The Gluten Free Life (and Hashimotos)

Just living a gluten free life!

Over the past 2 years, I've learned A LOT about food, thyroid, autoimmune diseases and how we can HEAL our bodies. I'm thrilled that I'm able to use my STRUGGLES to help others.


I'll start with brief history...

For starters, I think I jinxed myself. For as long as I have been seeing Gluten Free labels in the grocery store, I have been proclaiming my sheer joy.

It's not what you think.... :P

I used to say, WOW Thank goodness I am not one of THOSE people. So glad I can eat the REAL pancakes and not the dehydrated cardboard they are passing off as Gluten Free!

...yea, I know.. I brought this upon myself.

In 2010, I was an overworked stressed out retail manager who needed to lose about 20 lbs. At my wits end, I ordered P90X hoping for a miracle. Though it wasn't easy, I lost 20 lbs & felt absolutely incredible.
During that time, I fell in love with fitness and learning about nutrition.I also fell in love with Beachbody Coaching- sharing my journey and support others who were taking their first {somewhat terrifying & overwhelming} steps towards healthier choices.

As a coach, it's my personal MISSION to lead by example. Practice what I preach. So in 2012 when I started experiencing symptoms like bloating, nausea, stomach pain, weight gain...it was not only frustrating... but I felt like I was dropping the ball and letting people down.

I didn't understand what was going on, but I felt like I needed to soldier through. To push my body harder, to DO MORE... but that was only serving to stress me out and make me feel even tired/rundown.

You can read more about my journey to find answers & my diagnosis here (http://bit.ly/HashimotoSymptoms). I was was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I think it took me at least two weeks to remember the name lol But it's an autoimmune condition where your body attacks your thyroid.

"You have to be GLUTEN FREE for the rest of your life" my doctor told me.

CONFUSION + DEVASTATION (and Karma right?! :P )

I went through what I call the 5 Stages of Gluten Grief:

---Denial - No way! This doesn't happen to me- I eat healthy foods! "Gluten Free" is a marketing ploy
---Anger & Overwhelm - This is bull crap and Gluten Free Foods suck butt. I don't even know where to start. This sucks.
---Rationalizing - What if I just eat ONE GF meal a day? What's the harm? It's less than I was eating before.
---Depression - My life is never going to be the same. Going out to eat is going to be awful- I'm just going to stay home forever.
--Acceptance - Ok, Im hungry. I better figure this out.

Which led me to the creation of a free gluten free group on FB. Instead of letting myself sink into a hole of pity, I decided to partner up with others going through the same thing. I became the MASTER of my Gluten Free Education- researching online, on Pinterest, and purchasing a bookcase worth of GF books.<-- a="" absolute="" best="" br="" but="" choice="" decided="" eat="" free="" going="" i="" luten="" made="" nutrition.="" rather="" rock="" t="" that="" the="" this.="" to="" was="" wasn="" would="">

While it has taken some time, I DECIDED (I made a choice) that I was going to ROCK this. I decided that I wasn't going to eat "Gluten Free" but rather, I would eat the absolute BEST nutrition.

What does that mean?
It means there are tons of GF options like cookies, pancakes, brownies... BUT just because they are GF, it does NOT mean they are good for you.
Do I expect you to make the same decisions or changes as me?
Absolutely not. BUT my hope is to inspire you, to encourage you, and lead the charge so you can make the BEST decisions for your health.

This is not just a group, this is an opportunity for ALL of us to BAND and become PROACTIVE about our health.
My hope is that you are not just along for the ride, but that you will share your tips, best practices and how the changes on your plate have impacted your health/mood/energy/etc...

I named my group The (Gluten) FREE Life because we are not focusing on what we have lost... but rather... what we are GAINING (improved health, energy, mood, etc).
Sure, we might not be able to dive in to the birthday cake with everyone, but that just means we have MORE time to socialize.
We might not be able to have the hotdog at the Baseball game, but we are saving our body from processed foods and chemicals.

Changing my diet has completely changed the way I view food and I believe I have a MUCH healthier outlook on it. I no longer feel like I'm 'jonesing' for some sugar. AND with 100% certainty, changing my food changes has helped HEAL mannyyy of my issues.

I look forward to getting to know you, swapping best practices and sharing how GF has changed your life!
xo
-Kati


PS don't be shy! If you're up for it, I would love for you to share your story/journey below!

If you would like to be a part of my group, you are welcome to join.

((INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTORS: You will be promptly removed for any salesy posts, poaching, or trying to use this group as a customer base. It is STRICTLY for all of us to support one another in this gluten free journey. Thank you for respecting my guidelines. ))

Join here --> http://bit.ly/KatisGlutenFreeLife
Find me on Facebook --> Kati Heifner

For more posts and resources, check out my other blog posts