wheat belly | Kai Chronicles

In January, I was feeling great and looking good! So good, that I reintroduced complex carbs, wheat and gluten, dairy, some caffeine and yeast.

It’s now March 25th and I have been feelings like utter crap for weeks now. And it’s not just physical. That part of it is always to be expected.

It’s the mental fog, apathy, loss of motivation and cravings that I am dealing with that is making me crazy.

I know it’s my diet.

I’ve been playing this on and off again game with my diet for the past 8 years. And for sure, I have ragged on about it here before.

Recently, I have been in and out of the doctor’s office, mostly getting blood tests to rule out various diseases, infections and allergies. Everything came back negative. That’s a good thing but I still have my issues.

Severe bloating
Fullness after eating medium-sized meals
Flatulence
Constipation
Indigestion (occasionally)
Laziness
Mental fog
Apathy
Low energy
Unsightly skin problems (since Jan 2012)
Asthma (since April 1995)
Nasal polyps (since April 1995)
And lately, recurrent throat infections (since Aug 2012)

The severe digestion issues have been on the increase for the past couple of years.

Now that all my tests came back negative, the doctor has said the next step is for me to see a Gastroenterologist and he/she will most likely issue a colonoscopy because I am a high-risk patient.

I am now “labeled” high risk because my sister died of a rare form of cancer 18 months and another sister has been recently diagnosed with Coeliac disease. Oh, and I am over 40. Seriously, if I were also coeliac all of this could be explained easier.

I’ve yet to make an appointment with a specialist. I don’t know if I will but the fact that my sister died only 5 weeks after her diagnosis is playing on my mind. If she had of gotten tested earlier, would she still be alive?

I feel I am in tune with my body and I know what I need to do: STOP EATING THE FOODS THAT MAKE ME FEEL BAD

And like I said, I have done this over and over again but then I feel good and think, ‘I can have a little…’, then BANG.

I am fat, bloated, farty and can’t even stand being me anymore.

No, I’m not 5 months pregnant. I just ate some wheat today.

But the more wheat/gluten items I eat, the more I want. It’s like an addiction and I can’t stop myself even to save my health.

But I will do it again.

April 1st is the day. I’ll be going back on my restricted diet which will include many complex carbs too. NO GLUTEN, RICE, NOODLES, YEAST, DAIRY (EXCEPT YOGHURT), CERTAIN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (POTATOES).

I cannot just go cold turkey instantly. I have to slowly work my way up to it. I tried it a few days ago and lasted 1 day. Then I baked a chocolate cake.

Thank goodness I am waiting until after Easter. You know I’ll be overdosing on chocolate and hot-cross buns this week (homemade buns of course).

Gotta go now. It’s pasta for dinner. I’ll just have a small portion but will saviour it to the last bite.

Are there any foods that you know you should avoid but just cannot stay away from ?

Awareness. That’s what’s working for me this Wednesday. I’m very aware that I’m over-eating and eating stuff that I don’t need to be eating.

Today was the first ‘Baking Day Wednesday’. Every Wednesday, I will get up at 6am (as per my new normal) and because it is my one day off of my Tracy Anderson fitness regime (I go to Yoga instead). I will bake from 6-7:30am instead of dancing my ass off.

Date square..an old family recipe.

My muesli -this was at the half way toasted point. It turns out much darker and is soooo much better than commercial stuff. Plus, you can add anything you fancy!

Today, I made muesli, date squares and a rocky-road like square. This baking is meant to be for Master T’s lunchbox (the muesli is for breakfast). I will freeze 3/4s of the date squares. The thing is, I like to eat freshly baked goods. A date square is not gonna kill me. Homemade muesli is yummy will yogurt. The rocky-road???? I do not need this in my life. I had a piece…..for lunch. And guess what?

It was delicious!!!

The monster….rocky road squares…graham crumbs, coconut, crushed peanuts, marshmallow and chocolate smothered in condensed milk then baked.

But seriously. I was extremely full and my mood turned foul within 20 minutes. I still feel irritable and grumpy but I’m coming right. And of course, my tummy is swollen and tubby looking. It feels like I just undid all my hard fitness training. This just confirmed, once again that my body and mind does not like too much sugar or wheat. And I have a whole pan of them in the fridge. The reason I made them was a rational one.

I had some left over graham cracker crumbs (North Americans will know these) left over from my last trip back from Canada. I didn’t want them going in the bin (I detest wastage) so I made the recipe from the back of the box. It’s not like I even want Master T eating crap like that but it is homemade so that’s one point for me, at least!!

I am really pleased that I am able to pinpoint the error of my ways soon after they happen. Now, to catch them before they happen…. that’s the real challenge!!

And, this is too early to say it’s working for me but I am off to do something I have never done tonight!! I’m excited and I’ll tell you all about it soon!!