Gluten Free Goodness

       A few years ago the amazing Dr. P. put me on a Gluten Free diet under suspicion that many of my bothersome symptoms were a result of Celiac's disease or Gluten intolerance. I have had digestive problems since birth. I recently went through my medical records from birth to present and was shocked to see how long I have had digestive trouble. In the first 2 years of my life I was in the hospital and/or ER nearly every month for digestive problems. The doctors apparently thought I may have Cystic Fibrosis because I was failure to thrive and had so many digestive problems but the sweat tests were negative.
  
     As I got older I accepted the continuing troubles as "normal for me." Resigned to just "deal with it" forever I had no clue how much going Gluten Free could and would change my life.

     In the years since, Gluten Free has become much more mainstreamed and somewhat of a fad diet. When I began there was very little information on the web about eating Gluten Free so I told my husband I was going to make a site about it. Well here we are 4 years later and he still reminds me of the websites started AFTER I said I was going to do it and how successful they are. (MEN!)
   
     So here I hope I can share my experiences with others and hope that I may inspire someone to take control and responsibility for their health. It can be a very daunting prospect to take responsibility for the state of health you presently find yourself in, but I believe it is a necessary step towards healing. Of course listening to your doctor's advise is important, but equally important is the need to be knowledgeable about your condition and treatment options.  Learning to speak up for myself as well as listening to what my body needs has been a huge part of my journey towards health freedom.

     All of that being said, I have heard that a picture is worth a thousand words; since this post is already longer than I intended, I will say the rest with before and after pictures. Of course my story didn't end with "after," so check back soon  to learn more about the turns on my winding path and where I am now on it. I plan to give you guys tons of tips, tricks and meal ideas for going Gluten Free and loving it (even if it's your entire family taking the plunge!)

"Before"

I know these aren't the best pics..sorry. I will be posting my new"Before" soon and hopefully my new "After" in the not-so-distant future as well!

"After" 4.5 months Gluten Free