloween.  For now, fruit seems to satiate that craving.  I have also found that I am a bit hungrier than normal.  I am in the process of determining if my hunger is directly related to caloric deficiency or if it is attributed to a lack of cupcakes in my diet.     

I added my nutrition and physical training logs for the week to the applicable tabs above. You will probably notice that I eat the same things over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch.  I have found that proper preparation prevents poor performance.  Because I know I will use any excuse to eat poorly, I make all of my breakfasts and lunches on Sunday and then eat them throughout the week.  All I have to do is open the fridge and grab a Tupperware container.  Most people think it is boring and monotonous, but it’s a win-win for me!  By the way, tracking every morsel you put in your mouth is an absolute pain in the rump roast!   

As far as my first complete week goes, I think I was successful.  I wouldn’t give myself an A+, but I think I did well.  As the weeks come, I know they will get more challenging.  Temptation will rear its ugly head and doubt will creep in.  I am going to take it one day at a time, and do the best I can.  If I fall down one day, I will do better the next.  7 down, 358 to go!

The obligatory before photo and stats

Every good fitness blog must have a “before” photo and statistics regarding the current state of the participant’s flabbiness.  While putting my height, weight, and body fat percentage on the Internet makes me want to run screaming for the hills, I suppose it’s my duty to disclose this personal information.  How else would you know if I am making progress?  If you choose to laugh or make fun of my current state, please do so where I cannot hear / see you.  Humiliation is not my idea of a good time.

Let me first give you some history.  Seven months ago, this was me.

This photo was taken four days before my son was born.  I dreamed of a nice, easy, natural birth.  My son had other ideas.  After twelve hours of labor, I had an emergency c-section.  I was exhausted, emotional, and I couldn’t move my legs.  I was not ready for the lengthy recovery that followed.  I was told not to drive for eight weeks.  I drove the day after I was released from the hospital.  My direction following skills are apparently below par.  I thought I would be able to get back into the gym right away.  Little did I know that it would take me several weeks to be able to walk to the end of the street.  I believe I’ve made great progress in seven months.  I can do sit-ups, I can do burpees, and I can do a plank for a minute.  All feats I never thought possible, post c-section.  I am five pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight; however, I am about 10 pounds away from my ideal weight.  Although, I am discussing weight here, my goals for this journey don’t revolve completely around weight loss. 

This is me today. 

You didn’t actually think I was going to do one of those before photos where I am standing in my sports bra and shorts, did you?  I have a little bit of dignity, and believe me that is not something I want floating around the Internet for eternity.  Just because I am not exposing my flab doesn’t mean it’s not there.  I assure you, it exists!  Please excuse the grime, I just finished a workout.  

Here are my current stats:

Height – 5’8”

Weight – 160 pounds

Body Fat Percentage – 27% *

* As a reference point, 25% body fat is considered overweight and 30% body fat is considered obese.  I am currently overweight and three percentage points away from being obese.  I obviously have some work to do!

I have no idea where I will be in 362 days.  I would love it if my body fat percentage were quite a bit lower.  Only time will tell.  

The journey begins

First of all, what is operose?  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines operose [op-uh-rohs] as tedious, wearisome.  Synonyms for operose include arduous, diligent, hard, industrious, and laborious.  It is the perfect adjective for the journey that I am about to embark on.

What is this operose journey, you ask?  I am going to spend the next 365 days eating clean and training hard.  No gluten, no dairy, no refined sugar, no JUNK.  For the specifics of my self-imposed rules, see the “rules” tab.  I am going to work my tail off in the gym AND in the kitchen to become a better, leaner, healthier me.  I already work out several times per week.  Working out is not my problem.  Eating healthfully is an extremely difficult task for me.  My sweat sessions are generally ruined when I refuel my body with cupcakes and macaroni and cheese.  Seriously, am I a five-year-old?!  Why in the world am I eating like one?  The mediocrity stops now.   

I spent last weekend watching the CrossFit Games with  my husband.  My husband is fit, lean, disciplined, and devastatingly handsome (you should see him).  I want to be like him.  How did the Cupcake Queen marry Captain Fitness?  That’s a post for another day.  We watched beautiful, lean, fit women compete in 15 different events designed to test strength, conditioning, and stamina.  I long to look and perform like these women.  

I am not delusional.  I know I am not going to look like this after one year.  Women like this spend their entire lives training in one discipline or another.  They are athletes.  I am not an athlete, unless you count my one season on the junior varsity tennis team in the 10^th grade.  Since that was a L-O-N-G time ago, I think it is safe to say, I am not an athlete.  I believe there is an athlete inside everyone, and I am on a quest to find mine.  Starting today, I am going to look for her.  Let’s see if I can spend 365 days allowing her to come to the surface.  Only time will tell if I will meet her at the end of this adventure. 

I am going to hold myself accountable by posting weekly nutrition and physical training logs.  I will fully disclose everything I eat, including “cheat” items.  I will also detail the workouts I complete for the week.  I hope that you will help hold me accountable in my journey.