One month grain-free challenge

[cutastrophe]

Today was my first day going grain-free! I can't believe I survived it, I'm such a carb addict!

I want to keep track of how this diet makes me feel so I'll be trying to post updates everyday for reference. Anyone want to join me in going grain free?? Feel free to post here and share your experiences.

I'm sick right now so I was kind of just snacking all day. Today I ate:


some raw apples
red grapes
crab salad (crab meat, scallions, plain yogurt, red onion, dill, salt, stevia) and carrot chips to scoop it up and eat it with
red grapes
raw swiss cheese
some nitrate-free, organic ham
chamomile tea
a little orange juice
lots of water

and I had to take some painkillers to stave off a caffeine headache from not having my morning coffee. I'd love to go caffeine and grain free as I think the two are both causing the same problem for me--completely messing up my hormones and blood sugar levels. Consuming too many carbs and too much caffeine results in insulin overload, which in turn results in mood swings, fatigue, depression, skin problems, and intense cravings for more and more carbs and caffeine. Now the carbs from fruits and veggies don't have the same affect on me as grains, which is one reason why I'm doing grain-free and not a strict low carb diet where those would be limited.

So what is NOT allowed for the next month? The following in any and all forms:

wheat
oats
rice
corn
peanuts
beans
lentils
white potatoes
soy
white sugar
brown sugar
chocolate

if you read labels you'll find that corn, wheat, and soy are in EVERYTHING. I went shopping today and discovered 'pure vanilla extract' has corn in it. what the?

[cutastrophe]

Day two No coffee or grains again today.

Today I ate:

bacon
banana
apple slices
lamb stew with carrots, turnips,onions, and peas

still fighting off a cold, but no cravings at all so far

[Pilgrim]

Good for you, cutastrophe! I wish I had the fortitude to try this, because I think it would be good for me, but I'm not up for it right now. We have a book called the No Grain Diet, or something like that, that does a good job of explaining the reasons for decreasing grains in one's diet. It is hard and I wish you well! You seem to be off to a great start and I look forward to hearing how this goes for you.

[cutastrophe]

Thanks Pilgrim!


My foods for today:

watermelon
banana
carrots with sunflower seed butter
goat milk vanilla yogurt
leftover lamb stew
tomato soup w/ grated grana padano Italian cheese
1 tbsp cod liver oil
1 tbsp omega 3-6-9 oil

NO coffee again today! I can't believe I'm still functioning, lol

I just got my oils in the mail today from iherb.com I'm hoping they'll help with the same problems I'm trying to resolve with the grain free diet-acne, dry skin & hair, dark eye circles, fatigue, depression.

[cutastrophe]

I'm really wanting some coffee this morning

[cutastrophe]

Today's foods:

1 cup coffee with half-half
banana
apple
sunflower seed butter
soup--ground elk, scallions, carrots, tomato, green cabbage, yellow onions, parseley, spices
orange juice
omega oil
cod liver oil
another apple

bedtime finally


I'm thinking I need to cut back on the fruit. I felt very drained and all day.

[freznow]

Congrats on the progress! I know it can be very hard. I think a helpful resource may be http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/index.php it's not about no grains, but I've noticed most of the food you'll have available to eat and snack on won't be cooked, (and it'll be hard to find stuff in stores that fits your criteria, and most raw people are definitely in the same boat) and the people there are willing to help out with any diet issue.

I'm not grain free, but I try to balance out my diet. It is quite hard because somedays there seems to be nothing to eat besides making myself some pasta, and I don't feel very well on those days. I try to eat raw as often as possible, but it is hard. Diet is so hard to change. But listen to your body, if it's demanding a day where you eat nothing but fruit, go ahead. Just be sure that over the course of a week or two you get what you think your body needs.

Good luck!

Edited for: typo

[squiggyflop]

these types of diets disrupt your metabolism and can cause it to become slower and slower over time.(which causes people to get fat). beleive it or not you need carbs for certain body functions... eating a balanced diet with everything in moderation will speed up your metabolism... what you are doing is really bad for you. there are certain nutrients in grains that your body needs.. how many calories are you taking in?? by the way if you are trying to avoid carbs apples and bananas are full of sugar carbs.
also it kinda sounds to me like you are starving yourself...
just lookin out for ya.. not trying to sound rude, just worried is all

[cutastrophe]

Originally Posted by squiggyflop

these types of diets disrupt your metabolism and can cause it to become slower and slower over time.(which causes people to get fat). beleive it or not you need carbs for certain body functions... eating a balanced diet with everything in moderation will speed up your metabolism... what you are doing is really bad for you. there are certain nutrients in grains that your body needs.. how many calories are you taking in?? by the way if you are trying to avoid carbs apples and bananas are full of sugar carbs.
also it kinda sounds to me like you are starving yourself...
just lookin out for ya.. not trying to sound rude, just worried is all

oh goodness, i'm not starving at all! and i'm not trying to avoid carbs completely. i know right now it looks like i'm surviving on fruit and soup, but that's because I'm getting over a cold. if I don't eat like that when i'm sick it takes me forever to get over it. i'm still taking in a good amount of calories though.

i sporadically keep track of my calorie/nutrient intake on fitday.com, I'll post some of the numbers I've gotten from there. i don't usually count calories, i already have a fast metabolism and i'm not too concerned about weight gain.

more info on why i feel grain-free will improve my health to come as well.

[cutastrophe]

Originally Posted by freznow

Congrats on the progress! I know it can be very hard. I think a helpful resource may be http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/index.php it's not about no grains, but I've noticed most of the food you'll have available to eat and snack on won't be cooked, (and it'll be hard to find stuff in stores that fits your criteria, and most raw people are definitely in the same boat) and the people there are willing to help out with any diet issue.

I'm not grain free, but I try to balance out my diet. It is quite hard because somedays there seems to be nothing to eat besides making myself some pasta, and I don't feel very well on those days. I try to eat raw as often as possible, but it is hard. Diet is so hard to change. But listen to your body, if it's demanding a day where you eat nothing but fruit, go ahead. Just be sure that over the course of a week or two you get what you think your body needs.

Good luck!

Edited for: typo

thanks! yep that's pretty much my mantra, I'm all about paying attention to what your body tells you and how it reacts to certain foods.