Adjusting to a Gluten Free life...

I'm writing this post as somebody who is still very new to this whole Gluten Free way of life.  I've pretty much exhausted every avenue of educating myself on how to adjust and how to make the changes without feeling like it's all a chore.  I'm hoping that this post will not only help others that are feeling a bit lost on the whole subject of Gluten but also help myself to break it all down and absorb everything.

So lets starts with what gluten actually is..Gluten is the name of the composite protein present in wheat, rye and barley and their various cross-breeds.

For those suffering with Coeliacs disease there is an autoimmune reaction to Gluten which leads to very physical symptoms such as Diarrhoea, Cramping abdominal pain, Weight loss, Fatigue and Joint pain. Having suffered with a fair few of those symptoms on and off for many years, I recently said enough is enough and began experimenting with different food types.  I began keeping food diaries and noting which foods resulted in the worst symptoms, I tried cutting out all dairy to see if this made a difference which it didn't.  So i knew I wasn't lactose intolerant.  I then decided to trial a few weeks without any gluten and almost instantly felt much better.  I had the occasional flair up but nothing as extreme as what I had been suffering with for years.  So I made an appointment with my GP who booked me some blood tests but for an autoimmune reaction to show in the blood tests it meant I had to bring back as much gluten into my diet as I could, the more the better she said but as I did I noticed I was constantly tired and fatigued, constantly in pain and just felt horrid.

Although the blood tests showed nothing significant I am still in the process of having lots of investigations and food allergy tests to rule out Coeliacs, but in the meantime I'm adopting a completely GF lifestyle (as much as I physically can!)

I do have the occasional relapse and eat something with gluten in just because it's easier and let's face it...tastes so much better!  But I always regret it and vow never to touch anything with gluten again.  I think my mind hasn't totally accepted this way of life because I haven't had a physical diagnosis of anything but until then I'm doing what feels right for my body.

Now this Gluten Free journey is all very new to me and I'm still not a hundred percent sure it's what I'm intolerant too or if it's other foods that are contributing to my symptoms but I'm going to keep you all posted on my new food journey.

I would love to hear all about other's Gluten Free journeys and how you found the adjustments so if there is anybody else out there going through a similar journey please do leave me a comment as I'd love to hear about it.

The importance of us time...

Having not typed a post in quite a while I fancied writing one today but I didn't want to do a review of a product or talk about anything in particular so this post is going to be a little chatty musing about our recent little holiday and the importance of just leaving the daily grind behind every now and then and experiencing something new...

Since getting married everything changed and I've considered writing a post about surviving marriage for newlyweds because I sure wish I'd read the handbook before I experienced the tears and tantrums myself but here we are a year on and things are looking up, life is getting easier and I may put together another post about surviving the first year of marriage for now this is just a ramble about the benefits of R and R.

Sometimes life stops being fun and just becomes a bit of a chore, everyday turns into the same monotonous repeated routine of waking up and going to work, coming home and having a meltdown from the stresses of work, then dragging yourself to bed only to wake yourself up again 6 hours later just to go back to work again.  Well for us, having not had a break since our honeymoon which was a year ago, this routine had just become too much!

Cue the beautiful views you see below courtesy of Tenerife.  A good dose of vitamin D and a few days free from the everyday worries of life is just what we needed and we've come back feeling fresh, and ready to tackle life again with a new perspective on what had become a dull and boring life.

I've recently come to realise I'm Gluten intolerant and where adjusting to the big changes in food at home where everything is familiar was hard enough, doing so on holiday was a bit of a nightmare.  i would recommend contacting your hotel resort first or even just doing a bit of good old googling on the location and their dietary facilities.  Luckily for me I work with somebody who lived in Tenerife for two years and so she had already educated me on the local supermarkets and said I would be able to find all I needed at a place called Mercadona, a supermarket owned by somebody who's children are all gluten intolerant which meant he stocked absolutely everything I could need or want.

Now that we are home we can't wait to book the next holiday!

Any recommendations?