Type O Eating: An Update

I know you're all on the edge of your seats. What's her progress? Where's she at? Did she stick with it? These are the questions on the minds of all (read: both) of my readers.

As a quick recap... I went gluten-free on the advice of my passionate new-age mother-in-law who insists that eating for your blood type will shed pounds you've had since birth.

So what have I learned so far?

Gluten free hasn't been too difficult so far overall, only because our kitchen is 80% gluten-free already. I switched my milk and my bread and went from Lean Cuisine's to Amy's frozen dinners and that's been about it for changes. There's a wealth of information out there, especially at http://www.glutenfreeforum.com/ and http://www.food4celiacs.com/.

There's a children's cereal with a koala on the box that tastes remarkably like Cocoa Krispies. Totally delish.

If I'm going gluten-free, I'm certainly not going to give up desserts on top of it. I've taken to putting my homemade allergen free brownies in every lunch, must to the disdain of my spouse who seems to think that the brownies belong exclusively to her even though she couldn't name two of their ingredients beyond "sugar" and "chocolate goodness".

Going out to eat when you're gluten free kinda sucks. We went to Saz's the other night and my menu options included shredded chicken with bbq sauce in a bowl, a plain baked potato, and steamed veggies. I live for buns, my version of potato consumption is a pile of seasoned french fries, and steamed veggies are not a part of my dietary repertoire. So I ordered my fair share of wine and muscled through the chicken (actually quite good) and baked potato (much better with butter, salt, pepper, and the aforementioned wine). I think people take for granted how easy it is to "grab a bite to eat", and even moreso the hundreds of menu selections they have to choose from.

If I continue gluten-free eating beyond the 30 days, we will have no money for frivolities such as new triathlon gear or rent. The gluten-free s*** is expensive, I'll tell you what.

So after six days of this experiment, do I have anything to show for it?

I lost a pound and a half. In that time I've barely exercised and reintroduced desserts to my daily consumption, and I've still lost weight. This is comparable to the weight loss rate I experienced at the peak of my triathlon training.

The experiment continues.