Cutting out the Gluten

I have suspected that my son, who is now three, has a gluten allergy for some time now.  I have been wanting to cut out the gluten to see if his symptoms get better. Everytime I cut it out at home, he would always get fed gluten from someone else.  I don't think my family really understood. So this time, I explained to everyone that he cannot have ANY gluten for 7 days straight because I am trying to see if that is what is causing his red cheeks and his post nasal drip.  This time I think they really understand.  His cheeks have gotten really red here lately.  This past Sunday was his birthday party so of course he had cake and we had burgers and chips. This is what he looked like Monday night.

So we decided to start on Tuesday.  No more gluten.  Tuesday was not that bad. For breakfast he had bacon, eggs and cantelope. For snack he had grapes and raisins. For lunch he had pork loin and cucumbers.   I made some banana carrot muffins (which are Gluten free and taste great! I will post that recipe later) So he got to eat that for snack at the daycare I work at while all the other kids had chips. He didn't seem too upset because the muffins were really good.  And then for dinner he had grilled chicken and some more cucumbers. (This kid is CRAZY about cucumbers!)  And this is what he looked like at the end of the day.

Wednesday was a little rougher but still not as bad as I thought it would be.  Breakfast he had two pieces of bacon. Snack he had grapes. Lunch he had applesauce. I served chicken and cucumbers but he refused to eat it.  For daycare snack he had yogurt. All the other kids had those little cracker breadstick things that you dip in cheese. His favorite! He never asked to have one because he knew he couldn't eat it. But when the kids were getting them his lip started quivering and he started crying. He cried for a bit while I held him then he was better and ate his yogurt.  That was the hardest time so far.  He was so upset about that snack but I knew I couldn't cave in. But I wanted to so bad! So for dinner I made a huge veggie tray and they snacked on that while I made some Gluten free pizza. And this is what he looked like that night.

I plan on him eating gluten free for 7 days then on day 8 feed him gluten for breakfast, lunch and dinner and see how he reacts.  Our whole family is cutting out gluten.  Something we need to do anyway! I will continue taking pictures everyday to show the progress!

Disney World...HERE WE COME!!

So we OFFICIALLY booked our Disney vacation! We will be going in the middle of September with another couple and their two boys. So that means we will have 4 adults and 5 kids...all the kids are boys...and the oldest being my oldest son who will be just turning 5.  We cannot wait to go! Now that we have booked it that means it is time to buckle down on this weight loss! I am really really wanting to lose 20 pounds before we go. GULP! Good news is I have 6 months to accomplish this goal. When you break it down it's only 3½ pounds a month. Not too bad.  I feel yucky because we just had my birthday and my son's birthday. So that means lots and lots of cake, and burgers with buns, chips and throw in some soda...I feel awful!  And my poor son. I am pretty sure he has a gluten allergy. His cheeks are bright red. They seen to always turn red when he eats gluten.  So I started yesterday cutting out ALL gluten in his diet. I am going to do it for 7 days and then on the 8th day feed him something with gluten for breakfast, lunch and dinner and see how he reacts. I am also taking pictures everyday as well.  That is for a later post though so I don't want to go into too much detail.  But anywho, back to the feeling awful. I feel like I need to clean my system out or something. I feel fat, bloated, my face lost the glo it had from eating primal, my face feels fuller, I am tired, sluggish and BLAH! I wish there was a quick fix to get back to where I was.  The only thing I can think to do, other than eat primal of course, is to drink lots and lots of water with lemon. There is something refreshing about water and it just seems like it would flush all the bad out, right? On top of drinking lots and lots of water, I am planning to cut out all sugar (fruits) for 21 days because I have been craving sugar and carbs like no other.  From what I read, take it totally out of your diet for 21 days and voila! No more cravings! So here we go! Time to buckle down for good this time so I can wear a swimming suit when we go to Disney!