Try It Yourself Series: Gluten Free (Day 6)

Alright folks, we're onto day six of my gluten-free test drive! I have a bit of a story to share before I get into today's eats. Casey had pizza last night and offered me a slice. Without even thinking, I accepted and gobbled up a piece in no time. Guess what? Pizza crust is made of GLUTEN! Uh oh! I didn't even think of it until I had finished. I wasn't too worried, but man I should have been. I woke up this morning with terrible bloating and a very unpleasant feeling in my stomach. I had no idea gluten had such an affect on my stomach! I knew it helped reduce bloating slightly, but who knew it could be this much? I'm actually glad that I did slip up because it gave me the opportunity to see how gluten has really been impacting my body.

Now let's get back on track!

Breakfast

I made myself three thin gluten free pancakes for breakfast this morning. They were very tasty and I loved how fluffy they could be despite being thin. Yum!

Lunch

After a morning full of class along with an apple and some GF tortilla chips for my morning snack, Casey and I headed out to sushi for a very late lunch. We started off with some green tea to warm us up.

I began lunch with two small green salads to get in a little bit of veggies.

Next, I had six pieces of sushi (6 salmon, 6 red snapper)...

...a small steak that Casey and I shared...

...and a rainbow roll.

To finish up, I had a bowl of green tea and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Everything was amazing and I was filled right up for the rest of the afternoon.

Workout

Shortly after our late lunch/early dinner, Casey and I took Zeke for a 45 minute walk through the snow. I headed off to the gym by myself shortly after. It was time to get my sweat on!

I focussed on biceps and triceps today.

Biceps & Triceps (10 reps with 3 alternating sets)

• Bicep curls and standing tricep extensions
• Bosu burpees (1 minute)
• Hammer curls and tricep dips
• Bosu burpees (1 minute)
• Laterally rotated bicep curls and bent-over tricep extensions
• Bosu burpees (1 minute)

I did notice a little change in the gym today. I was able to curl with 20lbs dumbells again! It's been a while since I've been able to, so it felt great to get back to that point!

I finished up with a few minutes of ab work and a cool down on the elliptical. I felt great afterwards!

Post-Workout Snack

When I got home, I still wasn't super hungry. Since going gluten-free, my appetite has gone way down. I wanted some protein to refuel from my workout, but didn't want to drink a cold protein shake. Instead, I mixed a bit of peanut butter, vanilla protein powder, and a splash of water to create a bit of a protein batter. I ate it up and was satisfied! I'm sure my muscles were happy I chose to refuel instead of skip out.

My TIY Experience
Physical - Due to my little gluten slip-up, I'm not feeling as great today as I should be. I'm back to feeling a little bloated and sluggish. I'm glad to know removing gluten from my diet is making a difference though!

Mental - After eating that slice of pizza last night, I had a very hard time staying asleep. I don't know if this is an effect of the gluten, but I only slept for three or four hours before waking up and being unable to fall back asleep for longer than 15 minutes at a time. It was very frustrating, but hopefully tonight goes better than last night.

Difficulty - I think going out for lunch was a little bit of a struggle, but I knew that we would be going to a restaurant with little gluten on the menu. I was able to eat everything I would normally eat without any restrictions.