The no gluten challenge is five consecutive days with no bread and no gluten — the obvious loaves and pizza crusts plus the hidden gluten in packaged foods. Gluten affects everyone differently: some people have real problems with it, some feel better without it, and some have no issue at all. Most people have never run a clean five-day test to find out which one they are. This week on Physical Friday, we all find out together, and I will be suffering right alongside you, because bread is my favorite thing on earth.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
The challenge is five consecutive days with no bread and no gluten. Bread and gluten usually go hand in hand, but gluten hides in plenty of other foods too, so the practical approach is to look for gluten-free options everywhere you eat for five days. You can start the day you hear the episode, run it through the weekend, or wait and do Monday through Friday. The point is five days in a row, long enough to feel whether your body runs better with it or without it.
Because gluten affects people very differently, and most people have never run a clean test on themselves. Some people have real problems with it, some feel noticeably better without it, and some have zero issue whatsoever. Five days without bread and gluten gives you a pretty good idea of which camp you are in, with real evidence instead of guesses. If you feel better, eat less of it going forward. If you feel no different, you have your answer and you can enjoy the pizza in peace.
I have a love-hate relationship with bread. It is honestly my favorite thing to eat — I would rather have bread than ice cream, and I love pizza crust, sandwiches, all of it. I also definitely gain weight when I am eating a lot of bread, and I notice that I feel better when I am off it. Depending on my goals, then, I either go off bread entirely or just dial it way back. This challenge is five days completely off, with all of us suffering together.
Skip the obvious stuff first: bread, sandwiches, pizza crust, anything built on wheat. Then check the less obvious sources, because gluten shows up in plenty of packaged foods, sauces, and sides. Ordering gluten-free at restaurants is easier than it has ever been, even if you feel like the difficult one at the table. My daughter does not do well with gluten, so our family constantly hunts for gluten-free options, and once you build the habit it stops feeling like a burden.
Then you apply Bruce Lee's rule that runs this whole summer series: absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own. Feeling better off gluten does not have to mean never eating bread again. It might mean eating less of it, saving it for the times it is worth it, or simply being aware that the sluggish feeling has a cause you can control. The five days buys you self-knowledge, and what you do with it is up to you.
The series started with fifteen minutes of meditation or three rounds of Wim Hof breathing for five days. Then came a gallon of water every day, then thirty minutes of exercise or a finisher added to every workout, then five days with no added sugar, and then my favorite: eight hours of sleep for five straight nights. That sleep week I felt awesome and noticed a real difference, so that one I am keeping. Every challenge is a five-day experiment, and you keep only what makes you better.
Here are the rules exactly as I laid them out:
I get into the gray areas and restaurant strategy in the episode.
I will say it plainly: bread is my favorite thing to eat. I would choose it over ice cream every time. I also know two things from experience — I gain weight when I am eating a lot of it, and I feel better when I am off it. That tension is exactly why this challenge is worth running. I tell the whole story, including how my family handles it with my daughter, in the episode, so press play in the player above.
So far we have done meditation, a gallon of water a day, added exercise, no sugar, and my favorite of the whole summer: eight hours of sleep for five straight nights. I kept the sleep one, because I felt awesome and noticed a real difference. Every week runs on the same Bruce Lee rule — absorb what is useful, discard what is not. I recap what listeners have kept and tossed in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Two quick things you should not miss this week. There is a huge Tackle Direct giveaway running with a Hawks Cay trip, fishing with Saltwater Experience, and gear from Yeti, Lowrance, Lithium Pros, and more. Mindset Monday is also rolling: a short motivational message I wrote myself, delivered by text every Monday morning. I explain how to get into both in the episode, so press play in the player above.
You will probably be miserable at the pizza table with me this week, and that is fine. We are all going through it together, and at the end you will know something about your own body that you have only ever guessed at.
Five days. No bread, no gluten. If it works, keep it. If it does not, the bread will still be there on day six. Press play in the player above for the full challenge.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
Bruce Lee · gluten · gluten-free eating · summer challenges · eight hours of sleep challenge · no sugar challenge · Wim Hof breathing · Tackle Direct · Hawks Cay · Saltwater Experience · Yeti · Lowrance · Lithium Pros · Mindset Monday
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset work I use to stay strong for a life outdoors, so fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen can keep doing what they love for as long as possible.
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