2 Weeks In

Well, Chris has officially been gluten free for 2 weeks today. We had sort of a celebration of sorts. We had Homemade chicken fried steak with cream gravy, baked potatoes, and green beans. All gluten free, and all extremely delicious. The best compliment to me as a cook, is when people go back for seconds, thirds, and tonight, fourths. Amanda doesn't always eat (and actually like) what I cook...she grew up with different tastes, but tonight, she had 3 pieces of chicken fried steak and a double helping of green beans. Bailey even asked for seconds, and Alivia had a second helping of green beans as well. I love to hear my Bailey tell me, "Mmmm, this is Delicious mommy". It makes my day...because that compliment doesn't come with every meal. :)

Since becoming gluten free, I have noticed a remarkable change in Chris' attitude. He has a lot more energy and seems to be in a better mood (I think it's because he actually feels good). The biggest complaint he has right now is that his legs are on fire when he gets home from a full day at work. I'm pretty sure it's because he needs some new, good supportive shoes. Once we have a little extra money, we're going to go buy him a good pair of work shoes. We're also planning on starting to work out...I'll work out with Amanda here at the house, and Chris plans to work out with his friend Donny at the school. Excited to see where this takes us in the future. Also, one of the biggest changes, besides his digestion issues, he's not having migraines like he used to. He used to get pretty bad migraines, and this isn't to say that he won't get them again, but I've just noticed that in the past 2 weeks, this has not been an issue.

I started a few days after Chris. Some of the things I've noticed about myself...right at the moment, I don't feel that I've lost any weight...unfortunately, I feel that I've gained, but going to take measurements tonight in order to keep track of that. Also, I've noticed more headaches...of course, I've not been getting the best of sleep either, so I'm not making any conclusions just yet. I'm giving this a full month to see how I feel at the end of the month, but that's the main thing I've noticed with myself is the extra headaches. Other than that, I feel more energetic. I've actually been able to keep up with the dishes and the house a lot better than usual, which makes me feel better because I always feel horrible when the clutter starts getting out of hand.

Well this update has been a little long, but it's been a while since I've posted. Hoping to stay more on top of this in the future. :)

Discovering Celiac Disease

Chris and I will celebrate 5 years of marriage on March 24. It's been a wonderful 5 years filled with lots of joy, and some pains and issues at times. I feel that I should start from the beginning...our honeymoon. We shared our honeymoon with his family, travelling together on our way for a "family vacation" to Colorado. Our first stop for dinner, one of my favorites that I knew I wouldn't be having for a LONG time, Whataburger. We ate quickly and got back on the road and probably 30 minutes later, several of the family was hurting...badly. We had to stop and get a hotel...which for me, just becoming a part of this new family and wanting so badly to enjoy being married, was a wonderful idea. Fast forward several years, I've seen the ins and outs of this family and our honeymoon was definitely not the first or last of these experiences. I always knew that Chris drank a lot of pepto, but never really thought much of it until we were absolutely on our own for the first time. After 2 1/2 years of marriage, we moved to California. It started to dawn on me that he used pepto a lot more than any normal person should and I encouraged him time and time again to consult his doctor, but he saw no need for it.

Fast forward yet again another 2 years. Just recently I inquired about a particular diet (paleo to be exact) from a friend of mine that has had wonderful success. She told me about it and I went home to research it (for myself...not my husband). I stumbled across a site on Celiac disease and found symptoms that strangely described my husband and his family to a tee. Migraines, stomach issues, fatigue, etc. I approached him and we agreed to try and avoid gluten for a few weeks to see what happens. That brings me to current. We have been gluten free for exactly 1 week 1 day now. I was worried about doing this for fear that it would be extremely costly, I'd never be able to figure it out, I wasn't sure where to even find food that I could make...I love modern technology. I have found many wonderful websites that have TONS of recipes...and it's stuff that we actually like. Maybe this won't be so hard after all. :) Right now, 1 week in, Chris is already feeling a ton better. No pepto needed, he can drink all the milk he wants (we thought he was lactose intolerant for all these years...turns out it's part of celiac disease). We had a tiny mess up on Monday that put him in some pain, so it kind of confirmed to both of us that this is the answer we weren't necessarily looking for, but dumb luck would have us find. :)

This blog is simply to keep track of our journey to a GF lifestyle and to keep track of our positives and negatives on this journey. What seemed to be a little overwhelming at first is quickly coming a way of life for us now. We've had a chance to deal with it, and now it's time to make do with what we've got. :)