Wheat-free Diary

During the month of August, I made a trip to Indiana.  I had several reasons for the trip, but mainly it was because of my Dad's cancer surgery.

When I first arrived in Indiana on August 3, I was determined not to eat wheat, but my resolve weakened when I was faced with some of my favorite foods.  My cousin, Dixie, made six lemon meringue pies for the Family Reunion on Sunday.  I apologize to my body, but I couldn't resist.  I was miserable anyway.  My Dad wasn't eating and he was weak as a kitten.  It was unbearably hot for me -- 95 F. -- when I had just come from comfortable 65 - 70 F. temperatures.  I was experiencing a huge amount of stress... and okay, so I ate the pie.  No excuses!

Then on Tuesday evening, my Aunt Sheila made about 3 dozen cinnamon rolls.  I had managed to circumvent the Cinnabons in the airport, but these were lying on the counter, six inches from my hand, 5 inches, 4 inches, 3 inches, oh, just eat one!  One led to two, and then three.  I don't remember how many I ate.  Then I had a big glass of milk.  Yum!

By this time, I was pretty well miserable with hives, and I become incontinent when I eat wheat (that means I can't make it to the bathroom before I pee my pants).  How embarrassing!  And I think I am too fat for Depends.  So the morning that Aunt Sheila and Uncle Walt left for Florida, I made a decision to keep away from wheat totally from that moment on.  Besides Uncle Walt and Curtis ate all the rest of the cinnamon rolls.

I am really proud of myself because for the rest of the trip, I didn't have a morsel of wheat (unless it was hidden in some product of which I was unaware).  I began to feel better about myself, although the symptoms become raging as I go through withdrawal.  The hives get worse; the incontinence gets worse, the nose runs a marathon, and my craving for wheat becomes colossal.

I hung in there, though, and my resolve strengthened each day.  I was proud of myself and the circumstance of not eating wheat helped me not to be tempted to eat wheat.  The more I didn't eat wheat, the more I didn't want to eat wheat.  I intend to remember that feeling the next time I see a lemon meringue pie.

Somebody on the wheat-free group suggested substituting almond cheese in dairy free diets. She said it was expensive, but that it tasted good and melted well. I wonder where I could find some to buy. I tried looking it up in Google, but the sites I visited didn't have it.

One of the foods that keeps me wheat free is bananas. I love the taste and texture of a banana. You don't have to wash it or prepare it. It is ready to eat. In the mornings, when I am barely away, I have a banana and a glass of fat-free milk. It's a wheat-free breakfast as well as a Weight Watcher one.

When our sons were in school, Monday night was cooking night. We would make our treats for the week to put in their lunches. Now I would like to make some banana-walnut bread, but I never let the bananas get ripe enough before I have eaten them all.

I was encouraging a mother to tell her son that he was special because he cannot eat wheat. Why can't I tell myself the same positive message? Lately I have been dwelling on the negative, pining over the foods that I shouldn't eat. I really miss eating bread. Maybe it would be easier if we didn't have wheat bread in the house, but it is there for my husband. Is it fair for him to do without just because it makes me sick? I was very unfaithful to my food plan while we were on vacation last month. I am having a difficult time getting back on track.

I need to make a list of positive messages to tell myself, but I am feeling discouraged, and I cannot think of any right now.

Today I had a craving for toast, real wheat toast. We always have bread in the house because my husband is not allergic to wheat, and it seems unfair (to him) to suffer for my problem. Anway, we had some whole-wheat bread, and I popped it into the toaster. I lightly buttered it so that it would stay crunchy and not get soggy from the moisture in the butter. I scarfed it up, and before I finished the last bite, I was barfing in the wastepaper basket (icky). Then I dashed to the bathroom, and vomited the rest of it into the toilet.

Well, so much for wheat toast. When will I ever learn? Or I guess the real question for me is, when will I ever quit craving wheat?

Somebody on the wheat-free group asked the question, "How long did it take for you to feel improvements after you changed to wheat-free eating?"

Some improvements came immediately for me. I get hives from eating wheat, and they lessen, but it takes at least six weeks before all welts go away. During that time, if I get really chilled or take a hot shower, the change in temperature raises the welts, but the rest of the time, they don't itch.

Eating foods made with white wheat flour gives me gas. As soon as the wheat has passed through my digestive system, then the gas goes away. Drinking lots of water helps this along. This usually takes about 3 days.

After a couple of months, and lots of drinking water, my sinuses cleared up. I no longer snuffled all the time. After about six months, I felt better. Aches and pains were less, and I had more energy.

After a year of wheat-free eating, I didn't notice any more improvements.

I usually buy new wheat-free products to give them a try. Sometimes the high cost doesn't justify the poor taste, flavor, or texture.

First, let me say that I hate rice cakes. I feel like I've got some ground up cardboard boxes in my mouth.

I've had these roasted garlic and onion soy crisps in my cupboard for weeks. I was dreading trying them, all ready for another disappointment. The photo on the package looks like mini rice cakes. But I do like garlic and onion potato chips, so I was willing to risk it.

Well, since I began Weight Watchers and eating fewer calories, I need more carbs in my diet. I used to use tortilla chips for my carbs (in place of bread), but they are so high in fat. I noticed that I can have 25, yes 25 soy crisps for one serving, and it counts half the points of eating tortilla chips or potato chips.

The roasted garlic and onion soy crisps are baked instead of fried and have 100 calories, 7 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, and 14 grams of carbohydrates per 1 ounce serving.

So today for lunch, I took my 25 soy crisps and topped them with cheese. It was delicious. I highly recommend this for snacking, and I think kids would love it.

My first really bad reaction to wheat was when I almost choked to death.  I was highly motivated not to eat wheat, and I did very well.  As time went by, I saw that eating a little wheat didn't kill me; so I lost my resolve bit by bit.  At other times, I felt angry at the whole situation.  I was exhibiting a self-destructive attitude by saying to myself, "What's the dif, I'll eat it anyway."

When I eat at a fast food restaurant, I ask for my hamburger with no bun.  Nobody has refused me yet, although a while back someone on the list was actually asked to pay extra for this service.  At sit-down restaurants, I ask for the bun on the side.  Somehow that seems to go over better with the cook.  With the new low-carb diets popular, however, a lot of people are asking for no-bun hamburgers.

I have successfully made my own pizza but some times I am too lazy to do it.  I make such a mess when I cook!

After my post on Tuesday, I have managed to stay almost wheat-free.  Yesterday I do believe that I accomplished it.  Last night I had this extreme craving for some toast, or even bread and butter.  I am afraid that I haven't lost my pleasure in smelling wheat products.

I decided to have a couple of slices of cheddar cheese, and then I saw some tostado shells that were in the cupboard from a year ago.  They were delicious with the cheese.  I broke them up like taco chips, but they seemed lighter and sweeter.  These were made from corn and cooked in soybean oil.  Since I had been good all day, I even read the label to make sure.  Tasty!

Today I woke up with a new resolve to take care of myself.  I do feel incredibly better today, and one of my most unpleasant side effects from eating wheat is gone.

When I first started going wheat-free, the doctor sent me to a nutritionist. She was very strict about me not eating *anything* with wheat. That included foods that contained vinegar because white vinegar is made from wheat grain. That meant no pickles, relish, or catsup to name a few.

There is not a definite consensus whether vinegar is okay or not, so you need to be your own judge about it. There are times that I will start sneezing as soon as I get the first taste of the catsup. Other times I don't notice anything. I think the reaction depends on how good I've been (or not been).

The doctor, on the other hand, didn't seem to be as strict as the nutritionist. When I asked him, "Can I eat a little bit of wheat (like catsup and relish)?"

He said, "It depends on whether or not you can live with the consequences."

So that left the choice squarely on my shoulders. Sometimes I get terrible reactions, vomiting, hives, choking, and other times not so terrible. Nobody is making any rules for me except me. I've been thinking about this a lot today. Nobody ties me to a chair and force feeds me wheat. When I do eat it, I am eating it voluntarily. The hard part is going against the flow of the other people in my life, as well as ignoring my cravings.