Let me tell you about the moment I decided to break up with gluten.

It was 4:22 AM.

The hour when normal people are sleeping… and midlife women are apparently conducting deep dermatology investigations in their subconscious.

I woke up with a start and the thought hit me like a lightning bolt:

It’s gluten.

Now let’s rewind for context.

For the past little while, my face had been doing this strange thing where tiny red spots were showing up all over my T-zone. Not pimples exactly. Just… angry little red freeloaders hanging out on my face for weeks.

Naturally I blamed:

• menopause
• hormones
• stress
• teenagers
• the universe

But at 4:22 AM, my brain decided to blame bread.

So I did what any calm, rational woman would do.

I declared:

Case closed. Investigation complete. (after consulting with my naturopath and accupuncturist, obviously 😛)

There was just one small problem. It was my youngest daughter's birthday.

And every single year she requests the exact same dinner:

Smoked salmon pasta and an epic birthday cake my oldest daughter usually makes.

So there I am…

Day one of my gluten-free life.

Staring down pasta. Staring down cake.

And saying to myself:

“Well Nat… this is either commitment or stupidity.” (probably both)

The first few days were simple.

Oatmeal. Eggs. Veggies. Soup. Chicken. Tuna. (my typical food)

Meanwhile I'm working at the cafe, surrounded by all the treats and that's where it got tricky.

Gluten everywhere.

The smell? Criminal!

And yet…

I kept going.

Not because I’m a hero. But because once I commit to something my brain goes:

First thing I noticed?

Energy.

Like wake-up-before-the-alarm, let’s-go-conquer-the-day energy.

Which is unusual because normally the alarm goes off and I briefly consider hitting someone.

Then I noticed something else.

My hunger had… calmed down.

You know that 3-4pm moment when you're picking up kids or sitting at your desk and suddenly you're starving enough to eat a sleeve of crackers and your eraser?

That was gone.

Meals filled me up. My blood sugar felt steady. I wasn't hunting snacks like our neighborhood raccoon on garbage night.

Let's talk about the jeans. You know the fresh-from-the-dryer-jeans I'm talking about.

The ones that normally require:

• a deep breath
• a motivational speech
• and sometimes a small prayer

They buttoned a little easier. Not dramatically. But enough that I stood there thinking: "huh!"

And then…

People started complimenting my hair.

My hair. In winter, when it spends 95% of its life trapped under a hat.

It was shinier, better behaved and apparently looked like I had just gotten it done.

Which raised an important scientific question:

Was gluten in charge of my hair this entire time? (the jury's still out)

By week 3, I realized this: I wasn’t missing anything. I wasn’t dreaming about croissants in the night. I wasn't craving anything specific.

Life just… kept happening.

I ate simple meals. Protein. Veggies. Real food. (thank goodness my Friday night chippies are GF)

And then day 30 arrived, and on the final night, my kids baked my favourite cake. (not to celebrate but because they wanted to bake and the Betty Crocker cake mix was in the cupboard)

The smell alone was intoxicating and I really had to question whether I was done with the experiment or not.

If I noticed these benefits in 30 days, what would happen at 60 or 90 days? (yes, that's the way my twisted mind works)

Back to the reason I started this experiment - my skin. It was marginally better but I knew it could still use some TLC in the food department.

And I realized that along the way, it was never really about gluten.

It was more about simplicity.

When we simplify food…When we balance meals…When we move our bodies regularly…When we create repeatable habits…

Our bodies respond.

Not overnight. Not with some crazy miracle transformation.

But steadily and quietly.

Your energy improves. Your hunger settles down. Your jeans (and apparently your hair) start behaving.

And it all feels easier. Which is exactly what health should feel like at all ages but in my 50's...I want easy!

Small doable habits that run in the background while you're living your life.

That’s the stuff that creates serious (and lasting) results.

If you want the full, gluten-free journey (what I ate, what I changed, what I didn't change), you can read the whole story over on the blog.​

But for now remember this:

Sometimes better health starts with a slightly unhinged decision at 4:22 AM.

Nat - your shiny haired gluten free (for now) experimenter

P.S. I documented the entire 30-day gluten-free experiment — what I ate, what changed, the weird things I didn’t expect.

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you simplified your food for 30 days, you can read the whole story here.