Every day last semester, I woke up with a terrible stomach ache and I felt like I was going to throw up. I didn’t know what was wrong so I just went with it and began to think, “Oh, so this is normal.” Nothing about my symptoms was normal. I soon began feel tired all the time (even when I got 9+ hours of sleep!) and my acne got worse and worse. I gained weight, even when I worked out most days of the week, and I couldn’t understand what was wrong. I also began to feel more self-conscious day by day until the end of the semester.
Even with the change of healthy food at home, nothing was working. I still had the same chronic stomach aches and I was still ALWAYS tired. Not only did I try to get a full nights rest but I completely changed my workout routine. I also watched what I ate to try to counteract what was happening. I even tried to cut out dairy (milk, eggs, cheese) to fix just the stomach ache problem but that didn’t help. Nothing worked. I soon began to doubt my symptoms and think they were all in my head until my mom met one of my good friends from college who was gluten-free. She, too, had chronic stomach aches and didn’t know what was wrong before going gluten-free.
My mom talked to my doctor about it soon after and I began to do research. After researching the benefits, I made a complete diet change and eliminated gluten. “What is gluten?” many people ask. Gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. Many people with Celiac’s disease live a gluten-free diet because it’s the only way to control symptoms of the disease. However, over 3 million people in the world live with a gluten-intolerance. Just like a dairy intolerance or an allergy to a fruit or vegetable, gluten can cause fatigue, gastrointestinal and neurological issues including symptoms like the ones I had. Although my symptoms didn’t impede me living my life everyday, they were a hassle and I just never felt great.
Once I eliminated gluten, I felt SO much better. I no longer wake up with a stomach ache, I have so much more energy, my acne has seemed to improve (for now, thanks college!) and I even began to lose some of the weight I gained during my freshman year of college (well, all of it actually and the scale only goes down from here!).
The gluten-free diet is a huge dieting fad today that many people go on just because. They think it’s healthier (which it may be, I haven’t done all my research) but instead of facing weight loss, like they think they’ll see, they face weight gain. This is because many people choose the “gluten-free” option of breads and cookies and replace their old gluten options with the new ones. What many people don’t realize is many of these products contain more fats, oils and calories because they don’t taste as good. When I made the switch, I went cold turkey. I didn’t choose every gluten-free option available. I chose fruits, vegetables, gluten-free whole grains (brown rice and quinoa, for example) and proteins as my source of food.
I thought making the switch from home-cooked meals to dining hall food would be difficult for my diet when I cam back to school but it’s been very easy. The staff at the different dining halls on-campus have been so helpful. They even have gluten-free options for almost anything I want when I feel like salad and grilled chicken just isn’t enough. You don’t realize what you put into your mouth late at night either. I used to late night snack constantly with cookies, cakes and so much junk food. Now even if someone brings it in, I just have to say “no” because it’s not going to make me feel good.
Making the change has been a tough ride but it’s well worth it. Sometimes, change is good and can make you feel so much better.