Gluten Free Beginner - Attitude

This is part of a beginner series. To see the others, click here.

You know you NEED to go gluten free.

Now you need to WANT to go gluten free.

Well, duh!! Of course you want to do that. Your doctor said you need to do that. You have Celiac disease. You want to get better. You want to stop having a purely hate relationship with the toilet. You want to stop being exhausted. You want to stop having terrible gut pain all the time.

When you actually start going gluten free, you think it'll be okay... for about 2 days. Then it starts to sink in, and it gets hard. And it's not getting any better. Maybe you could just have a bit, it won't hurt... will it?

If that's where you're at, this is going to be an impossible task. You'll cave, you'll cheat, you'll make excuses. And you'll find plenty of others who will tell you it's ok. That's called enabling by the way. And you'll stay sick, and will never get better. Your enabler friends and you can whine about being sick for the rest of your life.

Or...

You can decide that you're going to embrace this new life, this new way of living.

This is the way life has unfolded for you. It is what it is. Own it. Take all the anger and sadness, and all the negative feelings you have for this disease, and what you have to deal with, and turn them into positive emotions and actions.

• I can't eat bread! I WANT to try some of the gluten free paleo muffins I've heard about.
• I can't eat my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies! I WANT to try some of the healthy chocolate balls I've seen.
• I can't eat pasta! I WANT to try zoodles, and double up on the sauce, which is easy to make gluten free.
• I can't drink beer! I WANT to try some other spirits, lots are already gluten free.
• I can't eat pizza! I WANT to try the cauliflower crust I've heard people talk about.

The bottom line is that our attitude makes all the difference. If we truly want to do something, we'll do it. And you don't need to fully understand exactly how you'll do it, just that you WANT to do it. With the right attitude, learning will be enjoyable, adjusting our life will just be part of the process, new habits that we need to build will be looked upon with an open mind.

Having the right attitude through the steep learning curve when you're new to having to eat gluten free will make it go a lot easier in the long run. You'll run across things that may be more challenging, but if you work through it, you'll come out the other side much better. When you have the right attitude, more solutions and tools become open to you, and land in your lap - or on your plate :)

You'll feel better. You'll be able to return to doing things you haven't been able to do in a long time. Or even be able to do things you've never been able to do.

With the right attitude, you'll be opening up a whole new exciting life, full of rich experiences and big and small adventures.

Life is supposed to be enjoyed. With the right attitude, you'll be able to start enjoying life more, and building to an even better one!

This is part of a beginner series. To see the others, click here.

Here's an article and a couple videos to help you make the shift to WANTING to do this "gluten free thing."

Ten Positive Aspects of a Celiac Disease Diagnosis

The Secret to Self-Motivation - One of the Best Speeches Ever

Remember Your Dream - Motivational Video

Thora Toft