Wheat Belly is a book that, basically, hates wheat. Written by Dr William Davis, it uses hard science to back up it's claims that wheat is bad for you for a variety of different reasons - weight gain being the biggest. Shockingly whole grains are included in this. Although we are told that whole grains are a healthier option, whole wheat bread, for example, has a higher glycemic index than table sugar...
Wheat causes a larger spike in blood sugar than almost any other food, including chocolate bars, ice cream and sweets! It causes an insulin response so strong that it causes fat to form specifically in your liver, kidneys, pancreas and intestines, causing your belly to become engorged with fat. Sadly weight gain and general weight issues aren't the only thing caused by eating wheat. According to Wheat Belly, wheat can cause mental sluggishness, multiple skin disorders, high cholesterol and diabetes to name but a few. Now I am only scratching the surface, however if you want to find out more about the problems with wheat, watch the below...
So, as you've probably guessed, the Wheat Belly diet is all about cutting out wheat from your life. You have to eliminate all wheat, including bread, pasta, cereal, crackers and waffles etc. Now although this diet sounds like your average gluten-free diet, it isn't. Davis stresses that you shouldn't replace wheat based foods with gluten-free alternatives, as they usually contain either cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch or tapioca starch, which do not aid in weight loss.
So for the next month I will be completely removing wheat from my diet and replacing it with unlimited amounts of meat, vegetables, fish, cheese and raw nuts and seeds. I can eat non-cheese dairy, fruit, starchy vegetables and non-wheat, non-gluten grains, however only in limited qualities. To see a full list of what can and cannot be eaten on the Wheat Belly diet, click here.
I will keep y'all updated on my Wheat Belly journey each week. In the meantime, please pray for me....cause I'm going to need it!