OMG - WHEAT makes you FAT??

For anyone who has dieted, worried about their weight, etc. we all know that we start on MONDAY.  I have been telling myself that I will get back on the wagon... on Monday, when the kids start back to school.

So.... it's... uh... that day.

I start off with my small breakfast of low fat cottage cheese with pineapples and cherries.  It's so good it should be served on a cone!  I have made a Today's Goal list that included a walk with my awesome pup, Boomer.  It's funny, as the bus drove away he looked at me expectantly.  He knew.  He remembered our routine.  Odd.. .he doesn't come when I call him.  But he knows that we walk when the bus leaves.  Anyway...

I grabbed my iPhone, pulled up this (thanks Linda) podcast:  http://undergroundwellness.com/how-wheat-makes-you-fat/, leashed my dog, started my Nike+ and off I went up Hill Road.

My goal was 45 minutes, but I kept making the decision to go out a tad further.  The whole while I was fascinated with the program I was listening to.  Sean Croxton was talking to Dr. Davis about his book Wheat Belly and I was enthralled!  I cannot believe the amazing health benefits to removing wheat from your diet.  By DIET I mean "what you eat".  Not, "another diet.. another day without foods I like".

As I am walking, I am thinking beyond weight - I am thinking HEALTH - heart health specifically.  The links to heart disease and wheat consumption are astounding.  I want to share this information with my husband.  He's looks so healthy on the outside, but I truly worry about his heart health.  Having a father that died early of a heart attack, I worry.  I want to live out my years with Brian as long as I can (Sorry Honey, lol).

So, I keep going back to ME.  My status...    Before Brian was deployed,  I was weighing in under 130lbs.  Not bad for an almost 40 mother of four.  A few weeks before he left, we celebrated.  A LOT.  Beer, beer, beer.  I put on a few pounds, but I swore it was stress related.  After all, it was by far, the most stressful month of my life!  And I mean that - it doesn't come close to the stress of bringing home the fourth child and wondering how the hell you are going to balance it all.  The pre-deployment stress took an enormous toll on me.  My mental state was out of whack, my ability to be rational was all but gone, and my joy of living was abundantly diminished.

After he left, I was blessed with dinner deliveries from local friends.  Nothing tastes better than food you didn't make yourself, right?  I guess the only people that say that are people like me who always try to cook a decent meal and yet never feel satisfied with the results.  Anyway...

Then, it was hanging out with Linda and Sam, Betty and Ray... which includes snacking and uh... Beer.

I started to try new beers and I was enjoying this.  I chalked it up to "educating myself in beer" like people know fine wines, ya know?  ... blah blah blah.  See how I lie to myself?  It's constant.

My point is this: Beer consumption on the rise?  Pants size also on the rise.  Direct correlation. Here's the truth of it all.  I was doing really well eating great choices most of the day.  I know that the carbs are bad.  I eat mostly what I ate on Dukan... salads, cottage cheese, yogurt, meat.  However, it's been a little more convenience foods too.  Because it's easy.  Because I am outnumbered.  Because it's the only way I thought I could get through August with four hyped up kids.  Because I thought that eating together (going out really) was good family time.  Again... lying to myself.  

Pizza, love it... you gotta go my delightful friend.  You are bad for me, bad for my heart.  I'll always remember the good times.  Pasta?  You easy and "what I thought" filling meal for my kids... bye bye.  Cereal?  Not if it's got wheat in it.  Oh... the kids are gonna be pissed.

I owe it to them, however, to make them aware of the risks of wheat.  The addictive properties... the quick digestion, which leads to hungry, the lab tests that show that the "wheat of today" actually has an appetite booster in it (by no fault of it's own, mind you).  The wheat we ingest today is not the wheat of our fore-fathers.  It's a GMO wheat that is to produce abundantly.  It's has been modified and sold without any testing done to determine the health risk on HUMAN BEINGS.

So, my little human beings are going to help me with this.  I am going to tell them it is an experiment, because it is.  Here's what I am looking for:  Not hungry so much, less dependence on snacks, better potty issues... like less stomach upset for Number 1, less gas for Number 2 (it's a real issue - lol), better sleeping for Number 3.  But this goes a step further.  Our actual real life guinea pig is #3, who was just recently tested for blood sugar issues.  She has a serious problem and we need to fix it.  We started to identify foods that would make her manic.  Before she eats she is whiny, so we thought it might be a blood sugar issue.  After she eats certain foods, she is hyped up and crazy.   It's beyond difficult for everyone in our house.  It needs to be addressed.

These changes will benefit all of us, long term.  So, where do I start?  In the Pantry right?  I keep thinking that I should just throw it all away NOW.  But, I can't.  I just purchased snacks and I need to have them eaten.  I cannot be wasteful in my endeavor.  They will get a warning week, a period of getting used to the idea.

Dinner - easy.  Snacks - easy.

Breakfast?  Lunch?  Gonna be tough.  No doubt.  I need to find good options for my two pickiest eaters.  I need to make time to prepare food that works under the No Wheat rule.  I know, I know... eggs, sausage.  But they LOVE cereal!  Waffles!  Pancakes!   Removing that and keeping them happy will be tough at first.  But I am committed to this, and I expect us to see favorable results.  The most important cannot be determined.  We all matter.  Our health must be optimum and we need to do this... now.

So, does wheat make you fat?  I have a feeling I will prove that it does.  STAY tuned!!!!