First Weigh-in In a Month

This morning I did a weigh-in because I had been avoiding the scale since my last weigh-in at 298.2! EEK! But I am happy to say the scale this morning said 279.6lbs! YAY! That is a total loss of 18.6 lbs in about a month. I will take it! I'm pretty excited to weigh-in next week and see the number even lower! I would LOVE to be out of the 270's, but we will see. 9.6 lbs might be a lot to lose.I am super excited about this loss though! Here's to another gluten free day! :)

Eating Out Gluten Free

Today was a busy day for me and thus I had to eat out twice. I really don't like to do this because it is often unhealthy decisions I make. Today for breakfast that was no exception. My family was at Hardee's and I being super hungry looked on their menu talked to the person taking my order and decided on a "gluten free" low-card breakfast bowl. BAD IDEA! First it was loaded with cheese and greasy sausage which at one point I probably would have loved, but not anymore. My tastes have really changed especially with being faced with a gluten intolerance. So, I ate the breakfast bowl and within about 15 minutes found out I shouldn't have. I don't know if the person preparing my food didn't change gloves or somehow gluten found it's way into my meal, but it was there. I felt miserable! But, at least now I know not to get that.


For dinner I ate at Red Robin. For those of you who do not know what Red Robin is it is a american food restaurant. I have been doing lots of research on gluten free eating out and after my breakfast fiasco was worried about attempting to eat out again. To my delight it was FANTASTIC! Also, I explained to the waitress and she listened. I asked her to please make sure the staff changed their gloves and made sure that no gluten came anywhere near my plate. She was like we here at Red Robin really take food allergies serious and do everything to ensure your food is "clean" of allergens. I ate my meal still a little skeptical that I would feel sick shortly after. NOTHING! What a relief! I ordered that California Chicken Burger with no bun and instead of fries I ordered a side salad no croutons with the honey-poppyseed dressing. It was super delicious and I will definitely be going back in the future and with ease. I love that feeling.

Super Great Gluten Free Dinners

For the past three nights I have made some amazing totally gluten free dinners. On Thursday I made had gluten free chicken fettuccine alfredo using Trader Joes Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli. I have had other gluten free pasta that costs much more than this rice pasta that didn't taste near as good. Along with the chicken fettuccine I had green beans and applesauce with cinnamon. I can't say ENOUGH how amazingly tasty this pasta was. And, I only paid $1.99 per bag for this pasta which is such an incredible price. Now, with using the alfredo sauce it didn't make the meal super nutritional but I just can't cut everything out while getting used to eating gluten free. 


Ok, Friday night I made pork chops seasoned with thyme, cumin, paprika, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper. I baked the porkchops until done and ate it with some GF yukon gold mashed potatoes, green beans and applesauce with cinnamon. I obviously like green beans and applesauce! ;) This dinner was delicious!

Then tonight I made homemade pizzas using a GF pizza crust. When making the dough I sprinkled a generous amount of an Italian seasoning before baking which I feel like gave it an excellent amount of flavor. I made two separate pizzas so I can cut up and freeze and then just take them straight out of the freezer and reheat. Which is super nice because there isn't really a whole lot I like to eat that is quick. So the first pizza had red sauce, chicken, spinach, black olives and cheese. The other one had red sauce, bacon, sausage and cheese. They both were super fantastic. I used Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Crust mix. I paid around $3.50 for a bag of the mix and it made two large pizzas.


I look forward to making more delicious GF meals! AND I am weighing in for the first time in about a month on Monday. I am nervous and excited all at the same time. I really hope to see a loss. No matter how much. The last time I weighed myself I gained 15lbs. That's a whole lot to gain when you are really wanting to lose weight! 

Inspirational Quote #3

"The rainbow would not be without first the rain." D Donche Jr

Todays Meals & Thoughts

Today went pretty well as far as eating gluten free. The problem with eating gluten free is it's either all or nothing. When I am eating gluten filled food I have stomach pains and intestinal issues after each meal and in between as well. But, unfortunately I am just kind of used to it. Now that I am eating gluten free and really making sure nothing that has gluten in it comes close to my mouth its like my sensitivity heightens. It's like one little bread crumb can upset my stomach. For example, for breakfast I ate 2 scrambled eggs with a slice of GF bread and a small amount of cinnamon butter with a Clementine on the side. All things I ate for breakfast were GF but my stomach started hurting soon after finishing my meal. So, that means that either by using the toaster that is also used for regular bread my bread got some crumbs on it or the cinnamon butter that has shared a knife with a gluten filled product got gluten in it. And because this is my second day eating GF I can feel exactly when I have encountered gluten. It also happened again tonight for dinner. I went out to Denny's with my mom and grandma. I ordered 2 egg whites with turkey bacon and chicken sausage. All of which is supposedly GF. So, I suspect the bacon was grilled on the same surface that the pancakes are made thus contaminating my food. Also, the entrée came with a side of bread and I asked the waitress if I could get fruit or yogurt as a substitute and it was going to cost me extra. I didn't want the bread and the other side but just a substitution. It just gets frustrating going out to eat and my husband and I really enjoy doing this. I will have to make it work though because this is now a lifestyle for me. I can't go back for my health.


I went to a whole foods store and found some good deals. I bought some GF pancakes (blueberry and plain 2 for $6.00), rice pasta ($1.99 a bag) as well as some spinach and some apples and so on. I think I want to make fish and rice for dinner tomorrow. We will see how adventurous I want to get.


Today's Meals:


Breakfast:
2 scrambled eggs
1 slice GF bread
1 clementine


Lunch:
Tuna salad on GF crackers


Dinner:
2 scrambled eggs
2 slices of turkey bacon
1 patty of chicken sausage
grits


Snack:
1 homemade GF brownie (MMMmmmm....)

Gluten Intolerance

Well here I am! I don't believe I have mentioned this yet mainly because I myself don't want to believe it, but I have a gluten intolerance. To my body, gluten in toxic. It makes me feel awful and yet I still eat it. It's like the thought of living gluten free is horrific. BUT, my friends, the time has come. The time is here that I say good-bye to my gluten and say hello to G-free eating. It's going to be a tough journey. I know because I have tried once. And it ended with my crying in the cafeteria at work because they had sold their last baked potato, one of the only things I could eat that night from the cafeteria. It was terrible. Seriously, imagine a grown woman crying in a cafeteria over a baked potato! I can laugh at it now, but what an awful day. 

I have been going on almost a year now of knowing that I have a gluten intolerance and doing nothing about it. My excuses were: it's too expensive, it's too hard, I simply can't live without pasta and on and on. But the truth of the matter is I can't afford NOT to live G-free. The risks I am taking every day with eating foods with gluten is just plain crazy. I don't want to end up with intestinal cancer or infertility and that can happen! It's just crazy how your risk of very serious health problems is elevated when eating gluten that attacks your insides with you have an intolerance. 

Yesterday was my first day gluten free in months. It's truly amazing just how much better I feel with one day of no gluten. I ate a banana, gluten free white cheddar crunchy goodness, honey roasted peanuts, cranberry and almond bar and tuna salad on g-free bread. I was in the process of moving yesterday and was busy packing and traveling so I didn't eat super well, but gluten free and that's what mattered yesterday. 

Today, after work I will be venturing out to the local whole foods store to pick up some more gluten free goodness. I will share what I find later on tonight! Oh and I am reading another book which I will also share with you later on tonight!

Today's Food Diary

Well it started off well....


Breakfast:
3 eggs scrambled
1 cup of fresh spinach chopped
1 Tbsp of black olives
1 Tbsp of tomato
1 Tbsp shredded cheese
1 biscuit with 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon whip
1 cup of coffee with caramel creamer
water


Lunch:
6" turkey & ham sandwich from subway
American cheese
Lettuce
Spinach
Pickles
Olives
Oil & Vinegar
Light Mayo


Dinner:
Taco Bell :( Enough said....


Snack:
Cookie Cake... what happened!!!! :(

Yesterday's Food Diary

My breakfast isn't the healthiest today because I haven't really been keeping healthy food around the house and so I had to work with what I had. I was planning on going to the store later on in the day so I just made something that was better than what I had been eating for breakfast.


Breakfast:
2 eggs scrambled
1Tbsp black olives
1Tbsp cheese
1 buttermilk biscuit
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon whip


Lunch:
I didn't get to eat lunch :(


Dinner:
I had leftovers it was a chicken and noodles plate which contained:
Egg noodles
Cream of Chicken Soup
Chicken Stock
Chicken
Sides:
Apple Sauce with Cinnamon


Snack:
1 cup of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream


So, not such a good day as far as food goes, but honestly its WAY better that what I have been eating! So, I will work to be a little better today. One day at a time, step by step; I will beat this!

Today I Stepped on The Scale.....

and it was not pretty! I posted a while ago that I was having a difficult time in life right now and that is still true. I lost my job and have not been able to find a new one. I am having a really hard time with that because I am a person that loves work and loves to stay busy. I hate that I haven't worked a day since December 5, 2010. It is awful. And of course as a result I have gained weight and a significant amount. I weighed myself today and the scale said 298.2lbs. I just want to cry.... On my very first weigh in post I said that I would never see the weight that was on there and now I have surpassed it. It is not a good feeling. But, I will just pick myself up and move on. That's what I have to do. I CAN NOT let this be the end of this journey. I have to push forward and keep trying to win this battle. I WILL win this battle. I hope to start getting back on track. I have been feeling really down lately and literally have just been sleeping and sitting on the couch. That has to change. I can't live this super lazy life that I have been. Job or no job, I have to take care of my health. So, a fresh start? I think so!