Hello Gluten-free friends, athletes and all bloggers! I’m excited to meet you in my first blog of the New Year and share my own training, nutritional, and health tips and ideas with you. I welcome your feedback and hope to hear from you as well.

Since this is my first blog, I’ll give you a bit about me and my story. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in the spring of 2011 after a long self-research driven quest for answers. I happened to present with many of the all too familiar, but largely unrecognized, atypical signs and symptoms such reproductive issues, extreme fatigue, constipation versus the classic diarrhea, and dental erosion issues as well. I was training for a big Pro natural bodybuilding show in May 2011 just prior to being diagnosed, and this forced me to change my nutrition plan mid-way through my show prep. Ordinarily, many bodybuilders by nature don’t eat starchy wheat/gluten foods on a regular basis, especially when getting ready for a show, but I had a huge task ahead of me to identify all the hidden sources of wheat and gluten in everything from seasonings, gum and mints to flavored coffee and vegetable broth in chicken and turkey breasts! The list was long and somewhat daunting at first. I had some trouble initially adjusting to the differing glycemic index of the gluten-free carbs, but will happily continue to share with you the lessons I’ve learned in the last year.

I want to start the year off by sharing my own show prep with you as we blog along; I plan to compete in the Richmond, VA pro show again in May 2012 and will be sharing my training, health updates, and all things gluten-free along the way! I’m looking forward to an exciting year of training as a gluten-free athlete.

Health Tip: For many of us with celiac disease, we need to supplement with good quality allergen-free vitamins and trace minerals. Make sure you are choosing companies with clearly stated allergy info, as several brands do a great job of identifying this. If not…I have emailed numerous companies and will be sharing that along the way as well.

In Health,

Susan C. Maloney, PhD, FNP-BC

NFCA Athlete for Awareness