Health/Happiness

My Life Without Bread

I know what you’re thinking, “How could you give that up?!”

Erin King is the author of How To Be Wise AF: A 30-day journalling adventure to your inner Guru.

***I want to start this by saying there is nothing wrong with being any weight, in particular. There is a very wide range of what’s healthy. But for my build, and how I became that way, it was not good for me. I am only relating my own experiences, I’m not judging or shaming anyone else.***

“Without bread all is misery.”- William Cobbett

Three years ago, I was fifty years old, 192 lbs, exhausted, and irritable.

I had inflamed joints. I found it hard to get out of bed in the morning and my right hand morphed into a stiff, painful claw as I slept. I thought this was just something that happened as I got older and I know I’m not alone.

In fact, chronic inflammatory diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world.

I assumed I’d passed my expiry date, and I was resigned to it.

Lots of people seem to be prematurely aging and in looking back, I can see how I got there.

When I was young, I could eat and drink anything I wanted and always look and feel about the same. My weight was pretty consistent until my thirties when I had an operation.

I had one of my ovaries removed, and my hormones went crazy. I went through pre-menopause and gained weight in weird places.

Suddenly I was 33 with the body shape of a 60-year-old. I gained 20 lbs in six weeks.

At 39, I had my daughter, and in the ten years that followed, I put on 40 more pounds.

As I got older I still ate and drank like a 20-year-old. I treated myself to daily doses of chocolate and other sweets. I was very “European” as I drank a few glasses of wine every night with dinner and relaxing with a cocktail at the end of a long day felt like a right of passage that I deserved. I craved sugar and loved bread and thought nothing of it.

But somewhere along the way, my body started rebelling.

Alcohol began to give me horrible gut rot, hot flashes, and panic attacks in the middle of the night. It was no longer enjoyable.

So I stopped drinking.

When I stopped drinking, I felt a bit better. But it wasn’t as earth-shattering as I’d hoped. I expected to lose loads of weight straight away and feel fabulous. In truth, I only lost about 5 lbs over six months, and I felt about the same.

It wasn’t until I changed some other habits that I began to see and feel a difference. I took two things out of my diet, and my life changed.

I cut out sugar and flour.

I didn’t replace the sugar with chemical sweeteners, I just stopped eating it and I stopped eating flour.

From that point on, everything changed and my life completely turned around.

The changes have been so profound, I feel like a completely different person. It makes me wonder if most of the modern problems that people suffer from aren’t caused by our diets. Mine certainly was.

For three years now, I’ve eaten like this, and here’s what’s happened:

I’ve lost weight.

In total, I’ve lost about 40 lbs. I could probably lose a little more, but even if I don’t, I’m still way better off than I was.

I’ve maintained it.

It’s been maintainable because, after a while, my cravings for these foods disappeared.

It’s the norm for me now. It’s not something I’m “sticking to,” it’s just how I eat.

My joints no longer hurt.

The joint of my right middle finger used to be enlarged. I thought it was the onset of arthritis. At night my right hand would stiffen into a painful claw that I’d have to work to loosen every morning. I couldn’t wear my wedding ring, not because my finger was too fat, but because it wouldn’t go over my knuckle.

I also had pain in my shoulders that made taking a sweater off over my head difficult and my knees ached, just walking up the stairs.

I took Advil daily, to combat the pain.

All of that pain and inflammation has disappeared and only returns when I eat sugar.

I can run up the stairs.

Now I can easily pop up and down the stairs instead of lumbering, huffing, and puffing. Which is great considering that I make my living running after toddlers.

My mood swings have disappeared.

I used to get quite irritated over small things.

Now my moods are stable. I’m more easygoing. I am calmer and more approachable. I’m sure everyone is thankful for that.

I look healthier and younger and I’m starting to like the way I look for the first time in my life.

In the last three years, since I’ve become genuinely healthier, I’ve finally begun to like the way I look. I’m not perfect, but when I look in the mirror, I like what I see.

I feel like I’m 35-years-old.

I definitely don’t feel “my age.”

When I think about how old I am, from the inside out, I feel about the same as I did when I was 35. Possibly better, because I had an undiagnosed heart condition and I was always fatigued back then.

I have mental energy.

I have the mental energy to get everything done in my day. I can concentrate better, remember things easier and I don’t need a nap every afternoon.

So how did this all happen?

Things began changing when I started a system created for food addicts.

I read the book, Bright Line Eating, by Susan Pierce Thompson.

The book teaches you the science behind what blocks you from losing weight and explains how the food plan is designed to heal the brain so it can permanently recover from food addiction.

This has been the most significant health improvement in my life, second only to my open heart surgery.

Now instead of dreading getting older, I’m looking forward to the future.

The only times I feel old and sick again are when I choose to eat “off-plan.”

If I decide to have a piece of cake or some chocolate or a couple of cocktails the old symptoms will flare back up. If I eat my burger with a bun and then have dessert or if I go all in and have some combination of all three (sugar, alcohol, and flour) in one night or a couple of days in a row. I wake up feeling about 20-years older, bloated, cranky, and with all of the old familiar aches and pains.

If I stray, it usually takes me a couple of days of good eating to feel back to normal. The good thing is, I know what to expect and I know how to move past it.

But, please don’t think I’m saying I’m perfect.

I’ve strayed during COVID. I’m not great when it comes to exercise and things like chips are technically not flour or sugar, so there's that.

During the lockdown, I’ve indulged a bit more than I probably should have and I’ve gained a bit of weight, so I’m definitely not perfect and I never will be. But having a set plan to go back to gets me right back on track.

This has put me in control of my health and made me feel so much better. In writing this, I’m hoping that anyone who's feeling unhealthy right now might benefit from my experience.

Here is a piece by JJ Lim in Illumination if you want to explore the medical side of inflammation. It’s a great article, easy to read and understand.

I know for most people, the thought of giving up these much-loved staples seems impossible. I felt the same way. But now that I’ve been off them for a few years, I don’t miss them at all.

I don’t crave them anymore and I no longer enjoy them like I used to because my tastes have changed. I find healthy food more enjoyable now.

So if you have issues with any of the things I’ve mentioned, (inflammation, mood swings, tiredness, or general ill health), have a think about what you eat.

If you’re really at your wit’s end and need a change, you might want to try giving the book Bright Line Eating a read. It’s interesting, informative, full of facts and science, and a plan that works.

I never thought I could envision a life without bread or cake, but for me, the benefits of health and happiness have far outweighed any negatives.

Will I eat cake again? Probably.

I might even have a bun with my burger now and again if I feel like it, and I’m sure I’ll eat lasagna at least once more in my life. But now those are the rare exceptions instead of the rule, and I’m much better off because of it.

Health is the greatest of all possessions; a pale cobbler is better than a sick king. -Isaac Bickerstaff

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