A little over a month ago I posted about my health, including going Gluten Free and exercising more. I thought I’d share a little update on here as I’ve had people asking questions about gluten free, thyroid, etc.
First off, if you are wondering if you have hypothyroidism, you can check out this list here and I would also see your doctor and get a blood workup done. Out of the list, I have about 90% of the symptoms listed. Crazy! This post talks about why you should eliminate gluten if you have a thyroid problem. This is tricky as I am pretty sure I don’t have celiacs disease but I do think I have a gluten sensitivity.
Here is a photo showing how my body has changed in just a few short weeks after eliminating gluten from my diet. In the last picture, you can see how my stomach and legs have some space in between now and my pants around my waist aren’t as scrunched down by my stomach.
In this photo, you can see how my face isn’t as puffy and reddish. I did not alter the photos or use a filter. My hair even looks a little shinier and smoother as well.
Besides eliminating gluten from my diet, I also started seeing my chiropractor for nutrition response testing. Right now I am on two supplements, hypothalamus PMG and tuna fish oil. The overall changes in my health in just a few short weeks are amazing. I am no longer dragging in the afternoon by 2pm and falling asleep randomly during the day, in fact I am getting my energy back. I am not irritable and crabby, I am more patient and not as easily irritated. I feel happy and content, even cracking jokes and singing and dancing around my home again. My brain fog is gone, I can concentrate and focus now! My tongue feels smaller along with my stomach and face. I am sleeping much better at night and wake up feeling refreshed instead of tired all day long. My PMS is no longer my head spinning and me wanting to eat my family for dinner for about a week before. My skin tags are disappearing, my skins is not as dry and rough or blotchy, even my hair dresser noticed the change in my skin and hair. My husband has noticed these changes as well and he’s the one who told me something was wrong with me this past spring.
I’ve been trying to exercise at least 3 times a week to start. It’s been going ok, I am hoping now that my days aren’t as busy I can keep more of a routine with going to the gym.
If you are wanting to see if eliminating gluten will work for you, I encourage you to try it for even just two weeks and see how you feel. The changes have been nothing short of a miracle and I couldn’t be happier! Pinterest has tons of great gluten free recipes for you to try out and the grocery stores have a lot of gluten free stuff now too. I even made some gluten free chocolate chip cookies the other week and they were fabulous, the hubby couldn’t even tell they were GF.
That’s my update for now. If you have questions or just want to talk, I’d love to hear from you!
Auuugh. But I love gluten so muuuccchhhh!
I did too until I felt so much better after not eating it!
You really look great though
Ah, thanks!
So excited for you! How rewarding to see so many positive changes already!
Thanks Stephanie!
I can totally relate! I don’t have thyroid problems, but I have a bunch of GI issues. Even after an upper endoscopy and ruling out celiac issues, my dietician took me off gluten (and dairy, and fructose, and onion, and garlic, and all the fun foods you can think of–it’s called a Low Fodmap diet). It was amazing the difference it made, just like you are saying! I was so much less puffy and over 3 months, I dropped 10 pounds! I went off the diet because I needed a break and I’m regretting it. The weight has stayed off, but I’m puffing up again and not feeling well. Crazy, right?! Trying to ease myself back into completely GF again. Thank goodness for Trader Joes! They have so many great gluten free options that don’t taste like sawdust. 😉 Would you mind posting/linking your cookie recipe?
My friend is on a low foodmap diet right now, eventually you get to add stuff back in but I am not sure I could survive without onions. Lol. Well I hope you can jump back in again! And yes, Trader Joes and Aldis are the best for GF stuff!
I am really encouraged by your article. I have had hypothyroidism for 17 years. I’ve been playing around with going gluten free. Your blog was just what I needed today. I love how you thought to do comparison pictures. There really is a difference. Did your nutritional response testing person tell you to avoid all sugar too? That’s where I keep getting stuck. I think I can give up gluten and I don’t mind reducing my sugar significantly, but eliminating it totally just seems impossible and extreme. Your approach seems like such a nice balance. Any thoughts on that?
Shanda,
I haven’t gone sugar free and the NRT person didn’t tell me to do that either. Obviously they want you to eat healthy so avoiding a lot of sugar but was not told to cut it out completely. I have been eating a lot healthier and NOT craving sugar/carbs like I used too. Also not feeling like I need a nap at 2pm everyday. I say give it a try for a few weeks and if it doesn’t help then eat gluten. I’d love to chat more, let me know if you can get together soon!
I am so happy I stumbled upon this…I think this is what I have. I can so relate to how you felt before going GF! I’m going to try it…would you might sharing what your typical day is meal wise?
Trish, I eat eggs or oatmeal everyday for breakfast. Lunch is leftovers or maybe a lettuce wrap with turkey and cheese or a salad with chicken. Dinner is some sort of dinner that’s gluten free, like a meat, potatoes or rice and some veggies. Hope this helps! I would avoid a lot of the gluten free stuff in the stores, it’s full of sugar and is not good either.