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Category: gluten-free (Page 2 of 3)

Why I am Staying Gluten and Dairy-Free

August 21, 2012 / / 1 Comment

Best french fries in the world!! Gluten-free!

Over the past month, possibly even longer, I have been thinking a lot about whether this whole gluten and dairy-free eating plan I have been doing is worth it. Although it has gotten much easier, once I started doing Weight Watchers in addition to it, it made things a bit more complicated and challenging. However on two separate occasions, I intentionally ate a food item with gluten and/or dairy in it and noticed that I had some joint pain afterwards. Coincidence? Maybe. However at the time, it wasn’t worth the drama of investigating the issue any further.

That was, until I was off prednisone for over a month and my old enemy, joint pain, came back into my life on a regular basis. Despite a regular exercise regime and eating healthy, the joint pain and stiffness associated with arthritis began to worsen as well as the autoimmune related migraines, fatigue, and worsening of dryness symptoms. Is it possible that if I was eating gluten and dairy that the symptoms would have been much worse? Maybe. Like everything related to my illness, nothing is ever certain. Everything about it remains elusive to me.

So I go back on a low dose of prednisone which I remain on as I write this, which has given me some relief while my doctor is working on contacting my previous rheumatologist to investigate what previous treatments have been tried, why they were stopped, what worked and didn’t work, and try to decide if some of the medications I am taking now are making me worse rather than better. There is the possibility of adding another, possibly toxic, medication. The saga never ends.

During all of this, my fiance and I leave for a four day weekend trip to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. A place not exactly known for its gluten and dairy-free lifestyle. Junk food everywhere you turn and you can smell it within like a mile of even approaching the pier and downtown area by the beach. I had a plan though. I packed a bag of gluten and dairy-free snacks for the three hour drive up and back so I wouldn’t have to worry about eating on the road. I did a Google search on restaurants in Old Orchard Beach (OOB) to see what my options were.

I had made a conscious decision that while I was not going to let myself eat out of control, I was not going to be strict about counting points for Weight Watchers while I was away and give myself a break in regards to being so strict about my Weight Watchers plan. I know my leader would probably frown on this but it felt like it was the right thing for me to do. The gluten and dairy issue was going to be difficult enough. I felt confident that once I was back home, I would get right back on track with Weight Watchers, which I have.

My plan at OOB was to allow myself one dairy item which was a soft serve vanilla cone that I have been wanting all summer; and I mean ALL summer. I have been going to ice cream places with friends and their children all summer and getting sorbet with this plan in mind. My intent was for everything else at OOB to be gluten and dairy-free.

So this is what really happened. Out of the four days we were there, I was completely gluten and dairy-free for two of them. I was already having quite a bit of joint pain and fatigue when we got to the beach and pretty much was having a “what the hell is the difference now?” attitude about the whole gluten and dairy issue. I don’t think my eating was out of control in terms of amount but the type of food I ate made me feel so lousy that my body felt like I ate 10x more than I actually did. When I sit and think about the gluten and dairy items I actually DID eat in those two days, it came down to: that small soft serve ice cream cone, one regular beer, a buffalo chicken quesadilla (didn’t finish it), and a large slice of pizza. Everything else I ate the whole trip was gluten and dairy-free as far as I know. But I think the gluten and dairy was such a shock to my system that it felt that I ate so much more than that. It’s called bloat.

Now I cannot say that any of my autoimmune symptoms got worse because I already had joint pain and if anything, that got better. Not from eating gluten and dairy, but probably from being back on pain medication and decreasing my stress levels by being at the beach. But those food items did wreak havoc on my stomach. Now you have to keep in mind what I ate. That was some seriously greasy (and yes tasty) food. I cannot say if it was the gluten and dairy that caused the stomach issues or the type of food that did it. I can say that before vacation, I was eating much healthier. But, I was also eating, on occasion, similar foods such as pizza and buffalo chicken. I was just eating gluten and dairy-free homemade versions that were much healthier as well.

Here is what I do know. Without a doubt, I am very glad that I took my two day hiatus from my gluten-free, dairy-free lifestyle. While it does not answer the question of whether or not gluten and dairy directly the severity of my Sjogren’s syndrome, it is very clear to me that is directly affects my overall health. It does this by making me stop and think about what I put in my mouth. I make healthier food choices. I eat more whole foods rather than processed foods which is much better for people with inflammatory disorders like mine. Gluten and yes, even dairy (no matter what the media tells you), have no nutritional value and therefore are not a necessity for my body. I cook more than I eat out. I have seen improvement in other areas of my health not related to my Sjogren’s including my weight (because I am making better choices), my skin, hair, and nails, my gastrointestional system, and my menstrual cycle.

I am not saying that a gluten-free, dairy-free lifestyle is for everyone but for me, for now, it is worth the effort. My health is worth the effort. My life is worth the effort.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Diet and Exercise Update

July 25, 2012 / / 7 Comments
“Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I realized this week that it has been six months since I made the drastic change to eliminate all gluten and dairy from my diet. Wow, six months! I think that is the longest I have ever stuck with a change in my eating habits. I can honestly now say that it is much easier than it was when I started back in January.

People ask me from time to time if I think that eliminating gluten and dairy from my diet has helped my autoimmune symptoms. It has not eliminated the symptoms but at this point, I feel that it has helped. On a few occasions I have intentionally eaten something with gluten or dairy in it and I have noticed a change for the worse either in my level of joint pain and/or in my asthma symptoms. In addition to that, I never have any gastrointestinal issues at all anymore and my menstrual cycle is much more tolerable.

I have become frustrated with this eating plan at times, most notably when I came off of my last round of steroids and my joint pain immediately came back. I sat and wondered why the heck I was making my life more challenging by eliminating gluten and dairy when I was still having joint pain. The point that I was missing at the time though was that the joint pain was not as severe.

One of the biggest advantages that I have found with living a gluten and dairy-free lifestyle is the changes it has forced me to make in my eating habits. Changes that have positively affected my health, weight, and overall well being. For example, I have to plan out and think about what I am going to eat. Gone are the days of impulsively shoving something in my mouth because I am either hungry or because I crave a particular food. The options available to me at fast food joints and restaurants are much fewer and therefore I am spending much more time at home cooking meals from scratch which means healthier meals.

Many people say that eating gluten or dairy-free, as well as organic, is much more expensive but I would have to disagree. Yes, my food bill is more each week but it does not compare to the amount of money I save by not swinging by Subway several times a week or eating dinner out more than once every other week. I have also found that unless it is a homemade food, gluten-free products such as bread, muffins, etc. tend to be much more unhealthy and filled with more preservatives than non-gluten products. This has resulted in eating these items once in a great while and instead I choose whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, and whole grains.

The second big change I made in my diet was making the decision to start the Weight Watchers program. This has literally been a godsend for me. I have found the program to be much more “whole foods” friendly than it used to be and I enjoy the fact that in addition to going to weekly meetings, I can also use their online program which enables me to work the program from my laptop or cell phone. I have found a meeting I really enjoy on Tuesday afternoons. Adding a Weight Watchers program to my gluten and dairy-free lifestyle has been a challenge but well worth it. Since my birthday, which was May 3rd, I have lost eighteen pounds. If you add that to the weight I have gradually lost over the past three years, my body is now fifty-five pounds lighter. Oh yeah.

I continue to go to the gym anywhere from four to six days a week. Exercising has become a more difficult task since coming off prednisone and sometimes I just want to say “the hell with it” and quit. But I don’t. I am committed to changing my life and I cannot let joint pain, fatigue, and migraines get in the way of that. I have however changed some of my routine around and have cut back on the length of time I am exercising until I can get my symptoms more under control. I have started taking Pilates classes which was a big step for me and I am in love with it. Right now my exercise regime consists of Pilates, water aerobics, lap swimming, the cross trainer, and rowing. My goal is to be able to increase the time of my workouts and try some other different classes once my joint pain has improved.

I love to exercise. Shocking but true. For most of my life it has been a chore and something I dreaded doing; when I did do it. It is different now though. It is a necessity for me mentally as well as physically. I have worked hard to find activities that are not only safe for my joints but also fun. Despite the physical challenges that I still have, every week I find that my body is getting stronger. Every time I swim a lap in the pool of sit on the mat in a Pilates class, I feel like I have more control over the body that I have spent so much time cursing.

My hope is that as I continue to lose weight and build a stronger body that more of my autoimmune symptoms will lessen or even disappear. If not, I figure the worst that can happen is that my new lifestyle will help prevent future issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Not to mention how much better I will feel about myself.

Works for me.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Rediscovering Weight Watchers

June 20, 2012 / / 7 Comments
“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~ Dr. Dennis Waitley

So I have been writing a lot over the past six months about nutrition and exercise because I am on a mission, and I mean a SERIOUS mission, to improve my autoimmune symptoms as much as I can by eating healthier and exercising my very unpredictable and sometimes seemingly frail body. As all journeys are, this particular one is an ever changing and evolving journey. This blog entry is about my most recent change.

In January of this year I changed to a gluten and dairy-free diet with a focus on also reducing refined sugars and processed foods. Then around April, I joined a new gym with the intention of getting myself on a very regular exercise program which would help me to build a stronger body and in the process, alleviate some of the overwhelming stress I had experienced over the previous several months. Despite many obstacles with my physical abilities at times, overall my exercise program has been quite successful in terms of meeting the objectives and goals I had set for myself.

Although the primary focus of these lifestyle changes was, and still is, for the purpose of improving my health and combating this god awful autoimmune illness, there is more to the story. In addition to wanting to be healthier, I was sick of being fat. Sick of being the biggest person in the room. Sick of never finding the right clothes to fit me in a flattering way. Sick of looking in the mirror and knowing that I didn’t like the image looking back at me. I had lost a good amount of weight, thirty-six pounds, on my own over the past three years but I had stalled out in my weight loss for a variety of reasons. However as I was making these dietary and fitness changes since January, I was also determined to not fall into the diet trap again. The one I had spent so much time in for most of my life. You know, the one where you start a diet, do OK for a while, fall off the wagon, and start hating yourself all over again. I wanted my lifestyle changes to be about taking good care of my body and not about dieting.

However despite the changes I had made already, I knew that I needed to do more. Yes, I was on steroids and sometimes huge doses of them. But I felt like I was not in control of my eating and definitely not in control of my weight. I felt like I was not truly doing the best that I could do to take care of myself and I needed some help.

As luck would have it, a dear friend of mine had recently started Weight Watchers and she told me about their new program. I had been to Weight Watchers before and did well with it for a period of time. And then I would stop following the program or start cheating a lot and I would fall off the wagon. I was also concerned about the gluten and dairy-free issue and how I would pull that off. However this friend of mine is also gluten and dairy-free so she was my inspiration for believing that it could be done.

I sat down and seriously thought about if I started going to Weight Watchers, would it work for me? What if it didn’t work for me with all the steroids I was on? What if I couldn’t stick with it? What if, what if, what if. This is what I finally decided. First, I had to stop using the steroids as an excuse for being overweight. Yes, they can cause weight gain but let’s face it, I was severely overweight before I ever popped a prednisone tablet into my mouth.

Yeap, truth hurts sometimes.

Secondly, things are different now than they were when I was on Weight Watchers years ago. My health is a mess and I have a lot more to lose now. My autoimmune illness is not weight related but I have spent so much friggin’ time being sick that I want to be as fit and healthy as I can possibly  be so that I can enjoy my good days more fully. In addition, I don’t want to have to deal with any weight related health issues down the road on top of the health issues I already have. I want to be in the best possible state of health that my autoimmune illness will allow. I have never been this motivated to change.

So on my 41st birthday, May 3rd, I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting. And you know what? It felt good to be there. To be taking yet another proactive step in an attempt to create a healthier version of myself.

I have to admit, between following Weight Watchers and staying gluten/dairy-free, the past seven weeks have not always been easy. I have come to figure out that even though I was eating a lot healthier over the past six months, my portion sizes were ridiculously out of wack. I found that the new Weight Watchers program focuses more on eating whole natural foods than it used to and I really liked that fact. I have found a lot of emotional support in the group meetings and through the message boards online to help change some of my unhealthy eating habits and to learn to eat with purpose. Eat to live rather than live to eat.

And it is working. Looking at the numbers, I have lost twelve pounds in the past seven weeks, despite being on steroids for five of those weeks. This puts me back at the weight I was at seven months ago which is when I started my last round of steroids. More importantly though, I feel better about myself and what I am eating. I am starting to like the face looking back at me in the mirror every morning. Not because she is twelve pounds lighter but rather because she is working hard to be the best that she can be.

She is defying the steroid odds.

She is defying her own self doubts.

She is in control.

It is a much better place to be.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Crossroads

June 14, 2012 / / 6 Comments

I feel like I am at a crossroads in regards to my health, nutrition, and exercise lately. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word crossroads as: a crucial point, especially where a decision must be made. I am not certain that my decisions are necessarily crucial but you get the point.

Over the past two months I have slowly been weaning off my prednisone which was at very high doses to begin with between the oral tablets I was taking and the IV infusions. I finally came off of it three days ago. I knew it was going to be difficult. Historically I come off prednisone for a while and then ultimately go back on it at varying doses because my symptoms return. However this time I am determined to stay off of it for as long as I can unless I am in a very bad or urgent situation such as literally not being able to walk or if I am having extreme difficulty breathing. The reason I feel so strongly about staying off the prednisone is because I am forty-one years old and I believe that my doctor and I need to try another course of treatment. The risk of long term side efefects is high. Not to mention the ones I have to live with when on the medication. It is a toss up most of the time as to what is worse: the disease or the treatment. At this point, it has become a quality of life issue.

But I am in a lot of pain. The joint pain that notoriously feels like someone is driving a chisel into my bones. It is not the worst pain I have ever had but it is pervasive and it is starting to affect my daily life again. I know that if I call my rheumatologist, she will immediately put me back on the prednisone and I just can’t do that to myself again right now. Also, the adrenal gland gets shut off when you are on prednisone and they need time to work on their own again. While this rebalance is taking place, it is common to have symptoms like joint pain. I am hoping that this is all this pain issue is: a response to coming off the prednisone.

I am also at a crossroads with my exercise program. While I was on the prednisone, I was able to do a lot more than I can now. At this point, I cannot even swim without being in significant pain afterwards. And this upsets me. I have come to rely heavily on regular exercise to not only manage my weight but also my emotional well being. I am currently reevaluating the exercise program I have put in place to see how I can work it so that I can still exercise without paying such a heavy price afterwards. It is difficult though when I have made so much progress over the past two months in regards to my fitness level. All I want to do is keep going forward, not backwards.

The final issue to my diet. I have been working so hard on changing my lifestyle over the past six months and my dietary changes have been drastic. And now I am ticked off. Why? Because I have busted my butt for the past five to six months eliminating all gluten and dairy from my diet. I have drastically eliminated sugar as well. I did these things because it has been shown that gluten, dairy, and sugar can contribute to inflammation. I have sacrificed a lot to make this eating plan work for me and yet as I sit here typing, the joints in fingers are swollen and painful. I know I may be jumping the gun a bit because once my body chemistry evens out, maybe the pain will be better. But it is hard to not be discouraged when I had a lot of hope placed on my dietary changes making a huge difference in my illness. Not to say that it won’t but time will have to tell on that issue.

So what do I do now? Do I give up my gluten and dairy free diet? Do I let myself start having sugary dessert more often? Do I just sit back and use my pain as an excuse to not exercise as often or even at all? Most importantly, do I go back to my medicine cabinet and give in to the pain; knowing that relief may just be as easy as a 10mg tablet of prednisone?

Hell no.

Here is what I am going to do instead. I am going to go to acupuncture more frequently. I will keep reading and learning about pain management techniques and use them as much as possible. I will eat even healthier than I already have been. I will use regular pain medicine when I need to give my body a break from the pain. And I will still exercise. I am not quite sure how but I am resourceful. I will figure it out.

The most important thing I will do is….

Not give in.

I will fight to be stronger than this current flare up of pain. I will not use my illness as an excuse to eat crap or be a couch potato twenty-four hours a day. However, I will also be kind and gentle to my body in whatever ways it need me to be. I will have faith that this too shall pass. One day and one hour at a time.

Photo Courtesy of:  Image Crossroads (C) by www.martin-liebermann.de

Eight Weeks Later – The Nutritional Odyssey Continues….

March 12, 2012 / / 5 Comments
“Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.” ~ Hippocrates

Eight weeks later I am still following a nutrition plan that I began January 18, 2012. A lot has happened to me in those eight weeks, both in terms of the eating plan and in regards to my Sjogren’s syndrome. The Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder, has been the catalyst for drastically changing how I eat in the first place.

I have written two previous blog entries on the topic which can be found by following these two links so hopefully I am not repeating myself too much:

Nutritional Healing
Nutritional Healing Update

I started eating this way after hours and days of research in a desperate attempt to try and contribute to controlling my symptoms as my Sjogren’s symptoms were worsening relatively rapidly. I have a history of lousy nutrition and being overweight and since my first autoimmune symptoms in December 2007, not one physician has suggested that I do any dietary changes in an attempt to help alleviate my symptoms. Of course nutrition research is not funded because it is not profitable so there is a scant amount of true research information out in the medical community about the positive effects of diet on autoimmune disorders. However I read enough patient stories and experiences to know it was something I had to try and if it didn’t help my Sjogren’s, it sure as heck was going to help the rest of me.

People have been asking me if I have noticed an improvement in my Sjogren’s symptoms with this new way of eating which is gluten and dairy-fee, semi vegetarian, reduced sugar, reduced processed foods, no fast food, whole foods, no soda or caffeine. The answer is:

I cannot say with any certainty.

The same time I started my eating plan, I started on large doses of steroids for neurological issues, was diagnosed with two blood clots in my lungs, and received a diagnosis of another autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barre. My body has been a huge deposit for steroids, blood thinners, and multiple other medications I am not accustomed to taking. I think that as I wean off the steroids and recover fully from the Guillain-Barre (which I absolutely will), the answer to this question will be more clear.

What I can say is that until my last steroid infusion, I was tolerating some of the side effects better than usual, my periods have been more tolerable, cravings for high fat and sugar laden foods have diminished dramatically. I feel much more in control, with a few exceptions, of my eating. Until my last infusion last week, which was the fourth in six weeks, and in addition to oral steroids everyday at home, I had lost weight. This last infusion killed me in terms of fluid retention, gaining some weight (which has already started to come off), drastic mood swings, heart issues, etc. In regards to non autoimmune issues, my lipid profile (which includes cholesterol, LDL, HDL) is the best it has ever been; very close to perfectly normal and my blood sugar is perfect. Very important since I come from a family history of heart disease and diabetes.

So time will tell. After doing some research, I also learned that it can take several months to notice a positive effect and I am in this for the long haul.

I can honestly say that to the best of my knowledge, I have been on plan with the exception of one time and that demonstrated some proof that I am on to something. After a horrendous appointment with my neurologist last month, I was driving home by myself and was very upset. So how did I deal with that? Burger King drive through of course. The whole works: double cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. I had not had any Sjogren’s related joint pain in quite a while because of the steroids and sure enough, the next day I woke up so stiff and arthritic that I actually questioned if they gave me the right medicine, steroids, at my last infusion a few days prior. Of course they did. It was the food. I am certain of it.

I wish I could say it has been an easy journey but it has been challenging at times. The learning process, shopping more often, cooking all the time and such really can take a toll on me when I am not physically feeling well; especially with all the neurological issues I have had. Not to mention the physical therapy, doctor’s appointments, etc. However this has just meant that I have to ask for help when I am REALLY sick and that I have to plan and prioritize when I am able to do more for myself. For example, yesterday I spent time going through cookbooks, planning meals, and making a shopping list so that I can decrease my trips to the store. I only have so much energy to use in my day and it is limited lately but the food part HAS to be a priority.

My other challenge has been eating out and eating at other people’s homes. Because in reality, the rest of the world is not eating exactly like me although for the life of me, I cannot imagine why. Eating out has gotten easier and I have found a few restaurants that are very accommodating to my needs. They include places Red Robin, Pizzeria Unos, The Roadhouse, which is a local joint in my town, and a slew of independently owned restaurants in some nearby towns. I am finding that gluten-free is not as big a deal as finding a place that provides gluten AND dairy free options. I am hoping that as awareness of food allergies catches on more, there will be more options available so I can visit some of my old favorite haunts such as Kristina’s and the Hanger (both local places as well) once in a while.

My experience with eating at other people’s homes and social functions has been limited because of my health lately but I was at a family function this past weekend that was challenging, VERY challenging. But I did it. I knew there was going to be pizza, birthday cake, etc. So I brought my own supper and a low sugar, gluten/dairy-free dessert and thought how awesome it was that I was so prepared.

Yeah, not so much.

Pizza is my favorite food in the world and the aroma of the pepperoni soaked pie almost did me in. Plus I was all messed up from the steroids. I wanted to dive into that box head first or at the very least, take it and run like hell. So one might ask, why deprive yourself? What is the big deal about a slice or two of pizza? The big deal is that gluten and dairy can do damage to your intestines that you may not even know about and set you back god knows how long. It is not like a traditional diet where you give in to your craving and move on, compensating for it later. At least not that I know of and I wasn’t willing to risk all that hard work. I left that evening pizza free. And you can bet I will be making an awesome gluten and dairy-free pizza for Chuck and I sometime this week.

I have also found it very helpful to be prepared for travel such as for doctor appointments and long days. I bought a lunch box, a bunch of food containers, ice packs, etc. When you have what you can eat right at your disposal, it makes a huge difference when you come across a hospital coffee shop that literally only has a bag of peanuts and a bruised apple to choose from while you wait an extra hour to see your doctor!

So these have been some of the challenges in my new found way of eating. There have been a lot of blessings though as well. To start with, I have found a love of cooking that I never knew I had. And to be honest, I am kind of good at it! I am not the most creative cook so I rely a lot on some really great cookbooks I have found. However slowly but surely, I am learning to make some things without a recipe and discovering a culinary world I never knew existed. It makes me feel good to create something with my own hands that is healthy and nutritious for my body. Yes, there are occasions that I resort to a gluten/dairy-free processed meal that some factory made for me but I feel no guilt about that because it is so infrequent.

I also enjoy the challenge of creating dishes and meals that are not only on plan, but also taste fantastic. I appreciate food now more than ever because I actually taste the FOOD itself; imagine that! I also find that I am starting to look forward to certain healthy foods such as kale, black eyed peas, and quinoa, rather that Chef Boyardee ravioli or fast food.

I never want to be one of those people who runs around saying how their lifestyle is the only way to go; whether it be in regards to food, exercise, or anything else. But I will continue to let people know how it is going and share information. Not just because I happen to have this autoimmune disorder, but because the fact is, the typical American diet is lethal and the incidence of obesity and weight related health issues in this country is off the charts. We are so obsessed with losing weight that we don’t stop to think about being healthy. That should be the goal.

Sometimes all it takes is a small change. Eat a vegetable every day. Pass on the fried appetizer. I started this way of eating plan eight weeks ago but reality is, the process started for me a year ago when I drank my first green smoothie in an effort to get more greens into my body.

A whole year ago.

Who knows where I, or you, can be a year from now….

Photos: Courtesy of Google Images

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