Longer than I care to remember, I've had to alter, my diet in one way or another. Now living gluten and dairy free amongst other recent edits has proven to be tiresome and often frustrating. Honestly speaking, after falling off and stepping out into the glutenated world
[ eating my husbands treats, like cookies I baked or actual bread, lead me down a road I shouldn't have been on... it happens to the best of us.
My little rebellion - well, not real a rebellion thought it felt like one :() lead me and my taste buds to remember what food that's non-substitutionary tastes like and it was glorious! I'm talking about simple foods that cannot be a regular part of my diet, like eggs, wheat, ( and all good things made from wheat! ) you know sandwiches that are natural soft and chewy, real panko crumb covered chicken, my homemade chocolate chip cookies...I could go on, but I won't.😉
[The Food Allergic Face! We all know it! Not even Sherlock Holmes can get us out of this malaise! ]
I of course recognize the this behavior isn't conducive to my health and will only lead to raising inflammation among other issues :( However, I'm learning to give myself grace. Feeling guilty is a waste energy and life is too short for it. My current digestive issues require me to edit my diet further which is causing my rebellions because...Food!
Though I know and have experienced better digestive health following the new dietary restrictions, I've been more frustrated with food feeling like a full time job instead of something to be enjoyed. There's so much I miss, and much of that comes from growing up in a age where 'real' foods were the norm. I mean, no shade against chia puddings and grain free this or that, but I grew up on bread so soft it stuck to the roof of the mouth, fresh real whole dairy, real mac N cheese, real pizza and sourdough, meats that weren't pumped full of garbage etc...
I miss the real taste of those foods. I miss the feel those foods brought, nostalgia, family, cultural, timeless...Going back to my prescribed way of eating is less than joyful,🙄 but so necessary. What I've learned through this food journey something I told my physician, that changing food habits is more than being told of it's necessity. It's more than knowing how much better off I may be. It's changing a lifelong paradigm. It's changing and forming new thought processes. [ That's brain work!😁]. It's learning to adapt to placing food choices above current desires and as Crucial to whole health, it's continual learning to be disciplined...
This lifestyle doesn't just happen like you may read or see over social media. Its hard and personal and it doesn't just end... Emotions must be managed as they change throughout any food journey. Thoughts engrained within our psyche, habits, emotional attachments, cravings all must be dealt with.
Speaking of emotions that can be buried which can cause eating out of 'order', Ive learned that management of emotions ( particularly in the times we live in ) is crucial to not just food management, but whole health and stress management, as stress effects our gut health too☺️
Those of you who still struggle with food allergies know you're not alone. We're in this together!
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