Remember when the idea of staying home sick seemed like so much fun in elementary school? Yeah, well, staying home as an adult in the real world is NO fun. First of all, you actually have to be sick in order to (legitimately) stay home, and then, if you are sick enough to stay home, you REALLY don’t feel well. And you don’t have a mom to bring you campbell’s chicken noodle soup, cinnamon sugar toast, popiscles, or whatever else your heart desires. It’s just you and the germs, hanging out alone. Today, I am home sick, most likely because of a wicked ear infection. I have had various flu-like symptoms for the last 9 days, and then yesterday, my ear started hurting like mad! It feels like it is full of fluid and it is driving me crazy. In an hour and a half, I’ll be at the doctor, and hopefully I will be relieved of this awful feeling. I might just leave early to go there because I can’t wait any longer.
Most likely, I got sick last week because I was eating all kinds of things I don’t normally eat while I was in NJ. I didn’t check for wheat in the ingredients, and fooled myself into thinking it was ok. Combine that with returning to DC while the seasons are changing, stress and anxiety surrounding the upcoming LSAT, and you get a big fat case of illness. This is yet another case of circumstantial evidence for me that my immune system falls apart in response to stress. I know from before that my wheat/gluten intolerance developed later in life (at age 20) as a result of stress and a weak immune system. Back then, I was put on a gluten-free diet, and my symptoms improved almost overnight. I learned that my body could not properly process the protein in wheat and consuming wheat products became a further stressor to my weakened immune system. Removing wheat from my diet, as well as controlling other stressors in my life, allowed my immune system to strengthen over time. Years after the initial gluten sensitivity diagnosis, my sensitivity lessened a bit, so that if I accidentally ate something with wheat in it, I was able to digest it fine. However, it had been awhile since I had the stress of a looming deadline or test in my life and I eased up on monitoring my food. Big mistake!
Now I know that it is tremendously important for me to maintain a wheat-free, possibly even gluten-free, diet in order to maintain my health. I do not want to get this sick again, simply because of something I ate. My response to wheat consumption can range from mild to severe adverse effects, depending on my stress levels. HOWEVER, since the wheat protein actually becomes a stressor to my body, even if I do not have any significant stress going on in my life, wheat consumption will still give me problems. So, it is time for me to re-educate myself about wheat intolerance, and reacquaint myself with a wheat-free diet. I do not know yet if I need to eliminate gluten as well, but it is off limits for now.
So, today’s gluten-free eats have included the following:
Breakfast:
Protein pancake – 3 egg whites plus 1/2 scoop Protein powder
Celery and carrots plus 1.5 T. Almond Butter
Coffee w/ skim
Lunch: 1 cup cottage cheese, lotsa broccoli with a little tomato, and a small handful of Puffins
Snack 1: 1/2 banana with a 1/2 T. Almond Butter
Alright, time to get my ear drained. YESSSS!