During my 2 week camping adventure, we stopped at the Hoito in Thunder Bay. For those of you not in the know, this is an old school Finnish restaurant that serves homemade Finnish pancakes, nearly as as good as my Mummu used to make. Before arriving, I told myself I was in control. I had a plan of action. I was to order eggs. I did not need pancakes or rice boats.

It was a lie. 
I did not and could not resist. 
I had both.

Then I paid for it. 4 Days of feeling off which ended in a nightmare of symptoms. Good-bye gluten, it's not me, It's you.100% you. 

When you start to take care of yourself, you can't lie to yourself anymore. It is really easy to blame how we feel on the extra weight. We do this because society has taught us this. Send two ladies into a Doctor's office both complaining of fatigue, malaise, and headaches. One is average weight, the other obese. The obese lady will be sent home with instructions to lose weight, the average weighing lady will be sent to the lab. Some would say I am over generalizing, maybe but this happened to me time and time again. 

When you are obese, that is the first thing someone sees. An assumption/judgment is made about you, even when the person knows better. So imagine, you are the obese lady and you do as your doctor indicated. You go home and you start to work on losing weight. You eat right (according to the Canada food guide) you start walking a little bit. Soon you walk every night because you love it and decide to sign up for a 20K walking challenge to support cancer care. Overtime, nothing changes. Everything you are doing isn't working and it should be. You convince yourself, more exercise will help. After a couple of months of training, you realize you need to talk to your Doctor. You tell him you walk on average 8K 3 times per week. You show him your food journal, he still doesn't believe you. He thinks there is no way you are doing those things and losing weight so slowly and still feeling so fatigued. He sends you home and tells you to be more honest. You doubt yourself, you struggle. You re-commit. You go back to your Doctor a month later and demand blood tests, you suggest that maybe your iron is low, or something else is wrong, because you know that with all the exercise you are doing and how healthy you are eating, you should be feeling way better. He shakes his head and sends you to the lab to appease you. The results are alarming enough that he hauls you back into his office concerned about your anemia. You are instructed to take high doses of iron and warned that inter-venous iron may be necessary if things don't turn around. Why am I sharing my long winded story? Because I told myself that I didn't feel well because I was overweight and that delayed me from taking action. I let a Doctor convince me that my symptoms were due to being overweight, when being overweight, was in fact, a symptom. My Doctor treated the anemia, but never once talked to me about what could be causing it. I continued to live unwell treating only a few of the symptoms of an undiagnosed issue. Eventually, I just gave up because treating only the symptoms wasn't working. This led me to return to finding solace in my favorite foods.

Fast forward a few years and here I am, taking care of myself again. Suddenly, I can hear what my body is telling me. From past experience, I knew I needed to see my naturopath doctor. Which of course led me to the gluten free lifestyle changes I've recently made. I am excited to report the bloat and migraines are gone. I am still detoxing and my body is adjusting. Low and behold, the scale is finally moving in the right direction and my weight loss is catching up to my inches lost. Every day, I am one step closer to the healthier me I so desperately crave to be.

I share my experiences and stories, not because of my excessive need for attention, but because I hope to help others find their own health and wellness, much quicker then it took me. I urge you to listen to your body. Don't let someone else, even a Doctor, tell you to ignore your symptoms. Please don't let the Doctor tell you it is all in your head, no matter how much you weigh. Be your own health advocate and help yourself be well. Xo

I am pretty sure this message was made just for me. ;) I am giving up many things I love and in response I have had two temper tantrums over it. This included throwing items across the room, slamming doors, cursing at the top of my lungs, and the use of exaggerated hand movements. If you were walking by my house you'd have heard some crazy lady yelling something like this... "it is so unfair, you can eat what you want... and I have to watch. I can`t eat what I want. Why me? Why me? What did I do to the universe? With everything I already have to live without, now I am forced to give up all the foods I really love. What? What? Why me? Urg...." I wouldn't doubt that I threw in a few extra stomps and counter slamming with my fists to ensure my exasperated husband understood the full extent of the crisis I was in. You would have thought I was being forced to give up a necessary organ, like my heart. I am happy to report the drama queen in me as settled down and understands this isn't the end of the world and that the universe is not conspiring against me.

I want to make sure that people understand that giving up gluten isn't something you should do on your own. If you suspect that you have an intolerance to gluten I encourage you to get the proper testing done first.There are so many wonderful healthy gluten filled foods out there that will help people reach their optimum health. I wish I was one of those people who could enjoy hearty whole grain breads and whole wheat pasta and feel well. 

For those who suspect or wonder if some of their symptoms warrant seeking the assistance of a medical doctor or naturopath doctor, check out this site and self test: Gluten Sensitivity/Intolerance Self Test. I am sharing this site as it allows you to get an idea if it is worth your while to go to a Dr. or ND. I am not advocating that you purchase their test kit. I have never used one of these and have not checked with my own ND about the use of one. 

Going gluten free is so much more exciting now that Ryan is helping me out! ;)

Here is what I know. And it isn't much... yet. So I will journal as I learn. There is a difference between gluten intolerance and celiac disease. I used to think that if you were sensitive or intolerant of gluten it meant that you had Celiac disease. That is not the case, Celiac disease is an auto - immune reaction to gluten (the protein found in most grains) and is the most extreme level of a gluten intolerance. Gluten intolerance can present itself as any health related issue caused by gluten. And because of this, it is really tough to diagnose.

I have not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

My symptoms that have led to a diagnosis of Gluten Intolerance are:

• Weight gain
• low iron levels (I have been diagnosed & I am treated regularly for anemia)
• heart palpitations & dizziness (more a result from the anemia, I think) 
• acne, hives, boils
• bloating, pain, gas, and diarrhea
• swelling and aching joints
• Depression & anxiety
• Head aches & Migraines
• Exhaustion 
• Irritability and behavioural changes
• Infertility, irregular menstrual cycle and miscarriage
• Cramps, tingling and numbness

Back in 2011, after many years of testing and being treated for a number of the above things, without real relief, I finally sought the guidance of a Natropathic Doctor. Many thanks to my dear friend, Kathleen, for her gentle encouragement to do so. Through the testing I did with my ND we discovered that I had an intolerance to gluten. Gluten was removed from my diet and I felt amazing! At that same time we discovered that I had an "off the charts" amount of yeast in my body - this is called Candida. I was put on a very strict diet to clean up my system. It was hard and I kept telling myself it was temporary. Once I cleaned up and felt fantastic, I went back to eating the way I did before. I believed that adding in gluten, just a little bit here and there, was ok because I didn't have Celiac's Disease. 

I am now back at square 1, in addition, I have started to have reactions to some make up and shampoos. I wouldn't doubt if it has something to do with the gluten that is likely in those products. I am going to look into that some more.

My ND has once again provided a diet that I am to follow. It is ugly. The upside, I can continue with with my Vi Shakes as they are gluten free! I need to reduce my almond milk consumption to 1 per day. This has been scary and tough to swallow. I was even bargaining with the diet. While talking about the changes I had to make with a friend at work, and in an effort to beat the system, I said, "I am thinking I will skip the fruit and add in a second glass of almond milk!"  As any good friend should, she co-related water ice and fruit Vi smoothies to Slushies ~ Suddenly giving up my second glass of almond milk wasn't so daunting!

I am excited to report that drinking the vi shape mix with only ice, water, and a chocolate mix in tasted much better than I thought it would. Now, I can enjoy an evening almond milk smoothie with some nut butter for desert.

I want to share an awesome site that I am finding really helpful while learning this new lifestyle called The Celiac Diva.
Today, I was so angry about having to make these changes. But after checking things out, especially the video series on the above site - I am in a much better place. Plus, I also have this husband... his name is Trevor. He and I are the perfect combination of crazy and calm. Xo