Bonus!

When I went gluten free I was posting about how many options were out there now vs. when we went low carb doing Atkins years and years ago. A friend of mine who has two daughters with celiac replied that he was THRILLED that gluten free became a fad for long enough to do this. Because that's really what happened. A lot of people who didn't need to go gluten free did because somehow it was trendy to do so.

And I get it. When we went low carb it was on the early edges of the low carb trend and the reason why it took off was because it worked. Both of us lost a lot of weight. And quickly. Of course as soon as I got bored eating like that we gained it all back, as is the way of the trendy diet. But a lot of people seeing other people losing weight makes it seem like a good idea to try it yourself.

Then the gluten intolerance movement took off. You aren't really a celiac but you feel better if you aren't eating gluten. And I think a lot of people in this group are absolutely right, they are gluten intolerant, and a lot of people in this group did it because it was the trendy thing to do. Want to know who is who? Who is still doing it.

I don't have celiac disease, but if I eat too much gluten for too long of a time it does a number on my digestive system then my joints. So I still limit my gluten intake. Basically I do the pain vs. pleasure balance. How much can I eat that gives me pleasure in my food without it turning into pain? And that's a moving target. When we were on vacation I ate a little gluten every day. I paid for it the week we got home, but I wanted to eat what I wanted without thinking about it.

So now I'm the one taking advantage of a different healthy trend. GLP-1s. People who are taking the shots (or pills as well now) have a hard time eating enough to get enough protein in their diet. So we are seeing a huge surge of High Protein! Extra Protein! Protein Added! products. Which is great for me! I always struggle to get enough protein. Part of that is that I don't eat chicken. Chicken is the low calorie, low fat, high protein easy out. I used to add a chicken breast or thigh to a lot of different recipes and boost that protein level. Now? I add protein powder to my smoothies and try to get protein in other ways.

But I still end up short most days on the amount of protein I should probably be taking in considering my weight and workout routine.

Enter the NOW WITH EXTRA PROTEIN! products. This week I'm trying out Core Power by Fa!rlife. It's 4.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of added sugar, 170 calories and 26 grams of protein. Not too shabby. Right now I should be getting between 92 and 125 grams of protein a day, looking at what I'm going to eat today the shake put me at 90. Which, yes, technically that's still under my low end, but not nearly as under as I have been. So maybe a fistful of almonds later to bump it up and call it a win. But honestly I'm already calling it a win.

So I'm really glad everyone is doing the extra protein craze right now. Thanks for doing me a solid, folks, I appreciate it.

But don't, like abandon gluten free okay?