From Wheat-Addict to Reformed Wheat-Addict

6 Comments July 24, 2012 drworobec

I am a carb junkie. I love cereal and bagels for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and pasta for supper. My snack of choice is pretzels, a granola bar, or whole-grain anything. I have a weakness for fresh bread and any kind of ‘doughy’ dessert. Coming from a background of long-distance running, this is not entirely surprising, as I was always coached to carb-load to fuel my runs. Upon entering into the world of Crossfit a couple of years ago, I was introduced to the Paleo lifestyle- essentially a hunter/gatherer diet that focuses on protein, fat, and vegetables. Quite the shift from my carb-heavy nutrition. But I wasn’t quite sold, and continued along eating a ‘healthy’ diet, complete with mounds of carbohydrate, mostly in the form of wheat.

The Universe tapped me on the shoulder a second time when Wheat Belly became a NY Times Bestseller. The buzz surrounding this book was big and I was intrigued with the research angle. Written by a cardiologist, Wheat Belly points out many observations that I was noticing in myself: despite all the training I was doing, my body was holding onto abdominal fat, I felt the highs and lows of my blood sugar throughout the day, and I felt bloated a lot of the time. The wheels in my head were spinning as I ate my breakfast bagel.

The final push for me came through my baby girl. She is exclusively breastfed, and when she was six weeks old, I started to notice that she was developing an eczema-like rash on her feet and arms. Being a chiropractor who supports natural medicine, I decided to try eliminating wheat from my diet to see if I noticed a change in her- after all, wheat promotes inflammation in the body. I am not exaggerating when I say her eczema cleared up completely. Immediately. Within a day or two, her rash was gone. And another side-effect that I hadn’t anticipated was that her spit-ups also stopped completely. Immediately. She went from being a twice-a-day puker to never spitting up again. She is 19 weeks old now, and she has not spit up since the day I eliminated wheat when she was 6 weeks old. Pretty compelling evidence if you ask me.

As is the case many times as a parent, we will sacrifice for our children, but not for ourselves. My daughter was the incentive I needed to try a wheat-free diet and now we’re both reaping the benefits- no more bloat for me, no more mid-afternoon cravings and fatigue, and I’ve lost five pounds. Does this mean I’ll be wheat-free always and forever? Probably not. My mother-in-law’s homemade bread is too good to pass up from time to time, and I never say no to birthday cake, but for the most part a wheat-free lifestyle is the new me. My name is Ashley and I am a reformed wheat-addict.

Casey and I enjoying the beach!

Hey Moms, Look What your Body Can Do!

6 Comments June 19, 2012 drworobec

I saw this photo on Facebook last week and I can’t get it out of my head.

I have a 15-week old baby girl, and I marvel daily at the fact that my body was able to grow such a healthy baby (for 41 long weeks I might add!) and that my body is now able to feed her everything she needs. We weighed her yesterday, and she is now 14.5 lbs- 6 lbs heavier than her birthweight. That’s 6 lbs of hard work that my body has done to make enough milk for her to grow and thrive. And yet…..I am still critical of the body that I see in the mirror. I know that my body’s purpose right now is to nourish my daughter, but I often fight an internal battle with my vanity; sometimes I succeed in pushing the critical thoughts away and sometimes I fail.

Having a baby girl has opened my eyes to the world of negative body image amongst women, myself included. How can I teach my daughter that she is beautiful for who she is and not what she looks like? I can start by changing my own views on body image. I can start by celebrating all shapes and sizes. I can start by praising what her body can do, and not the way it looks while doing it.

One of the goals I had when I first set up this blog was to be uncensored, transparent, and honest, in the hopes that what I write will resonate with someone reading. My hope for this post in particular is that it speaks to other moms. Love your body for what it has allowed you to do. And ignore all that other stuff.

10 Lessons that Dads WILL Teach their Daughters

Leave a comment June 11, 2012 drworobec

I have spent the last few days reflecting on the profound impact my Dad has had on my life; these thoughts were spurred on by Father’s Day quickly approaching, and by the fact that my Dad is here this week visiting from Alberta. He has shaped the person I’ve become in innumerable ways, and many of these ways are quite unique to the Dad-Daughter bond. With my husband and I learning the ropes with our 3-month-old baby girl, I wanted to put my thoughts into words for him (my husband) and him (my Dad) to see.

To the ‘Dads-of-Daughters’ out there: here are ten of the life lessons that you will teach your daughters, whether you mean to or not…..

10. You will teach your daughter how to expect to be treated by the men in her life. Her boyfriends. Her husband. She will watch how you treat her mother, and that is what she will expect.

9. You will teach your daughter that she doesn’t need a man in her life, but she may want one.

8. You will teach your daughter that she’s smart when you praise her brains. You will teach your daughter that she’s pretty when you praise her beauty. You will teach your daughter that she’s funny when you praise her humour. So tell her she’s smart. Tell her she’s pretty. Tell her she’s funny.

7. You will teach your daughter how to throw a ball. And when you do, don’t teach her to ‘throw like a girl’. Play catch with your daughters. And teach them to ‘throw like a boy’.

6. You will teach your daugher that she is worth being listened to. Turn off the TV. Put down the newspaper. And listen to her.

5. You will teach your daughter that she is just as capable as your son. This will translate into her learning that she is just as capable as the men she will encounter in other avenues in her life, like her career. This is a big one.

4. You will teach your daughter that it’s okay to express her emotions; and that sometimes you need to be tough and sometimes you need to be soft.

3. You will teach your daughter to search for her passions. You will do this by exposing her to many different things to help her find these passions. This will serve her well in life, and help her to define who she is and what she values.

2. You will teach your daughter to be confident and to stand up for what she believes in. You will do this by being confident yourself and standing up for what you believe in.

1. You will teach your daughter that she is her own person and you are there to help guide her to become the best person she can be. And later, when she reflects on her Dad, she will be thankful for all that you’ve done.