Guest Post : Being Gluten Free – and finding your “new normal”
This is the start of series that I have been mentioning in my contest about healthy living and raising the awareness of being gluten free and Celiac Disease. If you are interested in telling your story please contact me by rmmmgvera at bellsouth dot net. Looking forward to hearing more of your stories.
Being gluten free is not the end of the world. But, I understand how overwhelming it is in the beginning. Really, I do.
In the spring of 2005, I was a senior in high school and was desperately fighting to get a 4.0 GPA (and be one of eighteen – yes, eighteen – valedictorians!). I succeeded, but after the stress, I was very ill on graduation day and for the entire summer. I saw my doctor several times and received different diagnoses each time: acid reflux, ulcer, stress. But, none of the medications helped. I continued to be ill quite regularly for the next nine months as I started college seven hours away from home. In March of 2006, I lost my mom suddenly and traveled home for two weeks. During that incredibly stressful time, I made an appointment to see my primary care doctor. I clearly remember eating a lot of Cheez-Its the night before my appointment because I knew what I was going to tell him the next day – and it meant I’d never eat Cheez-Its again! Because my uncle has celiac disease, I told the doctor, “I am going gluten free. I can’t take this anymore.” He reluctantly agreed.
Over the next month, I felt like a new person. I gained weight immediately (I’d always been underweight and unable to gain). I could lay on my stomach again because I wasn’t bloated. I wasn’t so tired and dizzy after eating. I didn’t have stomachaches all the time.
I did eventually have the blood test (which was inconclusive) and an endoscopy. The GI doctor saw enough on the endoscopy to tell me that I needed to stay gluten free.
I’ve never looked back.
OK, that might not be true. I do sometimes crave gluten-filled foods! In the first few months after my diagnosis, when the cravings were at their worst, my college roommates weren’t allowed to have Cheez-Its in our room! However, the cravings have gotten so much better, especially since I’ve learned to cook so much gluten free food that actually taste normal.
When I was first diagnosed, I was living on campus at college. I went to a relatively small private school and the cafeteria staff was fantastic! They made special dishes for me and baked gluten free desserts regularly. They understood cross-contamination and went to great lengths to find delicious, edible gluten free food. When I started working off-campus, they would make food for me to take to work with me.
When I moved off-campus, just prior to getting married, the real learning began. I have come a long way in the past three years! I had more learning to do once I got married, because my husband is not gluten free. Because it’s not practical or affordable to have both of eating 100% gluten free, he eats “normal” food and I don’t. Many people are shocked by this. I am not a short-order cook – we eat the same meal every night!
A typical meal for us consists of a meat, potato or rice, and a vegetable. We each add bread on the side if we want it. About 50% of our dinners each week contain zero gluten on both of our plates. You can see my menu plans every Sunday on my blog. I bake gluten free cookies and regular cookies. I do the same thing with bread products, pizza crusts, and muffins. I do most of my baking from scratch, as I feel that boxed mixes (regular or gluten free) are unhealthy and way overpriced. We typically freeze our baked goods and pull them out as needed.
I am continually learning more about cooking and baking – and learning to love it more every day! I do a lot of research and reading across the Internet and have learned so much from that.
While this particular method may work for my family, it may not work for yours. I encourage you to experiment and find out what works best for you and your family. Understand that I am continually refining my methods – and I expect to do so for the rest of my God-given life! Being gluten free doesn’t mean life is over; it simply means you must find your new normal – and embrace it!
Emily has celiac disease and is 100% gluten free. She is a pastor’s wife in rural Wisconsin and a homemaker. She substitutes in the local school districts during the school year and volunteers often at church {where such a thing is expected from the pastor’s wife!}. She blogs about celiac disease, gluten free life, coupons and frugal living at Our Frugal Happy Life. She is here to say that it’s possible to be gluten free, frugal and happy!
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Thank you for this great article. I really needed this today ?
Thank you so much for this post. I've recently decided to go g-free starting this week, and I am incredibly stressed out about it. I've had so many illnesses (chronic daily migraines being the worst), and nothing seems to help. Going g-free seems to be my only option right now. This post was really encouraging to me!
Going gluten free can be a bit daunting at first, but the benefits can be life changing! I know, I have an autoimmune health challenge and our whole family eats gluten free, casein free and soy free. Often times going gluten free is not enough to quench the systemic inflammation that becomes rampant once you damage your gut. A more comprehensive approach is often needed. I wrote a blog post about this at http://bit.ly/nroNw8