Transitioning to a Gluten-Free Diet

I would never have thought it possible, but my entire family is now Gluten Free (GF). I’m excited, really excited. This decision came about after some careful consideration and lots of research, but my husband and I decided it is the right one for us at this time. Juliana has been GF for over two years. And by default, Jessa has been GF as well. So, when my husband Lamar said he would be on board to try a GF diet, I was more than happy to get us all on one eating plan.

Going Gluten-Free is not as complicated as it may sound. Well, at least it won’t be for us because we’re already halfway there because of Juliana’s diet. When a friend of ours found out we were changing our diet, she said it seemed really daunting. I let her know that this is a good thing.

No more preparing separate this or that; big win for mommy. And this change will also make it easier for us to achieve our bigger goal to maintain a low sugar, low carb diet. Yes, you can get just as many carbs from a GF diet as a regular diet. But, the GF diet gets us all on the same page and removes a lot of options with breads, pastries, and other goodies. I have to take the temptation away because I am no good at moderation with carbs and sugars.

What in the world would prompt us to take on such an extreme? One word—books. Lamar borrowed the book Wheat Belly from a friend. In a day, I read a lot of the book and started to think about all the sugar and carbs we consume. Then, I started hearing more about the book Grain Brain.

In summary, both books talk about the effect that sugars and grains are having on our bodies. Our conversations kept flowing about how healthy our family is and what little changes we could do to be even healthier. We talked about how much better Juliana is doing since she has been GF. Then Lamar asked, “Why don’t we all just go Gluten-Free?” Hmmm, really? I reminded him of all the good things he likes to eat that are not GF. He said, “I know, and those are the things I eat too much of and need to stop”.

I don’t want to be misleading about our decision in relation to the books I referenced. The books are hardcore and recommend little to no carbs and sugars—even the natural ones. Yikes! We are not ready for hardcore. We decided that a GF diet feels more middle of the road for us. As you are reading this, you are probably wondering why this is a big deal. A lot of people start new eating plans and diets at the New Year.

Well, we actually embarked on this change the day after Christmas. Odd, huh? With all those yummy holiday foods and goodies still around. Yes! That was exactly the point. We needed to make a statement to ourselves and the statement was that we wanted to be serious about this change and there was no need to wait until January 1st.

Truthfully, this doesn’t feel a whole lot different from before. But I now feel ready to take on this change. There are so many foods that I have to restrict from the girls because of their intolerances and allergies. I would always work hard to find healthier substitutes for them while I continued on with a less healthy version.

Well, that is changing and I’m really glad. I feel very ready for this and I would never have considered it if not for the change we have already made for Juliana. Thank you sweetheart for giving mommy a much-needed boost.