Our Schedule










Sunday, May 25, 2014

Can I live wheat free?

Centerville,  TX

I am well aware that with old age comes creaks and pain in these old bones.   Some days my knees let me down.  Literally.   One knee or the other will just collapse making walking a little slower and labored.

In my younger years I had low blood pressure.  Not any more.   Sometimes it falls in the normal range but often it is on the high side.   Don't even talk to me about cholesterol levels.  Mine is much higher than recommended.   In the inside corner of  my right eye I have puffy lose skin.  My doctor tells me it is due to high cholesterol.

I am also WAY overweight.  Actually into the obese category.

All these things combined make it difficult and tiring to do a whole heck of a lot.   Especially in heat and humidity.   About 10 years ago I had a bout with heat exhaustion.  Since that time the heat hits me really hard.

What to do.  What to do.

I have been hearing a lot lately about "wheat belly".  I have a granddaughter who has food allergies, among them wheat.   I got to thinking if a 7 year old can live with a diet minus wheat, why can't her 70 year old grandmother.

Today I give myself a challenge.  Two weeks.  Just two weeks without wheat.   Then I will see how I feel.

I am going to lay it all out here:

Weight:    195 pounds!!!!  on a 5'7" body.    That is only 3 pounds short of my all time high.  10 years ago I lost over 50 pounds on Weight Watchers.   I found most of that weight I lost.   Each year a little more.

My food log for today:

Breakfast.   My usual 1/2 cup of coffee with French Vanilla creamer
                   4 ounces Tropicana OJ with lots of pulp
                   Two scrambled eggs with green onion, 1 strip of crisp bacon, shredded cheese topped with                          salsa.   I tried to eat it like a burrito but the corn tortillas I bought fall completely apart.   Can                          anyone recommend a good brand?

Snack:        4 baby carrots with 1 tablespoon Ranch dressing

Dinner:         Crock pot roast beef with mushrooms
                    Brown rice
                    Black eyes peas
                    Applesauce

Snack:          Apple

Need to drink more water.  Time to get some NOW!

Can I do this while heading out in 11 days?   I hope so.  

Got any good gluten free recipes?  




9 comments:

  1. I would imagine you have already looked, but when my sister was trying some gluten free cooking, I looked online and there are a lot of websites that have recipes if you google gluten free.

    I have not tried that route, but I use a webpage and app called Lose It to track my daily calories. I don't use salt on anything and try to limit salty foods. Plus I have been running, which I know wouldn't work for you with your knees, but maybe you can start walking? I have been where you are, and more! When I started out, I weighed 221 and now I am heading through the 170s. Still have a ways to go, but I am already feeling a thousand times better.

    You can do it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would never have called you obese. It sounds like you are excellent your first day. I am anxious to follow your progress. Good luck. One day at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. One of our daughters eats gluten free and it has helped her digestion issues. Good luck with your experiment!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Phyllis, I'm impressed with your goal. Don't know if I could be totally wheat-free, but eat less bread since my surgeries in 2012, and only white bread since then. Used to be brown (wheat) but no more, alas. I use an iPhone app called Value Diary that uses the point system like Weight Watchers. I can eat whatever I want and just count the points. Did that last year about this time and it helped me drop the pounds I wanted. That plus walking, which may or may not be an option for you. Good luck and hang in there!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I so needed to read this tonight!!! I need to lose weight..lots of it!!! I am talking but haven't gotten really serious. You did great on your first day...keep up the dedication and thus motivation for some of the rest of us!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Losing weight is a pain! I'm 198 and 5'6". My Wii Fit program calls me obese, which by the charts, I am. I don't feel that big, but when I see myself in pictures, oh my! I count calories with My Fitness Pal app. I realize exercise is the key, but it's tough. Just have to hang in there :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've given up on all diets and "don't eat this" type fads. I'm almost 70 and like the stuff I eat and don't feel like giving up any of it especially desserts!

    The trick is, and it's never easy, is to just eat less, much less, of the stuff I've always liked to eat. That's what I've been doing for a few months now and it's working slowly but surely.

    Rick’s Bits ‘n Bytes, Pics and News

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Phyllis. How are you going?
    I thought you might like this recipe. Everything Mini Bagels

    2 eggs
    3 Tbsp olive oil
    1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
    1/2 cup almond meal
    2 Tbsp coconut flour
    2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
    1 tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/4 tsp xanthan gum
    2-3 tsp Bagel Spice Original recipe
    2 oz cream cheese

    In a medium bowl, beat eggs with olive oil. Stir in cheese. Add the almond meal, coconut flour, Parmesan cheese, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Toss the dry ingredients lightly, then mix in with the egg and cheese mixture. When a thick batter forms, spoon the mixture into a sandwich bag and secure the opening with a twisty tie. With kitchen shears, cut about 1/2 inch of the corner off the bag. Sprinkle a small pinch of the Bagel Spice blend into the oiled cavities of a doughnut maker or mini doughnut pan. Use the bag to pipe the batter into circles. Sprinkle the tops with Bagel Spice blend and bake. My doughnut appliance took 4 1/2 minutes per batch. The oven method would probably need 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

    When all the bagels are baked and slightly cooled, heat the cream cheese in the microwave for 20 seconds. Stir it and spoon the cheese into a sandwich bag. Use a twisty tie to close the top and cut a very small hole in one corner. Squeeze the warm cream cheese over the bagels. Top with an additional sprinkle of Bagel Spice.

    Makes approximately 18 mini bagels.

    Going wheat free does mean using a few 'unusual' ingredients but you will be used to that with your granddaughter. I know there are some good tortilla recipes around but haven't found one I want to pass on yet. There is one made by LaTortilla Factory (http://www.latortillafactory.com/view/products/gluten-free-wheat-free-wraps/) which can be found in most groceries.

    Most of the recipes I know about use golden flax seed flour in the mix. I suggest you try the lowcarb recipe blogs if you have time to browse.

    Hope this is helpful.
    Blessings

    ReplyDelete