So, here is my post from earlier. Posting again here and deleting from the other.
My journey to going wheat free...
why?
why give up all of that yumminess? Cookies, pop tarts, sweets of any kind really.
why give up bread? White bread, biscuits, and whole wheat bread?
My whole life, or since 4th grade, I have suffered from hypoglycemia. It means I have low blood sugar. I am able to control it with my diet. I need more protein than carbs, simple as that. There have been plenty of times over the years that I attempt to eat something high in carbs with little protein and every single time, I end up with an attack of low blood sugar. It's really such an awful feeling, I kick myself each time it happens.
I can't eat just donuts for breakfast...or french toast...or pancakes...or anything really sweet and carb-y. I sure have tried though. I adore all of that stuff. If I eat some eggs or some kind of meat first, before the yummy sweet breakfast stuff, my body does ok. So for years, that is what I have done.
For years, as long as I had some protein in my meal, I did just fine. I never really watched anything else about what I was eating. I ate bread with meals and desserts after dinner.
When I was pregnant with each of my five kids, I had to really watch my blood sugar. Those little babies just sucked the protein right out of my meals. My blood sugar was pretty sensitive and I found myself eating lots of mini meals between bigger meals. If I only hate carbs (bread or fruit or dessert), my blood sugar would plummit quickly. I had to eat something almost immediately after getting out of the bed in the morning. Like within 5 minutes or I was on the floor passed out.
See, that is my reaction. I pass out. I have managed to pass out in some of the darndest places. At school, at a hospital, in my kitchen, in Colorado, at the Mall and at the gym.
The good thing is that I have learned to recognize the symptoms of an "attack" and can usually ward off the eventual faint as long as I get some food in me. I always have snacks of some sort for those "just in case" moments.
Okay... so what's changed?
Right around my 35th birthday, I started having a harder time controlling my blood sugar. I was eating the protein like I should but it seemed like I was having more and more low's. I tried changing a few things like adding more protein, more fruits and veggies, fewer sweets, less carbs. Sometimes things were good but more often, as soon as I ate that piece of candy mid-day or the brownie after dinner, I was feeling shaky and sick. It got to be pretty annoying and I found myself packing snacks just to run a few errands just in case. Because of all the extra snacks (even healthy things like apples and hard boiled eggs), I gained some weight.
So now I'm 38. I've done some research and found that a lot of hypoglycemics are more prone to diabetes as they get older. The metabolism changes, hormones change and it's just harder all around for the body to keep things regulated. Some of my symptoms could be categorized as pre-diabetic. I'd been able to control my hypyglycemia for so many years with my diet, I was hopeful I could get it back under control with a diet change.
The Atkins/low carb diet was one I tried. While it is good in theory, a lot of the low carb or gluten free foods were substituted with rice flour or other grain type flour. These affect blood sugar. The clean eating diet was another good one in theory but included a lot of the brown rice, quinoa and whole wheats. These effect blood sugar as well. So I stumbled upon the wheat free diet. It's not really a diet I'm realizing, but a way of life.
Wheat free...wheat belly diet. It's wheat free, gluten free, low carb, high protein, lots of veggies, minimal fruit and a few nuts. It's sweets made with steevia and almond flour. I'm learning so much about my body and how it responds to certain foods with wheat. Did you know that a hypoglycemic person's body reacts to a slice of whole wheat bread exactly the way it would with 3 teaspoons of sugar? Most people can tolerate whole wheat and make it a healthy part of their lives. But in my old age...haha...my body treats whole wheat or any other flour/wheat/rice/starch just like I'm eating straight sugar. That's why a slice of whole wheat toast with a bit of peanut butter for a snack in the afternoon left me shaky and tired. That used to be my go-to snack in the afternoon. But in the last couple of years, I've started realizing it was part of the problem!
Stopping for now...will continue to post about this journey!
I can't eat just donuts for breakfast...or french toast...or pancakes...or anything really sweet and carb-y. I sure have tried though. I adore all of that stuff. If I eat some eggs or some kind of meat first, before the yummy sweet breakfast stuff, my body does ok. So for years, that is what I have done.
For years, as long as I had some protein in my meal, I did just fine. I never really watched anything else about what I was eating. I ate bread with meals and desserts after dinner.
When I was pregnant with each of my five kids, I had to really watch my blood sugar. Those little babies just sucked the protein right out of my meals. My blood sugar was pretty sensitive and I found myself eating lots of mini meals between bigger meals. If I only hate carbs (bread or fruit or dessert), my blood sugar would plummit quickly. I had to eat something almost immediately after getting out of the bed in the morning. Like within 5 minutes or I was on the floor passed out.
See, that is my reaction. I pass out. I have managed to pass out in some of the darndest places. At school, at a hospital, in my kitchen, in Colorado, at the Mall and at the gym.
The good thing is that I have learned to recognize the symptoms of an "attack" and can usually ward off the eventual faint as long as I get some food in me. I always have snacks of some sort for those "just in case" moments.
Okay... so what's changed?
Right around my 35th birthday, I started having a harder time controlling my blood sugar. I was eating the protein like I should but it seemed like I was having more and more low's. I tried changing a few things like adding more protein, more fruits and veggies, fewer sweets, less carbs. Sometimes things were good but more often, as soon as I ate that piece of candy mid-day or the brownie after dinner, I was feeling shaky and sick. It got to be pretty annoying and I found myself packing snacks just to run a few errands just in case. Because of all the extra snacks (even healthy things like apples and hard boiled eggs), I gained some weight.
So now I'm 38. I've done some research and found that a lot of hypoglycemics are more prone to diabetes as they get older. The metabolism changes, hormones change and it's just harder all around for the body to keep things regulated. Some of my symptoms could be categorized as pre-diabetic. I'd been able to control my hypyglycemia for so many years with my diet, I was hopeful I could get it back under control with a diet change.
The Atkins/low carb diet was one I tried. While it is good in theory, a lot of the low carb or gluten free foods were substituted with rice flour or other grain type flour. These affect blood sugar. The clean eating diet was another good one in theory but included a lot of the brown rice, quinoa and whole wheats. These effect blood sugar as well. So I stumbled upon the wheat free diet. It's not really a diet I'm realizing, but a way of life.
Wheat free...wheat belly diet. It's wheat free, gluten free, low carb, high protein, lots of veggies, minimal fruit and a few nuts. It's sweets made with steevia and almond flour. I'm learning so much about my body and how it responds to certain foods with wheat. Did you know that a hypoglycemic person's body reacts to a slice of whole wheat bread exactly the way it would with 3 teaspoons of sugar? Most people can tolerate whole wheat and make it a healthy part of their lives. But in my old age...haha...my body treats whole wheat or any other flour/wheat/rice/starch just like I'm eating straight sugar. That's why a slice of whole wheat toast with a bit of peanut butter for a snack in the afternoon left me shaky and tired. That used to be my go-to snack in the afternoon. But in the last couple of years, I've started realizing it was part of the problem!
Stopping for now...will continue to post about this journey!
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