Getting Thin

I had been suffering stomach problems for years, IBS, food allergies, and I has already changed to drinking lactose free milk which had helped slightly. I now decided to give up bread.... completely. So that's what I did, I stopped eating bread of any kind, I had felt bloated and suffered pains in my stomach when I had eaten bread, though tests for coeliac had come back negative, but I was convinced I was either having problems eating wheat or maybe it was gluten. Perhaps even both? Within a short time of giving up bread altogether my stomach problems, diarrhoea being the main culprit, and accompanying pain, had subsided a bit.

I also stopped eating any sugar, I had long suspected that sugar was making me suffer the same symptoms as I was getting when I ate bread, and I discovered I felt much much better without it.

I found another bonus was happening too, I began to lose weight, something I had been struggling with as due to arthritis and EDS hypermobility syndrome I am not very mobile, so exercise is difficult for me to manage, apart from swimming which I felt embarrassed to do, not wanting to get undressed in front of others.

My next step was to restrict other carbohydrates, I ate rice, pasta and potatoes but cut the portion sizes considerably. I upped portion sizes of vegetables and salads and made sure that everything I ate tasted as good as possible, trying to get as much flavour into my food as I could. If food is bland and uninteresting you tend to look around for something to snack on because you have not enjoyed your meal. If, however, your meal is flavoursome and you enjoy it, I find you feel more satisfied with what you have eaten and enjoy it a lot more. I use a variety of dressings on salads and I use interesting and well flavoured sauces with rice and pasta, fish and chicken, which I really enjoy eating.

I eat well, I enjoy trying out new fish dishes and have tried fish I had never tried, or indeed, heard of before! I've discovered different ways to cook sweet potato, which I was pleased to learn is one of your '5 a day', unlike ordinary potatoes, and though I do occasionally eat a jacket potato or perhaps a small portion of baby new potatoes, I usually choose sweet potatoes now. I eat lots of vegetables, having added new varieties which I had not previously tried to my diet, lots of fruit and salad too.

Chicken is also a big part of my diet, cooked in lots of different ways, stir fry, steamed, baked, even roasted.

Chicken and fish are only two of the proteins I eat, eggs, nuts, some red meat, yogurt, and even cheese makes up my food intake. In moderation, but I choose strong cheese for maximum flavour, that way you don't need a lot!

Eating the way I have described has enabled me to lose a lot of weight, without paying money out to attend classes like weight watchers or slimming world, I prefer to use my money to buy good food than paying someone to weigh me, and as it turned out, a whole new wardrobe!!

On the odd occasion I do fancy some bread, so I have started eating some of the gluten free breads, I've tried lots of different ones and some of it is awful, rather like trying to eat cardboard, but I've discovered Schar, which is pretty nice, and you can buy frozen rolls which you cook for five minutes or so, which suits me fine as the packet is in the freezer and so on the odd time I feel like it I will treat myself, with no ill effects to my stomach! I did try to eat a slice of ordinary bread one day, a few months after I began my new food regime lifestyle, and boy was I ill! I knew then I had been right to banish it from my diet!

Incidentally last summer I was visiting my cousin for a summer lunch date when I mentioned I had stopped eating bread and it turned out that she had also given bread up for the same reason I did, it was making her ill. She advised me to read a book called "Wheat Belly", it explains a lot! My cousin lost weight too. Bonus!

I expect you are wondering now how much weight I have actually lost?

Well I am proud to say I have now lost eight and a half stones. It's taken a while, but I've done it, I've changed my lifestyle, I'm not dieting, this is for life. No more yo-yo diets for me, I've thrown away (well given to charity) my old clothes and replenished my wardrobe. I've lost several dress sizes, I can now fit into a couple of coats I bought over 30 years ago, coats I couldn't bear to get rid of even though I've not been able to wear them for years! I can now! I've still got arthritis, I still have pain, but my confidence is higher than it's been for a long time and I'm enjoying looking better and receiving some lovely compliments off people. My husband decided to join me in my quest for a new lifestyle and he's lost four stone too! I'm coming 62 this July, my husband just turned 63, and we are enjoying our new outlook on life.

It's never too late to change, I've done it.

I'm still riding my mobility scooter, I can't walk far, but I can get out and about and for that I'm grateful. Take each day as it comes, that's my new motto.