Why I went gluten-free – a summary I didn't write

I came across this little gem of a post on Meghan Telpner's blog this morning.

Many people ask me when I tell them I don't eat gluten: do you have celiac? My answer is always no, I just feel better and have better digestion when I don't eat it, so I choose not to eat it because I know it does more bad than good for my body.

I've posted a lot about my gluten-free journey here, here, here and here (there are actually a few more, but these are the main ones), but Meghan sums it up beautifully in her post. AND, she is starting a gluten-free cleanse online coaching program – so if you too want less gluten in your life (and feel like a million bucks), maybe you should hop on over and read all about it!

Conquering allergies, naturally

Last spring, I started sneezing. And I couldn't stop. My eyes were constantly puffy. I sneezed all day long at work. I sneezed at home. I sneezed while driving my car (very scary if it happens often and over and over). The one place I didn't sneeze was outside.

To some spring is the start of allergy season, but this had never been the case for me before. In addition, all of my "sneeze attacks" seemed to happen indoors - so I was not convinced I was reacting to pollen/grass/trees.

I was determined to get to the bottom of this, as I was not interested in medicating myself with [insert name of over-the-counter anti-histamine here] to suppress the symptoms of the real problem. So I made an appointment to see a naturopathic doctor. She suggested I do a simple blood test for some common (mostly indoor) allergens. Success! The results showed I was reacting highly to house dust, dust mites, mold and cockroaches (lovely!).

The recommendation was to use some sublingual drops, which would address the root cause of my allergic reactions and a quercetin supplement to relieve my symptoms (quercetin has a natural anti-histamine effect, without the side effects of the drug-store variety). I also made good use of my neti pot to help wash out some irritants (bonus is it also helps relieve the intense dryness in my nasal passages this time of year).

It's taken some getting used to what works for me: how often and when to take the supplements, with or without an extra dose of Vitamin C, which helps the quercetin work better, and how often to use my neti pot. But I think I've found the right combination and I've essentially eliminated my body's allergic response without the need for drugs.

Score 1 Raeanne, 0 Big Pharma!

Of course I've also done the obvious things like made sure that my linens are cleaned regularly, my house and office are dusted regularly, and my car's cabin air filter is changed regularly. I've also been using a humidifier in the house during the colder months.

Does anyone else have any good natural allergy remedies to share?

So 6 a.m. isn't my thing... But 7 p.m. sure is!

So at the beginning of the year, I decided that I would try 6 a.m. workouts to see if I could use that time in my day to get to the gym. I tried a yoga class that I loved, and then I tried a spinning class, which I loathed. I'm keeping it real here...

To do a proper cardio class well, I need to eat first to have some energy to burn... But that early in morning I found it really hard to do. Also the whole getting up THAT early isn't as easy as I thought it might be. In addition, since I was getting up earlier it meant I had to go to bed at least an hour earlier in the evenings and I found I really wasn't saving any time in my day in the long run.

I'm reading this and it's sounding like I'm listing off excuses, which I said I wasn't going to do this year! But someone had me in mind at the gym... because they added new classes in the evenings that fit my interests and scheduled them for a time when I actually enjoy working out. Hurray! I've now got a yoga, cardio/strength and pilates class built into my schedule Monday through Wednesday each week. Thursday I have school. Friday will never be gym day in my books. And the weekend is optional. And I'm happy with that.

Source: push-hard.tumblr.com via Katie on Pinterest

My abs are still burning from my pilates class this week, and I feel good about the decision. So even though the morning thing didn't work out, I've found a good compromise and I'm happy about it.

No excuses! I'm moving forward.

Gluten intolorant or a gut in need of healing?

I've always been pretty in tune with my body. My chiropractor knows this. I can usually tell her what needs adjusting before she even looks at me. But in the last year or so and especially since going gluten-free, I've been much more in tune with my digestion and my gut.

So back in May, I went on a mini-elimination diet to see if I could pinpoint what was making my tummy not-so happy. And I found it - the ever guilty gluten! And since that time, I've been gluten-free.

Until recently...

A couple weeks ago I went to a sushi restaurant and I usually bring my own soya sauce, because the normal stuff is laden with wheat. Side note: more and more restos I've frequented recently are offering GF soy sauce now! I could have went without but said to myself, oh well, I'll just deal with the effects for a day or so. But those effects never really came...

And then last night, I was helping my BF make a version of my mom's amazing meat pies that he fell in love with at Christmas. We used a biscuit dough to make the crust and there was a little bit left after the pies were made so I just shaped them into a few biscuits and threw them in the oven too. When they came out, well I couldn't help it. Warm homemade biscuits! Are you kidding me? Thoughts of my childhood came flooding back and I HAD TO HAVE ONE! So I did. Laden with butter, like they should be consumed. Again with the thought, that I would deal with the effects, but this was too good to pass up and it was only one. Twenty-four hours later, nothing - which would never have happened six or even three months ago.

This has lead me to believe that what I was really in need of was a period of healing. My gut needed a good long break to heal and now it can tolerate some wheat again (although my trials included a very limited amount).

Does this mean I'm going to start eating pizzas, pasta, and sandwiches again? No, because obviously my body couldn't handle it in great quantities and I do believe that an abundance of wheat and grains isn't great for the body anyway.  It is, however, interesting to find out that I can handle a bit, now that I've obviously healed my intestinal lining.

I find this all quite fascinating. And I stress once again what you can really learn about yourself by simply listening (closely!) and following your body's instructions! The human body is such an amazing piece of work - so treat it well!

I did it! And plan to do it again!

Guess what? This morning, at the dark hour of 5:30 a.m., I dragged myself out of bed (not that hard actually) and went to a yoga class at 6 a.m.!

I did it! And it felt great!

My plan was to start slow, and not scare my body too much on the first try with something too intense. So yoga seemed perfect. What a lovely way to start the day. I found it slightly ironic that we were doing sun salutations in a room filled with windows without the slightest hint of sun -- but whatever, the darkness was nice too.

I'm going to try and incorporate lots of different classes into these morning workouts. The gym I attend offers hot yoga three times a week, a cardio/strength class three times per week, spinning classes four times per week and a regular yoga class once per week – all at 6 a.m. So lots of variety!

I'm excited to continue and see results of my efforts in a few months.

No more excuses!

Well 2012 just started and already I feel in a rut. Generally, I like order and organization in my life -- all parts of my life. Since the Christmas break, I haven't been to the gym because in order to get myself to the gym, I need to plan -- spur of the moment trips will just never happen. In addition, I do group exercise classes pretty exclusively. I find it motivates me, I'm stuck there for an hour and I end up having a "good" workout. So if you're following me here, you'll notice that schedules (mine and the gym's) need to align and I haven't been making that work.

Lucky for me, the gym I attend has the most classes of any gym I've ever come across. This is perfect. Now to just get there...

I have this grand idea in my head. To execute it, however, will take A LOT. You see a bunch of classes start at 6am. In fact I could do a class a day at 6am and get cardio, strength, yoga in during the week -- a little bit of everything, which in turn would be awesome for the bod! I love it!

The downside, you probably already noted: six freaking a.m. I am so not a morning person... I want to be, but ever since I was a wee child I've had the worst time getting up. My mother used to threaten to pour water on me when I was a teenager, now I just ignore my alarm clock and then when the time comes that I know I'll be late for work, I just swear at the clock (and myself) and get up, begrudgingly.

Now my hate for mornings has nothing to do with not getting enough sleep, I easily get my 8 hours per night (sometimes more). So what's my issue? I have said for the longest time that the worst part of my day is the moment that my body goes from horizontal to vertical, i.e., getting out of bed. It's awful.

But getting the gym out of the way first thing in the morning, starting my day with a great adrenaline rush and having time to get ready at home afterwards (gym is only max 5 minutes away) is all very enticing.

I love the idea. Execution is the problem. But as Meghan says, no more excuse-itis. I've got to give it a try.

But ideas on getting my a$$ out of bed and into gear are more than welcome and appreciated!

Update: I followed through on my plan and it was great!

Starting the new year off right

Now that the holidays are over, I'm trying to put little things back into my routine and nourish my body with lots of nutrients that I know were missing over the holidays -- but damn those M&M peanuts are good! Upward and onward to 2012!

Here's how I've started off the last two days:

First thing when I got up I downed a big glass of lemon water. This is super alkalizing for the body and detoxes the liver when drunk first thing in the morning.

Super simple to do. Squeeze half a lemon add it to a glass, fill the glass 2/3 to 3/4 with cold water and then top it off with with some boiling water to make the water warm. Drink it back with a glass straw -- really there isn't anything better and more fun than eco-friendly straws.

Once that's down, I got out my new blender (How I love! Thank you Mom & Dad), and whipped up a green monster, courtesy of Oh She Glows' Classic Green Monster recipe. I followed it more or less to a tee. I used my seed mix instead of only chia seeds, in one case I only used half a banana (and it wasn't frozen), and I did add my vegan vanilla protein powder from Genuine Health.

Simple, add stuff to a blender and blend.

And then pour and drink (again with glass straw).

Now I'm ready to be somewhat productive on my last day of vacation. It's still vacation after all... can't be too busy.