Are You Feeling Foggy? Tired? Can't Think Straight?

Wow, this got longer than I expected...if you want the point of the story, skip to the bottom. LOL 

There's a lot of hub bub from different blogs about going gluten free. Over the years, I have tried a few different ways of eating. I was meatless for about 7 years and then I met R. and he looked at me and said, "you need some meat protein, I can see it." I knew he was right, but I didn't believe meat was right for me. I took his advice and started to eat meat again. I knew my body wanted and I would cheat once in awhile, but I was denying it because my brain thought differently. I tried raw foodism, but couldn't get the hang of the work often involved. I've cut out carbs before and felt great, but I am a sweet-a-holic and if it's in the house, I'm eating it...often. Then I have sugar crashes. I generally wait too long before eating, too, which often makes me crash. Not good. Although I do incorporate a lot of fruits, vegetables and nuts in my diet, and lean or natural meats, I've been eating a little too much lately of the not so good for you foods. A few weeks back it started with this:

If I hadn't eaten it all before thinking, you would have gotten a picture of the whole cake...

I was going to make this back in December but hadn't gotten to it. It's a rum cake recipe that Ree of Pioneer Woman put on her blog. I finally made it although I don't typically eat a boxed cake or boxed pudding. I figure if you are going to have something baked, make it from scratch. But she made it sound so delicious so I finally put it together. OMG! I could have eaten the whole thing in one day. My taste buds were screaming for more. The evening that I made it I asked R. if he wanted a piece although he was about to go to bed. He cut himself a slice, understood from the first bite why I was so addicted and then had two more pieces! Fortunately for the both of us I have two neighbors that I like to share food with, 1/3 of the cake was given away...I put two pieces in the freezer...and scoffed the rest. And vowed that I would never make it again. Well, maybe not until next December. I even wrote to Ree and asked "how dare she do such a thing to me" LOL

So that was the beginning of the end. I started baking regularly again. I was doing it for R. because I know he likes homemade treats. The problem was that I ate them all and saved him the crumbs. It had to stop.

I've been planning to go grain free because the dermatitis on my scalp seems to be getting worse and although it's something my mother and brother also had an issue with, for most of my life I pegged it as hereditary. As I continued to research being grain free and gluten free, my gut was telling me that my head issue could be a food issue. I also know that stress doesn't help it at all. When I was regularly stressed out (for about 10 years due to the relationship at the time) it was also on my face.

On Thursday I had a fruit smoothie, then waited too long to eat again, I knew I needed some protein, my blood sugar was going down fast so I started to scramble up some eggs. Well, while I did that, I stuffed my face with some cake. Then I ate the eggs, then I crashed big time. I was tired and lethargic and I couldn't think straight. It took over an hour to start to come out of it. That's when I said I needed to pay attention and stop fooling around. In my fantasies of food, I'd be able to take a pill when hungry and be full and energized. The reality is that I have to have a plan and prepare food for my day. The evening meal isn't a big deal, which includes a big salad (what my friend Lois would call a kitchen sink salad) I do that regularly, but the daytime hours of wanting to get a lot done, or just plain laziness, was really effecting my body, my mind and my moods. I needed to get on track.

On Friday, I had a fruit smoothie, a few hours later an egg, a couple hours later some quinoa with chicken sausage and peppers, then an hour and a half later a Wendy's Jr. cheeseburger, mini fries, and a frosty. I never eat this stuff and I usually don't eat too much....except then. It was situational, then I went to family dinner and had garlic bread, turkey pot pie, a salad, oreos, and ice cream. I drove home at 11pm with pains in my side. Sharp pains. Pains that make you say, "alright, this has got to stop"

Saturday it began. I was grain free all day, I made sure I had enough protein and fruits and vegetables. Did I want that ice cream sitting in the freezer? yes, but I just reminded myself of the day before. I made sure that Sunday morning I didn't wait too long before eating. I knew we'd be going to the flea market and it would be very normal for me to not eat thinking I'd find something along the way and then end up crashing from a sugar low. One of my favorite things to do is get a coffee for the drive to the flea, even after one day of not putting crap into my system, I could immediately feel how my body reacted to the coffee after two sips. Maybe it's the coffee, the sugar or the cream, either way, my body wasn't liking it too much. I continued the day being good with my food choices and am better for it. I've been bright and clear and that is such a good feeling. My stomach is not extending from being bloated, and that's a GREAT feeling.

So I will continue to pay attention and do my best at keeping myself feeling better. I did start an ice coffee today but after 3 sips, I dumped it. It just wasn't feeling good and I actually ended up not having a taste for it.

The point of this story is twofold: to tell you about a delicious cake (but proceed with caution, I'm warning you) but also to put the bug in your ear if you aren't aware already, that if you're feeling sluggish, unfocused, moody....maybe it's what you are eating.