Sob, sob, wail, wail, sob.
Alas, I of course know that refined carbs are banned now, but I had a few chips (from Banker's) on Tuesday lunchtime and man was I sorry. within about 15 minutes of eating the chips I felt heavy, bloated and sleepy with some indigestion.
They did taste AMAZING though.
Grrr.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Looking slimmer, feeling slimmer.
Hooray me! That's three different friends who've commented that I look slimmer recently. So am starting to believe it's a reality.
Personally, I do feel slimmer or at the very least I'm less bloated than pre-wheat / pre low-carb. I can definitely notice my waist reducing (my worst area) - particularly when bending to do socks / shoes or reaching for baby on floor. To think I'd actually forgotten what it feels like to bend without feeling uncomfortable in the process.
Physically, this has so far translated as about 2 inches reduction in my waist and 1.5 inches reduction in my hip measurements. Not too shabby, I must say. Especially when all I've seen the past 4-5 years is growth and expansion (except after pregnancy).
Another motivator - at the weekend I went through a wardrobe rail of old clothes (that I'd grown out of a couple if years back). Well, I was expecting to find that most still didn't fit, but hoped that maybe a few items were going to almost fit. But, joy of joy, almost all items fit and some even had a bit of give around the waist!! Can't tell you how amazing this felt. I even wore one of the skirts on Tuesday to the beach.
This has just made sure that I want to keep going, there's more weight and inches to go until I reach my goal and now I've found my motivation to carry on.
Personally, I do feel slimmer or at the very least I'm less bloated than pre-wheat / pre low-carb. I can definitely notice my waist reducing (my worst area) - particularly when bending to do socks / shoes or reaching for baby on floor. To think I'd actually forgotten what it feels like to bend without feeling uncomfortable in the process.
Physically, this has so far translated as about 2 inches reduction in my waist and 1.5 inches reduction in my hip measurements. Not too shabby, I must say. Especially when all I've seen the past 4-5 years is growth and expansion (except after pregnancy).
Another motivator - at the weekend I went through a wardrobe rail of old clothes (that I'd grown out of a couple if years back). Well, I was expecting to find that most still didn't fit, but hoped that maybe a few items were going to almost fit. But, joy of joy, almost all items fit and some even had a bit of give around the waist!! Can't tell you how amazing this felt. I even wore one of the skirts on Tuesday to the beach.
This has just made sure that I want to keep going, there's more weight and inches to go until I reach my goal and now I've found my motivation to carry on.
Friday, 24 August 2012
Meat free?
Now here's my latest dilemma. I've been living meat free since I was about 7/8 years old. Not a particularly ethical decision on my part, I just had a real aversion to the taste / texture from a very young age. I spent many hours and years fighting with my mother, who wanted me to eat meat (read that 'meat' as grim gristly sausages and cheap beef mince!) - so it's hardly surprising that when my mum and dad divorced (I stayed with dad) that I readily said goodbye to meat forever. So joyous was my au revoir, that I took to life as a vegetarian without looking back at all. The problem (today) is I can now see that this path has meant I've been living primarily on carbs most of my life.
Now, trying to live a low-carb lifestyle does make this whole meat-free thing quite tricky, at the very least from the perspective of meal-time variety. I've never eaten so much fish in my bloody life! I cannot mainline tofu, much as I like it, I don't LOVE it, and eggs, well, I've gone from about 4 per week to about 10. So I'm wondering, can I bring myself, after all these years, to try a bit of meat..?
Where to start? I'm thinking chicken, or even just some chicken soup/broth. I don't know if I can ever get myself to eating meat with 'bones in'. The thought of that actually gives me The Fear. Shit, maybe I need some counselling!
Hmm, lots of thinking to do.
Now, trying to live a low-carb lifestyle does make this whole meat-free thing quite tricky, at the very least from the perspective of meal-time variety. I've never eaten so much fish in my bloody life! I cannot mainline tofu, much as I like it, I don't LOVE it, and eggs, well, I've gone from about 4 per week to about 10. So I'm wondering, can I bring myself, after all these years, to try a bit of meat..?
Where to start? I'm thinking chicken, or even just some chicken soup/broth. I don't know if I can ever get myself to eating meat with 'bones in'. The thought of that actually gives me The Fear. Shit, maybe I need some counselling!
Hmm, lots of thinking to do.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
These foods contain wheat - why?!
Such are the trials of trying to live wheat free...
Again and again I'm finding foods which contain 'hidden' wheat. Foods which (as a wheat free novice) you wouldn't expect to find it included in the ingredients. It's all very tedious and frustrating, particularly (as I did tonight) if you add a spice into a pan of vegetables with the idea of adding some flavour, only to discover that said spice contains wheat. For f***s sake, why?! Thankfully I hadn't started cooking, so I could rinse the veg in colander and start again, but still.... Grrrr, must remember to check ingredients list, if it's a packet item.
Therefore, I've started a list of ingredients to watch out for, which I will try to update as I continue on my journey.
Contains WHEAT! (updated 22 Aug 2012)
Ensure you check the labels of the following items before buying / eating:
Again and again I'm finding foods which contain 'hidden' wheat. Foods which (as a wheat free novice) you wouldn't expect to find it included in the ingredients. It's all very tedious and frustrating, particularly (as I did tonight) if you add a spice into a pan of vegetables with the idea of adding some flavour, only to discover that said spice contains wheat. For f***s sake, why?! Thankfully I hadn't started cooking, so I could rinse the veg in colander and start again, but still.... Grrrr, must remember to check ingredients list, if it's a packet item.
Therefore, I've started a list of ingredients to watch out for, which I will try to update as I continue on my journey.
Contains WHEAT! (updated 22 Aug 2012)
Ensure you check the labels of the following items before buying / eating:
- Soy Sauce - all brands of soy sauce I've checked so far, all contain wheat. You can instead purchase a sauce called Tamari, which has a richer flavour and no dreaded wheat
- Asafoetida - a spice used in cooking to reduce the 'gassiness' of some vegetables
- Rye - many rye based products also contain wheat, sometimes more wheat than rye (especially rye breads
- Noodles - check labels on all noodles, many say they are 'buckwheat' or 'rice' noodles and they actually also contain wheat
- Sauces - many sauces contain wheat, as a thickener
- Fresh or tinned soups - so many soups contain wheat as a thickener, particularly tinned varieties (Heinz, Baxters etc..)
- Gravy powders - unless you buy gluten free, it will contain wheat
- Stock cubes/powders/sachets - as previous
Gluten free..? Rye wind!
I've been wheat free since 24th July. However, because I've also been doing low carb, I'm almost gluten free too. Have had a small amount of oats in cereal but have had no rye, spelt etc..
That was until this morning. After almost a month of diet changes, I thought 'what the hell I'm having some rye toast' (with cashew spread and butter mmmhmmmm!) and did it taste fabulous? As good as I'd hoped? Hell yeah! Buuuut.. Yes a but :-( since lunchtime I've had a bad stomach, weird digestive 'noises' and burping and wind (the dreaded!). All a bit of a coincidence eh..? It could well be. Strangely though, it made me realise that through the last month of new diet, I've hardly burped or passed wind at all, had almost no digestive 'noises' whatsoever. I also found myself going back to bed at 2.30pm for 1.5 hours when my baby was napping, as I felt completely wiped. I've not had to day nap in all the time I've been dieting. Something else I'd not really noticed. I've definitely not felt as sleepy/tired as before.
But does this mean I actually need to (consciously) go fully gluten free? Am I possibly gluten intolerant - something I've mildly pondered for ages, but generally dismissed as scaremongering mumbo blurb and thought, naaah not me.
Having a bit of a down day now though. It's such a big commitment all this change. Suppose it's got to hit you at some point.. Bah, part of me feels like giving up and eating a huge bowl of spaghetti and tomato sauce.
But there Is baked trout and veg for dinner!
That was until this morning. After almost a month of diet changes, I thought 'what the hell I'm having some rye toast' (with cashew spread and butter mmmhmmmm!) and did it taste fabulous? As good as I'd hoped? Hell yeah! Buuuut.. Yes a but :-( since lunchtime I've had a bad stomach, weird digestive 'noises' and burping and wind (the dreaded!). All a bit of a coincidence eh..? It could well be. Strangely though, it made me realise that through the last month of new diet, I've hardly burped or passed wind at all, had almost no digestive 'noises' whatsoever. I also found myself going back to bed at 2.30pm for 1.5 hours when my baby was napping, as I felt completely wiped. I've not had to day nap in all the time I've been dieting. Something else I'd not really noticed. I've definitely not felt as sleepy/tired as before.
But does this mean I actually need to (consciously) go fully gluten free? Am I possibly gluten intolerant - something I've mildly pondered for ages, but generally dismissed as scaremongering mumbo blurb and thought, naaah not me.
Having a bit of a down day now though. It's such a big commitment all this change. Suppose it's got to hit you at some point.. Bah, part of me feels like giving up and eating a huge bowl of spaghetti and tomato sauce.
But there Is baked trout and veg for dinner!
Low-carb food pyramid
I've been searching for a 'pyramid guide' to show my BF.That way he can understand a bit more about what's allowed and in what sort of quantity (in comparison to each food group). There are tons of these images around, but this one seems a pretty good place to start.
Ideally, you're not looking to go low-carb and low-fat. From what I understand, this is a common mistake when people start low-carbing.
It seems, there is a lot to learn!
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Initial afterthoughts
Since going wheat free last month, I'm pleased to say that I've (thus far) lost a total of 11lbs! Hurrah! However, rather annoyingly, I've only dropped about 1 to 1.5 inches from my waist. I suspect this is due to he initial big drop in weight coming from 'water retention.' I've been reading about this in number of publications that promote low carb eating. There are a number of other unpleasant side effects too, which I'll go into later.
This new lifestyle has now morphed into a rather obsessive health quest. As I mentioned in my first post, I've had some health issues since the birth of my son (Jan 12) and these are things I am keen to start trying to correct, if that's indeed possible with changes to diet / lifestyle. These include joint pain and stiffness, weight gain (although this is longer term, perhaps 5-6 years of increasing weight gain, particularly on the waist), skin issues as well as a diagnosis of Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which I was given in 2009. I've also had recurrent bouts of extreme fatigue, which can make the normal day to day life of bringing up a very active 7 month old pretty challenging!
So, my wheat-free plans have evolved somewhat. In order to explain this clearly, below I'll list some notes for 'pre and post' diet/lifestyle changes.
Pre change
- mainly vegetarian diet with a little fish once in a while (twice a month maybe).
- quite a high degree of carbs in diet, lots of toast / bread for breakfast and lunch, plus crackers, fruit juices (watered down), lots of carby beans and rice with main dinner meal.
- most of protein / fat came from cheese, dairy, beans, tofu, lentils (I.e. no meat and very little fish).
- lots of veg, including a high quantity of potatoes (new, mashed etc..)
- some smaller quantities of packaged/processed foods like veggie sausages, burgers, gravies, sauces, corn chips, crisps and some alcohol (cider or wine usually).
- I was (still am) taking Fish Oil supplements and intermittently taking Vit B12 as a booster due to no meat etc
Post change
- upped fish intake quite considerably, trying to eat it for breakfast (smoked salmon etc) and for dinner at least 3-4 times a week
- increased egg and tofu intake quite considerably
- increased cheese intake (all kinds of cheese, although trying to focus on the fresher/younger cheeses like cream cheese, mozzarella etc)
- eating more nuts, seeds, coconut, avocado, mayonnaise, butter, cream, olive oil
- drinking less black milky tea, having more green/herb teas and water
- cut out wheat completely
- cut out or vastly reduced most other carbs; cereal grains, sugar, white potatoes, honey, syrups, desserts, cakes, biscuits etc
- cut out processed / packaged meals/ snacks about 95-99% of time (literally having the odd few corn chips or gluten free crisps with a bit of hummus etc)
- reduced alcohol overall, maybe having a drink once a week/fortnight
- allowing myself the odd treat meal / takeaway, usually sushi/sashimi (using tamari instead of standard soy sauce as its wheat free)
This new lifestyle has now morphed into a rather obsessive health quest. As I mentioned in my first post, I've had some health issues since the birth of my son (Jan 12) and these are things I am keen to start trying to correct, if that's indeed possible with changes to diet / lifestyle. These include joint pain and stiffness, weight gain (although this is longer term, perhaps 5-6 years of increasing weight gain, particularly on the waist), skin issues as well as a diagnosis of Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which I was given in 2009. I've also had recurrent bouts of extreme fatigue, which can make the normal day to day life of bringing up a very active 7 month old pretty challenging!
So, my wheat-free plans have evolved somewhat. In order to explain this clearly, below I'll list some notes for 'pre and post' diet/lifestyle changes.
Pre change
- mainly vegetarian diet with a little fish once in a while (twice a month maybe).
- quite a high degree of carbs in diet, lots of toast / bread for breakfast and lunch, plus crackers, fruit juices (watered down), lots of carby beans and rice with main dinner meal.
- most of protein / fat came from cheese, dairy, beans, tofu, lentils (I.e. no meat and very little fish).
- lots of veg, including a high quantity of potatoes (new, mashed etc..)
- some smaller quantities of packaged/processed foods like veggie sausages, burgers, gravies, sauces, corn chips, crisps and some alcohol (cider or wine usually).
- I was (still am) taking Fish Oil supplements and intermittently taking Vit B12 as a booster due to no meat etc
Post change
- upped fish intake quite considerably, trying to eat it for breakfast (smoked salmon etc) and for dinner at least 3-4 times a week
- increased egg and tofu intake quite considerably
- increased cheese intake (all kinds of cheese, although trying to focus on the fresher/younger cheeses like cream cheese, mozzarella etc)
- eating more nuts, seeds, coconut, avocado, mayonnaise, butter, cream, olive oil
- drinking less black milky tea, having more green/herb teas and water
- cut out wheat completely
- cut out or vastly reduced most other carbs; cereal grains, sugar, white potatoes, honey, syrups, desserts, cakes, biscuits etc
- cut out processed / packaged meals/ snacks about 95-99% of time (literally having the odd few corn chips or gluten free crisps with a bit of hummus etc)
- reduced alcohol overall, maybe having a drink once a week/fortnight
- allowing myself the odd treat meal / takeaway, usually sushi/sashimi (using tamari instead of standard soy sauce as its wheat free)
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
In the beginning, there was...
...probably meat, fish, nuts, seeds, berries, grasses, leaves and vegetables. Who really knows for sure?
We can but guess. However the bottom line here, is that there certainly wasn't any sliced bread, muffins, bagels, crumpets or chocolate bars, crisps and 'healthy' corn chips in 'family packs' to be shared around. Sad but true!
Much as I love the aforementioned foods, I have decided to quit them and go wheat-free (and low-carb) for a number of reasons, all of which I'll explain in more detail later. No doubt, there will be some hard times ahead, but as a means to help keep me on the wheat-free wagon, I've devised some achievable goals and set myself some guidelines to work within (or just outside of!)
The world is, quite literally, overweight. It's trying to hold it's big spare tyre in, but it's definitely spilling over the belt and on the last hole by now. Fat people are everywhere, fat babies are being born and becoming fat children and frankly this scares me. Being overweight or obese quite simply means you are very likely to die younger and before you die, you'll probably be beset by one or more chronic illnesses, most of which you're doctor will tell you, requires medication (high-blood pressure pills, statins, type 2 diabetes tablets, weight (fat) loss drugs, HRT amongst others.
I had a baby in January this year and he was quite a sizable fellow himself (8lb, 8oz) - not in the realms of the super-sized babies we're seeing now, but considering Dad and I weren't big babies and I'm a petite 155cm in height, that's pretty big, considering he was born at 38 weeks. Since the birth I've had a whole host of health concerns and so I've come to the conclusion - it's time to start really looking at what goes in and what I get back from it.
Hopefully, my journey will be interesting and maybe even inspire someone to take a look at their food / lifestyle. I'll be tracking my BMI, body-fat % and weight-loss throughout as I do like a good statistic, especially one on a downward trend (when it comes to my weight and waist size!)
At this stage, I plan to add recipes, links to other like-minded blogs/sites and will probably mention good / bad food experiences in Brighton, UK (or when on my travels). Anyone reading this is welcome to comment or provide feedback, or even join me on the journey.
So there it is, bye bye bread *sniff* - bye bye crumpets *wail* but (hopefully) bye bye wheat-belly!
Sabi x
We can but guess. However the bottom line here, is that there certainly wasn't any sliced bread, muffins, bagels, crumpets or chocolate bars, crisps and 'healthy' corn chips in 'family packs' to be shared around. Sad but true!
Much as I love the aforementioned foods, I have decided to quit them and go wheat-free (and low-carb) for a number of reasons, all of which I'll explain in more detail later. No doubt, there will be some hard times ahead, but as a means to help keep me on the wheat-free wagon, I've devised some achievable goals and set myself some guidelines to work within (or just outside of!)
The world is, quite literally, overweight. It's trying to hold it's big spare tyre in, but it's definitely spilling over the belt and on the last hole by now. Fat people are everywhere, fat babies are being born and becoming fat children and frankly this scares me. Being overweight or obese quite simply means you are very likely to die younger and before you die, you'll probably be beset by one or more chronic illnesses, most of which you're doctor will tell you, requires medication (high-blood pressure pills, statins, type 2 diabetes tablets, weight (fat) loss drugs, HRT amongst others.
I had a baby in January this year and he was quite a sizable fellow himself (8lb, 8oz) - not in the realms of the super-sized babies we're seeing now, but considering Dad and I weren't big babies and I'm a petite 155cm in height, that's pretty big, considering he was born at 38 weeks. Since the birth I've had a whole host of health concerns and so I've come to the conclusion - it's time to start really looking at what goes in and what I get back from it.
Hopefully, my journey will be interesting and maybe even inspire someone to take a look at their food / lifestyle. I'll be tracking my BMI, body-fat % and weight-loss throughout as I do like a good statistic, especially one on a downward trend (when it comes to my weight and waist size!)
At this stage, I plan to add recipes, links to other like-minded blogs/sites and will probably mention good / bad food experiences in Brighton, UK (or when on my travels). Anyone reading this is welcome to comment or provide feedback, or even join me on the journey.
So there it is, bye bye bread *sniff* - bye bye crumpets *wail* but (hopefully) bye bye wheat-belly!
Sabi x
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