1. You actually have a diagnosis - Whether it's celiac disease or a gluten intolerance, be happy that you actually know what you have! Most people go years or even most of their life without getting diagnosed. Be happy you know you have to avoid gluten and can avoid it to finally feel better.
2. You connect with amazing people you may not have met before - Without celiac disease, I would have never connected with so many amazing people through my blog. I would have never met my girlfriend or some of my best friends today. It opened a whole new community for me to be apart of that I would have never seen before! All of you reading this right now would have never heard of me or even read anything from me if it weren't for being gluten-free.
3. You feel overall better and healthier - After going gluten-free I never realized how drained I actually was before. My energy has been higher, I feel like I'm able to concentrate better, and my stomach feels overall better too! Getting glutened is still something that brings all that back but it still makes me realize how much better I feel off of it.
4. You start to try new foods you may not have tried before - Before I got diagnosed, I ate terrible, unhealthy foods that was destroying my body. Most of the things I ate were processed like pop-tarts, frozen meals, and pizza. None of it was real or had much flavor. But now I get to enjoy foods I would have never tried before! I'm very happy that celiac disease allowed me to discover all sorts of real food I enjoy now.
5. You can treat your illness with food - Celiac disease is the only disease that can actually be treated with diet. You don't need medication or a procedure to correct it. You can actually treat your disease with food. This includes gluten intolerance as well! No matter what your reason is for being gluten-free, be happy that all you have to do is change your diet to feel better.
Keep the #positiveceliac campaign on Twitter going! What's one thing that makes you happy about celiac disease?
What a great post and I agree with all of your positives! One thing that makes me happy about celiac disease is that it has changed my view on my body, food, health and writing. I wouldn't be writing a successful blog with celiac disease - it has impacted not only my present life, but my plans (to keep writing and keep up my blog!) in the future! I love hte #positiveceliac campaign and I started doing it on Instagram too! It's just too easy to be positive once you start! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://caseythecollegeceliac.blogspot.com/2014/04/gluten-free-and-dang-lucky.html
I love what you said about it being too easy to be positive once you start! That's so true and it's contagious too! Usually it makes others around you positive as well which is another reason why I started the campaign. Everyone just seems happier in general and it's a great feeling.
ReplyDeleteLovely attitude, Taylor. Thanks for keeping it up, keeping it simple, and keeping it positive and grateful!
ReplyDeleteCJ
tumblingglutenfree.blogspot.com
Although I don't have Celiac, but follow a GF/DF/EF diet to help cope with my stomach disorder, I can totally agree with all of these! Especially with numbers 3 and 4. Going GF had me had to start cooking my own meals, and now it's one of my greatest passions. I also used to HATE salads, squash, raisins, tomato, and seafood. After I cut gluten, I started loving all of these foods for some odd reason. It's a weird phenomena, but hey, I like it!
ReplyDeleteGreat positive attitude. I feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteThank you all!
ReplyDelete