GLUTEN: Going, Going, Gone?

Sometimes I really get irritated with this wellness community. I mean, come on.....I haven't an issue with my bowels ever! Okay, if I was being honest, once in a while things didn't flow as easily as usual, but I haven't experienced the uncomfortable and very inconvenient issues that people with irritable bowel, Crohn's disease or other gastrointestinal disorders suffer from. So why in the world would I jump on the "go without gluten" bandwagon? Call it whimsy, wanting to join in with my friends who are transforming their diets, or just plain curiousity (yes, that is primarily it). So I'm IN. This registered dietitian, holistic practitioner is finally IN. I'm ready to say goodbye to gluten for 30 days.And you know what really helped me make this decision? I went gluten free for 4 days. I really didn't notice any difference. So I celebrated my successful attempt and began to indulge in our homemade waffles from scratch on Saturday morning. B-L-O-A-T! Big time. Hmmm.....probably just needed to get my gut bearings right? Let's try it again....pasta on Sunday followed by blueberry pancakes (whole grain, from scratch, good stuff, right?) on Tuesday and B-L-O-A-T! Big time. I've read enough to know that individuals without any gut issues can be gluten "sensitive" and a key indicator of that is going off gluten then back on it and see what happens. Bloating is a potential symptom that might lead us to conclude that someone has gluten sensitivity. Could that be me? Since I am still pining for the pizza and already shedding tears at the thought of giving up white crusty French rolls at one of my favorite restaurants, I thought I needed to do this right. So here goes. For the next 30 days, my gluten is going away. I'm posting to keep me accountable and because I know I can't be the only one who is curious about what giving up gluten can really do. If you follow along, you'll get the real scoop about how easy (or not) it is to go gluten free for 30 days. Hope you'll stick around! No pun intended.