Let me tell you about giving up wheat. I don't know if this is true for people who aren't gluten-sensitive/intolerant/celiac, but I've read that gliadin (one of the proteins that makes up gluten [yeah, it's complicated]) actually binds to the opiate receptors. So when you stop eating wheat, it's like going through opiate withdrawal. I remember that. It sucked.

How's it going?

t edit I guess I did literally go through opiate withdrawal after my back surgery, and giving up wheat wasn't NEAR as bad as that, but it really did have some similar I-am-a-junkie-kicking-the-habit *physical* effects.

I should give up wheat for lent. Or cheese. Or, you know, foods I enjoy. Or, maybe I should just have to eat a salad with every meal? Or kale. Maybe that should have been my lenten resolution -- kale 3 times a day.

Noah is now lying on my bed. If he falls asleep there, I will have to carry his ass to the top bunk. I feel like I'm making a bad choice.

So when you stop eating wheat, it's like going through opiate withdrawal. I remember that. It sucked.

Oh man, did it suck. I was so happy when I got to stop the ABX that were making me sensitive to gluten.

Yeah, I know. My trainer told me to do it when I wasn't around people because I was going to be a bitch for a while. And I was, the first time, and it was great afterwards, but I am weak when it comes to pasta and the first excuse I had (SO was touring) I hit it again. Totally like a junkie.

So I figured I'd try it again now, not as a fast for prayer purposes, but just abstaining as much as I could, and I could use it where whenever the cravings or whatever kicked in, I could use that as a devotional reminder.

Only I forgot about the angry. So I keep getting prompted to pray when I'm totally pissed off and God keeps getting an earful. Oops.

And I'm really sucking at doing it, too. First it was, well there's pizza and I have to eat it for hospitality reasons because everybody else is and I don't want to look like a holier than thou jerk. And then there was, well there's leftover orzo, and I need to finish that up for economic reasons. And today was all, hey, I'm about to faint from hunger, oh look, potstickers are fast in the microwave!

So. I'm already pissy AND I'm not getting the benefit of getting off it.

But I really think I need to, and if I'm successful, I'll be interested in seeing what my overall health looks like at Easter, and if it's a marked improvement, I'll try to stay off. I may be asking you lots of questions, Teppy, because it's kinda hard, yo.

Which reminds me, I need to take some advil for cramps, so I'd better go cook an egg, so I don't eat all the tortillas in the house pretending it's necessary for medical reasons.

So if you were out to dinner with someone who is from New Orleans and whose family is still in New Orleans (and you are aware of these facts), would it occur to you to say "New Orleans is dead. They just don't know it yet."?

Or would you think, hey, maybe that's a shitty thing to say?

Sigh. Husband's former boss who is probably helping him get a job, and is otherwise a nice guy, but seriously what the fuck was that.

The stupid bit is that there's waaay more wheat in the house than there is in general because I thought I was feeding the band more than I ended up having to. So I bought lots of stuff for them that I don't eat, and then they didn't eat it.

eta: Jeez o pete, Dana, that's horrible.

So I keep getting prompted to pray when I'm totally pissed off and God keeps getting an earful. Oops.

Yeah, but he can take it.

I may be asking you lots of questions, Teppy, because it's kinda hard, yo.

You ain't never lied. But it really does get so much easier. Seriously. It's almost second nature now (although, thanks to some random FB sidebar ad, I am craving steamed dumplings big time -- it's the random cravings for things with no readily available substitute that still kill me).

I'm gonna have to start with the big things first and work my way to identifying the tricky places it creeps in.

So maybe almond pancakes and bacon tomorrow? Because when is bacon ever the wrong answer? Don't answer that. Bacon is never the wrong answer.

Bacon is never the wrong answer.

Again, you ain't never lied.

Oof, Dana.

I'm not opposed to gluten and wouldn't avoid it except...when I eat oatmeal or anything breadier than flatbread and tortillas, my gut does scary airy things that hurt. Do not like. I love my bread and pasta. I gave up lotsapasta because salad was a better easy meal choice, but OMG, not thrilled that my digestive system has gone on boycott.