Wife Mother Runner Family Archives - Page 6 of 6

Learning More About Gluten

April 29, 2015

When I first started learning about the whole gluten free approach it sounded like it could be pretty easy. There are lots of great foods out there like Kind bars. They are gluten free and delicious granola bars that you can purchase at Target without needing a home equity loan! My mother also said that Walmart has a section with a lot of good gluten free foods. I haven’t ventured to Walmart yet. I try to avoid that place at all costs.

The first thing I thought of for how I would approach my day is that I could probably get away with going gluten free without even knowing it! I could have an oatmeal for breakfast, my tea, a kind bar for a snack. Then I could have an apple for lunch, macaroni salad (made with quinoa pasta) and for dinner I can have fish and rice and veggies. That doesn’t sound so hard. Another option for lunch could be a large salad with hard boiled eggs or tuna. Dinner could include a sweet potato instead of rice or include a salad as a side as well.

I think lunch would be the challenge for me after a while. I could eat a macaroni salad with apples in it and peas for a few days; but then I’d need to come up with some other ideas. I never mind scrambled eggs with fresh veggies baked into a baking dish like a quiche without a crust. That’s a good choice for a good protein-rich lunch.

When thinking of what you can’t eat with gluten in it, it’s easy to focus on what you can’t have. But there are a lot of foods that you can have. I can make my own soup, that’s always a good choice and a good source of veggies as carbs to add to my diet with less carbohydrates.

Some easy snacks to munch on are almonds and sliced up apple. A cheese stick with grapes. A kind granola bar, yogurt with Kind granola. There’s a lot of choices! I’m just getting started researching what you should and shouldn’t eat and trying to focus on what I can eat. But I still have more to learn.

Do you have any advice for some lunch and dinner ideas?

Going Gluten Free

April 21, 2015

Or at least I am taking steps in that direction. I recently started working on a project with a woman at Pratt & Whitney and we connected right away. I am of the belief that people come into and out of our lives for a reason. Tammy has been great to work with and she has opened my eyes to what gluten does to a body.

Over a year ago I referred my mom to my old endocrinologist when she was having trouble with her iron being extemely low and her thyroid medicine kept getting increased but she was feeling more and more exhausted. She was getting to the point where she needed to take naps.

Tammy was telling me that she and her son were tested for celiac disease 11 years ago and were positive for it. I always thought that the reason why people go gluten free are because they get stomach aches and diarrhea from eating foods with gluten. Little did I know that it presents in many different ways AND it is hereditary.

We had an incredible conversation about it over lunch and I am going to do more research on it; but what my mom was experiencing with her iron and thyroid was happening because her intestines couldn’t process the medications due to the gluten in her diet. My old doctor was always current with practices and procedures and that is why I suggested my mom go to her. Since she has been gluten free her numbers became more regulated and she didn’t need such a high dose of her thyroid medication and she told me once that she felt different. She said it was hard to explain, but she felt better.

Tammy mentioned to me that when she was on the gluten free lifestyle she one day woke up and said she felt “normal” and was surprised at how crappy she had been feeling all that time before when her diet consisted of flour and wheat.

So why does that happen? What happens to us? Well Tammy asked me what nationality I was. I told her I am Scottish and Irish and English or German. She explained that the Irish were brought up on mainly potatoes. And when the potato famine hit them they were brought wheat. Once they began to eat wheat they began to get sick. I thought that was extemely interesting. What also came to mind was my husband. He has been struggling for a while now with sore joints and he had issues with his gut and had to make modifications in his diet because of some sensitivity. When Tammy explained that she was 37 in a doctor’s office barely able to walk because of her pain, a lightbulb went off. I told her there were times when I would feel pain in my fingers and elbows and I blamed it on too much sugar. I am now beginning to suspect that if we reduce the gluten in our diet perhaps some of the things we feel or battle will go away.

It’s worth a shot. I am aware of the items my mom buys when she shops and we also try to keep gluten free options in our home for when she comes to visit but I want to take more steps to transition to that lifestyle.

Tammy also warned me that when you are gluten free and you get “glutinated” (contaminated by gluten) your body will react to it like you had consumed a poison to your body. It may present as a headache or joint pain or a stomach ache or GI issues. But you will feel crappy for a day to 3 days or more.

Isn’t that amazing how a food ingredient has such an affect on the body? Since I have an autoimmune disease and my thyroid already reacted to a life change in my body after I had my second baby I may have been having symptoms of this but never saw the big picture.

I’m definitely going to research the topic more and educate myself on how to wean off, what to expect and how to change this lifestyle. I remember in January when we were in Florida with my parents my mom ate something that may have had gluten in it (soup with flour to thicken it) and it bothered her stomach the next day. I would also like to see how I can make this subtle change for my kids also.

Have you gone gluten free? Do you feel better or worse? What advice do you have?

#EpicSummer2014

July 31, 2014

This summer we are having a summer to remember. Most of our summers are memorable, but this year we are making it a theme to be Epic.

Sadly that can backfire on me a little. My son was sad tonight that camp ends tomorrow. Then he told me he didn’t want to go to second grade. He said he wants to stay home and have fun.

I had to remind him that there is still a month of school vacation left and we still have our vacation to New Hampshire to go on. I also told him he has a big job to do as a big brother. He needs to help get Adrienne excited about starting kindergarten and riding the bus to school.

So I had to remind him if something that I also needed to do myself – enjoy the now. I have to take my own advice. I keep looking towards events coming up in August and September and I too, need to enjoy the now and live in the moment. I also need to keep my little Adrienne little as long as I can because once she sets foot on that bus the next 12 years are going to zip past me in a blur. I am struggling with seeing them grow so quickly. It’s a wonderful thing to see them thrive and grow but it pulls at my heart so hard at the same time.

I love them so much and we are so happy. I will have to make an #epicfall and #epicwinter theme with them to keep the fun going despite being back in school in the fall.

The EPIC Summer of 2014

June 28, 2014

This is the first official week of summer at our house. Despite the fact that my kids have been in the pool for almost a month now. The last day of school was Monday, June 23 so that means summer vacation!!! I wanted this year to be one of those summers the kids will never forget. I know that I have memories of my summers when I was a kid. These are memories I hope to never lose. That’s why I am creating the Epic Summer of 2014 for them. It’s all about FUN, sun, water fun, basic happiness, love and family time. What do you remember from your summers as a kid? I remember putting playing cards on my bike and riding around the yard sounding like a motorcycle. I remember when it was a treat for us to go to a friend’s house to swim before we got our own pool. Camping, air shows in Cape Cod, family reunions, staying up late at night, playing hide and go seek in the dark, bug bites, catching fireflies, soda in the glass bottles from the Pop Shop in North Haven, the carnival on the hill behind my yard and the Musco’s yard! Going up to the carnival grounds after they packed it all up to look for loose change and any money that may have fallen out of people’s pockets. Friday nights were always special because my dad didn’t work late on Friday nights, so we made popcorn and ate it in the “red bowl” and watched the Dukes of Hazzard, the Hulk, Donnie and Marie, and heard Dallas (when we were in our beds). And my parents always told us to stay in our rooms when we woke up and let them sleep! It never happened. Summers were magical. From the day you step off the bus to the weeks before school when it is time to get some back to school clothes from Sears. I want to create that feeling for my children. The day after my son’s last day, I put up a tent in the back yard for them to play in. Then I had my lunch break with them in there and gave them some one on one time. We went to the Hamden Fireworks this Friday night. We made water balloons today to have a water balloon fight. We took a little road trip to get ice cream from a seasonal ice cream place! We played with sparklers! I am looking forward to making many, many more special memories this summer! What special things do you remember about your childhood?

Why Mother’s Day Is Special To Me

May 11, 2014

Mother’s Day is a special holiday for me. I couldn’t wait to be a mother, but that wasn’t easy for me. When my husband and I got married in 2002, I got sick. It took a long time to figure out what was wrong with me. Eventually, when we learned that I had kidney vasculitis, I had to take chemo-type medication and was told that our dream of trying to get pregnant had to be put on hold. I was devastated.

After many years of trying to get my disease under control, different medications, steroids, 2 kidney biopsies and lots of prednisone, my disease quieted down. Five years later, I pursued my quest to start our family. But that wasn’t easy either. We couldn’t get pregnant. So with the help of the UCONN Fertility Center, I was able to become a mother, twice!

So I love Mother’s Day. Especially now that my son, age 6 and daughter, age 5 make projects at school and secretly share with my husband that they have a surprise for me and can’t wait to give them to me. That is so precious and these are the gifts that are priceless! Everyday, I use the jewelry box that Adrienne made me last year.

This year I was able to enjoy the Mother’s Day Tea at Adrienne’s school (we are usually in Florida on Mother’s Day) and enjoy her little singing presentation and gift. Once again I received a priceless trinket box that Adrienne proudly presented to me at her school.

I also love that Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the grandmothers. I am so happy that I was able to make my mother a grandmother. I remember the day when I told her I was pregnant. I couldn’t wait to tell her! I had wanted that for sooo long! She loves her grandbabies and my kids LOVE spending time with her! My mother-in-law is also happy to have more grandbabies from her youngest son. It’s so awesome to give my kids the memories of time spent with their grandparents. I remember and cherish my memories of my grandparents. They are special memories.

I love being a mom! Some days it isn’t easy and some days there is no effort at all, but I love all the days that I have with my children. I remember vividly when I came home from the hospital with my son and my milk came in and my body was doing things I never knew it was going to do. What an overwhelming time that was! But with the help of my mom and my husband I got through it.

After my daughter was born, I struggled with postpartum depression. I didn’t really know I had it at the time, I thought I was just overwhelmed and hormonal with a newborn and a 16-month old very active little boy. But I got help and now I see the change in me and I feel that I am a much better mother. I was a good mother at the time, but I really struggled. I am feeling more confident as a parent now that they are getting older. I am seeing them maturing and making wise choices. I love how people comment on how much my son and daughter love each other. It makes me proud to know that we are raising them right!

I can’t imagine life without them now. I vaguely remember what life was like before them, but I would much rather live with these little amazing kids in my life who teach me something every day. They make me very proud. There is no manual that comes with being a mom. I call out to my mom often for advice and recommendations, and I use her model from raising us as part of how I raise my children.

My cousin sent me this awesome card the other day and I was so touched. I guess I am doing something right!

I try every day to be a good role model to my children. Many times I will hear them say something and it is a carbon copy of something I say to them! (Sometimes good, sometimes not! lol). When I go out for a run, my daughter likes to put on her “workout clothes” and sneakers and pretend she is going out for a run. I tried taking them for a run with me once. We will need to work on that. I enjoy seeing them watching me and seeing my positive habits as something that is part of my lifestyle and will help them live a healthier lifestyle also.

They also enjoy when I go away on race trips with my friends. They mostly like it because they get an exclusive weekend with their dad who they don’t get to see as much as me. I hope I am teaching them about friendships and how it is good to have friends and support friends and how friends can support you with your goals and endeavors. When I did the Walt Disney World marathon this year I explained to them that I was helping a friend reach a goal and sometimes it isn’t about getting your best race finish time, but helping someone else achieve something they worked hard for. Then for the Providence marathon, a friend helped me achieve my best race time. I like how I can take my personal experiences and turn them into life lessons for them.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Good Nutrition – Better Eating

March 18, 2014

Well here comes a new season which means it will be warmer soon (I hope) and time for shorts and bathing suits. I want to clean up my act in the nutrition department and go back to the meal plan that my chiropractor’s office made specifically for me. The focus on the plan is to increase your portions of proteins and veggies and get your carbs from foods like sweet potatoes and vegetables like carrots and corn rather than through white flour. It also limits the intake of sugar.

This plan has worked for me in the past and I want to commit to it again. But I have to admit, that I am not sure that I am ready mentally. I hope I can stick to it. With my stress from my job I tend to binge on sweets when I get home from the office or when the pressure kicks in. It’s my immediate self gratification. I am human, it’s my weakness.

Something else that I have to say is hard to accept when eating better is the cost. It’s a shame that when you shop along the perimeter of a grocery store to get the fresh food, produce, meat and vegetables, you end up paying a lot more money than you do for the processed, high sugar crap in the center of the store. There aren’t coupons for discounts on apples and strawberries or salad. They run specials on those items, but you can’t walk in there with coupons on top of their specials. That frustrates me.

I was listening to a new podcast on my run today, The Natural Running Network Live Blog Talk Radio on “How to Achieve Racing Weight for Endurance Athletes“. I don’t consider myself an endurance athlete, but I guess training for marathons, I sort of am… Anyway, I wanted to hear their concepts on what they suggest for proper nutrition and it was also a confirmation to me that I need to get on track. So I am hoping the motivation of it helps spark me back into it. 21 times becomes a habit. If I can repeat my good eating habits again, within the first 2 weeks I will become more clean and then it will become more of a habit for me again. When I followed this plan I was actually so full, I couldn’t finish the food a lot of the time! I never felt hungry because the quality and quantity of food was so good.

An example of a day on this plan was quite normal:

Breakfast – steel cut oatmeal with blueberries
Snack – 27 grapes with cheese stick or a chiobani plain yogurt with fresh cut strawberries and a little agave nectar
Lunch- hard boiled egg or egg salad with lettuce wraps or a large salad loaded up with proteins (chicken, eggs, salmon, tuna, shrimp) or a home made vegetable soup loaded up with beans and shrimp or chicken. That was always very easy for me to have because I would heat it up at work and have a hard boiled egg, almonds and shrimp for additional protein.
Dinner – Grillers protein veggie burgers, chicken, salmon (proteins) with veggies, low carbs as a side.
Snack – apples and 17 almonds

So what’s wrong with eating good foods like almonds and apples, grapes and cheese and shrimp? Nothing really, it just takes some work to prepare the meals ahead of time and make them back into a habit. So here’s to starting a new day again and getting cleaner with my eating. I am hoping this will also help me increase my running speed.

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Category: Family