On March 3, 2008, I began limiting my consumption of carbohydrates. Since I began taking my health seriously, I have learned how to enjoy a balanced diet, making sure to include real foods. The meals I enjoy every single day include protein and vegetables, with my carbohydrates limited to once a day. I made the decision to become wheat free because of the information I have been reading, so finding substitutions for flour became important to me. In my opinion, coconut seems to be the best substitution for the wheat and gluten we used to include in our diets, and we are enjoying the recipes we have tried from the cookbook Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat .

My weight loss journey has been more successful than I ever thought possible. By following the guidelines of CALP, I never had to give up any of the foods that I loved and soon discovered that my measurements were getting smaller. I was eating chocolate and losing weight, which was my dream come true. Of course, back then I did not realize it was probably my addiction to flour that fed my carbohydrate addiction, and it now appears that my desire for chocolate, sugar, and nuts, had limited wheat and gluten in my diet these last few years.

I have been maintaining my weight, 140 lbs., watching it bounce up and down since July. The lowest weight I have seen on any scale during the last thirty years is 136 lbs., which I am happy to say, was less than a month ago. I have been wheat free for the last six weeks and I am very happy with my new diet.

Here's a cute little photo to keep in mind the next time you think about munching a cracker or making a sandwich.

Geneticist Ann Blechl and colleagues are the first to insert modified Fusarium chitinase and glucanase genes into wheat plants, which may lead to wheats that are more resistant to Fusarium head blight.

Photo by Jack Dykinga.

Source: USDA ARS

Now, doesn't that sound just yummy? Where do I get mine? Oh, yeah, just wait a couple of years, it'll be in our bread.

Just a quick note: I've updated my recent Wheat Belly book review–I've added a few paragraphs addressing the skeptical position and the need to challenge the modern dietary guidelines issued by the USDA and other organizations.

Whether you've read my review previously, or have yet to read it, you might want to visit the review and share your thoughts in the comment section.

My husband has been reading the book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health out loud to me recently. It started last week when we took a road trip and after five hours and a hundred and fifty pages of mind blowing information, I am anxious to take another car trip so I can hear more.

I am such an extremist that I was ready to go wheat free that same afternoon, but I made a huge mistake at the Chinese restaurant we went to for lunch. I ordered honey walnut chicken and accepted my mistake of not thinking about the chicken being breaded. I enjoyed every bite of my meal and even though I had to postpone my desire to go wheat free, I had no problem following the guidelines of CALP.

My next wheat free mistake came from soy sauce. I wanted our recipe of homemade Chinese marinaded ribs and discovered the soy sauce in the marinade contained wheat. Since the ribs were already marinading in the sauce, I postponed my desire to become wheat free again. I enjoyed two meals of this delicious recipe, delaying my wheat free desire two more days.

I never had any problems giving up flour and bread since my preference has always been to eat chocolate as part of my reward meal. There was a time when I mistakenly thought bread and wheat products were a healthier alternative than the dark chocolate and nuts I was eating. I purposely chose to include wheat in my program until my husband convinced me that my choices of avocado, chocolate, fruit, and nuts, were actually healthier for me. Click here to continue reading, or leave a comment »