Hello to the world! :)

Not going to lie, but this definitely feels a little weird and selfish posting about myself. My goal is to update this blog once a week. Not only will I be sharing tips about living gluten free (including sumptuous recipes I find on Pinterest and elsewhere) but I will also be chronicling my training progress since I am running my first half marathon this fall. This is a huge step for me considering in 2008, I weighed 270 lbs! Now I'm down to a healthy weight and am hoping to lose just 15 more pounds to get down to my goal. And for any one thinking that going gluten free automatically equates losing weight, let me tell you that I lost all this weight (135lbs so far) while still eating gluten. You can do it, trust me! It just takes a lot of hard work, and all it starts with is a simple baby step. Will you be perfect and stick to your new lifestyle all the time? NO WAY. I just had a binge day last night where I was resorting back to my old habits of eating beyond the point of sickness.  Why? Probably because I was alone for the night and thought the food would make me feel less stressed. Did it? Absolutely not. I just feel like crap now. And let me tell you, the more crappy processed food you eat, the worse you feel. Will you love kale chips overnight? Probably not. But start trying to incorporate them into your diet, and within a few weeks you will start to acquire a taste for them. If you want to lose weight, you have to make it a priority to take care of your health, not just for yourself but also for those you love. I lost my dad due to complications of morbid obesity, and I have made a pledge to take care the best care of myself I can so that way I can live to see my grandchildren.

I am just hoping that in creating this blog, I can reach out to others who are struggling with loving themselves and who, like myself, are struggling to live gluten free in a glutenated world. I think my story about finding out about gluten intolerance will come in my next post since I am running low on time this morning. But for any one searching for good reviews of gluten free products, I highly recommend checking out the blog Celiac and the Beast. This lady's reviews are always insightful and have helped me begin to muddle my way through some of the gluten-free options out there.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I am a possible Celiac. I go see a GI specialist later this month to start the testing process. I had a negative blood test, but both my doctor and I want me to get further evaluation since I had many other hallmark signs of the disease while eating gluten (anemia, pain in my upper abdomen, GI problems, bloating, at one time a vitamin D deficiency, fatigue).

And so for now, I leave you my non-existent audience. May you have a peace-filled day.