Nice Fall Walk

Hi ALL!

I hope you're all having a good weekend so far. This week has been one of a lot of research and it's only just begun...

My daughter and I have officially begun eating completely gluten free-much to the dismay of my 14 year old son!! No, it's not just to lose weight, though I've heard some people HAVE lost weight on a gluten free diet but that's not why we're doing it. For me, I've had severe iron deficient anemia for about 2 years and it's completely unexplained. I've had all kinds of tests and everything's coming back totally normal (no internal bleeding, I take massive amounts of supplements daily, etc...) After doing a lot of research and speaking with my Dr it's been found that many people with Celiac disease or people who have gluten sensitivities are not able to absorb dietary iron and once gluten's been eliminated, the iron levels increase. At this point I'm so tired of the miserable side effects of having practically no iron in my blood that I'm willing to try anything and everything.

As for my daughter...she's been suffering with daily stomach aches, again unexplained, for about a year and a half. After doing all the research I've done for myself, I started to look at a gluten sensitivity as something that may be her issue as well. So, even though she's a serious bread lover, she's stuck to it 100% this week (with one small mistake) and shockingly, after being gluten free for  only 3 days, she's had not one stomach pain!!! Her only mishap was when she ate the granola on her fruit and yogurt parfait. She was out with friends and wasn't even thinking since she only really thought of gluten being in breads and about 20 minutes after, she was sitting in class and got that miserable pain in her stomach again and that's when she realized what she did.

So...I think we're gonna make this a permanent way of life. I'll be getting some blood work done in a couple weeks to see if it's helping me at all.

The next phase of my "research" is reading the book "It Starts With Food" that I mentioned in my last post. I really want to begin a new challenge. Since the "Lose a Marathon" challenge, I've realized I do much better with my eating when I have something I'm actually working toward. The Whole30 program is exactly what I need. I haven't gotten the book yet but when I do, it's on like donkey kong!!

My daughter started a new job teaching young kids swimming lessons and it's right near this beautiful walking trail along the Erie Canal. Friday I brought the dog and while I waited for her to finish-about an hour-the dog and I walked along the canal and took in some of the beautiful fall scenery.

Enjoy a few pics!

I love seeing all the fall colors and leaves on the ground

This path goes along the entire Erie Canal for 78.8 miles!!

My dog Addie trying desperately to get to the ducks!! LOL

While the trees started changing about a month ago, we still have quite a ways to go because there's still an awful lot of green!

That's it for now, I'm gonna get some sleep. Have a great Saturday night!!

QUESTION:  Does anyone have any experience eating gluten free or have friends/family who are gluten free? I could really use some guidance, especially with meal planning. Feel free to comment here or email me...Bwarner1972(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks!

Until next time...