frizzy hippie: volume 2 :: i can’t eat the glue, & what it’s teaching me

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in the past half year or so, i’ve gone gluten free. this post is about what i miss (foods), and what <<i’ve discovered>>.

i have not jumped on the bandwagon. but if you need to judge me anyway, go ahead. I (politely) just don’t care anymore what you think about my food choices.  i have been doing it to see if the stomach issues that have plagued my daily life since childhood, would improve – they have.

joy!

(i miss fresh bagels)

::: it has been HARD.  i ate gluten a few times on and off since i’ve been trying it. i immediately felt the effects of its return. tummy aches, uncomfortable, lack of energy (boo).

so i’ve made a choice. no more gluten – forever. (only exception, if my Uncle Ron makes Gramma F’s homemade bread, or teaches me how – pretty please?). 🙂

i have now been gfree since Christmas Day, and i’m never going back. i will not just eat it to please whomever my host or hostess is, and i will just bring my own snacks so i know i have options. this may sound harsh, but it is my HEALTH. no offense to you! 🙂

::: the removal of something that is in SO much in our food today has been a very difficult task.

difficult because i’ve been trying to lose weight without much change to my routine, and i’m on a budget. remember this? duh Barb, you gotta MOVE more. (goal for 2014).

((i also miss microbrewed beer))

taking out a protein, not because i’m allergic, but obviously because i’ve found, i have an issue with it (as i have felt/looked better immediately after i stopped eating it) has been life changing.

<< i have MORE ENERGY>>  :::::

what i’ve realized is that taking it out of my diet is more than just taking it out for me. it has been an education for everyone that i encounter on a semi-regular basis.

i’m a freshman about the gluten facts. like, did you know that there are some beef jerky brands that contain it? and some cheeses? fascinating.

<< LESS BLOATING. NOTE THAT I DIDN’T SAY SKINNY 🙂 >>

before i lose you with boring factoids, i want this post to be a goal for all of us.

because, dear folks, not eating gluten seems to me to have been a punishment so far, and i’d love to change that. (this post is about more than gluten i promise). 😉

i feel like because i can’t have a soft breaded sandwich without having to toast my bread beforehand, or eat stuffing at holiday meals, or check every single label, i feel gypped!

there, i said it.

(( i miss inexpensive tasty crackers))  :::  one of the harder things? people are skeptical about why i may be doing it.

or worse?

they make jokes about stuff not being “gluten free” because it is the dieting rage right now.

i’ll be honest, i didn’t research a whole lot before i started, because if i had, i’d never have even tried.

this little protein is added to SO many things to use as a kind of protein “glue” if you will. something about it makes things stick together.

i am all kinds of edumacating you all today, huh? 🙂

<< i am NO LONGER PHYSICALLY DIZZY, ALTHOUGH MENTAL DIZZINESS IS STILL KICKIN’>>  :::

going forward:

i want to not feel gypped. i want to feel JOY now & forever about my health choices, and in general about my choices, such as wearing white after Labor Day, and why Michigan State is the best university in the world.

it also got me thinking that my struggle to want to just be able to eat like my gluten tolerant friends & fam, is a great metaphor for like TONS of things.  life choices. career choices.  Mac or PC.

you see, we cannot always choose why we are the way we are.  we can certainly try to improve on stuff that we struggle with, or dislike about ourselves. i also think it may come down to something even more simple for me.

i want to feel supported in my decisions. whether i decide to become the first woman to climb mount everest with a bobcat pup snuggled into a baby sling, or i want to start the world’s first sustainable lady bug farm.  i want people to ask questions with interest, not doubt. i want people to be curious with compassion, care & tenderness, not scowls and snideness.

isn’t it absurd (and SO joyous) that we are given these lives according to God’s plan for EACH of us, and how we seem to make a hilarious, beautiful messes of it, and how He still loves us anyway?

that rocks!

i believe that God wants us to use encouragement, support, love and understanding to continuously affect the people around you and how their joy is being sought. being shared & multiplied. mine too. we are supposed to be different. we are supposed to eat different stuff. wear different clothes. speak different languages. because God would have been so bored to have a world of only Victoria & David Beckhams. He would have been B-O-R-E-D.

do you know those montages for different things like phone commercials, where they interview or show short clips of people of all races, sizes, religions, sexual orientations, hair color, ages, peanut-butter-choices? and everyone is smiling? those are MY FAVORITE. the beauty of those colors of skin, those hairstyles, those shapes, those smiles – all not perfect, are just SO real.

different.

all of us.

so, the next time someone is telling your their ideology or diet, or plan for financial freedom, or big dream, let them talk. and listen.  REALLY listen.  ask questions with intention of goodness, show them your joy of hearing or interpretting what they mean, as they delve into it. my guess is? you will see the sparkle in their eyes. or feel the energy of their excitement. you may even give them a hug, and a word of encouragement. because they may not know all the answers of what gluten is in, or know how they will climb mount everest and still make sure to feed their bobcat babe when it’s hungry, or even know where to find tiny solar-powered tractors for their ladybug farm. but i’m sure they’d love a friend’s ear to bounce ideas off of. i’m going to take my own advice and let my favorite girl dream out loud, without being the reality police, or worse yet, the dream crusher. i want her to feel the joy of choosing on her own and learning. because through this journey of eating gluten free i’ve learned that i need to extend kindness to those with their own ideas of what works for them. because we all have God’s safety net, and eventually someone will come up with a gluten free version of Buffalo Wild Wing’s chocolate cake, right? 🙂

i can’t eat the glue, but what i’m gaining in understanding is pretty filling. plus? i can still eat kettle chips, chocolate & coffee with cream (sometimes sugar), so life.is.good.