Wheat

Yesterday I decided to challenge myself to go 2 weeks wheat-free. I am most definitely not the kind of person who jumps on the bandwagon of nutrition fads, and I've spent the last several years listening to the gluten-free crowd extol the virtues of their dietary choices. Then there's the Paleo diet, which is no grain/lots of meat. I have a lot of thoughts on that, but as someone trying to avoid meat as much as possible that's simply not a practical choice. My complete protein is largely made up of legumes and grains, so eliminating all grains is out of the question.

I read this the other day:

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Doctor+advice+wheat+products/5704519/story.html

And I thought, well, maybe I'll try cutting out wheat for a couple weeks, just to see what happens. Understand that I noticed no difference in how I felt eating meat vs. not eating meat, so I don't think I'm particularly sensitive to dietary shifts, as long as I'm getting adequate nutrition and calories. So I'm curious to see what happens. I don't really foresee avoiding wheat as a huge issue in my diet, there's lots of food out there, and I'm used to reading ingredient labels in depth.

On my ride today I brought a Kashi protein bar, then realized it had wheat in it and I was going to feel like a loser falling off the wagon on day 1 of my challenge, so rode for 2.5 hours with no food at all, and then stopped at a grocery store and ate some Sweedish fish and an Odwalla juice thing. Not too sure that it was the best thing to reach for, but I was hungry and still had some riding to do.

Anyway, I'm not doing it to go "low carb" or anything (carbohydrates make up a consistent 60-65% of my daily caloric intake, right now I'm eating a big bowl of oatmeal. And no, it's not certified GF. Chill) and I'm not doing it to lose weight or anything like that. I think experimenting with my diet in a healthy way is a great way to learn stuff about myself and my dietary habits. Just like experimenting with my training by spending more time at the gym or running.

At any rate, I'll let you know how it goes.