I read the book (Wheat Belly) and it was a great revelation to me. I am definitely wheat sensitive as well as sugar sensitive. The "healthy" whole wheat toast I was having every morning was causing all sorts of extreme mid morning cravings. It was in the journal, but I didn't recognize it since whole wheat is "healthy" - I never suspected it could be a problem. Within 48 hours of quitting all wheat, things were just so much easier. I am still sugar sensitive, but the intensity of the cravings and the emotional side effects have all just faded down to a mild issue rather than the life dominating obsession they were previously. I recommend anyone struggling with the steps consider a trial elimination of wheat from their diet too.

There's a lot of good science in Wheat Belly, but in the end, Dr. Davis generalizes the problems related to wheat to all grains, and basically promotes low carb eating. I don't think you have to accept that conclusion while acknowledging the possible detrimental effects of wheat for some people.

: Hello all -

: I need some support today.

: I've been working on the Steps for
: about two months now. I've gotten
: a lot out of the breakfast step,
: and I'm easing my way into
: journaling with the Step Two
: class. Two days ago I just had the
: greatest feeling of connection
: with my body while following my
: ups and downs through the day in
: the journal. I was trying columns,
: which forced me to think about
: physical and emotional feelings. i
: finally had let go of the constant
: judging of what I was writing. I
: was just observing, and it allowed
: me to feel connected to my body in
: a way that was new and really
: neat. Yesterday I had a weird food
: day and it was harder to stay
: connected but I just kept on
: journaling.

: Then today I got myself into a bit of
: a panic. You see, I had requested
: several books on nutrition from
: the library months ago. One of
: them was Potatoes not Prozac. That
: arrived first and led to me
: joining this community.

: Another one was a current bestseller
: exploring a theory about wheat as
: the culprit in America's obesity
: problem. Well, that book on tape
: finally arrived and I decided that
: I since I had waited so long for
: it I might as well listen to a bit
: of it on the way to work this
: morning.

: Mistake!!!!!!

: Before I knew it I was all wound up
: about what I've been eating, the
: weight gain I've had so far here
: on this program and lots of
: worrying about whether I should go
: back to the low carb approach that
: I had tried previously and decided
: I could no longer follow. Oh yes,
: and I started hyperventilating
: about the whole wheat bread I've
: been encouraging my 8 year old son
: to eat with his eggs for breakfast
: too. Yikes!!!!

: Did I mention that my work's been
: especially stressful this week and
: breakfast was late this morning
: too? Talk about a perfect
: storm!!!

: So here I am, dear forum. The wheat
: book is returning to the library
: ASAP. I'm re-focusing my efforts
: on learning these steps. Focus on
: the solution, not the problem,
: right? There are so many
: "brown" foods yet to
: try, and I get to make use of all
: of them.

: I can better learn about the
: influence of wheat - or any other
: food - on my body if I refocus on
: breakfast and after I've gone
: further into learning how to
: journal, how to get adequate
: protein at each meal, etc. There
: will be plenty of opportunity for
: fine tuning once i"m steady.
: And I need to get steady first to
: be in a place to help my kids.

: Whew!!! No more diet books for
: Gretchen!

: Good night all and take care

: -Gretchen