Day 1 again

Fell off the wagon HARD the past couple of weeks.

Definitely noted: Bread makes my stomach upset. I guess with how much I used to eat I never made the connection but it is definitely a thing.

Fructose: I have yet to want to eat anything that had fructose as an ingredient. HFCS ubiquity: fiction?

Chumbawumba'd

Ok. So yesterday was a fail. I found after eating the breads yesterday that I did not feel all that awesome, so maybe it is making a difference on my digestive system , albeit not a big one. So today I am officially stepping it up:

BYE BYE FRUCTOSE!

I am starting with added fructose as an ingredient to see if that starts to make a difference. If I cut it totally out then my fruits are kinda gone and I am kinda eating a lot of fruit right now.  So. BYE BYE FRUCTOSE!

Let's see if those two things together make a larger difference.

42-46

I just ate a pizza pretzel.

I am still off wheat but I succumbed to its cheesy temptation. Better a small snack to fall down on than other things I guess.

Back on the horse!

Days 36-41 - I Was Fooled! and other tales

41 days. But as you will learn, all is not as it seems. You see, I went away camping for awhile and I brought with me some granola bars for the kids. Now I had read the ingredients from an associated brand and gotten it mixed up with this one and thought that it had no wheat in it. So I ate those little granola bars for several days until my wife saw me eating one and pointed out that it did indeed have wheat in it.

DISCOURAGING! But hardly the end. I stopped eating those and will up my diligence in checking labels.

Things I am proud of:

My daughter's 5th birthday. I made cupcakes for her. Turquoise and white cake, raspberry flavored with purple white chocolate icing. And I ate nary a one.

Her party was tea party themed and we had finger sandwiches, which I made dozens of, as well as bacon/turkey croissants for the adults. Again, I ate none of them.

My wife has hopped on board the no wheat train. She was initially very derisive of the whole notion so it feels nice to inspire.

That's it, really.

Days 29-35: 5 Weeks breadless

I am struggling with eliminating other items from my diet but the bread thing ain't no thing anymore really.

My dad's birthday was this week. They got an ice cream cake from DQ which had the little chocolate crumbles in it.  I cut that part out and gave it to my son. Let me tell you though, DQ's ice cream cakes aren't all that awesome without the crumbles.

Also at my dad's birthday: Birthday Cake Chips Ahoy cookies, with frosting filling. Those would have been nice to try.

But I soldier on. I soldier on, cookieless.

Hey though, something that's good: Hippie Foods  Chocolate Cashew Hippie Cookies. I think calling them a cookie is probably taking very wide liberties with the word "cookie" but them's some tasty little devils. Too expensive for a regular treat but nice maybe a couple times a year. 5 of them cost 6 bucks. Pricey! Here's a link: HIPPIE FOODS COOKIES They really are more like those energy bombs you probably have gotten 600 recipes for on your Facebook page from your more "health oriented" friends.

Thinking ahead to Thanksgiving and looking up quinoa stuffing recipes. Also, my cousin has a recipe for a quinoa chocolate cake, which is what I will be eating for my birthday in 6 months.

Going camping next week. Pancake breakfasts and fire roasted hot dogs...I will miss you both.

Days 27 and 28

Made it 4 weeks. Lost 11lbs. Never would have imagined it possible considering how much bread I ate.

Onwards to.1 full month and then more. I plan on going a year before I try subbing in wheatless bread alternates.

And onions/garlic are gone tomorrow.

Don't anticipate that impacting my waistline but maybe my digestive system will improve.

Days 23-26

Rapidly approaching 4 weeks and so far, aside from weight loss, I am not noticing much of a difference in my digestive capabilities.

So it's gonna be time for a new round of eliminations.

Next up on the docket: garlic and onions. I am choosing them because of a npticed correlation between eating them and feeling sick.

Still saving the big eliminations for later. Fructose and soy are gonna be very difficult to navigate around. They put that s#! £ in everything.

Days 19-22

Weight is down to 265.6lbs.

Listened to a podcast on Cracked about the food industry. Depressing. Apparently 5 years on most dieters have regained all weight lost plus more.

Luckily I am not leaving bread behind just as a dieting tactic. Its for my digestive health.

The weight loss is a pleasant bonus.

Days 16 17 18 - The Pizza Temptation

You know what smells good? Pizza.  Pizza smells awesome. I was actually holding a slice thinking about a little cheating.  I didn't do it.

You know what else smells good? Fresh buns.

And you know what I didn't even think about?  Cookie dough ice cream. And samosas.

Sigh.

Honestly though all whining aside I really do feel better.

Days 14 and 15

Reflecting back on the two weeks I have so far conquered bread free, I think the largest challenge has just been willpower. I don't think my body is actually missing anything, but I have had some serious cravings for things I have habitually been eating for my whole life. Going hand in hand with these cravings is the caution I am trying to exercise in not just replacing the bread with too many bread substitutes or alternate not-wheat bread products.

The longer I go though, the easier it is.

Starting today I am adding new eliminations.

No deep fried items. These are mostly breaded anyway, so not a huge deal, but it edges out fast food french fries which are dancing across my dream-tastebuds as I type this. I could seriously fall into a bad groove of large McFries too many times a week, so out they go. This also eliminates the easily purchased hashbrowns, another positive elimination.

At the 4 week/1 month mark I think I am going to eliminate onions/garlic. That is going to be tough.

I am still leaving the really hard ones, fructose and soy, until after I speak to a doctor.

Weight today: 269.6lbs.

Down down down we go.

Also impending: I am going to chose an exercise program. A martial art or something. I need some framework to the exercise portion of the new health order.

Days 12 and 13

Even though I am not strictly eliminating bread to reduce carbs, I still have to be careful of what I am substituting in for my eliminated food stuffs.

Cause man them corn chips is some tasty little sonovaguns.

Two weeks in though and it is starting to get comfortable and normal.

Days 10 and 11

The savoury spice
Dashed with tzatziki and mint
Crispy yet chewy

My falafel haiku.

Yes I miss falafel.

Still I never imagined 12 days ago that I would make it this long so good for me.

Days 8 and 9

I am trying to guess what percentage of my old diet was bread/pasta/wheat based goods.

I am thinking well over 50%. Maybe up to 65 or 70.

Cutting it out has not left me hungry. Just with cravings for things I liked that involved bread.

Sandwiches. Mmmm.

I have replaced my bread with fruits, vegetables, and meat.

It feels kinda good.

At least for now.

Day 7

It's late in the day but there were no new challenges or thoughts today.

It was a tight morning time wise and once more I lament the lack of a quick easy breakfast on the go.

One week down.

Today it's waffles: Day 6

Making waffles for the kids. Whipped cream. Fresh fruit.

Holy crap do I want a g-d waffle.

Day 5: The Hot Dogs

Today I made the kids hot dogs for lunch.

I love hot dogs. When I was a kid myself I had a dish shaped like a weiner dog that said "Geoff's Hot Dog Dish". Serious business. I usually make a couple for myself when I make 'em for the kids. Not today.

So that was hard.

Update:

Just read this: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/22/the-heart-association-s-junk-science-diet.html

Since bread is in my past I thought it relevant.

Day 4

Weighed myself this morning. 270.8lbs. So I am going in the right direction. The first 25lbs or so will go fast I predict. The ones after, those will be the hard ones.

So far today is not too difficult. Made some hard-boiled eggs for quick breakfasts. Those were handy.

I'm still thinking about delicious sandwiches though.

Mmmmm.

Day 3

This is not easy.

So much food that I am used to eating seems to come encased in bread.

Today was a catered lunch at work. Sandwiches as far as the eye can see. Cookies. Muffins.

Salad ans chicken for me.

Onward!

Day 2

Yesterday was probably the first day in...maybe my whole life? that I did not eat any bread, pasta, baked goods etc.

Fed my kids mac and cheese for dinner. It was very hard not to have a sneaky bite or two. I held off though.

Weighed myself this morning. 274.1lbs. I've gained 22lbs since the beginning of December 2013. I am currently the heaviest I have ever been, which is probably why I feel so crappy all the time.

Going off bread is just to help my digestive issues but it should also help the weight issue.No bread means no fast food, pretty much.

Didn't get on the treadmill last night, which was a goal of mine. Turns out getting two kids fed and to bed kinda wipes you after working all day. Today at work I am going to do some stairwell walking though.

Breadless Day 1

I'm giving up on bread.

I love bread, so this will be hard.

This is not a gluten thing. I don't think there is anything wrong with gluten. If I were going to eat bread I might begin to ask if the Science Boys back at the the home office could spruce ol' Joe Loaf up by adding more gluten.

Gluten for all, I say. Except celiacs. Those people should not have gluten.

I have had food issues for decades. Medical science was stumped. They wouldn't even go so far as to call it IBS. They just said "Huh, no clue, man. YOLO."

It was a while ago that I saw the doctor. He may not have actually said YOLO.

Anyway. Everything I eat makes me feel sick.

I am going to see a dietitian soon

I am SUPER FAT and I gross myself out. How my wife looks at me I will never know.

So, step one. No more bread. I expect to exclude many more things from my eating life going forward. And maybe some will come back someday.