I'm Such A Slow Learner!!

LoriLynn51

So, yesturday I wound up working a 12 hr shift, rather than my normal 10 hrs. I was absolutely pooped!!
I had also done some packing and moving of patient charts, which is not part of my normal job...so I was
doubly pooped! (I'm just not as young as I used to be)! Anyway, my husband suggested we order pizza
for dinner so I didn't have to cook. Bless his heart! DUMB< DUMB< DUMB idea on my part! I feel just
terrible today after having eaten that pizza! My stomach is so upset and I feel like I ate a 5lb salt block!
This is the 2nd time I've eaten pizza since being diagnosed w/celiac and gotten sick! Will I ever learn?!
Quick and easy sometimes means....quick to get sick and an easy fix...DON'T eat it!! So, tonight only
one of us will be having left-over pizza...and it won't be me! Salad, anyone? In the meantime, I'll
have my Tums and a Coca Cola to settle the old tummy...and please pass more water...I'm dying
of thirst!

pdworkman

So have you made a list of quick and easy things that you could eat instead?

- scrambled eggs
- stir fry
- canned soup
- pantry chili
- pancakes or waffles from the freezer
- premade salad

What are some of your favourites?

sweet110

Its really hard when you live with other people who do things like "suggest" ordering pizza. I can imagine its going to take some time for your family to adjust to your dietary restrictions...but they won't adjust until you do. So if they see you eating gluten sometimes, they won't take your needs seriously...not because they don't care, but because they will, inevitably, follow your lead.

What are your triggers? Is it moments like you described when you come home exhausted and need something ready to eat? Have some grab and go foods/ideas already written down that you can go to. They don't have to be fancy (and they don't always have to be super sensible. Even GF dieters occasionally want a splurge.). I keep corn tortillas in my freezer and always have pasta sauce. When I have a pizza craving, I make corn tortilla pizza. It certainly isn't something I'd make for guests! But it works. Because feeling like I can't have a "quick takeout pizza" is one of my triggers.

So figure out those moments when your resolve wavers, and keep a written list of what your plan of action will be during those times. Its not about will power, its about strategy.

dhencel

Get some gluten free pizza crusts... Then when your husband orders pizza, just take off the toppings and put them on your crust. Bake for a few minutes to bake crust and you are good to go.... I do this alot. Just becareful not to scrape off the crust when taking off the toppings... Udi's pizza crusts are very good. I only 1/2 of a crust.. That's enough.

gramanana

I knew growing up that I had an allergy to wheat, but ate it anyway. Then I saw an article in the AARP magazine about wheat allergies and gluten intolerance. What an eye-opening reminder. I'm not sure that I have a gluten intolerance, but I know that I'm allergic to wheat. My coughing has decreased dramatically since I've stopped eating breads and crackers containing wheat. It has been very difficult because I'm a bread lover. I've felt either depressed or deprived for a month. I'm getting a handle on it though and starting to feel that this is just another adventure in life.

Trader Joe's has a "rye-less" rye bread that tastes like the real thing. They also have gluten-free crunchy chocolate chip cookies that were pretty good. I've made one recipe from a cookbook by Elana Amsterdam that uses almond flour, but it tastes more like cake than flour. I'm doing my research and will stay healthy and lose weight at the same time.

pdworkman

It helps once you've been gluten-free for a while and have "go to" foods. Snacks, frozen meals, frozen pizza crusts, new favourite quickie recipes. You'll get into the groove, just give it time.

mooglysmom

Get some gluten free pizza crusts... Then when your husband orders pizza, just take off the toppings and put them on your crust. Bake for a few minutes to bake crust and you are good to go.... I do this alot. Just becareful not to scrape off the crust when taking off the toppings... Udi's pizza crusts are very good. I only 1/2 of a crust.. That's enough.

If you're diagnosed Celiac, please don't do this. Cross contamination risks are VERY real. You cannot just scrape the toppings off a pizza, its already contaminated with gluten.

Please, please read the risks for eating gluten containing foods if you are a diagnosed celiac. Your villi in your stomach will never heal if you continually 'fall off the wagon'. Your body will not heal. You put yourself at risk for illness. Even if you're not symptomatic, the gluten can STILL damage your system.

vabrewer33

After being diagnosed Celiactic (yeah, a group of us made that up lol) it took me several years to get into the groove of not cheating for ease and convenience. Soon you will learn to say no, it just takes time to get into the habit. Think long and hard about how that bite of pizza will make you feel before you do and it will make it easier to put it down and grab something else. Good luck!!!

gramanana

I have a wheat allergy and can't eat wheat, so eating pizza is out for me, too. We just bought a GF pizza crust mix to try for when my husband and I want pizza. Thank goodness he is being so supportive of this big change so late in life.

starr326

Get some gluten free pizza crusts... Then when your husband orders pizza, just take off the toppings and put them on your crust. Bake for a few minutes to bake crust and you are good to go.... I do this alot. Just becareful not to scrape off the crust when taking off the toppings... Udi's pizza crusts are very good. I only 1/2 of a crust.. That's enough.

If you're diagnosed Celiac, please don't do this. Cross contamination risks are VERY real. You cannot just scrape the toppings off a pizza, its already contaminated with gluten.

Please, please read the risks for eating gluten containing foods if you are a diagnosed celiac. Your villi in your stomach will never heal if you continually 'fall off the wagon'. Your body will not heal. You put yourself at risk for illness. Even if you're not symptomatic, the gluten can STILL damage your system.

starr326

Just thinking exactly the same myself

gemiwing

I agree- please don't share toppings! I don't even order food from places with wheat in the building- just makes me too sick. Those twenty minutes I didn't spend cooking aren't worth two hours later in the bathroom followed by weeks of feeling poorly

My personal 'I'm exhausted' go-to foods:
Tater tots
eggs
protein shakes with peanut butter and banana
peanut butter sammiches (gf bread natch)
'Snack Plate' (usually old wisconsin turkey bites, glutino pretzels and swiss cheese bites- sometimes an apple thrown in).

angng

I cheated again tonight. And now I'm home, suffering. I am so dumb sometimes.

My family is completely unsupportive: they're just not willing to learn what foods I'm allowed to eat. It gets really frustrating.

pdworkman

While it's frustrating, you have to be willing to take care of yourself. Assume when you go out that you won't be able to eat anything but what you bring. Cook for yourself at home. Don't make cheating an option.

Even my hubby, who is completely supportive, forgets that I can't have this or that, particularly when it's a moving target with new allergies. It takes people a *long* time to really "get it" and integrate your needs into their plans.

I cheated again tonight. And now I'm home, suffering. I am so dumb sometimes.

My family is completely unsupportive: they're just not willing to learn what foods I'm allowed to eat. It gets really frustrating.