Wheat and Weight

"I love all the foods of christmas, the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy; the stollen (a sweet bread) on christmas morning, the cookies and pies throughout the holiday season. Unfortunately these foods do not like me. I find that potatoes and wheat disagree with me. I bloat like I am 9 months pregnant and this is not a pretty sight. My brother-in-law, Frank, a crusty 77 year old Italian, looked at me the other day and said, "you have a fat stomach!". Not something that makes you feel good, I assure you! As well as making me bloat and sick from heartburn and acid indigestion, potatoes and wheat make me gain weight.

As mentioned previously, I give a great deal of thought to my new years resolutions. I have decided that I could do with losing an additional 20 pounds. I also really don't like the way I feel when I eat wheat and potatoes. So my first official new years resolution is not to eat any wheat and potatoes for the month of January. This will give me some indication of my ability to actual follow through on such a plan, as well as how it will affect my health and my weight. If I manage to fullfill this goal for the month of January I will hopefully feel better and maybe just maybe lose a pound or two. If this works, I will then continue for the rest of the year.

At home, this resolution won't be too hard to follow. I have gradually been phasing out all wheat pasta products and going to rice and other grain pastas. They are equally as good tasting as the wheat ones and the kamut is even better tasting. I love lasagna made with kamut pasta. It is eating out, in restuarants and other people's homes that will be the problem. Have you ever actually looked at a restaurant menu and tried to find one meal that did not include either wheat or potatoes? It is almost impossible to find one, I assure you. Certainly all hamburger places are out and there is nothing I enjoy more after a Saturday morning of shopping than Wendy's bacon burger with french fries. Oh well, what we do for our health is more important than our taste buds, right?

As I am really trying to become the me I want to be, I figure my health and weight are a good place to start. If I can control what I eat and therefore feel better, I will be more inclined to do the other things I want to with my life. I will keep you all informed on how I do," I whisper.

Are you listening?