wheat-less re-cap: week 1

Well, this week has been interesting.

I’ll keep my observations of going wheat-free thus far brief, as the rest of this post focuses on the recipes I’ve tried out.

Difficulty in finding things to eat: Almost no trouble at all. I already eat a lot of veggies and am very open to experimenting with new foods and recipes, so it hasn’t been hard to come up with things to eat.

Fullness/Satiety: Perhaps the most shocking side-effect of this experiment is how little I’ve been snaking. Normally, I eat about 350-calorie meals, with a couple 200-calorie snacks throughout the day. This week, my meals have been a bit higher in calories (closer to 400) with almost no need to snack in the afternoon. Seriously. I’ve been absolutely floored at how full I’ve felt from lunch to dinner. I don’t know why I’m surprised; it’s the fat that leads to satiety and protein that increases how full you feel/takes longer to digest, both of which have increase in my diet. So, it makes total sense. Couple that with the fact that I’m eating more foods that don’t spike my blood sugar as much, which probably leads to a more even level of glucose in my blood throughout the day, thus decreasing those episodes of lower blood sugar between meals. If I take anything from this experience, I think it will be to add a bit more healthy fat and protein to my meals.

Weight-Loss: ZERO. (Not pleased.) I’d anticipated a bunch of quick ‘water weight’ loss, but that hasn’t happened at all. It could have something to do with increased protein intake, or my body adjusting to the new diet.

Energy Level: LOW. The first day or so seemed normal, but every day after has been tough. My workouts have definitely suffered, and I find I’m winded after doing simple activities. It’s not like I can’t take the dog on a walk or run or even swim, it’s just harder. An even neater observation is that for the first minute or so of an activity, I feel great. But after that, it’s like I crash and feel like I’m running with bricks tied to my feet. That’s happening because I’ve depleted my glycogen (the form carbs take when they’re stored in your muscles) stores have been depleted. The first minutes of exercise get energy from what’s quickly available in my blood, while exercise after that reaches for those stores, which aren’t really there anymore. SO INTERESTING.

BMs: Relatively normal, but delayed perhaps? Definitely not as regular…

Carb Intake: About 1/2 to 2/3 of usual. I’m not aiming for no/low carb (that’s just unwise, in my opinion), but by taking out wheat and other whole grains, it’s inevitable that my carb intake will decrease. Our brains need a minimum of 130 grams a day to function, and I think I’m coming in somewhere around 175-200 grams. My recommended intake is about 250 grams.

Brain Function: I’m definitely not firing on all cylinders lately. I can’t say it’s a huge difference, but I definitely just feel a bit ‘slow.’ It’s not drastic and it’s not like I couldn’t take a test or study, but I’m just a bit off.

Other observations:

-I’m probably going through a ‘withdrawal’ phase. It’s mentioned in the book and because I wouldn’t call myself a carb-aholic, I didn’t really anticipate there being much of a withdrawal, but I think I was wrong. It’s a natural response, and I’m not liking it. I anticipate my body will adjust, and I hope it’s soon. I’d planned to only do this for two weeks, but I may have to go longer to make sure I get over whatever ‘hump’ this is and really see if there are other changes once my body fully adjusts. I suppose a month isn’t a bad timeframe, but I don’t even want to think about that right now.

-Small bouts of nausea. A few times I’ve suddenly felt sick at the thought of protein sources and craved cereal or something. No actual vomiting, but an interesting mental side effect. I can’t even say I’ve had any strong carb/bread cravings, and it’s not even difficult to pass up the pretzels Andrew eats or bread on the table.

-I miss beer.

On to the recipes:

I’ve had to change up my meals a bit, and while I’m not making Andrew go wheat-free, obviously I’ve had to re-think dinners, too. Breakfasts and lunches have been pretty easy and really not that different from an average day, since I already eat lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as dairy. Think smoothies and eggs for breakfast instead of a muffin or toast.

Before I forget, be sure to check out my friend Emily Tunstall Frack’s blog post about Wheat Belly. She’s actually the student at Buff State who started the book club and her comments on the book are much more thorough than mine.

Instead of ‘Meatless Monday,’ we did ‘Wheatless Monday.’ HA! I made a ‘wheat-free’ pizza from Wheat Belly. The crust is steamed and mashed cauliflower with cheese and egg, topped with traditional pizza toppings. I suppose I could have gone meatless, too, but I figured taking away Andrew’s beloved pizza crust was torture enough. And, I thought that sausage would be an excellent flavor combo with the crust and sauce mix.

(Don’t mind the photo: that elusive thing we call the sun was shining through our window for once.)

The verdict: Definitely NOT pizza. In fact, I think he/we were more disappointed because we were thinking pizza…and it wasn’t. Honestly, the taste was fine. If you’d called it ‘Italian Cauliflower Pizza Bake’ or something like that, I think it would be more accurate and appealing. You can’t eat with your hands, and the ‘crust’ is a bit egg-y.

I’ll be honest: Andrew was not a fan. (Not that I anticipated he’d be…) I even halved the amount of cheese in the crust and decreased the cheese and oil on top, too. Not that there will be a next time, but if there was, I’d only use one egg instead of two. You basically pour the mashed cauliflower/cheese/egg/oil mix onto a pan, bake it, then top with sauce and cheese and bake again. Good flavor, odd texture, but not pizza.

For breakfast Wednesday morning, I made LIVESTRONG’s Paleo Blueberry Muffins–in the microwave!

Look! You can see the top rising out of the mug!

The ‘muffin’ comes out a bit dense and certainly isn’t the crumbly, yummy blueberry muffin you imagine, but it wasn’t bad. I ended up putting in way less blueberries because I just eye-balled it and it was fine. Fewer calories, I say. Whipping it up in the microwave was neat, too. However, it felt like a brick in my stomach on my run almost two hours later.

For dinner another night, I made a stir-fry from the Wheat Belly book with rice noodles. I won’t share the recipe because it was utterly taste-less (just not a great stir-fry), but the rice noodles were fine. Perhaps a slightly different taste than regular, but nothing major.

For dessert for our Bible study this week, I made the Wheat Belly Cheesecake with Wheatless Crust recipe. (It was supposed to be a no-bake cheesecake using Ellie Krieger’s recipe and the WB pecan crust, until I realized the crust had an egg…so it needed to be baked. So, I threw together a combo of both recipes and threw it in the oven.

It may be wheat-free, but it’s certainly not health food; it had a whopping 700 calories per slice! It’s all those nuts in the crust; the crust is made of pecans, eggs and sugar. I made my inside a bite more like EK’s, so it may have been a bit lighter, but probably not by much. Overall taste was fine, but the texture of the crust was lacking. As I was making it, the crust was almost too gooey to shape in the pan! I did finally get it up the sides of the dish and it baked just fine, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

The last recipe I made this week was the Wheat Belly Flaxseed Wrap.

Flaxseed meal was also the main ingredient in the blueberry muffins and acts as a sort of ‘flour.’ Because the wrap is kind of high in calories (300), I cut it in half and used it for two meals. It’s another quick microwave recipe–flaxseed meal, egg, oil and spices all in a pie plate and then nuked. You could even omit the spices and throw in a little sugar and cinnamon for a breakfast wrap of sorts.

I filled mine with turkey, avocado, cheese and sprouts, which is what the recipe on the next page says to do. Because the wrap is already high in protein, it’s not like you need to fill it with eggs or meat, (it was one of those nausea-inducing thoughts), but what else do you do?? I’m thinking of making the sweeter version next week and filling it with fruit and peanut butter maybe.

I don’t anticipate making many more WB recipes next week, but I did want to try the Apple Walnut ‘Bread’ from the book soon.

I also had my first ‘sorry I gave up wheat’ experience at a restaurant last night. We went out with friends to a place in South Buffalo for fish fry–a Buffalo tradition Andrew and I have really embraced–and I had to pass up the beer, macaroni salad and the fried fish. (Surprisingly, it was the beer I missed the most.) Thankfully, the broiled fish was excellent, as was the coleslaw. If anything, I ate a bit healthier (let’s not mention the ice cream sundae I ate later that night at Antoinette’s), drank a bit healthier, and got a taste of what those with Celiac’s Disease experience when they go out to eat. That’s part of why I’m doing this–to know what it feels like to not be able to have certain things while at a restaurant. So thankful this is only temporary.

Send happy thoughts my way for week 2!

wheat-free

I’m going wheat-free for the next two weeks.

No, I don’t have an allergy, nor am I jumping on the low-carb band wagon. I’m simply experimenting.

I recently read Wheat Belly, by William Davis, as part of the Western New York Dietetics Association’s book club. The group was actually started by a friend who is a senior in the dietetics program at Buff State, and she invited me to join in. I’m not a member of the WNYDA yet, but I’m sure I will be once I actually some initials after my name 😉

Anyway, I loved the idea of a book club exploring the latest and greatest fad diets, since as ‘food and nutrition experts,’ we need to be informed about what our patients and clients are reading. About 15 of us met at a local juice bar in Buffalo–about half current dietetics students and half RDs–to discuss the book.

I’ll be honest–there wasn’t a lot of positives to talk about in the book. (Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble.) In short, the book was an attack on modern day wheat and Dr. Davis (who is a cardiologist) asserts that it can be blamed for just about every ailment known to man. Have acne? It’s wheat’s fault. Diabetes? Definitely wheat, not those jelly beans. Obesity? For sure it’s your wheat bread intake that’s making you fat.

While the book appeared to be well-researched, it really wasn’t, yet Dr. Davis’s charismatic language and fear-inducing claims are sure to hook gobs of people looking for a quick fix for weight-loss or various gastrointestinal issues.

Now, were some of his points interesting? Sure. I agree that the wheat we eat today is definitely NOT the same wheat people were eating hundreds of years ago, thanks to genetic engineering and hyper-processing. Could that have nutritional implications? Sure. Is being in a state of hyperglycemia (too much sugar in your bloodstream) good for you? Definitely not. But should we eat candy before we eat wheat bread (as Dr. Davis says)? Goodness no.

In short, I definitely do not recommend this book and I would caution anyone to take a very critical look at any diet that eliminates (or severely decreases) an entire food group. To read the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ review of Wheat Belly, click here.

That being said, I was still intrigued by some of his assertions. While I don’t have any aches, pains or acne, nor am I overweight, lethargic or suffer from GI problems, I’m curious to see what eliminating wheat will do. Or not do. Dr. Davis says many of his patients lose tons of weight after following their new wheat-free diets for just a week or so. (Of course they lose a bunch of weight! They give up all that processed crap they were eating in favor of carrot sticks?)

Really, I’m just curious. This is a ‘diet’ that will encourage me to eat more fruits and vegetables, curb what little ‘junk’ food I do eat, and I may even feel a little better afterward. Because you can replace the vitamins, minerals and fiber found in wheat with those found in vegetables, this diet (especially in the short term) won’t have serious nutritional ramifications. In the end, it will be a challenge, it’s fun and gimmicky, so why not?

This morning, I had my first wheat-free (on purpose) meal: a banana, almond milk, yogurt, avocado and protein powder smoothie. Not bad. A friend has been adding avocados to her meals lately and she’s loving it. Avocados are full of healthy fats and vitamins and fiber, so I thought I’d amp up my intake, too.

Verdict: This smoothie kept me full til noon. In my snack-every-two-hours book, that’s impressive.

I planned our meals this week using some recipes included in the book–some of which are wheat ‘alternative’ recipes such as a pizza made with a cauliflower crust (that’s for tomorrow) and a stir-fry with wheat-free noodles, and others are simply meals without grains, like a meat entree and roasted vegetables or a smoothie. I’m even going to try some of the baked recipes, like the banana-blueberry muffins or apple-almond bread. For baking, almond meal, flaxseed meal and coconut flour make many appearances.

And remember that wheat isn’t just breads–it’s cereals, pretzels, cookies, snacks and it’s even hiding in lots of things. Dr. Davis encourages readers to give up just about anything that will send your blood sugar soaring, like anything with fructose, corn and other grain products. He also limits rice, beans, fruit and starchy vegetables, like white potatoes and corn. (Think Atkins.)

I don’t know that I’ll be drastically limiting my fruit intake, but I am going to try to cut out all wheat products in the interest of the experiment. The diet relies heavily on vegetables, dairy, meat and nuts, which will give me plenty of protein and will encourage satiety–both good things. While I was on spring break this past week, I kinda took a ‘vacation’ from my normal healthy habits (there might have been some Ben & Jerry’s…), so I’m ready for a diet jump-start right about now!

So long, wheat! See you in two weeks 🙂

longest day of the longest week EVER

So, I left my house at 6:43 this morning.

I have to do an extra rotation this morning to make up for one I’m going to miss in April, In addition to my afternoon rotation and evening class. I won’t be home until at least 8 p.m. tonight.

I look crazy awake, huh?!

Anyway, so I had a test yesterday (it went alright), and then I had to go to our service learning location–Jericho Road after-school program–to observe the kids in action before my team and I design our nutrition education for them. Didn’t get home until after 6 p.m. And I STILL had work to do!

Tomorrow is a relatively regular day, although I’ll have to fit a Wegmans trip in before 9 a.m…

Thursday I have a ‘mock’ interview in the morning (an assignment for a class) followed by my regular rotation, and I don’t even have a regular day on Friday–I have to go straight to a chiropractor appointment and then host a dinner party that night!

What a week! Takin’ it one day at a time…