Yup, I'm on a new diet. I read both the Wheat Belly book, and the for Wheat Belly Cookbook and I have been intrigued enough to strictly follow the diet for the last 2 weeks. My first impressions are really good. Basically the diet is a traditional low carb diet, which has always been my diet of choice, and one which I have been on and off for years. The big difference with Wheat Belly is that your intake of any wheat products is totally cut off, as opposed to the Atkins diet, which allowed the use of wheat gluten in many of its recipes. I have lost about 9 holiday pounds since starting the diet, but that isn't what strikes me as most impressive about this diet. I have noticed several beneficial side effects that I would not have expected as a result of a change in diet. Here they are.
1. I'm historically a terrible sleeper. I have take meds of varying types for many years in order to sleep, with varying success. Even taking enough meds to put down a rhino, I never make it through the night without a period of wakefulness. I've never really been able to figure out a true solution to this problem and have always chalked it up to having too much on my mind. Although I haven't stopped taking my usual sleeping meds since starting the diet, I noticed starting about the second week I was on the diet, that I started to sleep uninterrupted through the night. Amazing! When you spend literally 15-20 years of your life waking up regularly at 2-3 in the morning for an extended period of time, and then actually sleep straight through the night for multiple nights on end, you definitely notice! I'm not sure what the reason for the change is, but I'm loving it!
2. I'm not hungry. It's true! Most of my friends and family know me as a guy who can put down epic portions of food, and can do it with panache! I can still do some damage when I want to, but that burning desire I've always had to pound down everything on the table has dissipated immensely. Satisfying myself at table has become a much easier prospect. I have to say, I have not tried to cut calories back at all, just cut out processed foods, starches, and of course the devil of all foods - Wheat. I've had a couple of crazy days at work where I never had a chance to eat until dinnertime. Usually you'd be taking your life in your hands to be in my presence on a day where I hadn't eaten. Now I feel a sense of hunger, but it is manageable and when I do finally eat, I can do it without gorging like a great white shark. I've also lost midnight snacking tendencies. A handful of unsalted in the shell peanuts are great after dinner, but no burning desire for cookies, etc. I totally love this new found sense of freedom from food!
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| Ailey cooking up a batch of low carb/wheat free Banana Foster. Delicious! |
3. My chronic upper back muscular pain is gone. I have historically had tense muscles to the inside of both of my wing ones of my back. Again I chalked this up to stress. My daughter Abigail has spent many a night digging into those particular muscles on my back to try to help loosen up her old dad. I'm hoping she doesn't read this, because those awesome night time back rubs are really the bomb, and still feel good even though I don't have the pain like before.
These three changes have been enough to convince me that there is something to this lifestyle change. One thing I do notice is that my need for water seems to have increased. I have found myself becoming dehydrated more, and I am making a concerted effort to drink water on a regular basis throughout the day. So far I can't say enough about the diet. I'm hooked, and I think I'm going to be on this one for the long haul. I'll continue to update you on whether I feel this is a sustainable lifestyle, but so far I am not having any problems whatsoever! I'd love to hear some of your experiences with a restricted carb/wheat diet. Comment away!
Happy Eating!
Wacky Dad
