Dairy-Free and Lately

oh hey! happy friday everyone! It’s been a crazy yet ridiculously amazing week and I’m feeling super excited about things that are happening in the near future with my fitness career.

Some favorites from this week:

 

kayaking with the boy on my grandparent’s lake in Westchester. Kayaking might be my new favorite summer activity– you don’t really get wet, you paddle really hard for about 2 minutes, and then you get to sit back and relax in the boat. So, if you have access to a lake or a similar waterbody, you can try kayaking for fun. You may not need to buy a brand new kayak, instead you can browse on local classifieds and you might be able to discover used hobie kayak that you can get at a much cheaper price. That said, now you can have an idea for your summer fun activity.

dinner at South Street Seaport. A must-do for all Manhattanites this summer

enjoying chips and iced tea with one of my closest friends on a NYC roof top while the sun sets.

 

perfectly cool and refreshing Van Leewan’s vegan ice cream after a sweaty sweaty 305 class

 

a butt kicking [and free!] Uplifting Cardio class. Those burpees definitely did challenge me.

Definitely a lovely first week of summer!

 

I realized I talk about my sort of dairy-free life frequently and wanted to talk a bit about why I decided to cut wayyyy back on my dairy consumptions.

When I came home from college for winter break of my senior year (about a year and a half ago) I was having frequent stomach aches and felt that my body was having digesting issues. It made no sense to me- I was eating healthier than ever, going to the gym 6 days a week and sleeping well yet my stomach was always hurting and making horrendous noises. I went to the doctor and got a blood test for celiac / gluten intolerance which came out negative. I was grateful since there is nothing in the world I love more than bread, but also annoyed because I wanted an answer to my mysterious stomach pains.

Spring semester came and went and I still didn’t have any answers to why my stomach hurt all the time. Eventually I came across articles on lactose intolerance and lactose sensitivity and the light bulb went off. Kayla, your stomach used to hurt after having chocolate milk or hot cocoa as a child. Kayla, you always have this “guilty stomach pain” after you eat Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, maybe thats actually an allergy and not ice cream guilt.

One of the most eye opening things to me was finding out that dairy might be linked to anxiety. Anxiety has always played a prominent role in my life whether I want it to or not. I’m not saying that dairy caused all my anxiety issues, but the fact that the two are linked is really interested. I decided why not go dairy free, or at least relatively dairy-free.

In the beginning I sought out replica foods like fake cheeses galore. While I think it’s great that there are alternatives for people who are lactose intolerant/ sensitive and vegan, I soon learned that I was better off rethinking the way I ate instead of adding in fake versions of my old favorites. It has forced me to become a more adventurous eater– I used to just order pizza at almost any restaurant that offered it because it was easy, now I’ll opt for something else. Going dairy-free has also taught me to thoroughly read the labels while food shopping. I want to know what’s in the food I am buying to make sure there’s no dairy (you’d be surprised how many brands of bread of dairy in them) and also to make sure it’s a healthy choice.

To be honest I have yet to be tested for lactose intolerance, while I am curious I don’t think it will change my current decision to avoid dairy. I personally feel lighter and less bloated while I’m eating dairy free and have experienced far less stomach aches and pains.

I am not perfect with my dairy-free eating habits and roughly once every other week I will pop a lactaid so I can enjoy some mouth watering chicken korma with the boy with less discomfort, but overall I’m so happy I found out a culprit for the belly problems.

anyone else have experience with lactose intolerance / sensitivity?