A Week Without : Wheat

homemade bread
The other week I went a week without eating wheat (well almost). I’ve never been one for taking on extremes, I’ve always believed that a healthy dose of moderation will do anyone justĀ fine. But I was listening to an integrative doctor during a long car ride and his arguement of why we should take a short fast from certain foods was too compeling, I had to try. He stated that every once in a while, you should go a week without a certain food and see how your body reacts. Wheat is a good place to start because we tend to eat so darn much of it, as I found out, it’s in so much that I eat on a daily basis without realizing it.

Did you know that as much as one in three people are sensitive to gluten, which is found in wheat? That’s a lot of people! Most people don’t even realize it, which is one of the reasons that he suggested cutting out wheat for a while and seeing how your body does. Wheat is also full of starches which are hard to digest and makes you gassy. Ick. Now I don’t want to convince you that eating wheat is bad, I don’t think it is, but its good to stop and evalute what you eat from time to time, don’t you?

So I went a week without wheat. And here’s what I learned about myself:

  • I didn’t have that overly full, bloated feeling after meals, which I do when I eat a bowl full of pasta or a sandwhich on a huge roll.
  • It was harder to keep myself feeling full because I couldn’t grab my usual piece of toast or cracker to snack on.
  • It forced me to eat things that I wouldn’t normally eat, like more vegetables and nuts, which are probably more healthy anyways.
  • I lost three pounds that week!
  • Wheat is in beer which I didn’t realize after drinking half a bottle one evening. Whoops.
  • When you get together with a friend who you can talk for hours with, you’ll soon forget that you are on a wheat fast, when you look down and realize that you are munching on pretzels.
  • Around day five I went through a serious bread withdrawl and headed over to Whole Foods for one of those frozen gluten free breads. They are really awful!
  • The day I went back to eating wheat, I ate a handful of crackers and immediately felt that overly stuffed feeling again.

So, what will I take away from this experiment? I learned that when I want a snack, maybe I should look for something else besides bread or crackers, that overall I should cut down on my wheat intake. But being that I don’t think I have a gluten sensitivity and that there are such incredible bakeries around here, I won’t give up bread perminently. And if I ever need to lose a few pounds to fit into that skinny dress, I know how to!

Have you ever given up anything? What was it and how did you react?

Comments

  1. says

    My son is on the gluten free/casein free diet, on my blog I publish a lot of recipes for gluten free items including chocolate chip cookies! I’m doing a little fast myself with wine. My hubby and I would sit down at the end of evening and chat while enjoying a glass of wine. We decided to cut the wine for a few reasons…health, budget and we wanted to make more time to lay in bed and read. I’m almost done with a book in a week…it’s been a while since I read a book for pleasure only.
    all the best!
    Gretchen

  2. says

    Congrats on making it through your week – that’s a tough one! As you well know, when Ryder was young and had all his allergies I gave up dairy (since I was nursing)- which was incredibly tough in the beginning- but I was able to find alternatives and got creative. I did it again with Saige- I think I complained a lot more the second time around. I think wheat would be really tough for me – but that’s a reason I should do it- b/c I eat so much of it. As I sit here typing I’m munching on my new faves (Newman’s salt and pepper pretzels) I eat way too much of these!

  3. says

    This was an interesting read! I don’t tink I’ve really purposely cut on type of food out mf my diet, other than items with HFCS, but I do notice a huge difference when I try to eliminate junk and processed foods altogether, kind of a no-brainer, but it’s espcieally noticeable if I prepare even basic things from scratch, like bread, pasta, cheese, etc.

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