Bye Bye Casein

And bye bye dairy, as a result.

This coming week, I will begin my journey into dairy free living.  I am also cutting WAY back on the wheat/gluten consumption.

Excuse me while I throw a mini-tantrum for a moment...

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!

OK, all better.

Why? The reason is simple ...

I'm allergic to casein.

Yes, somehow after 33 yrs, it has been demonstrated that casein is actually harming my body and so, my beloved cheese is a thing of the past.  In its place, Daiya shredded varieties for cooking and trying to figure out how to make cheese from nuts without GOING nuts.  I refuse to buy the replacements for sliced cheese, not after the reviews I've read.  *yuck* I think I'll be OK with ice cream and yogurt, and I've already been mostly drinking almond milk anyway...it's really the cheese.  But, if my gut stops feeling like hell all the time, I'll take it.  If I stop looking 16 weeks pregnant everyday, I'll take it.

SO, why gluten/wheat too?  Again, the reason is simple ...

I bloat out like nobody's business if I eat carbs these days.  Even cutting out dairy, which I've mostly done at this point, even though it's not "official" until the 1st, isn't totally helping the bloat.  And again, I am sick of it.  So, I am going to limit the intake of gluten as well.

I have two books that will be assisting me in the journey, "Go Dairy Free" and "Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight," as well as countless blogs, Pinterest pins, and posts on Babycenter (really, what board type doesn't exist on BBC?!).  I am guessing I'll be on here a lot more now, as I know I'll need an outlet for my struggles along this journey back to health.  I need to stop feeling like crap, help my thyroid out, and lose these ridiculous 10lbs I gained for no reason whatsoever...except my body hates dairy now.

One last WWWWWWAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

OK, over it.  Onward my friends...into unchartered territory...

The One Where I Catch Everyone Up

WOW.  THAT was a a LONG time between blog posts.  For goodness sakes!  My last post was in January of this year?!  REALLY?  I can barely figure out Blogger now, to be honest.  Sheesh!  Well, I will try to catch you up in one, non-ridiculously long, non-boring blog post.  Or, at least that's my intent!

1) March, 2012 - celebrated Emmett's 1st birthday and Drew's 3rd heartiversary

2) April, 2012 - purchased new home

3) May, 2012 - celebrated Drew's 4th birthday

4) June, 2012 - sold our former home in record time -- 2 days!! Closed on new home

5) July, 2012 - received keys to new home, began work making it our's

6) August, 2012 - Lived it Uh-hup in ATL for the Thirty-One National Conference!  Moved into our new home!!

7) September, 2012 - Drew began 4-year-old preschool and Emmett started back in his CMO room one morning/week.

8) October, 2012 - helped at and attended the 2nd Congenital Heart Walk...got to introduce Dr. Delius, the man who saved Drew's life! :)

In between all of this, my thyroid reared its ugly head again.  SO, here I am, up 10+ lbs since April (between April and June, actually) and finally going to a person who will listen to me, order the proper testing, and treat me appropriately.  But, to be honest, I feel disgusting.  It's not just the weight, it's all the other symptoms (which I won't go into here, some are far too personal) that goes along with it.  I feel like all my hard work, my months of boot camp (which I am still doing by the way!), my commitment to eating better, etc, was all for nothing.  I just can't win the battle of the bulge.  Of course, it could be that I am allergic/intolerant to some things, so I am also being tested for that.  We shall see where this road leads...

I can't promise I'll be on a ton, but hopefully it won't be nearly one year before I write again.  I don't have tons of time these days to write, but it is therapeutic for me, so I need to try.  I am loving our new home, loving seeing my boys growing up in such a serene setting, with so much room to run and play.  I am loving everything with my Thirty-One business, and feel so blessed to be celebrating 3 years tomorrow!  I love my team to pieces, and the company is just beyond amazing.  I am loving my husband...and we are in harmony once again, after a very stressful summer of moving and house stuff.  It is a wonderful life, thyroid crap aside.  I just miss writing....and I miss all my blog friends.  We shall see what the future holds, but I hope to be on here more.

Til the next post ...