|
Post by shabbychick on Jun 9, 2015 4:43:43 GMT -8
I haven't had a chance to get to the local nursery to investigate evergreen plants for my courtyard...too busy with end of the school year stuff like retirements and graduations. I think it'll have to wait for another paycheck now. But I have taken one new step: I've given up wheat, rice, and unhealthy starches. So far, so good. It's been about a week now. I have lost a couple of pounds, am sleeping better, and don't have as much trouble getting up. I find that just as the Wheat Belly book promised, I don't get hungry between meals anymore. I kind of pooh-poohed that idea when I read it, but by golly, it worked. It's been easier to turn away bread and products with wheat now that I can see some good results. It's funny, though, when you go out to dinner or to a party because there is so much out there that's breaded, served with bread, or to which wheat flour, rice starch, tapioca starch, or potato starch has been added. Sadly, I've mostly had to give up the convenience of frozen meals because they almost all come with potatoes, rice, or noodles. But my smoothie, salad, and nut butter worlds have expanded to fill the gap.
Has anyone else gone wheat free? What have you been eating instead? Have you noticed any health benefits? I'm hoping that the diet will help ease some of the pain in my ankles and feet. Nothing else has worked, so I might as well give this a try.
Shabbychick
|
|
|
Post by Rose-mary on Jun 9, 2015 12:05:01 GMT -8
We were on the Paleo diet for a couple of months at the beginning of the year. I did lose some weight while on it. It is pretty much wheat/rice/potato free. But I don't like all that meat. I like meat as more of a side dish, so that diet was a little too much for me. Since it was only a month and a half, I'm not sure I can judge how much it improved my health. My husband has a lot of joint pain and it didn't really seem to help him, but maybe we weren't on it long enough.
We do like all of those nut butters, though. Especially almond butter~yum! I'll be interested in hearing if this diet helps you, shabby.
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Jun 15, 2015 18:38:20 GMT -8
Well, so far, so good. I've lost a couple of pounds and actually do feel better. I'm still able to pass up bread products without too much trouble, and I still find that it takes less to make me feel full when I do eat. I can go longer between meals as well. It's challenging to find meals at restaurants that don't come with wheat or rice, and I have to ask often for them to sub extra veggies for the starch (since potatoes are also off the menu due to their high glycemic load) but have found restaurants to be quite accommodating. I've learned to love collard greens, too. Who knew?!
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Jun 28, 2015 8:31:56 GMT -8
What's everyone up to? The list is sure quiet. I'm closing in on 4 weeks going wheat-free. I've lost about 5 pounds so far...not as much as I had hoped, but it's coming off steadily. I really do feel better than I did. I have more energy, sleep better, and hurt less overall. My ankles haven't improved, but I find it's easier to do things like get up off the floor without having to haul myself up using the back of a chair or something. I'm less hungry and eating a wider variety of foods. As soon as payday rolls around, I'm going to invest in some ingredients to make my own wheat-free spice rubs and salad dressings. I may actually discover an interest in cooking. Or not. The Wheat Belly diet also bans potato starch, tapioca starch, and corn starch, and most store-bought wheat-free or gluten-free mixes I have looked at contain one or another of those, so it can be a challenge. I've bought almond meal, coconut flour, and flax seeds (which, unfortunately, I forgot to buy already ground so will have to figure out how to grind my own) to make my own mix according to his recipe. I got some good news this week. My property value, which had plummeted from about $220K to $106K during the recession, has come back up to $166K. It's still less than I paid for it ($189K) but much better than it was. I am hoping that by next summer, it'll have gained some more value, and then I can sell it for enough of a profit to get a downpayment on a real house. By then I should have the floors all fixed. It's a slow process since I have no skill and my helpers have no time. I made it to the nursery to invest in a few evergreen plants for my back patio. One is barrenwort. I'm not sure what the other is called since I've misplaced the tag, but it's a beautiful shrub with white leaves. I think it'll be beautiful on those gray winter days we have here in the Pacific Northwest. When I get paid again and have the time, I'll go back for some more. My patio always looks good in the summer, but it can be a sad and barren place in the winter. I need to invest in some plants to add some cold-season interest. I'd love a little Japanese maple, but I'm not sure if it will get enough sun to thrive. Here are some pics of the shrub and my patio in all its summer glory.
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Jun 28, 2015 9:03:29 GMT -8
I found the name of the plant. It's Spider's Web Japanese Aralia (aslo called Fatsia). Here is a link to some information: Japanese Aralia As you can see, my plant has whiter leaves than the one in the website, which is what attracted me to it. I don't know if mine is mature enough to get flowers. I need to actually transplant it into a larger pot, I think, since it has about maxed out the one I bought it in. Payday's only two days away.
|
|
|
Post by Rose-mary on Jun 28, 2015 19:18:01 GMT -8
Your patio area/yard looks so nice and summer-y, shabby. I love all the yellow and it must help in the winter when there is no sunshine. I've never seen the Japanese Aralia before, but it is a very striking looking plant. Yours is prettier than the one on the website! I am going to have to look up the barrenwort, as well. That is great news on your place going up in value. So many people lost a lot of money when the housing market dipped. I am glad is it recovering. Not much is going on in my neck of the woods. We are having a family get-together for the Fourth, so we have been doing LOTS of mowing and cleaning. Some of the mowing will have to be done again by the end of this week. If it rains all week, we'll just have everyone inside. Which will be a lot of people in our little house--about 25! We do have a porch on the front of the house, so some people can be out there, if they like. My husband just finished the surround cabinets for my Hoosier and I painted them last week. I will post a picture of it (If I can remember how to do it, LOL!) .
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Jun 30, 2015 0:06:43 GMT -8
Those cabinets look great. I noticed the chicken canisters right away! I have a similar set in pink that I picked up in an antique store. I love them. Good luck with the family get-together on the 4th. I don't know what I'll be doing. Probably nothing. I just started a new online class today and will have a paper due next week and lots of reading in between, so I think I'll be tied to a computer over the weekend.
|
|
|
Post by Rose-mary on Jun 30, 2015 16:57:57 GMT -8
Thank you for liking my cabinets. I am very happy with them. It is a project we have been planning for about 2 years, LOL. I haven't seen those cannisters in pink! Maybe you can post a picture of them sometime. I have a breadbox that matches them, but it is green, instead of the light chocolate color. So many of us like chicken/roosters that I think we should start a 'chicken thread' soon! We can post all of our chicky treasures and new finds!
shabby, I meant to say that losing five pounds is good! And losing it slow, like this, will make it easier to keep off. What are you going to use the spice rubs on? If you find any good homemade spice rubs, please post for us.
|
|
Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
|
Post by Linn on Jun 30, 2015 21:22:27 GMT -8
shabby ~ I love the happy colors you used for your patio. It's so cheery looking and love that white shrub. That's wonderful that real estate is going up. My BIL in AZ is a realtor and it was pretty bad for a while. Glad to know things are looking up! That's great that the wheat-free diet is going well for you. I'm interested in trying it since you are feeling better on it. Keep up the good work! Rmary ~ Love the cabinets. Your hubby did a great job on them! Love the color they were painted. I don't think we are doing anything special on the 4th. Last weekend we saw the fireworks here in town and some other towns around here are having theirs but I don't think we'll be going especially if it's humid. I put up some new kitchen curtains and that's about all that I've done. I can hardly wait till the farmer up the road has his sweet corn and tomatoes for sale. I drool just thinking about it!
|
|