Nobody Likes A Cheater...

Yet, sometimes people cheat. Usually, not me, but unfortunately this time it was. Due to unavoidable transportation issues, I was stranded at work for my lunch hour this Monday. I had no prepared lunch. The Chinese menu beckoned me. I decided that I would have Chinese food for lunch, and throw caution to the wind, and have things with gluten in them, no matter what the consequences.

It probably wasn't my smartest idea.

Later that night I felt pretty sick to my stomach, the same kind of nausea I had grown accustomed to pre-gluten-free diet. However, it was tolerable, and I thought I was out of the woods. Well, for the most part the forest was behind me, but there were a few trees that I still had to pass by before I got to the road.

Today, two days later, pretty much 48 hours after having broken my diet for that one meal, I had some pretty obnoxious cramping that lasted for about half an hour. I know that this is due to the gluten-filled food I ate on Monday. With my intolerance to gluten, I don't digest food the right way, meaning it takes a lot longer for things to come through, and when they do it's not in a pleasant way; it's painfully, involving all sorts of cramping and bloating. So, I learned that this really will be the price I pay for having foods with gluten. I guess in a way it will be helpful, in that I can discover which foods that aren't necessarily labeled gluten free are or are not, based on if I get sick from them. :-/

I have to maintain a good attitude about this, however. I have to realize that some people have it a lot worse than me, that have even worse reactions when they have gluten. And some of those people are probably undiagnosed, too, which would be especially worse, since they wouldn't even know what to avoid since they wouldn't know what the cause was. If I'm technical about it, I am undiagnosed, since my doctor wants to be wishy-washy about re-testing my blood. However, I was gluten-free (completely) for 15 days and pretty much great for that time, and when I re-introduced gluten foods for one meal I was not so fine. I suppose that's enough of a diagnosis for me, at least for now.

On to more uplifting and exciting news!

I made the Gluten-Free Devil's Food Chocolate Cake from Betty Crocker! It is delicious! In fact, I tried a piece when it was still warm and I wanted to eat the entire thing right then and there. I held back, however, so that I could enjoy it for a few more days. I recommend at least trying it for anyone who is gluten-free, because it really is quite similar to any other cake you may make and it's a nice treat!

It's getting a little late right now, and I have to be up early. I will be going out to eat tomorrow for lunch in Albany, not sure of where, but I'll be SURE to report back on what sorts of gluten-free options I can find at whatever restaurant I visit!

Until next time,

Gluten, Not Glutton