If you're doing the mental math an are thinking to yourself that it has been a mere month, rather than six weeks, since I went off of gluten, I decided that I was miserable enough that a month was going to be sufficient for me. I gave it my all, but the gluten-free lifestyle isn't for me. I am your classic type-A, routine-driven, slightly obsessive-compulsive gal, so giving up on things is never an option for me. However, I felt like this diet was jeopardizing my health and happiness, so, once I made it past the month marker, I had to make the decision that was the best for my mental and physical health. Maybe someday I will make a career out of concocting gluten-free recipes that are actually tasty {and, in particular, developing palatable gluten-free alternatives to things like pizza and pasta}. But, for now, I am back on the stuff.
That being said, the one lesson that I am taking away from this monthlong adventure is that I do want to be more conscious of the amount of gluten that I am ingesting, because I think that there can be too much of a good thing {especially since my metabolism will eventually slow down}. While this gluten-free diet was NEVER about losing weight and, on the contrary, aimed to find a solution to some long-undiagnosed stomach issues, it did make me take pause to consider my food choices. I want to make a more conscious effort to build better lifelong eating habits {i.e. not binge-eating sugar as frequently, cooking more, hydrating} so that, when combined with my love for exercise, I never feel like I need to go on a crash diet. When we first discussed the realities of living together, I told Dan that it was my sincere goal that living together would drive us to cook more often. While it may be difficult to find recipes that appeal to both my beloved omnivore and myself, the veg-head, I am committed to doing that. That's what Pinterest is for, people!!!
I am already about 1,000 times happier now that I will not spend my days wanting to eat my own fist- can you tell?!? ;)
