My Journey...5 months, 30lbs lighter.

So, In the last 5 months I have lost 30lbs. Since my youngest daughter was born I have lost 81lbs. I still have a little weight I would like to lose but overall I feel amazing!
Pregnancy was hard on my body and by the time I was ready to give birth to our youngest daughter I was about 90lbs heavier than when I got married. When Ava was about 2 months she started reacting to foods that I was eating. In order to figure out what foods she was reacting to I went on a strict elimination diet. By the time Ava was 6 months old I had already lost about 70lbs. Not only was I losing weight but I felt wonderful, I had more energy than I ever remembered having. I realized that the foods I had taken out of my diet for Ava were most likely foods that I had problems with as well.
When Chloe was about 2 1/2 we realized that she was sensitive to gluten. In order to have her tested for Celiac disease we put her through a 3 month gluten challenge which involved adding gluten containing products back into her diet. Ava ended up on a gluten challenge as well since it was so hard to keep her away from the foods that Chloe was eating. Since they were both eating gluten containing products I started to introduce them back into my diet as well.  I immediatly began feeling bad. I littlerally felt nauseous when I first started eating gluten foods again. I started to feel bloated and gassy, and my digestive system was just not functioning like it should. My mental clarity was gone and I was tired all the time. I ate like this for 3 months and within that 3 months I gained 20lbs.
After the 3 months was over and all the testing was done we were immediately back on our gluten free diet. The difference was immediate but it has taken a while to get back to what we were before. It has been a journey.
We started by removing gluten from our diet and eventually we removed all grains from our diet. It has been an ongoing progression. Every day I learn something new. Every day I am amazed at how good I feel.
What has started out of necessity has become a way of life that I would chose again in a heartbeat even if the circumstances were different. Healthy eating has become a way of life for me and I am so thankful for that. It is not just about losing weight but about being healthy and having the energy to enjoying life!

June 13, 2011

                   

 

November 11, 2011