Can I just say again how thankful I am for the work of Dr. D'Adamo... I tried lots of other diets and none of them worked for me. I tried low-calorie, low-fat, vegetarian (yikes!), I ate what I heard from everyone was supposed to be good for me. Atkin's may have helped me lose weight, I found this before Atkin's, but it wouldn't have helped my health like BTD has in so many ways. With the cheese though, I'm not sure it would have even helped me that much with weight, as dairy seems to make it harder for me to lose weight. And I couldn't have gone off wheat just to lose weight, it was the promise of other benefits that I'd read about in Dr. D'Adamo's book, and Dr. Bland's Genetic Nutritioneering...those two books were what convinced me to eliminate wheat. I had a lot of back pain and joint pain back then, without any real explanation for it, along with a bunch of other weird symptoms and syndromes, and that is what motivated me. I was taking at least five prescriptions in my early twenties, and felt lousy. I felt immediate improvment once I finally cut wheat completely out of my diet.

The promise of less pain got me on the program. The emotional benefits kept me with the program. The digestive consequences scared me away from cheating on the program. The weight loss was a happy side-effect.

But wheat-free is not quite enough for me to lose weight, corn-free and dairy free are the other two important factors. The whole diet which on the surface looks like a complicated list of do's and don'ts ultimately combines into one big picture...it all just resonates with my cells and turns what was once an unfortunate combination of genetics and environment into who I should be. "I believe fate smiled on destiny" - Natalie Merchant

Who needs new genes when you can buy new jeans?

I'm happy to be shopping for clothes a little more lately. I still have some high school clothes, and I've been able to start wearing some of them, but it was time to update things a bit. I've always liked more classic styles, so my clothes never really go out of style, but seriously it was time for an update.

I love wearing my new jeans, and just got another outfit and a dress that I ordered online. I ordered them small, but they fit well already and will continue to fit as I lose more weight (heaven knows I have plenty of big clothes, though they are all getting worn out). It does a lot for a girl to get some new clothes, even a girl like me who has never enjoyed shopping. I now do most of my shopping online, as shopping with a toddler is nearly impossible for me. It takes a few tries to figure out the sizing and what brands work for my shape, but it's worth it for all the sales and clearance items I can find without having to scour a mall.