Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Going back to GF/CF and more veggies.

I thought I ate well before.
When I first decided to eat more plants and less animal products I noticed that I had to really choke down the veggies.  It seemed like such work.
Vegetables are strong in flavor and require lots of chewing which in turn meant that one must be more mindful when eating.  Its interesting that it seems to work that way but I like it.  It is not easy to do though and I can see why people have a hard time choosing to eat more veggies on many levels.  Yet I also see now that eating more veggies has a positive affect on more than just how I physically feel.

I feel mellower.  I used to have to work hard to enjoy preparing my food.  It just took to dang long.
Now, I enjoy preparing my food and find solace in it without trying.  I wasn't expecting that.


  I don't live a super busy every day kind of lifestyle but even I found it strange at first to be forced to be mindful when eating more veggies.  You have to chew.  So what do you do when you are gnoshing like a cow chewing cud?  Well, you think.  What to think about, how to be alone with your thoughts? Not easy stuff.

Good for the soul but should be noted that eating healthy is not just what you put down your throat hole and be aware that you will feel differently.
Take it one bite at a time.  It gets easier and happier.  Stick with it for a few weeks and force that kale down and soon you will notice the change and it will occur to you that you actually like it and feel better.  You have to believe it will get better.  Not what I expected to be such a profound realization or that I would have to work so hard at first.

I can see similarities in eating more veggies and running.  At first it seems really hard and two miles seems like a thousand and then you find a few months later that maybe 5 miles feels like an easy run and so on.  Same with eating.

Now I am noticing that the more veggies I eat, the more I want them.
I am eating more and loosing weight.  I track my calories so I can be aware of the differences.



  After reading again some of the arguments on gluten intolerance and  the side effects and in particular how it pertains in treating MS, I am going gluten free again.  I was gluten free for a few years so not hard to go back.
I am also going casein free as well.  This was done by testing out Kefir again.  I was casein free for a few years so not hard to go back to being dairy free either.

  I used the kefir to treat stomach issues and now that those are gone I am laying off the dairy. It is too hard to digest and sucks energy that I don't have to spare.
I used dairy and wheat as tools over  the winter when I was having lots of stomach pain and energy issues.  It was a godsend to feel the ease of digestion and quick simple energy from bread when complex foods would exhaust me.  The wonderful coating of my stomach from eating the kefir allowed me to heal.

  Now that my energy levels are coming up and I am getting better at strategically approaching how I eat, I just don't need the bread anymore and I don't want to risk undue inflammation when I am trying to reduce inflammation. The trade off is not in favor of them anymore.
For now quinoa and sweet potatoes are a fine replacement among others.

I am a work in progress inside and out.

Any good recipes?  How do you fuel and run?  Happy July!
Cheers,
Angie Bee

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I recently went GF and DF because after suffering stomach issues for years, I finally figured out with the help of an Naturopath that I'm gluten and dairy intolerant (I also am intolerant of almonds and artificial sweeteners…) The almonds are the big bummer.

I feel much better now that I've eliminated these things even though it's challenging.

Keep on your path!

Lisa said...

Good for you Angela! I have to say, somedays I just throw the fruits and veggies in the Ninja. My favorite quinoa recipe: saute celery and onions, add water to boil, add quinoa, black beans, corn, cumin, cilantro, and garlic.
Enjoy!

Julia said...

Hi Angie!
We really like your blog. My husband and I found you as part of our de-flab project :) We moved from beautiful Albuquerque, NM to awesome St. Louis, MO. We honestly love STL, but are avid backpackers and hikers, and Missouri is flat, and wow do we miss our mountains! Anyway, in an attempt to enjoy our new outdoor options we decided to try running. Neither of us had been runners (I was a chaser, but that was before I got married!) Anyway, we wanted to try and do it "right" or at the very least, not get hurt (so we can still backpack all summer until we are ancient-grandparent-types). We are finding the process amazing. Thanks for the online help! We are finding barefoot running totally fun! My husband is running unshod, I am still walking bare and running with minimal shoes. We are both up to four miles. So proud.
As part of the aforementioned de-flab project (it was multi-tiered) , we read some books: Skinny Bitch and Bastard (respectively) and The China Study. We then both went to eating vegan (from being omni). It has been an amazing addition to our health and overall very empowering. We both feel more energized and even throughout the day. We have both lost weight too (we really weren’t chunkers, we were just wanting to avoid going down that possible road)
So, (with that attempted short introduction) I completely hear you: Yes, it really does take more time to chew. I agree though it does give you time to think and preparing all the pretty fruits and veggies is somehow relaxing (with a sharp knife).
We like green smoothies a lot. Kris Carr has some good recipes at http://crazysexylife.com/ and I just found this website had 40 days of smoothie recipes: http://www.glueandglitter.com/main/40-days-of-green-smoothies/ (haven’t looked at anything here but the smoothies)
We both also completely enjoy cooking and make tons of stir fries with curry or Chinese 5 spice. It’s a great way to eat lots of veggies in a sitting. We are also finding eating loads of raw greens is easier with some yummy dressing. I am reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live book right now, and we like this Balsamic Vinaigrette (serves 5):
½ C water
¼ C + 2T rice vinegar
2T olive oil
1/4C balsamic vinegar
1/4C raisins
4 cloves garlic
1t dried oregano
1/2t dried basil
1/2t onion powder
Blend it all in a food processor or high-speed blender until creamy (keeps for about two weeks- but we eat it way before that)
In addition to all that, these are a few websites I like for recipe ideas:
http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/
http://www.yourveganmom.com/your_vegan_mom/
All the best wishes for happy veggie eating and continuing to feel good. We send you good thoughts over cyberspace!!
Julia and Mark

Unknown said...

Hi Jen,
So glad you have found some answers! I can't do nuts either. Its a real bummer but I do feel better.
Happy eating!

Unknown said...

Lisa,
That sounds sooo good! I love quinoa and celery has vitamin K and boron which helps in vitamin D production and use. Which I need!
Cheers!

Unknown said...

So glad to meet you Julia!!
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Those links look amazing and I am really glad to hear you and you husband are enjoying going barefoot. It is really fun :)
Do you have a blog? I would love to follow your adventures!
Thank you again for posting the links
Cheers :)

Jennifer P said...

Thanks for your supportive comments on my blog. It really means a lot! Especially now that I'm doing my own barefoot experiment. My dream is to do a 25K in the fall.

On CF/GF: I was advised by a nutritionist to go dairy and GF for 4 weeks to help treat an autoimmune skin condition. I was very skeptical, but did it anyway. And I couldn't believe how awesome I felt.

I went back to bread and butter and cakes and ice cream because I was burned out from the constant chewing and cutting and food prep (lame excuse!). That said, I'm working very hard right now to go GF and CF and egg free. It does make me think twice before I put something in my mouth.

Good luck!

Unknown said...

If you're being strict about avoiding things for autoimmune issues, you might want to reconsider quinoa.

"Conclusions: Most quinoa cultivars do not possess quantifiable amounts of celiac-toxic epitopes. However, 2 cultivars had celiac-toxic epitopes that could activate the adaptive and innate immune responses in some patients with celiac disease. These findings require further investigation in the form of in vivo studies, because quinoa is an important source of nutrients for patients with celiac disease."

http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2012/06/28/ajcn.111.030684

White rice is pretty harmless. It doesn't have the same nutrient profile as quinoa, but you can do things like cook it in bone broth or the water you cooked veggies in.

Unknown said...

Thank you Joe for the link. I have been considering whether or not it's working for me. I used to think rice was hard to digest and bloating but I haven't had it for a while and am going to try again. Work in progress :)

Unknown said...

Brown rice can be somewhat problematic, white rice is considered fairly safe:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-rice-unhealthy/
http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.de/2012/06/how-to-make-white-rice-nutritious.html

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