I’ll have one wheat-free… anything?!

About a month ago I made the decision to try to eliminate wheat from my diet.  This was a decision I made one night as Brendan complained to me that I often make the excuse, when I don’t want to do something, that I “don’t feel good.”  He was telling me how frustrating it is because it seems like I am just always saying that my stomach hurts when I don’t feel like doing something.  It was hard for me to explain to him, as it is when I explain to anybody not suffering from IBS, that I literally always feel sick.  It’s not just my fake excuse. 

I realized then that IBS really was having a big impact on my life and my relationship: Brendan thought I was always lying to him!!  I knew that I had inherited my issues from my dad, and I knew that he had been pretty successful at alleviating most of his discomfort when he had gone gluten free, but it had been too inconvenient to maintain.  I decided it would be easier to start with just keeping wheat out of my diet because that is likely a lot of the gluten I eat and it is easy to recognize. 

For the first few days, I forgot ALL the time and remembered a couple minutes after eating the strawberry shortcake/pasta/bread that I was trying not to eat wheat.  Once I was even avoiding wheat on a restaurant menu while eating the bruschetta appetizer in front of me!! Cool…

But it got easier and easier as I started to focus on what I could eat, rather than what I was missing…

like oatmeal PB cookies! 

Luckily for Brendan, I have been way more interested in his favorite foods.  This pumpkin chicken curry with brown rice was awesome! 

Taco salad with ground turkey, avocado, olives, greek yogurt and corn tortillas!

My favorite afternoon or post-run snack: vanilla yogurt, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and frozen pineapple! 

Quinoa pasta with chickpea pasta sauce and a fresh summer salad.

Corn tortilla chips and ridiculous amounts of guac!

And of course… ice cream, yogurt and iced lattes fit in as well! 

I haven’t played around with wheat-free or spelt bread products yet because I haven’t really felt the need to, and they are so expensive.  The only think I have really thought about is pizza, which Brendan says is weird because we don’t really eat pizza, apparently.  I have definitely noticed a difference in my tummy, but runs (as in exercise faster than walking) still seem to mess me up.  I guess that is just part of running, not IBS?  

I have definitely become more mindful of what I am eating, which I wouldn’t recommend for everyone (ie. eating disorder recovery), but it has definitely been interesting.   I think I will continue because I feel better, but I am sure there will be occasions when I decide that it is ok to have a slice of deep dish when we travel through Chicago or a donut when I go to Top Pot in Seattle because I technically am not allergic to wheat, just sensitive. 

---