GLUTEN FREE - PROS AND CONS

MY BOY!!!!

I can't believe how much he's growing!  This kid is about 170lbs and 5'10" tall at 14 years of age.  Every day he changes again so I'm constantly in awe that this is my little boy. 

I can still take him, though......  ;-)

Ross's meds are doing well.  He seems happier and less aggressive and he hasn't chased his sister around the house in months and months, except for when they are playing.  They still play like they did when they were 10 and 7, LOL!  They are 17 and 14.  Sigh....the time flies.

I recently started taking as much gluten from his diet as possible.  He has gained so much weight from that stupid Risperdal that he's on - I'd say like almost 25 pounds.  He's tall enough that he could carry the weight but lately, he's quite portly around the middle.  What makes me mad is that he doesn't eat that much at all!  3 meals and 2 snacks a day and I'm such a health nut, I make sure he's not gobbling sugars and crap food.  I make him his breakfast of waffles and fruit, his lunch of a ham sandwich (or peanut butter), carrots, juice and a fruit snack and then dinner usually consists of two veggies and a lean meat of some sort.  Snacks are usually fruit, fruit snacks or snack bars so I know it's not what he's eating.  He could also use getting out and exercising more - that's my fault.  I'm a runner and I go to the gym but on days I don't, I work on something in the house and I'm tired.  I need to be getting Ross out with me.  He actually likes running with me for a couple of miles so I just need to bite the bullet and go run on my "days off".

Back to gluten:  Before I started watching his gluten intake, Ross was the gassiest and nastiest boy around, LOL!  He could stink up and clear out a room faster than Yosemite Sam could draw his pistol!  He has complained for years that his stomach hurts and that he doens't feel good in his tummy.  Whenever I brought it up to his doctors, they all said, don't worry about it or give him another pill or geez, too many different responses to list.  One of them told me ( an actual doctor told me this) that I could go ahead and "do my little diet" but it's not going to make a difference and it would be best to medicate him even more.  WOW!  Screw you, doc!  During the last visit with Ross's psychiatrist, I mentioned his stomach problems were worse and she suggested, and this is kinda of funny, she suggested taking gluten and/or bread out of his diet and maybe even try some whole grain breads.  ??  Huh?  Ok, so let me see if I got this.....take him off the gluten bread and feel free to give him whole grain bread.  That makes NO sense at all considering whole grain bread is full of gluten.  Smh....ok, so I decided to really go gluten free for Ross.  I buy gluten free bread, gluten free chicken nuggets, waffles, macaroni and cheese, cookies, crackers, snack bars, etc..  All of the things Ross loves, I try to find the gluten free version of it.  I thought I was doing great!  Then I discovered that gluten is in fucking everything!  Sauces, meats, mixes, almost everything we use in foods has some kind of gluten ancestry, for lack of a better word.  

Half of my grocery bill is now gluten free crap - this stuff is expensive.  The bread is 5x the cost of regular bread, the chicken nuggets are also.  You can expect to pay at least $2-3 more per item if you want it gluten free.  That's what stopped me the last time I tried this.  This time, Ross has been in so much pain and discomfort, I said screw it and bit the bullet and I am very happy with the results.  Not everything he eats is going to be gluten free but I can cut gluten from about 90% of his diet.  The result?  No horrible farting, no more stomach aches, not as many cranky days and a general, overall feeling of  not wanting to hurl all the time.  Now that he's getting older, he's been able to tell me more about how he feels physically and what bothers him and when.  If we have a gluten filled weekend where I let him have regular pizza or regular burgers or whatever, he WILL feel it and he will be glad to tell you how shitty he feels.  I just wish gluten free was the same as fat free so that we could get rid of some of this weight he's added on.  Oh, well, that will come later, I suppose.  One thing at a time, I've learned.

This GF fad that's going around may actually hold some water.  I do feel better when I have a gluten free lunch and I know that some kids have digestive issues and Ross has had them since birth.   This is working more than it's not, if that makes sense.    So more about the food; our favorite bread is NOT Udi's or Rudi's, LOL.  I prefer Kinnickinick.  It's a white bread that seems to be a lot less hard and a lot less stale feeling than the others I mentioned AND IT'S WHITE BREAD!  :-)    It's worth paying extra for bread that isn't really like real bread but still tastes almost like real bread.  Matter of fact, there are lots of things that are actually pretty tasty! I've been eating as much gluten free as possible, too, and I have noticed...well....let's not talk about me  ;-)

So there it is - Ross is doing well.  About to try basketball for6 weeks, doing ok in school and he's being a sweet, but still quite obnoxious, young man.  

Love my Rosser!

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!