Gluten-free processed foods aren't necessarily the healthier alternative....

I haven’t posted in a week because to be quite frank, I felt like a broken record.  I don’t want to bore people with the same old stuff day in and day out.  I’m going to do a weekly check-in for now on, unless I learn something totally worthwhile and need to share it with you.  I didn’t have much time to read this week, so I didn’t learn anything new as far as research, but I did learn some more about gluten-free foods and what they do to me.  I had a four day weekend because of two snow days.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I literally spent all day Thursday and all day Friday watching the first two seasons of Downton Abbey.  I’m completely addicted to it.  If you like a ton of plot lines, witty humor, and scandalous events, you’ll love it.  I personally also find it spellbinding to see how the aristocrats lived back in the day.  Growing up near Newport, RI and visiting the mansions regularly one of our many hobbies growing up was going to the Breakers, Marble House, Rose-cliffe and more.  There I go, digressing again. 

Here’s a recap of last week.  I ate well, most of the week.  I did not have any sugar or gluten and only a slice of cheese here and there throughout the week.  I say that I ate well most of the week because we splurged on some gluten-free junk food (no sugar was in any of these foods).  On Friday, the snow day, Molly made a homemade lasagna using GF noodles.  I’ve never ever made a lasagna before.  This sucker was the BOMB!  I’m totally bragging, but this daughter of mine is mind boggling.  That kid is so ambitious and nothing gets in her way (besides her smart ass mouth once in a while).  Anyhow, she made the lasagna because it’s her brother’s all time favorite food.  It was excellent, and you’d never have known that the noodles were GF.  They sell them at Walmart in the GF section if you are interested in trying them. 

On Saturday Maggie had a friend sleep over, her first since moving to Virginia.  It was super sweet.  She was going to be here for dinner, so I wanted to get some kid friendly food.  I didn’t want to make the kid never want to come back J  I found some Perdue Select GF chicken tenders.  They were freaking delicious!  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM even if you or your kids are not GF. 

On Sunday I was super busy around the house and wanted a quick and easy meal to make for dinner.  Molly made a salad and I threw in one of the frozen GF pizza’s I found last week at Costco.  I don’t know what brand it was, but again, it was excellent.  I also had GF toast Sunday morning with my eggs. 

Now that you know what some of the food I ate over the past three days, let me tell you how I felt.  I was a little lethargic during the days.  I also had cravings and seemed to be hungry throughout the days, especially on Saturday and Sunday.  I was a bit “off” and didn’t feel like working out even though the weather was gorgeous.  I did force myself to go for a walk on Saturday and walked 2 miles.  But, that was primarily because Maggie’s friend was coming over and I wanted to take my ankle biting, child biting 10-pound rat for a walk.  He was going to be in solitary confinement while her friend was over.   It took me forever to get motivated yesterday and I worked super slow.  I got hungry about every 2 hours and found myself snacking on various foods (none of which were fruits or veggies).  Instead. I ate almonds (more than I should have), corn chips, veggie sticks, etc…  I ate a lot of processed foods (aside from the almonds.)  It happened again this morning.  For the past 7 weeks I have eaten breakfast by 7 a.m.  I then grab a snack (fruit) at 11 and eat lunch at 12:30.  Well, by 9:30 today I was starving.   I had to eat something and at my plum.  At 11 I ate my apple.  The rest of the day was normal and I didn’t have any crazy cravings and such. 

So, I started wondering why on Earth did I feel sluggish and had these cravings all weekend.  My appetite just seemed off and I kept wanted to shove something else in my mouth.  I wondered if the GF pasta, breading, pizza and bread had something to do with it.  I called my all knowing cousin to find out if GF starch / carb foods break down the same as their non-GF “white” foods (breads, cereals, pasta, etc…).  Turns out they do.  They skyrocket your blood sugar and then you have that inevitable crash a short time later.  It’s an endless cycle and your body keeps telling you to eat more after that crash.  I did additional research online and found a few more sites that verified with what my cousin told me.  Here’s one of the articles that explains this phenomenon. 

http://www.glutenfreeschool.com/2013/04/29/gluten-free-bread/

Here’s another really quick and easy read too:

http://www.glutenfreeschool.com/?s=Gluten+free+bread%3A++why+are+you+still+eating+it

It basically boils down to that I was having some of the same side affects I was having when I was eating refined carbs and sugars.  My cousin said she treats those GF processed carb products like treats that are eaten sparingly.  They are not eaten three days in row L.  Bummer, but now that I learned this about them and PAYED attention to my body this weekend, I won’t be indulging on these products again for a while and if and when I do, I will have them sparingly.  The kids have already been taught this and they understand that those things will be eaten few and far between. 

So, lesson learned.  Not all GF food is created equal.  It can still wreck havoc on a sugar addict’s system and send you back into the downward addiction spiral.  The never ending cravings, the laziness, and the brain fog.  I will stick to my whole foods that God put on this earth for us to eat with the least amount of processing.  This includes fresh fruits, veggies, berries, meats, fish, eggs, nuts, and beans. 

****Pardon me for any errors in this blog.  I’m so ready for bed and don’t have the energy to proofread.  But, I want to post it now for the sake that I don’t know when I’ll have time to do it.********

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This past Thursday’s weigh-in was a success.  I weighed in at 213.6 for a total of 15.2 lbs in 7 weeks.  I’ll be happy to keep up an average of 1.5 lbs lost in a week.