While glancing at my day planner to get a handle on the week ahead, I noticed that I have gone one year without eating gluten. Months ago I jotted down a reminder note at the beginning of this week to mark the accomplishment. This is kind of a coincidence, because just yesterday I mentioned to my husband that I was thinking of going off my diet, “just because”. He gently encouraged me to stick with it. This is why.
Since giving up gluten, I no longer have crippling abdominal cramps. I feel more energetic in the afternoons (most days) and I sleep better during the nights. I don’t wake up feeling nauseated in the morning; I have an appetite and actually want to eat breakfast right away. Then I want to go to work instead of lie back down like in the bad old days. My skin doesn’t break out anymore and I don’t get bloated for no good reason. My husband loves that I am feeling better and more energetic, and regardless of his opinion about gluten, he wants me to be healthy and happy.
“I think you should wait.” his words surprised me at first but I understood his concern. Sometimes it’s easy to give up on something we’ve been doing for a long time when we forget why we’re doing it. I had to remind myself what it was that put me on the diet in the first place. I’d lost sight of my reason for even being on the diet, and after watching other people enjoy their cake, I wanted mine!
So I remembered the many night school Accounting classes when I had to excuse myself and run to the bathroom because my stomach cramps were excruciating. I remembered dropping my kids off at school morning after morning and then coming home to curl up on the couch with dry toast and tea because I felt too sick to eat anything else. I remembered a life of not feeling well enough to do anything before 1:00 P.M. and never having enough energy to really get enough accomplished. This went on for years. I asked myself if I was ready to risk going back to that.
This afternoon we had a celebration of sorts. Close friends came over for a feast and we celebrated friendship. We celebrated my husband’s prowess making homemade foods. He had made much of the meal himself: sourdough hotdog buns, sauerkraut, pickled eggs, and five different kinds of smoked and barbecued sausages! We celebrated the Army life — where we are now and where we may go. And we celebrated dedication: a concept that improves quality of life in ways that we didn’t expect but fully appreciate. I could see how this had worked with my diet over the last year.
I know my husband is right. Now is not the time to give up. Not yet. There is still much to learn, and more celebrations ahead.
— G
Time to celebrate! One year gluten free!
A Pioneer's Journey 
Congratulations!!! What a wonderful accomplishment!
Thank you Charlotte! I didn’t even know if I could make it one year gluten free when I started, and I will admit there were two crashes off the wagon (both involving decadent chocolate cake) but it feels great! Thank you for visiting my site — G
Haha! I don’t blame you for the chocolate cake 😉 proud of you!
I think it would be extremely hard for me to give up gluten because I am a bread and pasta freak. I would have to be really really sick to do it voluntarily, and I’d probably end up cheating.
Does it help that you are a good cook and in charge of planning meals and are you cooking gluten free for the whole family, or just for yourself?
Strangely, after the first week or two, I stopped craving gluten altogether. Now I rarely want anything resembling pasta or bread, but I do still LOVE to make homemade bread for my family, and of course the smell is so tempting! But when I really crave ‘bread’ I make a batch of GF cornbread or brownies and that does the trick. I did cheat twice. I fell off the wagon when gorgeous, voluptuous chocolate cake called my name, and I got sooooo sick! My real problem is dairy. I am lactose intolerant too, and for some reason, I crave cheese like there is no tomorrow. Every so often I go on cheese binges, and it doesn’t take much to make me sick — when will I learn?
I have found that it isn’t as difficult to cook gluten free meals as I originally thought. Depending on available leftovers, the hectic pace of the day, and my mood, I will either do an all GF meal, a mixed meal, or a meal just for the family and then fix myself a homemade smoothie. I usually try to make meals that everyone can eat so there isn’t a lot of hassle, and it has been getting easier. My husband and children don’t eat gluten free all the time like me, and I don’t want them to feel obligated to do so. Our rule during a meal is to fill half the plate with veggies and fruits, be adventurous and try new things, and take our time savoring foods while we share stories about our day. When I first started my diet, I think I starved for a week because it seemed like I couldn’t eat anything! Now I understand that by eliminating gluten, I actually discovered A LOT of other options out there. It’s not an easy decision, but I have found that I can live with it — so far. 🙂
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