I am coming up on my three month anniversary of going gluten-free, and oh man, has it been a rollercoaster. Like all committed relationships, sometimes we fight, I have never been happier, and I'm always right.

In all seriousness though, going gluten-free has not been the hardest thing ever nor has it made me feel like I'm missing out. I actually feel like I'm eating MORE than I was before because now my stomach is almost never upset. It's not always easy (donut temptation is real), but it is always worth it.

I LOVE cooking for myself. Grocery shopping, recipes, meal prep, it's all my absolute jam. I love working out and eating healthy, and I'm pretty hyper-aware of what goes into my body. If I can't pronounce it, I normally don't feel all that comfortable consuming it. I hate eating unhealthy foods that leave me feeling sluggish and bloated. Yuck.

Don't get me wrong though, I am all about going out for chips and queso for a special treat or downing a pint of ice cream when my emotions get the best of me, but all that is in moderation. My body is a machine and it's the only one I've got. I'm committed to giving it the best so it can give me the best.

As I entered the second semester of my sophomore year of college, I began to notice that it was a very large burden for me to get out of bed in the morning every day. And it wasn't "oh I'm a college student" tired it was "I can barely move my body and clear the cloudiness from my brain" tired. It was some next level tired.

I struggled all semester with pure exhaustion, dragging myself everywhere. I was trying to get as much sleep as possible, but even when I got a lot of rest on the weekends I was still feeling like a ton of bricks.

Then I read an article about the major signs of a gluten allergy. Number one was anxiety, number two was exhaustion. I was feeling very convicted by this article. Other side effects included digestive troubles, headaches, and joint pain, all of which came with my exhaustion. My body would ache (which I usually just brushed off as soreness from the gym) and every meal was a lot of work, I felt like I spent hours digesting and I dreaded eating dinner knowing how bloated and groggy I would feel afterward.

After I did a ton more research and read a bunch more articles, I decided to try going gluten-free to see if that would help me at all. I was willing to try almost anything at this point, I can only drink so much coffee for energy.

My results are amazing and I feel amazing. I wake up SO much easier in the mornings now, feeling way more ready for the day, I wake up feeling no bloating at all, and I rarely bloat after meals anymore (special shoutout to chips and queso for being my bloating partner for life though), and I don't feel like my digestion drags on like a teenage drama queen anymore.

I haven't had to give up any of the foods that I love thanks to gluten-free options and cool little substitutes. Mexican food is my favorite, and all I have to do is stick to corn tortillas and tortilla chips and I'm set! Gluten-free pasta, zoodles (zucchini noodles), veggie straws, gluten-free brownie mix, gluten-free pizza crust (they even make pizza crust out of cauliflower now), gluten-free Cheerios, gluten-free granola and granola bars, the list goes on and on. I haven't had to sacrifice anything.

(*side note: since I do not actually have celiac disease, I do rarely give in to gluten, especially when I don't have a choice. I would rather eat the meal available to me than unhealthily starve my body. And if you know me you know it's physically impossible for me to say no to pancakes, which I can get gluten free half the time. Obviously this is more serious if you have celiac disease.)

My tummy is as happy (and as slim) as it has ever been, and I feel way better now that I don't have the elastic texture of gluten sticking to my insides and slowing me down.

I'm not 100% sure I am allergic to gluten, but I am 100% sure that I am reaping the health benefits of a gluten-free diet.