I changed my mind!!

Ok, so it's a new year, right? Resolutions are being broken all over the world. You know what the most common one is, right? Losing weight!! Ugh! I'm at a place in my life where I really don't need to heap one more thing on top of my already all consuming life. So I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore. Yup! I changed my mind! I am not making resolutions anymore. Heck! I will barely give them a thought unless they come up in conversation!

Having an intolerance to wheat and gluten is all consuming enough. Each day I have to consciously think about what I'm eating. Does it have wheat or gluten in it? Is there an alternative I can have instead? If I have just a small piece of cake will it be my downfall?  All questions that run through my mind when I'm presented with food, preparing food or shopping for food. I think that's plenty, don't you?

If you have an intolerance to a certain type of food, it does not mean that you can't eat it anymore. It only means that you have to eat it in moderation. Moderation will vary from person to person. You have to know where the stop button is! That's where it can get complicated!

So let me tell you a little story..........

As you know,I live in Ireland. So back in September I went to the states to visit my family and friends. I detoxed off wheat and gluten before I got there because I knew I couldn't stay away from things like Thomas' English Muffins, bagels, muffins, donuts, etc. You get the picture, right? So I thought, that's ok, I'll just detox when I get home. I basically threw caution to the wind and took the ball and chain off my ankle for the few weeks I was home and ate literally anything I wanted without even thinking about it. Ok, I did think about the fact that I was eating something I shouldn't but it didn't stop me.

By the time I was leaving I couldn't button my jeans!! The new ones I bought when I first arrived! I had to wear a track suit! Now, one would think that wearing a track suit for an international flight is actually a good idea. People do it all the time. Comfort, right? The problem was that I knew that I couldn't wear my jeans even if I wanted to! So obviously, I was bloated, tired, irritable and my stomach was giving me trouble. Drinking mass quantities of coffee to get me through the day where normally that wouldn't be necessary. Yes, I did a lot of running around, visiting people, meeting up for dinner--all that. So that would explain being tired.

But not really. I can't let myself off the hook that easily. The truth is that I ate things I shouldn't have and I ate A LOT of it! I didn't practice my "moderation" mantra. So what am I getting at? Moderation for one wheat intolerant person is different to another person's wheat intolerance.  There are a lot of considerations that can affect just how much wheat and/or gluten your body can tolerate and the trick is that you have to figure out what your limit is. Know what your symptoms are when you've had too much. For me, I get bloated and very tired but I also start coughing for some reason. It mainly kicks in at night when I'm going to sleep. As soon as my head hits the pillow I'll start coughing. But if I've been exercising that day, my tolerance is higher. 


So do yourself a favor. Figure out when you've had too much. Know what YOUR symptoms are and if you feel like you are reaching that point, take note of what you've been eating and make a few changes.