Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Good with the not so good

So far it's been a huge benefit going Gluten Free. There are few problems associated with it, namely keeping regular (for heaven's sake though that's a huge change not having the big D for over a decade is an achievement). So, I've adopted rice bran into my diet. This has been a great help and although not perfect I feel that it is better than the alternatives.
I'm on anti-depressants that make me tired. I find it hard to struggle out of bed before 11 am in the mornings, NOT good when you consider my 5 children... and the B vitamins I have which is bringing my energy levels to near normal (if I remember them) is not nearly enough to combat a medication based issue. On top of this I don't sleep well, If I'm going to sleep like a log Monika will want to feed on and off all night. So, naturally this is a concern (and quite possibly not attributable to my CD condition/after affects.

The weather has been a deterrent to getting out of the house and going walking. (Slackness I know - but in the past if I got saturated I'd end up sick for a week). On the upside of this though, I no longer feel the cold like I used to. Putting this into perspective... during several months leading to and from winter I would be bone cold no matter what I wore, how many blankets were on or what heating was on. This was even the case during pregnancy where I would be so cold I would cuddle up to Andrew in the night and he'd tell me I'd woken him up because I felt like a block of ice. Here we are in the beginning of winter I am typing at my computer with a summer dress and feeling quite normal.

I'm reminded about how cold I probably would be because poor Dante suffers the cold like I used to before going GF. He's opposite in weight to me - underweight, but he's got the stomach pains and the big D constantly. I feel for him and we are all keen to get him diagnosed as quickly as possible, but things like finances and certain things are getting in the way... next week!

I'm also wishing I could be pregnant. My periods are back to what they should be but I'm not falling pregnant. Probably shouldn't even consider it but I love filling up my life with little uns. But maybe I am infertile permantly now, after all the months of nastiness. Not to mention Andrew has had half the snip. That's right- he had the snip but it was only half sucessful. All in all we used to be so fertile I'd look at him and fall pregnant... now we can't. I am certainly happy with my five prodigies, but can't help underneath to wish for more.

I guess here would be a good time to go another subject. We've been getting better and better with understanding how different flours work and how to mix it so it works. I've been cooking muffins and where I didn't like fruit mixed in before (prefering fresh or bottled) I don't mind it anymore. I still can't go dried fruits though, it just tastes/texture is so wrong to me. So that is a bit of an achievement. Andrew cooked me pancakes for my birthday brekkie yesterday, that was really yummy, light and fluffy - just perfect, even with the apple and cinnamon. I've also been experimenting with main meals. I do a satay sauce from scratch. Next time I make it I'll put the recipe/pic up. I make pizza/bread from scratch sometimes. I just love Quinoa bread that I buy pre-made and doesn't go stale any where near as quickly as most GF breads, actually, it rivals normal bread. I can't stand the taste or texture of cow's milk anymore. I'm a rice milk girl now (can't tolerate soy). I can have cheese/yogurt/chocolate in moderation, but really, I love goat and sheep cheeses and yogurts just as much. My palate has most definately changed and I think become enhanced due to my new diet. I'm happy. I'm also keen to learn new ways of doing things in the cooking/eating... it's far cheaper than buying it pre-done!

YAY for me. I now weigh 113 kg even with the lovely treats like birthday cake and extravagent brekkies for mother's day etc!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

A Wonderful Feeling!!!

Yes, it's a wonderful feeling waking up in the morning and actually BEING awake!

It's a wonderful thing being able to go for a bush walk during my period and have the energy to KEEP going even though the rest of the family can't (a couple of months ago I was unable to leave my bed).

It's a wonderful feeling to be able to have NO pain during my period.

It's a wonderful thing to have no D.

It's a wonderful feeling when I've lost a kilo or two.

It's a wonderful thing to have this thing most people take for granted - a healthful bod. One day I know it's going to be a beautiful bod again. People have told me I look like I'm losing weight (although it's been very little). My appearance has changed somewhat though.

It's also great that my sister and her son is now gluten free and getting healthier, and my mum is also trying her best to go GF.

Today I took Dante to see my GP. He's got to give him a stool sample to rule out the possibility of a parasite/infection. If that comes up negative he'll give him a blood work up to see if that shows he has coeliac's disease. I know that the outcome of the stool sample will be negative but we have to go through that anyway. It is a good idea to know what it isn't as well so I agreed.
Other than that we await the pediatricians at the hospital to give Raven a work over to see what it is that is wrong with him.

Weight: 129 kg

Thursday, April 2, 2009

What this Blog is to Me

I am recently diagnosed (finally) with Coeliac's Disease. I was recently glutined and am still suffering its affects.

I do not look like your typical CD sufferer. I am not stick thin and short, I am morbidly obese (I so hate that label). I do suffer from some of the classical symptoms: joint-pain, lactose intolerant, bloating, diahhrea, gripping stomach pain, fatigue, depression (who wouldn't be?), thin hair, anemia, acid reflux. I, after much research, now find that much more of my symptoms are Coeliac related. I am asthmatic, I have suffered from the parallel illness Dermatitis herpetifomis, horrible dibilitating periods, memory fog, I have had underactive thyroids, swellings around my body, itchy scalp, miscarriage, itches without rashes, tingling hands and feet.

After the birth of my first child, I have 5, I had chronic D. Given the colonoscopy only gave the diagnosis of IBS. An endoscopy which I didn't recieve would have diagnosed my Coeliac status and saved me a decade of pain and suffering.

So this blog is about my recovery - my life without gluten. Unfortunately on the eve of my diagnosis I went out for a meal. I was accidently glutined - even though I informed the chef of my gluten free needs. I suffered several of the symptoms I haven't for a long time.

You see, I've been gluten free for 6 weeks now. I am still on anti-depressants, but right now my IBS symptoms are gone, my periods are basically those of a normal girl, I have only lost 2 kilos, but my muscle tone has improved, my double chin has halved in size. Howver, my stomach hasn't started to flatten out yet, it still bulges like I'm pregnant. I'm told this may take a year or two to settle. Reading up on fellow sufferers who have my symptoms and are morbidly obese, they are all finding they are shrinking, slowly or fast at varying rates, some are actively trying and others are just going gluten free, drinking coke and eating high fats.

So far this is my positive results: I am slowly losing weight. My face looks half the size, my legs are getting a more muscled tone. I no longer have IBS symptoms - except for the recent glutening which was bad, 6 days to recover. This is normal, apparently. People have said I'm looking like I've lost weight. My periods are settled (I no longer bleed mostly to death each time and take 3 weeks to recover just to go through it all again a few weeks later. I no longer have aches and pains. I no longer get acid reflux. I am still fatigued, depressed, have memory fogs, have the look of a pregnant woman but no longer suffer the bloats, still lactose intolerant but improving.

Weight: 131 KG.