I'm still eating wheat and milk free. It's been nearly two weeks, and I am noticing a difference. My pants are fitting a wee bit better. My guess is that I'm losing water weight and bloating more than anything else. But it's something at least. And I have to keep reminding myself of my baby steps philosophy. It certainly won't come iovernight. Baby steps.

I'm pretty proud of myself though. Not eating ingredients that are in everything is pretty hard. I sorely miss my chocolate and cheese. Recently, I've realized that my good intentions are being sabotaged by some very sneaky snacks. Some of the snacks foods I've allowed myself, thinking they are free of wheat and dairy ingredients, have surprised me. You'd be surprised what foods contain wheat and milk.

I've told you about ingredients like casein and whey that you need to look for in the ingredient labels. These are milk derivatives contained in the flavorings of many products. But let me tell you about some of the surprising foods I've found to be culprits containing wheat and/or milk.

• Licorice - Who knew that licorice has wheat in it? Oh, yes, it does! Check out the ingredient list of your favorite licorice products like Twizzlers or Good N' Plenty. They have flour in them. My guess is the flour helps to bond the other ingredients.
• Honey Roasted Peanuts - They contain milk. Yep. At least the ones I bought last week do. I had no idea. I thought this would be a good choice for a sweet, salty, and crunchy snack. Oh well, it's probably more sugar than I should eat anyway. Bummer.
• McDonald's french fries - I so love McD's fries. Yum. But, alas, they have both wheat and milk in them.  Last I checked, anyway. Has anyone heard differently? If so, let me know!

 

These are just a few of the big examples coming to mind. I know there are so many others I need to be careful of. I can't avoid all traces of wheat and milk, but I'm sure trying. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting here in Panera Bread typing this blog post. And all I ordered was a coffee. No yummy, crunchy bagels. No pastries. I'm so good. Aren't you proud of me? I do have some incentive, though. My goal is to be able to wear jeans with snaps by February 20th when I go with my girlfriends to visit a member oif our group who lives across the state. I think I can do it.

 

Photo courtesy of evelynishere from flickr

Everyone's been asking how I'm managing to avoid wheat and milk in my diet. It certainly isn't easy, otherwise I would have stuck with it ages ago. But it is possible to eliminate wheat and dairy products from your diet with a little planning and creativity. Thankfully, my allergies aren't as severe as some, people's but they do cause me to feel fatigued and to get frequent headaches. I'm feeling so much better since eliminating the trigger foods, and I believe I am actually losing weight! So here are some of the ways I'm sticking with it this time.

Variety

Any diet is hard to stick to if you have to eat the same thing all the time. While I am eating ALOT of salads these days, I try to mix it up by adding different things to my salad. Last night, I had a taco salad with leftover taco meat, salsa, and tortilla chips. Of course, I had to skip the cheese and sour cream, but it was pretty tasty without them. Sometimes I have tuna or chicken salad on a bed of lettuce. I'll add almonds, raisins, or apples for a bit of sweetness.

Texture

No, I don't just eat salads! When I'm craving something crunchy or salty, I'll eat tortilla chips or rice cakes. You have to be careful about things like flavored rice cakes though. Some of the most common milk derivative ingredients that people may not be aware of are whey, casein, and caseinate. Check the ingredient list carefully.For example, I can't eat even the cheddar flavored rice cakes, but the caramel ones are good to go.

Another thing I like to snack on now is cereal. I can eat Corn Chex or Rice Chex. Kix are also good; they have a new honey flavor. I've tried adding soy milk, but this is something I just can't get accustomed to. So I eat it dry, and it provides a nice breakfast with a piece of fruit or a crunchy snack during the day.

Flavor

A girl's gotta have chocolate. And, believe it or not, I can. One of my favorite indulgences is Pierre's chocolate sorbet. Yummy. And it contains no dairy. Even my kids love it. It's creamy and rich, giving you the illusion that you're eating ice cream. You can also buy a frozen treat made from soy instead of cream. Almost as good. I like the chocolate peanut butter kind best. I mix it with soy milk and a scoop of real peanut butter in the blender for a really good smoothie.

Another favorite of mine is cheese. While I can no longer snack on cheese and crackers, I've found a great substitute. Veggie Cheese is quite good. My recommendation is to get the pepper jack or other flavor, as it masks the texture a bit. I add Veggie Cheese to my omelettes, and you'd never know the difference.

Convenience

Finally, as a mom, probably the most important thing in sticking with a change in eating habits is convenience. I've started eating Lean Cusine dinners. They're really surprisingly good. I bought them on sale, and I was a little nervous because I bought ten. I'm so glad I did. Being able to grab one and put it in the microwave and have a healthy meal in five minutes keeps me from grabbing something that doesn't fit in my diet. I had to be careful when making my choices, but I was able to find ten different meals containing no wheat or milk. Remember, variety is important.

There are lots of things you can do to improve your diet, even if allergies aren't an issue for you. I've found that making these substitutions isn't as hard as I thought it would be. And the extra effort is definitely worth it. I think I may even be able to button my old jeans soon!

When I first began this blog, I wrote out my short-term goals for the summer.  One of which was, of course, to lose some of the weight I gained while pregnant with Brady.  I'm sure I mentioned to you all that I failed in that area miserably.  That's okay, I've done pretty well on most of my other goals.  And I am taking baby steps here, right?

But then I watched a bit of The Biggest Loser last night on TV.  That's the show where people compete to lose the most weight in a given time period, for anyone who's not familiar with it.  I was shocked and scared by what I saw.  Contestants were given their biological age in comparison to their chronological age and actually shown some of the trouble spots of their anatomy compared to that of a healthy person.  They were given visual proof of their clogged arteries, over-burdened hearts, and impaired lungs.  It really hit home for me.

I know I eat terribly and exercise very little.  It's a vicous cycle, I know that as well.  It's a cycle I must admit I haven't worked very hard to break.  I think I've been so focused on and overwhelmed with everything involved in starting a new career that I've neglected my health.  Everyone knows food is used as an emotional crutch, and I'm sure I'm guilty of that, too.

However, just as I've taken baby steps to move closer to my other goals, I will do the same with this one.  First thing is to resist the vicous sweet tooth I possess.  I will not eat the Cocoa Puffs for breakfast or snack mindlessly on the M & M's (though the peanuts ones are the very best!)  The next step will be to purchase groceries that will allow me to avoid wheat and milk, which I'm allergic to.  It is possible; I've done it before.

A reader once asked me to share a dairy-free, wheat-free recipe.  I'll share my favorite banana muffin recipe with you next week to show you that there are foods out there I can eat, and that taste good.  My cooking bible is called The Gluten, Wheat, & Dairy Free Cookbook and contains lots of recipes that actually taste good and contain no wheat or milk.  Leave a comment if you know of any good recipes or advice for people with food allergies or would just like to encourage me and hold me accountable.  I could use all the help I can get!  Thanks.

Woohoo!  I actually did it this weekend.  I cleaned my office area.  Hip hip hooray!  I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted.  I'm feeling so good about cleaning up my act, that I'm inspired to keep up the momentum by tackling my basket in the kitchen.  Each member of the family has their own basket, except Brady, and I have to confess that mine is the absolute messiest.  Even the kids have cleaned their baskets out.  My turn.  Compared to the office, this should be a breeze!

So, wanna see the before and after pics?  I'm so proud of my  ccomplishment, of course, I'll show it off!

[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="BEFORE - Messy desk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="AFTER - Clean, organized desk"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="BEFORE - Trashed bookshelf"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_367" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="AFTER - Beautifully arranged bookshelf"][/caption]

Isn't that better?  I purged things I didn't need.  Reorganized so that the notes and folders I use regularly are within arm's reach on the desk.  I moved other things to the top of the shelf.  I also organized the shelf so categories of books are together in one place.  I moved office supplies from the shelf to the filing cabinet so there would be room for everything without being tempted to just toss stuff on top.  I did all of this while listening to some fabulous music from my library on last.fm.  The music helped to motivate me.  Your tips also helped tremendously.  I also decided to do a little research of my own and ended up with an article called "5 Tips to Tackle Organizing Your Home Office" for doWAHdiddy.  That's my favorite thing about being a writer - I can research and learn about things I'm interested in or need to know, then get paid to write about them.  How cool is that?

I was true to my word and took yesterday off to recuperate from the back-to-school frenzy.  It was nice, I must say.  I played with the baby, took a nap, and did some reading.  But it's back-to-work for me today!  It's also What If. . .Wednesday, the day I contemplate doing something different, out of the ordinary, to move me along my path to productivity and fulfillment.  After a bit of thought, I realized what I must do - I have to clean up some of this mess in my workspace!

I'm not an organized person, by nature.  Remember the whole attention deficit disorder thing I told you about?  One of the tell-tale signs for women with ADD are piles everywhere.  I've learned to live with my piles of crap, but I know I can be more productive if I at least try to organize the area where I will be working and spending the majority of my day.  Take a look.  My "office", which is along one wall of our bedroom, could definitely use some organization!

    

Pretty messy, huh?  It's my style.  But I vow to spend little time this weekend tidying and organizing while the kids are at their dad's.  Any tips on ways to corral and file papers would be much appreciated!

Check this out!  MomDot, an awesome online forum for moms that features bloggers and boutiques, noticed me in their Around the Town Blog Shoutout.  That's where they feature posts from around the blogosphere on their site.  And they picked one of mine!  It's the one about being a redhead.  They featured a bunch of other fun and interesting posts from other bloggers, too.  I feel great about being featured because starting my blog has brought so much into my life,  and this is another sign that I'm on the right track.  Thanks, MomDot!  And, thank you, to everyone who's stopped by regularly and left comments.  Connecting with others has truly helped me to begin working through my life transitions and to continue pursuing my goals.

I'm having a giveaway! Okay, so it's not one of those fabulous sponsored giveaways; it's actually something from my own closet. Don't worry - it's brand new. I am giving away a Mary Kay Satin Hands Pampering Set! Isn't it pretty? And it feels incredible!

This giveaway is in conjunction with an amazing movement I recently read about called The 29-Day Giving Challenge.  This concept was thought up by a woman named Cami Walker, who was dealing with severe health and money issues and was in a very dark place in her life.  Her friend and spiritual teacher told her to stop thinking of herself and advised her to give away something each day for 29 days.  Cami took her advice, and the results were astounding.  She decided to share the experience with the world by starting a website and online community where people can commit to the challenge and share their experience.  Go to www.29gifts.org to read more about her story and to sign up for your own Giving Challenge.

On Wednesday of next week, I will not only be giving away this awesome Pampering Set as part of my own Giving Challenge, but I'll share my interview with Cami!  I'll be speaking to her today to find out more about the challenge and about her inspiration for making the movement global.  Come back Wednesday for your chance to win the Satin Hands set and to read what Cami has to share with us!

Today's Monday Magazine Motivation comes from the August issue of Family Circle, where I found an article on home party businesses called "Money in the Bag".  As an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay, I fall under that category.  I haven't really been "working my business" lately, as I'm currently focusing on my writing, so this article helped to give me a jumpstart to get back into the swing of things.

 

There's a section on questions to ask and one on home party basics and whether direct sales is right for you.  I really liked the section on smart sales strategies, which gave me some good ideas to get things moving again.  The article contained some really good information, and I suggest reading it if you're interested in selling something like Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, PartyLite, etc. 

You can find another good article here from Brain, Child magazine.  This one warns of the hidden dangers of work-from-home companies and even includes Mary Kay as one to be wary of.  But I say read the articles, take the advice, ask your own questions, and use your intution to make the best decision.  I know that Mary Kay is a product I love and believe in and am realistic about the time and effort I want to put in to it.  Because I don't want to be away from home a few nights a week (leaving my poor husband with the wild children after a long day of work) and driving to lots of different places, I'm not willing to commit 100% right now.  Also, I didn't have a ton of money to put into inventory, so I chose to start small. 

The effort I'm putting into my business allows me to get out and about, meet other women, and have a drawerful of wonderful products I couldn't otherwise afford.  I'm also learning skills that will help me in my freelance business.  The best result is the confidence and pride in myself I've gained through taking the chance and getting started.  A home party business isn't for everyone, but it could be for you if you're realistic about your level of commitment and your desired results.

It's Wednesday - the day we challenge ourselves to step out of our box, try something new, leave our comfort zone.  I have a blogger friend who has motivated me to do that.  She's an aspiring writer (she's written a novel!), and the steps she's taken to pursue her writing career have helped to inspire me to jump in and begin my own writing pursuits. 

But now she's gone too far.  She went and took an actual jump - out of an airplane!  Sorry, Susan, you're on your own for this one!  I'm just not that crazy adventurous.  You can read about her adventure and even watch a video of her insanity here.

Since I refuse to take such an insane big leap, I've decided to go for a more reasonable goal.  If I really want to become a paid writer, I have to send out queries or pitches to paying publications.  So I've decided to really go for it by trying to send out one query or manuscript each day.  "A query a day helps get Mary some pay!"  What do you think?  Wish me luck!

It's Monday, again.   A good day to remind myself to get back on track after my weekend slip-ups.  In my defense, my sister-in-law is the best baker in the whole world, so I couldn't have been expected to resist the yummy strawberry cream cheesy dessert she brought to the party!  But, alas, I did slip up, so I've decided to make up for it in this week's Monday Magazine Motivation.

The folks at Self have set up a series of really great month-long jumpstarts to changing lifestyle habits.  They have several programs to choose from.  You can choose a program of "Readers' Best Tips", one to "Feel Your Healthiest in Just One Month", or even "31 Days to Great Sex".  I've decided to take on "Flat Abs Fast!" because if I don't do something drastic, I'm afraid I'll have this baby belly forever. 
 
Each program offers a new tip each day.  Feel free to "keep the ones you like, toss the ones you don't."  Sounds easy enough, right?  We'll see in a month.  I vow to report my results in the Monday Magazine Motivation four weeks from now.  Wish me luck!

Yeah, I know I don't have a prayer of looking like her, but every little bit helps. Baby steps, remember?