Gluten free: One-month update

I've been avoiding gluten for a whole month already! I've found that it hasn't been that difficult to cut out gluten-containing foods.

The main challenge was when we were in Wyoming visiting my sister; the ranch kitchen cooked all our food and they did a great job of letting me know what was supposed to not have gluten in it, but some days I wasn't feeling so great, so who knows if I ate some crouton dust or soup thickened with flour or whatever.

The biggest lifestyle change was not eating Shredded Wheat for breakfast, which I've had nearly every day for probably five years or so (with the idea that eating more fiber would cure my stomach problems. Oops). I DO NOT like trying to cook something in the morning, especially since Matt's at this stage where he acts like I must pick him up or he will just die every time I go in the kitchen, sit at the table, or have a piece of food or a cup in my hand. Thankfully Jeff's cooked me Cream of Rice (just like Cream of Wheat - mmm!) some days, or I've had scrambled eggs or a banana and yogurt and milk.

The biggest physical change is a tie: 1) I've had only two incidents of immediate, terrible sickness, and I think that was from eating peanuts. Usually we get Planters or Emerald, but we have Kroger brand right now, and Jeff later saw that the label said it may contain wheat. So overall my stomach has been experiencing at least moderate improvement. I find gradual improvement difficult to measure. 2) The other thing is that I am sleeping way, way better. I've only been waking up about twice per night, when usually I've woken up many more times than that for years. And when I wake up, I've been falling back asleep much easier. Now that I think about it, my trouble sleeping started at about the same time as the stomach problems. I was a pro sleeper my whole life through college; when I moved to Auburn was when both my sleeping habits and digestive health declined rapidly.

The biggest surprise is how easy it has been to make changes. I don't miss bread products at all. Jeff and I used to eat muffins as snacks sometimes at night, but other than the first week, I haven't eyed the muffins with jealousy at all. Suppers have remained the same. The only real change is that now if I make something in the crockpot, I can't dump cream-of-whatever soup in there. I've gone out to eat twice and didn't feel limited at all by the selection (though I will probably cry if I go to Cracker Barrel again - biscuits and gravy is my favorite thing there).

So we'll see. Two more months to go before I decide whether to stick with the gluten-free way of eating.