Do you look for opportunities to improve your mindset as well as the health of your body? Our physical, emotional, and mental well-being are intertwined, so any improvements we make in one area will benefit the other areas. Renewing our minds to develop healthier mindsets is a life-long journey. Learning about gluten and its effects was part of my journey to a better lifestyle. Read on to learn gluten-free secrets for a healthier mindset.
A few years ago, I discovered I needed to eliminate gluten from my diet. As I learned how to restructure my eating and cooking habits to accommodate a gluten-free diet, I began to see how the lessons I was learning about healthier eating led to a healthier mindset that could be applied to many other areas of life.
Here are three of the healthy mindset shifts I developed while learning how to eliminate gluten. These tips can help you develop a healthier outlook on your life, as well.
Healthy Mindset 1: Toxins sometimes look harmless
It took me years to figure out what was causing my symptoms because wheat had always been a normal part of my diet. Wheat isn’t a toxic plant, and I will not die from digesting gluten.
But just because it won’t kill me doesn’t mean it’s good for me. I suffered for years because I didn’t realize how gluten was harming me. Now that I know to avoid gluten, I feel much better.
In a similar fashion, there are other things in my life that look harmless but have a toxic effect on my mental, emotional, or physical well-being. For example, my husband used to be a fan of the Dilbert comic strip. Unfortunately, the humor hit too close to home. He realized the comic was fueling a cynical attitude about work that wasn’t healthy. The comic strip had become a toxic influence, so he decided to stop reading it.
What seemingly harmless toxins are lurking in your life? Are there specific shows, songs, or other activities that are slowly and subtly poisoning your attitude or body? Maybe it’s time to remove that toxin from your life.
Healthy Mindset 2: Focusing on what you’ve lost makes you miserable
Breads, cookies, and other baked goods are my favorite snacks. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that trying to substitute gluten-free flour for wheat flour in my favorite recipes led to disappointing results.
I knew enough about kitchen chemistry to understand that it was impossible to recreate the texture of crusty homemade bread without the gluten that gave the dough the elasticity to trap yeasty air bubbles. Other types of flour don’t have the same chemical make-up. That means they won’t behave or taste the same, no matter how much we wish they would.
This was a major bummer. However, instead of dwelling on the disappointing results from gluten-free baking, I chose to focus on what gluten-free items would bake well. I now have a growing repertoire of gluten-free recipes that taste delicious. I intentionally savor the new tastes and textures of treats like moist carrot cake or savory almond flour biscuits.
This mindset of embracing the new helps me with every change I face in life. Each change, big or small, means an end of some things and a beginning of others. So long as I expect the new phase to recreate the same results as the previous one, I will be disappointed.
We must open our hands and let go of what was in order to accept the new. Even when what we lost seems better than the new reality, we can still choose to make the best of it instead of brooding over what is no longer possible.
Where do you need a mindset shift to let go of what is past and be more content with your current life reality? Our focus affects what we notice. Choosing to focus on the good will help us see better things in our lives.
Healthy Mindset 3: Fifteen seconds of enjoyment isn’t worth two days of misery
When I started gluten-free living, I often yearned for the yummy treats I used to eat, like donuts from our family’s favorite bakery. Watching my husband and kids gobble delicious donuts was sometimes too much temptation, and I would eat one, too.
Nothing momentous would happen when I ate a donut, because my gluten intolerance was a delayed reaction. In my case there’s a lapse of 2-3 days between eating gluten and feeling lousy. That’s when I would begin to suffer the headache, fatigue, and other symptoms gluten produced in my body. That’s when I would regret my 15 seconds of impulsive enjoyment. If you need help determining if you have a gluten sensitivity, check out the book, Solving the Gluten Puzzle.
After this happened a few times, I learned to remember how much I hated gluten-induced misery, which helped me say no to temptation. Now, I’ve adopted this mindset to identify other things in my life that have a delayed effect like gluten does.
For example, sometimes I’m tempted to say yes to someone asking for volunteers, even when I’m already too busy. I sometimes choose the momentary relief of avoiding conflict at the cost of adding one more responsibility to an already stressed-out and overburdened schedule. I have come to see that saying yes out of guilt or to avoid conflict makes me feel miserable for days. First, I’ll feel miserable at myself for not saying no when I knew I should. Secondly, I’m unhappy because I either need to do what I promised or create a much bigger conflict when I fail to uphold it.
Are you on the lookout for delayed consequences to your daily choices? In what situations are you choosing short-term comfort or enjoyment while ignoring longer-term unpleasant consequences?
If you struggle to say no when you should, check out my free guide, 7 Strategies for Saying No.
Where can you use a better mindset?
How might your life be improved if you adopted these healthier mindsets? Which mindset will you begin practicing today?
About the Author
Lisa E. Betz is an engineer-turned-mystery-writer, entertaining speaker, and unconventional soul. She inspires others to become their best selves, living with authenticity, and purpose, and she infuses her novels with unconventional characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her Livia Aemilia Mysteries, set in first-century Rome, have won several awards, including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021). Visit her at lisaebetz.com.
Gluten intolerances can be debilitating, especially among those that have developed said intolerances later in life and aren’t able to consume certain foods as easily. Thanks for sharing this insight!