Day 8 Evaluation

After reading the book, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, I decided to eat no wheat for a month to see how it would affect my weight and my blood sugar readings. Until day 6, I had absolutely no wheat in anything I ate. (Then I had a very small piece of marble rye bread, which had wheat as well as rye flour.) Yet in those 6 days, I did not lose any weight - and my morning blood sugar readings showed no signs of improvement. The only change I noticed was that my carb cravings did diminish. (Looking at baked goods in a supermarket gave me no strong desire to buy them!)

So after one week, I have decided to stop my experiment as it hasn't improved either of the areas that I am concerned about: blood sugar and weight.

The main reason I am stopping at this point is that I don't want to have issues digesting wheat, something the book says will happen if I remain wheat free and then start eating wheat again. So - after a week of disappointing results - I have decided to stop, before my body becomes intolerant of digesting wheat products.

Day 7

Breakfast: coffee with milk, banana, buckwheat pancakes with jam, 2% cottage cheese

Lunch: stew

Snacks: raisins, dried apricots

Supper: Chinese buffet - where I focused on dishes with lots of veggies - and birthday cake(!)

Exercise: 40 minute walk plus Curves workout

AM Glucose Reading: 7.3/7.9

Day 6

Breakfast: banana, coffee and milk, buckwheat pancakes with apple added, sugar

Snacks: nuts, dried apricots

Lunch: bacon, eggs, fries, 1 small piece of marble rye bread (some wheat flour), buckwheat pancake with jam

Supper: Leftover souvlaki platter (small amount), plain yogurt with cut and frozen fruit, instant coffee

AM Glucose Reading: 7.7/6.7

Day 5

Breakfast: banana, coffee with milk, buckwheat pancake, peanut butter

Lunch: chicken shawarma platter - rice, potato, chicken, salad, humus
dried apricots, nutells

Supper: chicken, tomatoes

Snacks: rice pudding, sorbet, nuts, raisins

Exercise: 35 minute walk

Morning blood sugar reading: 6.5

Day 4

Breakfast: (5:30 am) coffee with milk, banana, oatmeal, dates, milk
(After workout at 8:30) coffee with milk, cold buckwheat pancake with peanut butter
*(Cold buckwheat pancakes have become my occasional bread replacement!)

Snacks:

Lunch: (11 am) nuts, cheese, buckwheat pancake with jam, tea

Supper: stew, macaroons

Exercise: Curves 30-minute workout

Notes: I had less urge to drink coffee this morning (less hunger for it?)
I have probably lost 1/2 a pound of weight since I began my diet modification.

AM glucose reading: 6.3

Day 3

I still struggle with what to eat for breakfast. Cottage cheese would work. I wonder if I could mix it with egg and make some sort of omelet. I have some buckwheat flour - which apparently isn't wheat at all, so maybe I could make a pure buckwheat "pancake" with egg... I will have to look for recipes with buck wheat. After a quick Google search, I have found one that uses only buckwheat flour. (They are delicious!!)

Breakfast: Coffee with milk, banana, buckwheat pancakes (recipe link above), apricot jam

Snack: dried apricots, raisins, nuts

Lunch: garden vegetable soup (homemade), peanut butter, coconut macaroons (wheat free cookies containing egg white, sugar and coconut)

Supper: Stew (beef, potatoes, onions, carrots), green tea

Exercise: 40 minute walk

Morning Blood Glucose Reading: 6.8

Day 2

Breakfast:
3 cups of coffee and 2% milk, banana, oatmeal, milk, dates

Snack:
pistachio nuts, 2 baby bel cheese (light)

Lunch:
vegetable soup, nuts and raisins

Snack:
tablespoon of Nutella, raisins and nuts

Supper:
pork chops,rice, broccoli, grapes, camomile tea

Bedtime snack:
warm milk, almonds

Exercise:
1/2 hour Curves workout

Comments:
Yesterday I sliced up the loaf of bread I had been eating (whole wheat with raisins and dried cranberries) and put it in the freezer for the duration of this month-long experiment. No cravings for bread - just a desire to eat something satisfying.
















I don't feel wheat or bread deprived, but I don't feeling "full"- perhaps I need to have more vegetables with my meals - or eat more meat or cheese to feel more satisfied.

My weight hasn't changed,
Fasting blood sugar reading: 6.9

Day 1

I have decided to try to live wheat-free for a month, to see what impact that has on my weight... and my type 2 diabetes.

Why Am I Doing This?

I was diagnosed with type 2 almost 7 years ago. Since then, I have attempted many diet modifications to try to control - and eliminate - my blood sugar problem. I have been moderately successful, as I have managed to stay off medication so far. But my weight hasn't normalized. (My MBI is borderline obese.)

Last week I happened to read about Wheat Belly, a book about the negative impact of hybridized wheat on our diet. I have begun the read the book and decided to try to eliminate wheat from my diet for a month and see what happens to my weight and my glucose readings (I measure my fasting blood sugar readings every morning.) Recently they have been in the 6s and 7s. I would like to see them go down to "normal" - i.e., into the 4s and 5s. I know they are impacted by my weight as well, especially the excess fat around my waist.

My Lifestyle

A little about my lifestyle. I am sedentary about 80% of the time - probably 90% in winter. I enjoy reading, knitting and quilting, as well as blogging. None of these activities provide much exercise. But for the past 6 years, I have done a Curves workout 3 times a week. I had previously read how muscle strengthening helps people maintain strength and agility as they age. I haven't lost weight during that time. (In fact, I've gained about 12 pounds.) So my regular exercise hasn't kept the weight off. In summer I am more active as I enjoy walking and gardening.

Today I have measured my waist: 41".
















Yesterday I weighed myself at Curves. (I'll keep my weight to myself, though I will share information if I lose weight!)

My Plan

I plan to try to eliminate wheat from my diet for a month and see where it takes me... One note - I do not plan to eat flax seed (as suggested in Wheat Belly) as I tried that when I was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and it created a whole new set of problems! (For me, even a very small amount is extremely constipating.) So I will not go there again!

What I Am Eating Today

Breakfast:
When I got up, I made a pot of coffee. Drank 3 cups with 2% milk.
banana
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 egg fried (using olive oil)
1 can of V8
(This breakfast is much like the South Beach diet breakfast, except that I had a banana, and the SB diet eliminates all fruit for the first 2 weeks, one reason why I don't like to stay on that diet for long, though I do lose weight on it.) My plan is to simply eliminate wheat.

Mid-Morning Snack:
raisins
almonds
dried apricots

Lunch:
Garden Vegetable Soup
Cherry Crisp (there may be a little whole wheat in this mostly oats topping - but I ate the last serving of the crisp. I plan to make another wheat-free topping mix to keep around for the next month.)
Yogurt
Almonds

Afternoon Snack:
Oatmeal, dates, milk

Supper:
Pork souvlaki skewers
Brussel sprouts
potato
lemon sorbet
tea

Activities:
Gardening 1/2 hour

Fasting blood sugar reading: 6.4