Bread, I BIND you...!

I have been worried for a bit now about having plateaued (i.e. for the last 4-5 weeks my bathroom scale just won’t shift downwards); and the feeling of despondency, being stuck and silent desperation has been creeping in. From experience, I have found out that these negative feelings are a precursor for a binge. Binging is basically a period of uncontrolled eating brought on by varying factors; it is actually viewed as a disorder. And for those who have experienced a binge experience, it does so much damage to your psyche – you feel deflated and could actually add more weight. Considering that what triggers my binge episode is the pressure of NOT losing weight…for me a binge episode is a negative double whammy.

Anyway, in a bid to stave off a binging, I have chosen to take my work out a notch higher. I started waking up by 5:45am to walk/jog for 20 to 30 minutes …with my 3kg dumbells in each hand. Crazy right? I know – but that’s how desperate I have become to push this extra 40kg on me off! The first few days I did this I felt like something a bull tossed around in a bull fight. Everywhere – even places I did not know I had muscles hurt …and BADLY. I frankly felt sick. But I am not just involved in the process (positive confession), I am committed (ever heard the story of the hen and pig? In the breakfast arrangement, the hen is involved [for eggs] but the pig committed [for ham]…LOL).

Okay, I have done this crazy morning regime for a couple of weeks so far, and guess what? Just one miserly kg lost! All that pain…and just 1kg? This is so NOT FAIR! 

So the other day I was talking to one of my mentors/friend John Tschohl (He is an amazing customer service strategist and GURU; learn more about him from www.johntschohl.com/) and sharing my current troubles and he recommended a book called ‘Wheat Belly’.

John said that in trying to improve his fitness levels, he decided to shed some weight, and that this book helped a lot. One major life changing idea he  practiced was dropping bread from his diet. My reaction was -“BREAD? BREAD? MY BREAD?? My staple breakfast food? My 'go to' when my pantry is empty? You expect me to give up my bread?” 'What else will I eat?' - (Confession: I have actually cut down my carbs, but I still eat my bread and biscuits!) But John assures me that while this is not easy (like me, John is/was a bread lover), he has seen amazing results – by simply cutting out bread from his diet. I'm like...oookkkaaayyy!

After the call, I said to myself - “what good is a mentor if you won’t listen to him and take his advice?”. The least I can do is look up this ‘wheatbelly’ thing online, right? Well I did that the next morning, I found the website on Google (http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/ ), and the first thing that caught my attention was this picture – see…

Boy! Do I want this to be my story!

Then I read some of the testimonials/success stories and noted first off that most of the people were talking about dropping wheat from their diet. I guess bread is my biggest wheat culprit, followed by biscuits.

Reading the testimonials I read someone called Amine who said “…the stunning part for me is I have exercised like a maniac for years and never noticed a difference in weight. By dropping wheat and exercising like usual, I have quickly noticed the difference.”

Another person, this time Donna said “…progress report at 3 weeks: Lost 4 pounds around my middle (and thighs), body aches have disappeared, my previously distended, uncomfortable belly has deflated, can go for 6 hours without feeling hungry, I feel so energetic and practically spring right up a flight of stairs, sleep like a baby with no hip pain waking me up, no longer feel depressed because I was slowly gaining weight despite being a runner and person who doesn’t overindulge.”

Then I even read something about a Jon who got relief from acid reflux which he attributed to dropping wheat products from his diet. I could jump for joy – because I too suffer from awful acid reflux…

I could continue, but I think you get the gist – I certainly did; especially as these people seem to have been in a similar situation as me. Looking at all these stories/testimonials…I could hear the penny drop. So, this is what my nutritionist (Dr Fiona) meant when she said cut out carbs! (Duh!)

But I don’t kid myself that it will be easy…especially as the dreaded bread is akin to hallowed culture in my family. Do/will I have the will power to turn away from wheat products aka bread & biscuits? What alternatives do I have for bread and biscuits? Are there any substitutes for my mid day cup of green tea and biscuits?[sigh]. This is a new level, and do I have what it takes to make it? I will get back to you on that…

In the meantime, I will find the book (wheat belly) and read it cover to cover. Maybe I’ll learn some strategies that can work for me – I will be sure to share them here. I’ve checked my 'goto' online store (www.jumia.com) for the book, but they do not have it…any ideas where I can get a copy? Please let me know pronto J

Have you ever to tried cut out wheat/bread/biscuits from your diet? How did that go? Please drop a comment (below) and share; let’s all learn from you. Meanwhile, encourage me as I BIND MY LOAF OF BREAD...From October 1, 2013 its NO MORE BREAD.

Also, if you have any ideas for what I could eat as an alternative for my bread, please buzz me in the comments section!

Finally, please FOLLOW "DROP IT" via email by inputting your email address on the field to the right side of the blog post, then click submit. Don’t forget to recommend DROP IT to a friend!