The Anything "Free" Diet

This is Part 2 of The Pleasure Factor in Weight Loss I prefer to call living gluten-free a lifestyle, though it is usually tagged with the word diet behind it. I also don't eat many grains, very little dairy, no white sugar and a modest amount of corn. I have started to notice that certain foods like tuna and turkey hurt my stomach so I will be eliminating those for a time.

Many upon hearing the foods I don't eat, are shocked. Instantly the thought is restrictive. And yet when I became gluten-free a world of choice and freedom opened up to me that I had never had before.

Gluten makes me pretty sick. Bloated, tired, crabby, anxious and prone to catching any bug lurking out there. When I stopped eating it I noticed that I could eat without having to unbutton my pants. I felt good after I would eat. With the combination of dairy and gluten removal I stopped carrying that extra weight that I always fought so hard with.

I could eat without fear of feeling badly. I could eat and explore the world of spaghetti squash "pasta" and cauliflower "rice." My cravings decreased and I learned how to make sweets that made my body feel pleasure without the effects of sugar crashes and moodiness.

So... restrictive? Anything but.

Powerful, focused, energized and healthy? Yes.

Discovering foods that work for your body is a powerful tool. The key is that we are all different. I have friends who thrive eating brown rice and live vegan lifestyles. That lifestyle made me sick. I need to be eating about 75% raw foods combined with high proteins to feel my best. Your body needs it's own combination. That is why food is so fascinating.

When you identify and start eating your power foods, pleasure is all around. When I eat a chocolate cluster it is pleasure abounding. Unlike the fudge, I don't over eat sweets that make my body feel good, I can eat 2 or 3 clusters and never feel that sick feeling inside. There is no fear inside of me as I take a bite that my belly will hurt or that I will feel sick. This allows for pleasure, and to not over consume. They are allowed and I love them.

All foods are allowed in my life. But I know the ones that make me feel sick. I know the ones that create a stomach that is so bloated I can't button my pants. The foods that bring down my energy and bring anything but pleasure...I know those foods.

In that knowledge is where I find the pleasure of food.

There is also a reverse effect of pleasure with food. There have been gluten intolerant people who go traveling in Italy and eat the pasta with no ill effects. There are women who drink a glass of wine at 5:00 at night when their kids are screaming and they get a headache and sleeplessness; and when they have a glass of wine at a table with their best friends suffer from no side effects of that same glass of wine. When we are full of pleasure, food is able to digest and integrate into our body in a different way than when we are stressed or anxious. The body accepts it and slowly enjoys each taste. Our laughing and spirit of joy as we are eating the food allows us to eat only until we feel filled, because we are filled with more than calories.

When you live inside a bubble of stress, guilt, longing and should-s, things that could bring pleasure no longer fill us up. So we look for more and more. We eat more, we shop more, we spend time with people who enable us.

Take a peek into your pleasure factor. What really fills you up and brings pleasure?

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If you are ready to identify your power foods join us for our Winter 10 Day Power Cleanse