Literally…in this case, the truth about my wheat allergy. Over the last 2 weeks, it has been confirmed that I am indeed allergic to wheat. Over the last few months, I have tried to incorporate small amounts of wheat into my diet. THat seemed to be going fine, so about 2 weeks ago, I decided to begin adding more wheat products to my diet. Suddenly able to eat so many foods that I could not enjoy before (since last finding out that wheat is a no-no for me), I was in chewy-carb heaven. But my bliss could only last so long. In retrospect, I can now see that my body has been experiencing averse reactions to the wheat. To be more precise, I have had stomach pains, muscle aches, and flu-like symptoms for the last 2 weeks. They got progressively worse until I had full-blown hay fever. Additionally, I have had extreme fatigue, rashes, and severe depressive episodes. It took me a while to put two and two together, but I am sure of it now.
The only downside is that this means no more Ezekiel Bread, wheat-based wraps, cereal!, granola made with wheat, baked goods, crackers, pretzels, etc. I need to go back to the wheat-free diet.
This is disappointing because I thought I could be normal again, but the pain I have been in these last couple weeks is not normal! Part of the reason I wanted to reincorporate “normal” wheat foods is because I grew self-conscious about my dietary needs again. I had successfully embraced it before, but in recent months, my self-confidence regarding my diet shattered, and I didn’t want to be ’different’ anymore. I think this was a result of recent stress.
This has been a major setback, but I can recover from it. At least i know how to eliminate the havoc thas was wrought on my body over the last few months! And honestly, I enjoy the wheat-free diet. I like my sweet potatoes and brown rice, and I have not been eating them recently AT ALL! I’m going to change that tonight with a trip to TRader Joe’s!
Anyway, time for a super small lunch since I cannot handle much food right now. My tummy is hurting from the intense wheat consumption yesterday!
I’m so sorry to hear of your gluten issues hon! Check out veggiegirl for some inspiration! She is so sweet and wonderful and does a great job with the gluten issues.