A little journey, in summary

Here are the takeaways from two weeks away from gluten:

1. I didn’t notice any big differences in my bodily functions. I didn’t have more or less energy. I didn’t sleep differently. I, um, digested similarly. I have noticed a spike in my running endurance lately, but I’m not sure if this is related to cutting out gluten, or just because we’re running harder and longer since it’s nice outside. Unable to draw a clear connecting line there.
2. I missed bread for a couple of days—days 2-4 of the experiment I actually craved bread. The rest of the time I didn’t really care. And I cheated a couple of times, but not with straight-up bread. It was a graham cracker crust, or chow mein noodles on a restaurant salad that I didn’t have the energy to pick out. And that was all well and good and didn’t matter.
3. I think the biggest takeaway from living gluten-free is that wheat products are the area in which I have the hardest time stopping once I start. If you give me a bowl of ice cream I’ll eat it and be satisfied. If you give me three crackers I’ll want to eat 30 more. If you give me a slice of bread I immediately want half the loaf. Learning that this is a trigger-point for mass consumption was a valuable little factoid to pick up.
    
   I’m not ready to eat gluten free. But I really do think I’ll make more conscious choices, at least for a while, about how much I consume. Maybe limit it to one meal a day. Or make gluten free choices when that’s a convenient option. For instance, I didn’t really miss the bun with my burger, but I’m not ready to make a separate gluten-free pizza just for me when our family sits down to dinner.
    
   I also loved trying some new recipes in the kitchen, and picked up some more for future experimenting. I have a great fresh take on a quinoa salad and I still want to make those black bean brownies sometime!
    
   I was thinking of trying a similar experiment with sugar, but a couple of days ago read this article and realized somebody already stole my thunder, with what I anticipate would be similar results. We’ll see.
    
   Now, back to our Pennsylvania adventure, and to my favorite birthday meal tonight with my parents: chicken turnovers (with Mom’s amazing pie crust), roasted Brussels sprouts, and strawberry pretzel salad. Mmmmmmm. J
    
   Today’s 1%: Book 37/50: Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness. A memoir of an Olympic track star who became a call girl in Las Vegas (I totally did not read the front jacket thoroughly enough). A quick, tragic read of a woman unaware of her bipolar disorder.