But I have all this gluten free beer left!

I made it through my two weeks with no wheat or gluten. It wasn't so bad, but I didn't feel any better or worse or different than before. I feel compelled to add that I largely avoided grains during this time. I ate oatmeal almost every day, but cooked mostly with garbanzo bean flour and ate a lot of potatoes and yams. I think I ate brown rice one or two times. So last night I made lentil and seitan "meat" balls and spaghetti for dinner. Seriously gluten heavy meal. I figured that the real litmus test would be how I would feel after re-introducing wheat to my diet. And this morning I feel . . . the same. *

Conclusion?

The obvious:
Confirmation of my initial belief that when I eat crap I feel like crap, but when I eat good food I feel good. Weird. (okay, not really). Maybe (okay, definitely) I'm blessed with an incredibly hearty digestive system, but it doesn't seem to matter if I'm eating meat, soy, wheat, or dairy, as long as it's all in moderation and with proper macronutrient balance. I'll continue to enjoy wheat products in moderation, thank you very much. I'm especially excited to discover that I don't have to give up seitan to feel good. Of course I'm not saying that anyone who avoids gluten or grains is wrong, quite the opposite. If it works for you, rad. But what this experiment has taught me is that wheat is not something towards which I have a noticable sensitivity.

The good:
Every time I eliminate something from my diet, even experimentally, I learn something about my patterns and habits and my relationship with food. I know, that sounds totally stupid, but I spend a whole lot of time every day talking to people about their relationships with food and how to improve them. They come to me to lose weight, generally believing that introducing exercise will be the solution. While it's a fantastic start, everyone struggles with the truth that losing weight is 85% diet. In the same way I can't really tell someone to do more pushups unless I can do them myself, I can't expect to be effective in talking to people about their dietary patterns and habits without having a healthy grasp on my own.

The bad:
I still have 3 gluten free beers in my fridge. I don't know why I thought I'd drink a whole 6 pack in 2 weeks while deep in cyclocross season (or really at any point, if we're being honest here). It's not bad, but it's not nearly as good as the Alagash White Ale that I also have in there . . .

*UPDATE!
I fear I may have been premature in my conclusion! As the day progressed I started feeling all bloated and yucky. It wasn't seriously uncomfortable, but it was noticable. I didn't eat anything different than what I had been the last couple weeks, except the wheat.

Crap.

But I'm still going to drink normal beer.

1 Week GF

Today will make it 1 week wheat and gluten free. It's not an experiment I entered into to treat any particular complaint, just to satisfy my curiosity, so I don't really have anything too specific to comment on.

Some observations from the week:

Going gluten free is pretty easy. I mean, the wide variety of GF products out there these days makes it pretty simple. I picked up some Bob's Red Mill GF AP flour (which for the uninitiated is a mix of garbanzo bean flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, fava bean flour, and, uh, I think that's it) and have been pretty happy with it. I've made pancakes with it yesterday and fed them to Cody with no complaints, which is a pretty good measure. I also picked up some GF beer - Bard's, made with sorghum and hops - which was pretty decent. Not a porter or a strong ale, but not Budweiser either. Basically, I don't feel like I'm really giving anything up. And I'm used to reading labels all the time as it is, so checking for one more ingredient isn't a problem.

I had a good race yesterday. It could be unrelated, or be a combination of factors, but it's worth bearing in mind. I felt like my power was better than it's been all season.

I didn't challenge myself to do this with any hope or expectation of weight loss, and my body composition has remained consistent. Non-expectation met.

For Thanksgiving I'm in charge of Pumpkin Pie. I'm going to make two - a standard pie and this: http://www.theppk.com/2011/11/pumpkin-cheesecake-with-pecan-crunch-topping/. I'm going to make my own GF graham crackers for the crust. Both pies will be vegan and GF. And awesome. We'll be dining with some of Cody's somewhat . . . conservative . . . relatives from New Hampshire (please read the heavy sarcasm in my tone when I say, "and I'm really excited about it" - fortunately, there will be alcohol, and I plan on spending the majority of the day on my bike), and I have no plans of telling them that it's vegan and GF, so I'm excited about feeding them something that they would probably sneer at.

And I guess that's it. The experiment wouldn't be complete if I didn't reintroduce gluten to my diet after the two weeks are up and make observations as to its effects.

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.

Is a Blogpost

Ahh, Saturday. Ever since I rearranged my work schedule and don't have to work on Saturday mornings, the day has gotten a lot lazier. Two weeks ago I worked from 6 AM to 10 AM, then came home and did an 80 mile solo bike ride. It was rad. I felt good about life. Today I'm sitting around writing a blog post that no one will read and drinking coffee. Later I will ride for 3-4 hours. Tomorrow I have a 95 mile ride planned, but it snowed here yesterday so I'm giving the northern roads that I plan on venturing to a day to melt and dry off. It should be lovely today, as well as tomorrow - high of 45º! I know, heat wave in California right now, 80 in Reno, 45 feels pretty good to me after wading through 4" of slush yesterday. Blech.

Cody's away for work for another week in Philadelphia - doesn't even get to come home for the weekend! Bunk. So I'm left to my socially reclusive self. Sweet. Me and the dog, cats, and my bikes of course. Bikes are good company.

I went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in 10.5 years. Yes, 10 and a half years. The last time I went was December of 2000. Before I graduated high school. Yes, I said 10.5 years. Sorry, everyone always does a double take when I say that, but I want you to know that it's no typo. In spite of my relaxed approach to oral hygiene and my infrequent (haha, understatement) dental check ups, my mouth is in pretty rad shape. I went in because I lost a filling in August 2009 and it has hurt ever since. Yeah, I know, I'm an idiot to have waited so long to check it out, but my state of employment has been spotty in the interim. Anyway, that one needs a root canal (I know, I'm totally terrified, too) but otherwise I must be doing something right. I know, no one gives a shit about my visit to the dentist, but I'm pretty psyched that I don't need 10K worth of work so I'm sharing it with the world. yay me!

And if you've made it this far then you deserve to be rewarded by my mediocre photography. Enjoy.

This is my back yard. Literally. Pretty freaking gorgeous, no? Now maybe some understanding of why the HELL I live in this tick-infested, ice covered, 3rd-world-country-quality-roads region of New England.

Since Cody is gone for another week we downloaded Skype and got to have a video conversation. It's weird being able to see a little picture of myself while I talk, and I honestly found it so distracting looking at my doofy facial expressions that I spent more time looking at myself than him. I know, I know . . .

And finally! The first photo I've ever taken of my food that looks even remotely appetizing, even though I set my food on the floor amongst the varmints to do so (yes, my floor consists of mostly-painted plywood - I live in a barn, what do you want from me?). Or, so I think, but maybe that's because I got to eat it and it was AWESOME! It was my first attempt at Vietnamese food - brown rice vermicelli over farm-fresh New England lettuce (grown in a green house - it's nice having a not-brother-in-law who is running a CSA this year) with cucumbers that are probably from Mexico. Anyway, that one has baked tofu and a dressing with rice wine vinegar, carrots, and some other stuff. And then topped with copious amounts of Sriracha, of course.

Continuing my attempt to cook food that isn't Italian/Mexican/American I purchased some Bob's Red Mill teff flour at the store yesterday and tried to make some Ethiopian food. Erm, I don't think I did the injera right (you know, the pancake that you scoop everything up with) because it didn't ever really set and just turned into a gross teff flour pudding. Uck. No. But I cooked some lentils and made a salad with the most bomb-tastic (wasn't life better when we could say that things were 'da bomb' without ridicule? Yes, yes it was) dressing that was just as good as the stuff that I got at the Ethiopian place in Reno (which is GREAT and you should go there and try it - Zagol, on 4th St.). Anyway, I must figure out how to make proper injera, and then I'll try to take another appetizing floor-photo.

Wednesday, Blogday - and FOOD!

I've been waiting to update the ol' blog. Waiting for what, I dunno. Inspiration? Some rad photos? Perhaps to grow up enough to no longer say "rad" every other sentence? (Pshaw, right, like that's going to happen.)

Anyway, devoid of inspiration and the ability to take rad photos, uninteresting and random updates will have to do.


I'm finally getting in some solid training. It feels so good to have tired legs. First race is in a week and a half! I was very sweetly assured by a local former Jittery Joe's pro and Seaside Cycle fit guru that I won't get dropped in the men's 1/2/3 race and if I stick with he and his teammate I'll be safe. I'm not sure where he gets that level of confidence in my fitness, but I'd hate to disappoint.


I'm working too much, but there's no help for that. This is the first day I've had off since last Wednesday, and the next day I have off is NEXT wednesday. But some of them are short days and there is always time for a good ride.

I keep meaning to write a blog post about food. A cyclist talking about food? Erm, not original. We all love to eat, and many of us love to cook. I just made some yummy baked cinnamon oatmeal cakes to have with my coffee. I keep thinking about taking pictures of the food I cook because I tend to make up recipes as I go along and 9 times out of 10 they turn out fantastic. Really, they do. Ask Cody. And if he tells you otherwise let me know and I'll straighten him out.


The problem is, I'm beginning to realize, that I am an abysmal photographer. I cook some great meal and take a picture of it and it's, uh, kind of gross looking. Now, before anyone starts giving me tips on how to take artfully constructed culinary photos, just stop. I appreciate the thought, but I don't think we all have to be good at everything, and if I'm a lousy photographer then whatever. I'll leave the picture taking up to someone else. Or I'll just post pictures of really unappetizing looking food and insist time and time again that it was actually really good. And you'll believe me, right? Because why would I lie?

Here is a superb example. Spaghetti and meat-less balls, with shredded parmesan cheese. They were way yummy, and the meatballs I made for Cody reportedly turned out great too, despite the fact that I didn't taste them at any point during the cooking process. But they just look . . . well, use your imagination. I think the lighting must just really suck in my house, because it looks equally bad whether I use the flash or not. Whatever, moving on.


On the subject of food and meat-less balls, I'm a mostly-vegetarian. I've been eating some fish (I live in a fishing town, it's too good to say no) and think that dining with friends is too valuable to turn down food that was cooked for me even if it contains the odd furry friend. But honestly I think I've only had non-fish meat twice in the last 8 months. But I won't eat lobster because boiling any animal alive is just abhorrent.


Moving on.


I had thoughts to share on the subject of cycling and living the dream, but they'll have to wait for next time, because the longer I wait to ride the more likely I'm going to get poured on. I've heard reports of a "hill" worthy of "repeating" over in Georgetown, so I'm on reconnaissance today. Fingers crossed for a steep grade!