My entire life I have struggled with body fat, UNTIL LATELY. It's strange because I have always worked out a lot and been athletic, yet my body fat could not go down. I recently found out exactly why it could not. This is my journey that has led me to be gluten-free.

I was a pretty hefty baby. I don't know my exact weight or anything, but looking at pictures, I had a lot of baby fat. Once I began walking, I slimmed down... until about the 1st grade. I began eating a lot; and I wasn't just eating a lot, I was eating food that was horrible for my body as well. All I remember is going to In-N-Out, McDonald's, Burger King, or some other fast food restaurant, at most, three times a week. In addition, I would get the biggest and unhealthiest things when I went: Big Mac, Double Double Burger Animal Style, large fries (Super Size for McDonald's at the time), and let's not even mention all of the Hot Cheetos and other snacks I would eat. My stomach would constantly hurt as a child from all of this sh*tty food I was eating. I remember one time at recess my mom packed me a Famous Star from Carl's Jr. and I ate it as my stomach growled with pain.

Now before I go on, lets get one thing straight: I was never fat to the point that I couldn't walk. I played basketball since I was in kindergarten and have always been an athletic kid (as I mentioned before). Youth basketball definitely requires conditioning, but only so much. I was in shape to an extent, but I was still very much overweight. Here's a picture of me in my prime below. As you can see, I was overweight, but not extremely fat.

So anyway, in the 4th grade I started playing football and it made me lose a lot of body fat and weight. I was still chubby and hefty, but I was not as fat. Conditioning at practice was still very hard, though, because I continued to ear horribly. Me eating horribly is also why I remained chubby even though conditioned a lot in football.

When high school came, I was in very good shape and not chubby at all. I didn't eat as bad, but I still knew nothing about nutrition. I just assumed that fast food and soda was bad. I still ate hot cheetos, though. Sophomore through the beginning of Senior year, I bulked heavily for football. I went from weighing 160 lbs to 205 lbs and I was about the same height. I definitely gained muscle, but I had gained back body fat! It definitely was not as much as when I was a kid, but it was very noticeable. I had learned a bit about nutrition from my coach, but it wasn't. He just told us how to bulk while remaining fit, which includes eating all meals at a ratio of about 4 grams protein: 3 grams carbs: 1.5 grams fat. He did say that fast-food and junk food snacks are bad, but he didn't get into which carbs were "bad" and which were "good", complex/simple carbs, how frying food is bad vs baking it, or any of the specifics that affect body fat of a person who doesn't have a fast metabolism (like me). Due to this, I only followed his protein:carbs:fat regimen without paying attention to anything else. He even told us McChickens/McDoubles from McDonald's were fine as long as we removed one of the buns! Fast forward to college and it was the same thing: I was buff and in shape, yet had quite a bit of body fat.

My reduction of body fat all started spring break my Sophomore year. I visited this Cafe by my house in California when I was back home and started talking to this ex-body builder who owned the place. He told me I was pretty buff for my age. I told him that I wanted to stay buff, but I had a problem reducing my body fat. I mentioned that I work out harder than anybody I know, yet I can't get rid of this body fat. I even told him that I eat a good amount carbs and protein. He told me an extreme to cut my body fat: only eat protein (meat, poultry, fish, etc), vegetables, and fruit. I listened because I was desperate to lose body fat at that point. From spring break through the middle of summer, I was strict about that diet and I had lost at least 20% body fat (I don't know the exact amount). Here's a transformation picture.

Crazy, right. It's almost like I was jet-puffed like a marshmallow on the left image (keep me being "puffed-up" in mind through the end of this story).

I was so proud of this weight loss and I was going to continue my diet... until I took an intro to nutrition course my second semester of my junior year of college; so literally last semester. We were told to track our diet and it turned out I was eating like 23% of my daily recommended amount of carbs that I should be eating for my weight and the amount that I workout. I learned that you do need A LOT of carbs, or else you might go into Ketosis, which you do not want to go into. The trick is just to eat whole carbs. I learned the difference between regular carbs and whole carbs. Carbs like brown rice, whole grain bread, and quinoa are the types of carbs you should be eating. I also learned that chocolate milk was whole as well and is a great recovery drink. I added that knowledge to my diet during that semester, and it somewhat worked. I noticed, though, that when I ate whole grain bread and chocolate milk, I continued to get "puffy". It was weird too, because after I would eat these foods, it's like I would immediately get fat; my stomach would be bloated, my chest would have added fat, and even my face would seem chubbier. I just thought I had a slow metabolism. I had never even thought of the possibility of being gluten-sensitive; I didn't even know what gluten was. This immediate puffing would especially happen when I decided to eat a cheat meal like a cookie.

I didn't know why I got so fat after eating these foods, but I stopped eating and drinking them (chocolate milk) all together. I understood getting fat after eating a cheat meal like a cookie or brownie, but I even I thought getting fat IMMEDIATELY after eating it was a little weird.

Fast-forward to last week; my last week in my hometown for my summer break. A few friends and I were having a few drinks and talking at my best friend Brandon's house. I was basically telling this entire story that I'm writing right now to my friend Ryan. He suggested that maybe I'm gluten-sensitive. I immediately thought no. He told me maybe I am because me getting immediately fat after eating certain foods sounded very similar to what his friend's sister, who IS gluten-Sensitive, had to deal with. "Hmmmm" I thought.

The next day, I researched what symptoms being gluten sensitive includes. It said that there's a difference between gluten-sensitive and gluten-allergic; which made sense in my situation. I ended up taking a survey that tested if I was gluten sensitive or not. It asked me four questions that I answered, "Yes" to" Do you get bloated after eating certain wheat containing foods? Do you feel fatigued after eating these foods? Do you specifically crave sweets most of the time when you are craving a cheat meal? & Do you ever feel stomach pains between eating these foods? After taking the survey, it said that I am definitely gluten-sensitive. After this, I tested this theory. For the longest time I thought that the sugar in sweets and my slow metabolism is what bloated me, so I tried a gluten free dessert. I went to BJ's and got a gluten-free Pizookie. I checked my stomach and chest after, and guess what? NO BLOATING OR EXTRA BODY FAT. I WAS LITERALLY MIND-BLOWN AND AMAZED.

I now annoy all of my friends because I always mention that I'm gluten-free, but I love it. I'm still learning about what foods are good for me and how my body is, and it is a journey, but it feels great. Here's a picture of me with a broken foot being gluten free. You can see the changes!

So maybe you're gluten-sensitive! Check ASAP.