31 Days {Day 2} || Committing to Change – No Wheat

As long as I can remember, I’ve always had to watch what I eat and I’ve always struggled with excess weight.  I’m sure there are complicated reasons for why I never was able to stick to anything for any length of time, but mostly I think I just never committed to the idea of being healthy.

Disclaimer:  I am in no way saying this is the case for everyone.  And I am not dismissing health issues that I’ve dealt with over the years that have attributed to weight gain, but I’m saying that a more resolute committment to better health, on my part, would have made a difference.  The truth is when we’re young we think we’ve invincible.  It’s only when we start to age that we realize that things break down.

So where does the no wheat thing come in?  I have a couple of friends that have switched to a gluten-free diet, one because of Celiac disease and the other to reduce symptoms of MS.  So my world was starting to be opened up to the gluten-free lifestyle.  {Side note:  Have you ever had the experience where an idea or concept keeps circling back to you from varied sources??}  Well this was happening to me with the idea of no-wheat.

Then 4 weeks ago, my husband and I are driving home from a family birthday party and he, out of the blue says, “I think I’d like to try the gluten-free thing.”  He struggles with IBS and gluten-free would work wonders, but he’s also someone, like me, who has railed against the healthy lifestyle.

Then 3 weeks ago, my mom and I were sitting at the airport waiting to catch a flight to visit my grandpa and I was telling her that I need to find some books on this gluten-free deal so I can educate myself and she just happens to say, “Hey I downloaded a book to my Kindle the other day called Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health which talks about that and so much more.”  Needless to say, I grabbed my Kindle and downloaded away.

While we were visiting my grandpa, I read the book and was firmly convinced this was something we had to do.  My mom read it too and she’s on board as well.  On Dr. Davis’ website http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/ you can find tons of articles, recipes and inspiration from people who have done this and realized amazing results.  I haven’t tried any recipes yet, but they will start appearing in our weekly menus.  There is also a great blog post that outlines the plan we will be following.

We started on October 1st and have committed to 31 days of wheat-free.  I am excited to report back on October 31 how we’ve done.

 

 

“This new-fangled diet won’t affect our treats or meals, will it?”

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Committed to Change

There are days when I like to think that I have everything completely under control and nothing changes… then I wake up.

I have wanted to have a blog for ages and have started and stopped a couple over the past couple of years.  Work, family, commitments always seemed to get in the way of me following through (I even had one called Intentional365… how’s that for setting yourself up?), but actually I lacked motivation.

Yesterday marked the last day of a job I had for 7 years and I am officially without a formal occupation.  I chose to leave because it was time, but today I find myself not with a lack of things to do, but with the feeling that something is missing.  I have worked since I was 21, right after college and it feels a bit weird to not have somewhere to go and it will certainly feel weird on the 15th to not receive a paycheck.

I have some ideas of things I want to do, but mostly I want to take some time to see how each day goes.  I happen to be married to the most gracious, perfect man for me and we’re walking this new journey together.

So for the next 31 days, I am excited to be joining The Nester for the 31 Days Challenge, by committing to change.  I don’t do change well, in fact, I usually fight against it and I certainly always have several backup plans in place.  I do want to change in several areas of my life and I think the time is now.  I read an article recently from the blog www.becomingminimalist.com on the subject of Commitment.  In the article the author, Lorilee Lippincott, described how lasting change only comes about through commitment.  She also listed four strategies to help create lasting changeExpect set-backs, tell others, make small goals and own it-live like you’ve already achieved it.  It’s a great article and I recommend you read it if you’re interested in making lasting change in an area or areas of your life.

So what is this blog about and what’s with the title?  The title of my blog may seem strange to you… “While Walking My Dogs”.  It came to me months ago when I realized that most of my ideas and inspiration come while I’m walking my dogs.  As you will come to realize, I love dogs. I apologize in advance for the excessive dog references.  As I’ve pondered the purpose of these postings, I’ve realized that it’s all about the things I love… there are many and they won’t be in any particular order.  Somedays it will be inspiring, other days it will be instructive and yet others it will probably just be pictures of my dogs.

I do hope you come back to join me on this journey, at least the for next 31 days and I hope that what I have to contribute to the infinite blog community is worthwhile.

These are my dogs, Woody (left) and Ellie (right).

“So you’re starting a blog again?  Will this involve extra walks and treats?  Just asking…”

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