Ok so when I first started this lifestyle change (maybe overhaul is a better description?) one of my many areas for improvement was flexibility. Up until recently, I never ranked flexibility high on the list of health concerns. As far as my old self was concerned you can count yourself fit if you're strong enough to lift your grocery bags and thin enough to wear single digit sizes.

Anyway, in addition to strength, and weight, and inches, and attitude, you've got flexibility. The "can you touch your toes?" stuff. The "hold the yoga pose for more than 1/100th of a second" stuff. I maybe ignored flexibility as it relates to fitness because, well, I sucked at it. Really sucked.

So one way to measure flexibility is to sit on the floor, legs flat, and measure how far out (in inches) you can reach past your heals. You're supposed to use a measuring tape and put the base of your heals at the 15" inch mark (I think...). Anyway, I had a trainer do this little exercise with me about 6 weeks ago. After I touched the 15" mark, my trainer enthusiastically said, "You're at the very TOP of below average." For a moment I thought I'd won an award or something.

Below average. Great. Another deficiency. Now, in addition to miles walked and sit ups completed I've got to track minutes stretched? Stretching? Really? Yep. Stretching.

I gotta tell you, though, that stretching, as part of a fitness routine, makes the same kind of impression as calling bowlers athletes.

Here, now, is the good news: as of today I reached two inches further. And 17" is (at the bottom of) ABOVE average.

Progress. Finally.

Gluten Free doesn't just mean: no wheat. (In case you thought that... Which I did...)
Nope, not just no wheat. No rye. No barley. No spelt. (I don't really know too much about spelt, except that I can't have it.)

Here's how that went... I stopped eating any and all wheat products (plus all these other ones) for about 5 weeks. I honestly couldn't say that I felt a big difference. Then I get it in my head that I'd just have me a bowl-o-pasta. Not an ordinary size bowl, mind you. A BIG bowl. Linguini with olive oil and garlic and a touch of butter. Well, the next morning I had the worst hang-over ever. Worse than the time I had a tequila drinking contest with two guys. Worse than the time I got obliterated consuming multiple shots of every liquor and liqueur out there... I mean, this was horrible. I ached, my head pounded, my eyes were swollen. That was all of the convincing I will ever need to realize that avoiding gluten makes a gi-nor-mous difference.

I stopped having corn-based products too. And found out after a hormone test (as in you spit in a little vial throughout the day and overnight express mail it to the lab) that I need to avoid taking in so much soy. This was surprising. I'm the one at Sushi always ordering the edamame. I'm the one at Peet's coffee ordering the soy latte. I'm the one--well, you get the picture. Anyway, turns out that soy wreaks havoc on our hormones. So, out goes that...

Plus I cut back on coffee and tea and, well, caffeine. You will have to ask all those around me how that went. I mean, I had a headache for a couple of days--but I'm sure that was not the only ramification of my stopping caffeine.

There's more... no carbonated beverages, no corn (or corn anything), no sugar.

Truly. I'm embracing optimal wellness. Today I'm sharing about the nutrition. Next I'll share about the exercise and other efforts.

So all of this change--this big shift--what has it meant for my weight? Well that is a tricky one. I've been exercising a lot and my actual weight hasn't changed much at all. I have reduced my body fat %, though, and, also, lost an inch here and there. I assume the pounds will start kicking in pretty soon. No matter what, though, I FEEL a lot better. Hope all of you keeping up with all of us consider the benefits of getting fit, too. I think it is worth it.