Elimination of Wheat

auntloli

I recently heard a discussion on the perils of eating wheat. As bread is one of my biggest issues/indulgences I was wondering if anyone else out there has tried to cut down on their consumption of wheat. Did you replace it with anything? Bread is often the item that makes me feel full weather in cereal or bread or pasta. Any thoughts?

Jeneba

As someone with a wheat sensitivity, I can't ingest wheat or I will get a migraine. If you don't have celiac or a food allergy, there is really no reason to deprive yourself. :flowerforyou:

itsjustdawn

I eliminated it (gluten) but I am not replacing it with anything. I don't need to.

taso42

nope

BrianSharpe

As someone with a wheat sensitivity, I can't ingest wheat or I will get a migraine. If you don't have celiac or a food allergy, there is really no reason to deprive yourself.

^^^ this

momtobe06

to me this seems like another fad... but I have friends who insist on the wheat belly book and say they feel better w/o it. I just think everything in moderation- whole grains, lean meats, veggies & fruits. I tend to shy away from any restrictive meal plan that shuns one particular food group.

_Wits_

As someone with a wheat sensitivity, I can't ingest wheat or I will get a migraine. If you don't have celiac or a food allergy, there is really no reason to deprive yourself. :flowerforyou:

Agreed!

kao708

I was actually just reading a book about this. I guess it depends on your body and how it reacts to wheat. My aunt swears by this method and she's been thing her entire life. Now, that doesn't mean it's related to cutting out wheat, since she's always been thin, but...I guess it works for some people.

chocolateandpb

I am considering eliminating it to see if it makes a difference in how I feel. I'm quite healthy and fit overall, but I do suffer from frequent headaches, muscle and joint pain, and gastrointestinal problems. All of these things could be attributed to a gluten sensitivity (as well as a host of other medical problems, but I figured eliminating wheat gluten might be the easiest place to start). It's going to be hard though because I already don't eat meat, and cutting out yet another food will be daunting. Especially since wheat gluten seems to show up everywhere! I already eat a lot of quinoa and beans and rice, so maybe it won't be so bad...although I ADORE bread and pasta.

marekdds

There is no reason to give up wheat, if you don't have to. I can't eat it and I miss it, not as much now than at first. There is no gluten-free bread or pasta that compares to the real thing, imo.

XXXMinnieXXX

Don't eliminate it... no need. Just set your carbs to 150G. Can easily live this this, but it stops you from going too high x

Alisha_countrymama

I don't eat any wheat. Bread does fill u up at the moment, but then it leaves you feeling hungry and ravenous not long after.

purplegoboom

Honestly? Unless there's a medical reason you need to eliminate it, I wouldn't bother. A gluten free diet won't hurt you, but chances are it won't help you.

If you really want to though, go ahead and try eliminating it for a couple of weeks to see if there's any difference. But unless you have a gluten intolerance, you won't see much of a difference.

momwhosbusy

There is no reason to give up wheat, if you don't have to. I can't eat it and I miss it, not as much now than at first. There is no gluten-free bread or pasta that compares to the real thing, imo.

^^^^This^^^^ I have an allergy to it and have a horrid reaction if I ingest even a tiny amount...for those who aren't sensitive or allergic to it like the above poser said, there is no reason to give it up. If you are going totally GF it is hard. It's everywhere. Even in things you don't suspect.

karoliknee

I've gotten rid of high and sometimes processed carbs like: bread, pasta, cereals, rice, and white potatoes. And that's how I've lost my weight actually.

I haven't found a replacement for bread per say, but I do have a replacement for pizza dough. I make my own using almond meal, and it's really low carb and just tasty goodness. And for pasta, I use sauteed spaghetti squash and or zucchini. I also make some almond meal pancakes which are of course low carb too. If you want any recipe links, feel free to email me.

cersela

I miss wheat, but if I eat it I get sick. If you want to vary your diet, that's always a good thing, so is moderation. There's really no need to eliminate anything, unless you suffer negative effects by consuming it. I don't mind that gluten free is 'trendy' right now because it makes it much easier to shop.

Cliffslosinit

Whether and NO

shirleycatt

I have recently cut out all wheat/gluten and I feel amazing! I have soooo much energy and I have noticed that I eat less. I gave myself a 2 week adjustment period of not tracking my calories but so far everything is going great! I didn't have to replace it with anything because as it turns out I dont need it. I do allow myself potatoes and corn tortillas. Anything I would have used bread for can pretty much be replaced with one of those two things! When I first started this experiment it was only for 4 weeks. I now think I can keep it up!!! I am also working on cutting out low fat, fat free and sugar free items. These are pretty hard to get in gluten free so, I guess that is a blessing. In summary... I am so happy I did this!!!!!!!!! The thing to remember, it's not limitation that works.. it's elimination!!!

girlcube

A month-ish ago I eliminated wheat and other grains from my diet. I'm not missing the grains, tbh; after a headache the first week from the carb flu, things were fine. I never noticed it before, but not eating grains (or perhaps my lower carb consumption) had really levelled out my hunger. I used to get the stupids if I had gone too long without eating and now its not happening anymore.

CountryDevil

As someone with a wheat sensitivity, I can't ingest wheat or I will get a migraine. If you don't have celiac or a food allergy, there is really no reason to deprive yourself.

^^^ this

X2

Carofab16

I would only eliminate wheat if you are intolerant to it!! I can't see the point of eliminating wheat just because people say it...

nsalerno90

I have severely reduced my consumption of wheat - I eliminated it for about 7 weeks and then slowly began eating some things again to see how I felt. Definitely more energy without it and much less muscle pain. I have fibromyalgia and wheat is a trigger food for this condition. I don't have celiac so I don't get sick exactly but I do react to it - bloating, pain, fatigue. I find I can tolerate it better in the morning but avoid it later in the day. It isn't that hard once you change your mindset. Breakfast was definitely the worst but Chex cereal is a good substitute if you are absolutely craving cereal and tortilla chips satisfy those once a month salt /snack cravings. I have a veggie pizza about once a month and I do fine this way. . . I eat a lot more vegetables now.

melbaby925

I would bathe in hot buttered bread of all kinds if it didn't almost kill me to eat it.

That being said, I've come to view most grains as poison (to my system), and I don't eat them. And I didn't replace them with anything. I can't take the pain from experimenting with it anymore to see what bothers me and what doesn't.

You get used to it after a while. But if you aren't suffering from any of the big symptoms: joint aches, bloating, IBS like symptoms, low AST (liver enzyme levels), skin issues, itchy mouth/ears/throat, then I would keep whole grains in your eating plan.

lizziebeth1028

The only reason to go gluten free is if you have been medically evaluated and found intolerant. Otherwise it's just the new 'buzz' word in the diet community......eliminate wheat and miraculously drop a ton of weight. See it was the wheat bread all along making me overweight. Uh no it was over eating that made you overweight.

Eat a sensible well balanced diet, stay within your calorie goal, everything in moderation, gets some exercise. There's no need to torture yourself by removing entire food groups unless advised by your doctor.

aqm22

I hate diet fads. I hate "bad food" and "good food" fad. This no wheat/gluten thing is just one of them. The reason most people see a difference eliminating wheat from their diet feels better and has more energy is NOT because of the lack of wheat. It's because they eat more vegetables and fruit which has antioxidant which helps when you do physical activities...hence why you have more "energy"

LPCoder

I recently heard a discussion on the perils of eating wheat. As bread is one of my biggest issues/indulgences I was wondering if anyone else out there has tried to cut down on their consumption of wheat. Did you replace it with anything? Bread is often the item that makes me feel full weather in cereal or bread or pasta. Any thoughts?

With the help of my doctor and an elimination diet (with the goal of determining which foods were trigger foods) I figured out that though I am not allergic to gluten, I do react negatively to it. I have replaced wheat, rye and other breads with homemade bread from coconut, almond and/or flax flours. Corn is an option, but often has too many carbs for me. Now if I eat gluten it makes me feel bloated like before and I also develop acid reflux, so I just don't eat it! I don't eat cereal anymore because it just doesn't agree with me. I have substituted spaghetti squash for pasta. Most of the gluten-free products taste horrid to me, so I make everything myself.

Part of mfp is figuring out what you are willing to do and what feels right to your body. Just remember that if you choose to go gluten-free that you need to be careful to get enough:

Iron
Calcium
Fiber
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Niacin
Folate

These are often found in enriched gluten products and you will need to be careful.

I want to say that just by eliminating one thing from what you eat is not the solution to weight loss, but understanding what foods you are sensitive to is valuable information to feeling good as you make your weight loss journey.

Good luck and do research!

kajpen

The only reason to go gluten free is if you have been medically evaluated and found intolerant. Otherwise it's just the new 'buzz' word in the diet community......eliminate wheat and miraculously drop a ton of weight. See it was the wheat bread all along making me overweight. Uh no it was over eating that made you overweight.

Eat a sensible well balanced diet, stay within your calorie goal, everything in moderation, gets some exercise. There's no need to torture yourself by removing entire food groups unless advised by your doctor.

I will respectfully disagree with this statment. I do believe that a lot of people have sentivities to a variety of foods that we don't even realize we have. Only by eliminating them and reintroducing them slowly one at a time can you figure out what those sensitivities might be. This is what my doctor did with me. And I ended up having a ton of food sensitivities. I don't believe it is the new "buzz" word. Gluten sensitivity is very wide spread. However, even after eliminating ALL grains from my diet, I still didn't lose weight. So I don't say that the wheat bread (or gluten) made me gain weight.... my bad food choices and lack of exercise made me gain weight.

I didn't lose weight until I cleaned up my eating and stopped eating the junk food, processed crap, and sugar laden things. Wheat/gluten had nothing to do with it. Since I actually GAINED weight after stopping the gluten (because I substituted more bad food for the gluten). So the weight gain was entirely my fault. And when I cleaned up my eating, I lost weight. Simple as that.

I do agree that some people go overboard with trying to make everyone on the planet follow their "diet"... and I truly believe there is no one eating plan/style that works for everyone. It takes time, patience, and some experimentation to find what works for each of us individually.

mantisladyx

I am 2 weeks without wheat and sugar in my diet......and yes it was hard at first (breadlover) but now........I feel great and want to shout it from the roof tops. The energy I have gained is indescribable I even ran barefoot in the rain yesterday, I just sprinted. I am not nuts, I am not, but my family looked at me as if I was. Is it in my mind, no I think wheat is out of my system.

AlabasterVerve

I don't have any food allergies that I know of and no ailments that are sometimes attributed to wheat but eliminating it from my diet has been the best thing I could do diet wise. My appetite is normal for the first time in years. I also went on a low carb diet, high fat, whole foods diet at the same time so can't be certain it's the wheat but if anyone has a problem with binge eating or just feeling like you're always hungry you might consider it instead of filing it under things-stupid-people-do-to-lose-weight.

It can't hurt to try it for a month (grains aren't required for a healthy diet) and if it works for you, I promise you'll be thrilled not to be obsessed with planning your snacks and eating all day long in an attempt to keep your appetite under control.

aqm22

I am 2 weeks without wheat and sugar in my diet......and yes it was hard at first (breadlover) but now........I feel great and want to shout it from the roof tops. The energy I have gained is indescribable I even ran barefoot in the rain yesterday, I just sprinted. I am not nuts, I am not, but my family looked at me as if I was. Is it in my mind, no I think wheat is out of my system.

It's not the lack of wheat. It's what you replaced the wheat with.

CWatermelon

The only reason to go gluten free is if you have been medically evaluated and found intolerant. Otherwise it's just the new 'buzz' word in the diet community......eliminate wheat and miraculously drop a ton of weight. See it was the wheat bread all along making me overweight. Uh no it was over eating that made you overweight.

Eat a sensible well balanced diet, stay within your calorie goal, everything in moderation, gets some exercise. There's no need to torture yourself by removing entire food groups unless advised by your doctor.

I will respectfully disagree with this statment. I do believe that a lot of people have sentivities to a variety of foods that we don't even realize we have. Only by eliminating them and reintroducing them slowly one at a time can you figure out what those sensitivities might be. This is what my doctor did with me. And I ended up having a ton of food sensitivities. I don't believe it is the new "buzz" word. Gluten sensitivity is very wide spread. However, even after eliminating ALL grains from my diet, I still didn't lose weight. So I don't say that the wheat bread (or gluten) made me gain weight.... my bad food choices and lack of exercise made me gain weight.

I do agree that some people go overboard with trying to make everyone on the planet follow their "diet"... and I truly believe there is no one eating plan/style that works for everyone. It takes time, patience, and some experimentation to find what works for each of us individually.

I think food consumption, health, and fitness is as diverse as we are and we need to experiment with what works best for each of us. I have tried what works for my friends or family and it doesn't work me for me and they try what works for me and it doesn't work for them, but with experimentation, I have found increased knowledge towards a healthier lifestyle FOR ME. It may be the reduction in wheat/gluten that does it for you, and it may be the increased foods with what you replaced the wheat/gluten foods that is the just right combination for you....either way, it is a win-win. As smart and as ignorant I am about what works for me, I encourage others to maintain neutrality regarding others, and only spout what they know to be true for them. MFP should be a community of supporters, NOT a community of ignorant naysayers.