Gluten Free Girls (and Guys!)

ccaruso219

Hi Everyone,

I just found a facebook for gluten free. Its called gluten free faces. Its not very popular yet but its a start. Here is my profile link, so if you want to join friend me.

http://www.glutenfreefaces.com/profile/conniec

slimkitty

Hi
Adding to read later.

Bandobrown

Hello, I am new to MFP and would love to join your group. I have been Gluten Free for 2 years now. I think this would be an excellent group for me to be a part of. I would love to lose a little weight, but am more interested in toning up and loosing inches.
BB

leavinglasvegas

I just read in two different books, Healing with Whole Foods and The New Detox Diet, that some people who have a wheat allergy may not have a problem with sprouted wheat. So my question is, if you are gluten intollerant and have a wheat allergy, can you tollerate Ezekiel bread? By Food for Life, I think....
When I got my allergy test results that was one of the safe food product companies that was listed. I didn't see anything on the website that seemed to match the ingredients that they told me to omit, so I thought it was a mistake and never questioned it. Now I'm curious? I can call and ask, but I'll have to wait for someone to return my call. Thought you guys might know a little quicker....

elledance18

Alright here it is... didn't work out so well the first time, but we'll give it another go

This thread is for support/advice/recipes/tips/websites/restaurants... and anything else that those who have Celiac's, gluten-intolerance, are gluten-sensitive, or simply choose to be gluten free want to chat about... Welcome :flowerforyou:

Maybe we could start by just telling a little bit of 'our story'?

I'll start:
In September my stomach started bothering me. It always has to come degree, but I've never really thought much of it and just kind of dealt with it. But, in September it got really, really bad. Without getting too personal, I had all sorts of gastrointestinal symptoms and spent a lot of time in the bathroom, unable to move off the couch without help due to crippling lower stomach pain/extreme bloating (I literally looked pregnant:noway: ), calling out of work, etc. I had been seeing my doctor for a combination of hypoglycemia/stomach issues and ended up finding out that I have abnormally high thyroid levels and will soon start medication. After a month or so of being really sick, I started to realize that it seemed like it was bread and bread products making me sick. I told my doctor and he had me cut out gluten completely. A few weeks later he did a blood test and said I do not have Celiac's but that I should continue to eat no gluten :noway: Since then, I've been told that the blood tests are often inaccurate, and mine probably was since I hadn't eaten gluten prior to testing. I see a specialist in a few weeks. At this point, I'm frustrated, but hopeful. Not sure exactly what is wrong, but it's absolutely related to gluten. Since I have been gluten free, my hypoglycemia symptoms and all of my stomach/gastrointestinal issues have completely disappeared and I feel wonderful. In fact, I didn't realize how crappy I felt before until I cut out gluten and realized what it's like to feel amazing

elledance18

Alright here it is... didn't work out so well the first time, but we'll give it another go

This thread is for support/advice/recipes/tips/websites/restaurants... and anything else that those who have Celiac's, gluten-intolerance, are gluten-sensitive, or simply choose to be gluten free want to chat about... Welcome :flowerforyou:

Maybe we could start by just telling a little bit of 'our story'?

I'll start:
In September my stomach started bothering me. It always has to come degree, but I've never really thought much of it and just kind of dealt with it. But, in September it got really, really bad. Without getting too personal, I had all sorts of gastrointestinal symptoms and spent a lot of time in the bathroom, unable to move off the couch without help due to crippling lower stomach pain/extreme bloating (I literally looked pregnant:noway: ), calling out of work, etc. I had been seeing my doctor for a combination of hypoglycemia/stomach issues and ended up finding out that I have abnormally high thyroid levels and will soon start medication. After a month or so of being really sick, I started to realize that it seemed like it was bread and bread products making me sick. I told my doctor and he had me cut out gluten completely. A few weeks later he did a blood test and said I do not have Celiac's but that I should continue to eat no gluten :noway: Since then, I've been told that the blood tests are often inaccurate, and mine probably was since I hadn't eaten gluten prior to testing. I see a specialist in a few weeks. At this point, I'm frustrated, but hopeful. Not sure exactly what is wrong, but it's absolutely related to gluten. Since I have been gluten free, my hypoglycemia symptoms and all of my stomach/gastrointestinal issues have completely disappeared and I feel wonderful. In fact, I didn't realize how crappy I felt before until I cut out gluten and realized what it's like to feel amazing

Oh my goodness, this is my story exactly!! I got tested for the first time four years ago, and they all were negative for celiacs. Ive drastically cut out alot of things with gluten in it, and Ive done so much better. One of my good friends has celiacs, and our symptoms were exactly the same. I would be curious to know why it can be so hard to determine and diagnose

anglyn1

I just read in two different books, Healing with Whole Foods and The New Detox Diet, that some people who have a wheat allergy may not have a problem with sprouted wheat. So my question is, if you are gluten intollerant and have a wheat allergy, can you tollerate Ezekiel bread? By Food for Life, I think....
When I got my allergy test results that was one of the safe food product companies that was listed. I didn't see anything on the website that seemed to match the ingredients that they told me to omit, so I thought it was a mistake and never questioned it. Now I'm curious? I can call and ask, but I'll have to wait for someone to return my call. Thought you guys might know a little quicker....

Are you diagnosed with a wheat allergy or celiac/gluten intolerance? There is a difference. If it's celiac or gluten intolerance I would avoid sprouted wheat. If it's an allergy and your doctor says you can eat sprouted wheat then I guess you can.

leavinglasvegas

Alright here it is... didn't work out so well the first time, but we'll give it another go

This thread is for support/advice/recipes/tips/websites/restaurants... and anything else that those who have Celiac's, gluten-intolerance, are gluten-sensitive, or simply choose to be gluten free want to chat about... Welcome :flowerforyou:

Maybe we could start by just telling a little bit of 'our story'?

I'll start:
In September my stomach started bothering me. It always has to come degree, but I've never really thought much of it and just kind of dealt with it. But, in September it got really, really bad. Without getting too personal, I had all sorts of gastrointestinal symptoms and spent a lot of time in the bathroom, unable to move off the couch without help due to crippling lower stomach pain/extreme bloating (I literally looked pregnant:noway: ), calling out of work, etc. I had been seeing my doctor for a combination of hypoglycemia/stomach issues and ended up finding out that I have abnormally high thyroid levels and will soon start medication. After a month or so of being really sick, I started to realize that it seemed like it was bread and bread products making me sick. I told my doctor and he had me cut out gluten completely. A few weeks later he did a blood test and said I do not have Celiac's but that I should continue to eat no gluten :noway: Since then, I've been told that the blood tests are often inaccurate, and mine probably was since I hadn't eaten gluten prior to testing. I see a specialist in a few weeks. At this point, I'm frustrated, but hopeful. Not sure exactly what is wrong, but it's absolutely related to gluten. Since I have been gluten free, my hypoglycemia symptoms and all of my stomach/gastrointestinal issues have completely disappeared and I feel wonderful. In fact, I didn't realize how crappy I felt before until I cut out gluten and realized what it's like to feel amazing

Oh my goodness, this is my story exactly!! I got tested for the first time four years ago, and they all were negative for celiacs. Ive drastically cut out alot of things with gluten in it, and Ive done so much better. One of my good friends has celiacs, and our symptoms were exactly the same. I would be curious to know why it can be so hard to determine and diagnose

I was tested for celiacs a few weeks after I cut out gluten. My blood tests were normal. My biopsies were normal as well. When I took my daughter to a peds specialist he gave me a HUGE lecture on how going off gluten first will make it nearly impossible to accurately detect celiac. He said you may need to go back on it for up to 6 months to get an accurate diagnosis. He ws on a tangent about how more and more doctors are jumping to take people off gluten before going through the proper diagnosis sequence.

I don't want to go back on it for 6 months and neither does my daughter, now that we know how good we can feel. The down side to not knowing 100%, I guess, is the high risk of cancer? I'm not sure what his tangent was leading to. I just understood that once you go off, there is no 100% garaunnteed way of getting a correct diagnosis.

nicolee516

Alright here it is... didn't work out so well the first time, but we'll give it another go

This thread is for support/advice/recipes/tips/websites/restaurants... and anything else that those who have Celiac's, gluten-intolerance, are gluten-sensitive, or simply choose to be gluten free want to chat about... Welcome :flowerforyou:

Maybe we could start by just telling a little bit of 'our story'?

I'll start:
In September my stomach started bothering me. It always has to come degree, but I've never really thought much of it and just kind of dealt with it. But, in September it got really, really bad. Without getting too personal, I had all sorts of gastrointestinal symptoms and spent a lot of time in the bathroom, unable to move off the couch without help due to crippling lower stomach pain/extreme bloating (I literally looked pregnant:noway: ), calling out of work, etc. I had been seeing my doctor for a combination of hypoglycemia/stomach issues and ended up finding out that I have abnormally high thyroid levels and will soon start medication. After a month or so of being really sick, I started to realize that it seemed like it was bread and bread products making me sick. I told my doctor and he had me cut out gluten completely. A few weeks later he did a blood test and said I do not have Celiac's but that I should continue to eat no gluten :noway: Since then, I've been told that the blood tests are often inaccurate, and mine probably was since I hadn't eaten gluten prior to testing. I see a specialist in a few weeks. At this point, I'm frustrated, but hopeful. Not sure exactly what is wrong, but it's absolutely related to gluten. Since I have been gluten free, my hypoglycemia symptoms and all of my stomach/gastrointestinal issues have completely disappeared and I feel wonderful. In fact, I didn't realize how crappy I felt before until I cut out gluten and realized what it's like to feel amazing

Oh my goodness, this is my story exactly!! I got tested for the first time four years ago, and they all were negative for celiacs. Ive drastically cut out alot of things with gluten in it, and Ive done so much better. One of my good friends has celiacs, and our symptoms were exactly the same. I would be curious to know why it can be so hard to determine and diagnose

I was tested for celiacs a few weeks after I cut out gluten. My blood tests were normal. My biopsies were normal as well. When I took my daughter to a peds specialist he gave me a HUGE lecture on how going off gluten first will make it nearly impossible to accurately detect celiac. He said you may need to go back on it for up to 6 months to get an accurate diagnosis. He ws on a tangent about how more and more doctors are jumping to take people off gluten before going through the proper diagnosis sequence.

I don't want to go back on it for 6 months and neither does my daughter, now that we know how good we can feel. The down side to not knowing 100%, I guess, is the high risk of cancer? I'm not sure what his tangent was leading to. I just understood that once you go off, there is no 100% garaunnteed way of getting a correct diagnosis.

My question to you is...if you know that you and your daughter feel better now that you are off the gluten, do you really need to have the diagnosis? As for the Ezekiel bread, I have heard that sprouted is ok too. I don't really test the theory though. You could always try it, and your body will tell you if it's right for you.

leavinglasvegas

My guess is that he works for the childrens hospital and is very active in celiac related issues. I think his concern is the rate of misdiagnosis and the link to bowel cancer. I guess more and more doctors, mine included which is how the tangent began, are diagnosing an intollerance to gluten as celiac. He said they are two completely different things and going off gluten will make the intollerant person feel better, but as for the true celiac, there is much more involved in the recovery and treatment, including regular cancer screenings.

I'm going to try the ezekiel bread. I'll let you know what happens.

nicolee516

My guess is that he works for the childrens hospital and is very active in celiac related issues. I think his concern is the rate of misdiagnosis and the link to bowel cancer. I guess more and more doctors, mine included which is how the tangent began, are diagnosing an intollerance to gluten as celiac. He said they are two completely different things and going off gluten will make the intollerant person feel better, but as for the true celiac, there is much more involved in the recovery and treatment, including regular cancer screenings.

I'm going to try the ezekiel bread. I'll let you know what happens.

Ahhh....I understand now! Thanks for clearing that up. definitely let us know about the Ezekiel!:flowerforyou:

runnerdad

Your doctor is right, if you start a gluten-free diet before you have your diagnositc work-up, it can be hard to confirm / rule out celiac's. Not sure where he came up with the 6 month figure. You should have definite biopsy changes within days to weeks of starting back on gluten. (Two doctors have told me six weeks back on gluten before testing).

I still not sure I buy this sprouted wheat thing. If you read the label on (at least some of) the Ezekiel bread, they add wheat gluten during processing. (For those of you who don't like GF bread and baked goods, it is not the corn flour or rice flour that makes the difference, it is the lack of gluten, so if you use a 'reduced gluten' source (like sprouted wheat) the bread doesn't turn out right, so they add extra gluten back in. They don't label these breads as gluten free or suitable for those with gluten intolerances, so beware.

leavinglasvegas

I have a question I hope someone can answer. Its about my daughter, shes 10 years old.

We were at the doctors office yesterday and he expressed concern for her weight loss. In all honesty, I knew she lost weight but it did not strike me as odd in the least bit. Shes lost 4 pounds since going off of gluten, wheat, and dairy. I'm pretty knowlegable in the area of nutrition because I a) educate myself on a daily basis and b) have taken college level nutrition courses. So I knew when we found out about the allergies to take her to a dietician. I checked out every single book at the livrary and even had them order others from different libraries. I make sure she take a multi vitamin, fresh food is available daily, and she gets plenty of exercise between Karate and Dance and being a normal 10 year old.

Since the allergy diagnosis, she has been eating better than ever. I finally broke her from the white crap, which was always a fight. She got it at school and at grandmas before, but that has completely stopped. She has come to LOVE beans and hummus, raw veggies, and she eats fruits for snacks. I buy the gluten free vegan "junk" foods too, but that is limited and she knows it doesn't count for nutrition. She still picks at food sometimes, but its offered. I can't force her to eat if she says shes not hungry. But, its not a fight at every meal. She knows if she doesn't eat dinner, shes gotta wait till breakfast and that motivates her to eat even if she doesn't like it, most of the time.

The doctor got on my case about her weight loss and keeps trying to push me to let her have gluten since she doesn't have celiac. But she is allergic to wheat. And gluten makes her feel horrible, gassy, and constipated or diarrhea. He kept saying kids should never lose weight and even if shes eating more fresh foods, she may need to eat the other stuff to maintain a healthy weight. I'm totally dumbfounded about this. Yes, she lost 4 pounds. It all came off her waist. She is happy because she was getting self conscious about it. She can wear pants comfortably now because they are not constricting her waist and hanging everywhere else while her belly bulges out. I never set out to have her lose weight, but when you cut out junk food, its kind of inevitable....or am I crazy? And its just 4 pounds. Shes not lacking in any nutrient, her energy is high, she is active and normal, she eats like crazy and its all healthy food.

Can I get your opinions please? Am I wrong? Like I said, I never set out for her to lose weight. But its not excessive and shes feeling so much better. You can tell just by looking at her. Even her behavior has changed....for the better!

nicolee516

My opinion is she is just fine! If you are super upset, maybe try finding a naturopath to go to? I have found that when I go to allopathic doctors I get allopathic answers, which angers me. So going to a Naturpath is definitely the choice for me. She is probably a healthy weight for her age. My step-daughter loses weight every track and cross country season. We eat similar to you except that we do eat meat. No dairy but meat. I know I am jumping back and forth with my response here, but i definitely agree wit hyou, if she is eating everything you put in front of her, then there are no issues. Introducing gluten back into her diet is not giving her nutrients. Throughout the centuries humans have adulterated wheat so much that the protein that used to supply people with nourishment prior to the 1700's is gone! Not to mention every othere good nutrient in there. You are on the right path, keep it up!:flowerforyou:

leavinglasvegas

Thanks. I assumed that we would both lose weight, matter of fact....the doctor who ordered the testing and delivered the results said flat out, "you are probably going to lose alot of weight". Its just obvious that when you go from eating something unhealthy to eating something healthy that you may lose a few pounds. Its not like she lost a ton of weight in a short period. She lost 4 pounds in 2 months and all off her waist.

Its only 4 pounds. Considering she was always constipated and now goes 3-4 times per day, the 4 pounds was probably poop:laugh:

I emailed the dietician to get her take on it and asked her to send a report to our PCP. I think hes just caught up in the numbers. Or he thinks I'm pushing my anorexia onto her, which is insulting and so ignorant. She is perfectly healthy and has a bigger appetite than she did before, thats for sure! She has a very healhy vision of life and nutrition. I keep my insanity private is I'm slipping and seek help immediately. My life is dedicated to making sure no one else goes through that, especially my daughter.

She also recently increased her activity level. With recitals and performances coming up she has an extra 2 hours of dance per week, plus practicing at home. Also, the weather has been nicer so shes even more active outside.

Anyway, thanks for your thought. Sometimes I just need to know I'm not alone in my thinking. Even If I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm right.

runnerdad

If she is not overly thin, I wouldn't get too upset with the numbers. If she is active and eating well (no junk), then, duh, she will lose weight. When I started my GF diet, my doctor told me to expect to drop a lot of weight (presumably because I would cut out a lot of carbs) (but it didn't really happen). Since you have a dietician to run things by, let her review the diet and activity levels and make sure she is getting enough calories for growth and her hours of dancing. Going back to gluten seems like a crazy idea

slimkitty

I just read in two different books, Healing with Whole Foods and The New Detox Diet, that some people who have a wheat allergy may not have a problem with sprouted wheat. So my question is, if you are gluten intollerant and have a wheat allergy, can you tollerate Ezekiel bread? By Food for Life, I think....
When I got my allergy test results that was one of the safe food product companies that was listed. I didn't see anything on the website that seemed to match the ingredients that they told me to omit, so I thought it was a mistake and never questioned it. Now I'm curious? I can call and ask, but I'll have to wait for someone to return my call. Thought you guys might know a little quicker....

While Ezekiel bread is made with sprouted grains it has gluten added to it. It's what helps the bread rise and holds the grains together. Just read the list of ingredients and you'll see it there. You might be able to tolerate Manna from Heaven. My health food store has it in the frozen bread section. Just sprouted grains, no added gluten.

slimkitty

I have a question I hope someone can answer. Its about my daughter, shes 10 years old.

We were at the doctors office yesterday and he expressed concern for her weight loss. In all honesty, I knew she lost weight but it did not strike me as odd in the least bit. Shes lost 4 pounds since going off of gluten, wheat, and dairy. I'm pretty knowlegable in the area of nutrition because I a) educate myself on a daily basis and b) have taken college level nutrition courses. So I knew when we found out about the allergies to take her to a dietician. I checked out every single book at the livrary and even had them order others from different libraries. I make sure she take a multi vitamin, fresh food is available daily, and she gets plenty of exercise between Karate and Dance and being a normal 10 year old.

Since the allergy diagnosis, she has been eating better than ever. I finally broke her from the white crap, which was always a fight. She got it at school and at grandmas before, but that has completely stopped. She has come to LOVE beans and hummus, raw veggies, and she eats fruits for snacks. I buy the gluten free vegan "junk" foods too, but that is limited and she knows it doesn't count for nutrition. She still picks at food sometimes, but its offered. I can't force her to eat if she says shes not hungry. But, its not a fight at every meal. She knows if she doesn't eat dinner, shes gotta wait till breakfast and that motivates her to eat even if she doesn't like it, most of the time.

The doctor got on my case about her weight loss and keeps trying to push me to let her have gluten since she doesn't have celiac. But she is allergic to wheat. And gluten makes her feel horrible, gassy, and constipated or diarrhea. He kept saying kids should never lose weight and even if shes eating more fresh foods, she may need to eat the other stuff to maintain a healthy weight. I'm totally dumbfounded about this. Yes, she lost 4 pounds. It all came off her waist. She is happy because she was getting self conscious about it. She can wear pants comfortably now because they are not constricting her waist and hanging everywhere else while her belly bulges out. I never set out to have her lose weight, but when you cut out junk food, its kind of inevitable....or am I crazy? And its just 4 pounds. Shes not lacking in any nutrient, her energy is high, she is active and normal, she eats like crazy and its all healthy food.

Can I get your opinions please? Am I wrong? Like I said, I never set out for her to lose weight. But its not excessive and shes feeling so much better. You can tell just by looking at her. Even her behavior has changed....for the better!

I think she is fine. My son who has Celiac and was 3 at the time we found out lost a couple of pounds after going gluten and dairy free. It was all from his waist. I think he finally had a chance to get rid of the junk building up inside of him. His appetite was bigger than ever and he ate a lot of food, but he lost weight. He has been very healthy now that he is not eating foods he cannot tolerate. Don't go back to gluten ...

CardioRS

Hi! I'm new to the thread and have recently returned to MFP. I was doing great here until I discovered an ovarian cyst. This simple cyst was just fluid filled and when finally removed amounted to 2 liters of fluid in my lower abdomen. Thanks to MFP support, regular cardio and a good diet, I was back at the gym 3 days later running (I only ran 3 miles instead of 6).

Just 2 years later, I had another one of the same size develop. After the 2nd cyst, my digestive system shut down. It was horrible. My stomach was incredibly distended and hard. The pain level was bad enough I had been in the Emergency room once and had a CT scan. The doctors had a tough time controlling pain (the irony is I have always had a very high pain tolerance) and only could tell me that my large intestine was swollen unexceptionably. After a visit back to the OB in excruciating pain and my not wanting to go back to the E.R., I went to see my family practitioner.

What a blessing! He took me off of all medications, had me drink water, high quality protein shakes, and take my multi-vitamin ONLY. After about 4 weeks I tried some rice and lean, skinless chicken. Success! I could eat 3-4 Tbsp of food.

Through the trials and errors of finding which foods work, we found that beef was completely a no-no. I had made a new friend who has Celiacs during this time and she spent 2 months convincing me to go completely gluten free. Thanks to her, I am able to eat food again. What a blessing! I am loving getting back to cooking again as I have always loved cooking homemade, organic, healthy meals.

I have been gluten free for 10 weeks or so now and have just started back at the gym. As I was unable to eat food for so long, my metabolism seems horribly sluggish, but is finding its way back and I have gained all of the weight I originally lost back. I am running 3 miles or so every other day on the arc trainer and swimming 2,000 yards every day (I love the water).

Thanks so much for sharing this thread! I cannot express the gratitude I feel having found all of you! What an answer to prayer!

cutmd

Hello,

I am a new member starting to resign myself to a gluten-free lifestyle. :grumble: I have tried to give up wheat before when it seemed like it was causing symptoms of bloating and weight gain, but always snuck back onto it. 2months ago I was doing great, having frequent bowel movements (previously diagnosed with IBS-C) and enjoying defined abs. Then I decided I could have a little Ezekiel bread, some whole unprocessed wheat flour in the form of Jamaican dumplings on occasion. BOOM! Weight gain, bloating, constipation. I ditched the good stufff for a few day and things are getting back to normal.

I still don't want to say it was the Ezekiel bread, but it was the only wheat I was eating consistently. So I think I really am gluten intolerant. I am about to sit down and read this book "Dangerous Grains" about gluten intolerance. The authors are implicating wheat in chronic disease for many people, and my family definitely has a lot of autoimmune disease, so I am interested. Maybe if i convince myself how bad it is for me I can keep my hands off the bread basket. :sad:

Do any of you ever cheat?

Thanks. I assumed that we would both lose weight, matter of fact....the doctor who ordered the testing and delivered the results said flat out, "you are probably going to lose alot of weight". Its just obvious that when you go from eating something unhealthy to eating something healthy that you may lose a few pounds. Its not like she lost a ton of weight in a short period. She lost 4 pounds in 2 months and all off her waist.

Its only 4 pounds. Considering she was always constipated and now goes 3-4 times per day, the 4 pounds was probably poop:laugh:

I emailed the dietician to get her take on it and asked her to send a report to our PCP. I think hes just caught up in the numbers. Or he thinks I'm pushing my anorexia onto her, which is insulting and so ignorant. She is perfectly healthy and has a bigger appetite than she did before, thats for sure! She has a very healhy vision of life and nutrition. I keep my insanity private is I'm slipping and seek help immediately. My life is dedicated to making sure no one else goes through that, especially my daughter.

She also recently increased her activity level. With recitals and performances coming up she has an extra 2 hours of dance per week, plus practicing at home. Also, the weather has been nicer so shes even more active outside.

Anyway, thanks for your thought. Sometimes I just need to know I'm not alone in my thinking. Even If I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm right.

Your daughter sounds like me. I think if it is improving her symptoms keeping her gluten free at such an early age could be very good for her, she can form healthy eating habits and not end up addicted to laxatives later in life. Doctors are just now coming to understand a tinsy bit about gluten intolerance, so I don't know that I'd take him seriously as long as she can get enough fiber and calories in.

nicolee516

welcome Cardiors and cutMD! I try not to cheat on purpose because it makes me feel like garbage about 1 hour afterwards. I do occasionally have beer. I LOVE beer! I have had GF beer, it's ok, but not the same yet as the other stuff.

CardioRS

cutmd - I just CAN'T cheat. It is a horrible side effect that I just can't stand and I can feel it within 1 hour. When I 1st got started, I tried some "pizza crust" (home made even) and it was terrible. If I feel a little left out, I found my simple cure - Rice Chips "seeweed & sesame" do it for me. When I am truly needing something a little more papering, I have a homemade cappuccino brownie.

I am the only one who has this issue in my home (out of 6 of us). The fam is still adjusting to all the changes, but has become more and more aware of what mom just CAN'T have. I have always known about the lactose intolerance, but my favorite cheeses are on the OK list for GF foods: parmesan and aged sharp cheddar.

I treat myself to a beer every now and again. I like Redbridge. For a good store bought cookie = Pamela's (chocolate, chocolate chip)

nicolee516

Cardio- I haven't tried red Bridge yet. I tried the New Grist. My problem is that I really like a hop hit and the New Grist doesn't have that at all.

leavinglasvegas

Welcome Cardio and cutmd!

I am fairly new to this, so I admit to cheating a couple times. I have learned though, that its not worth it. I'm worried about Memorial weekend. We are going Up North the a friends property and we always say, "What happens Up North stays Up North" lol But I don't want to be sick and miss out on a minute. Last time I was suffering awful migraines. Now I know it was the dairy, mostly cheese, and the beer. Very happy to hear about gluten frre beer! You guys all just made me one very happy lady!

Seriously, so glad I found this group! I have had a real hard time just being alone in this. Even my doctor doesn't get it and that is frustrating. He NEVER could have told me about a beer that I could drink! :laugh: We usually start as soon as we park the cars. We crack open the first beer while unpacking and the kids run off to find toads and snakes. And it continues till the night before we leave :drinker: Plus all the bbq and picnic foods. S'mores, Oh! the S'mores! This weekend will be perfect after all!:laugh: Thanks:drinker:

CardioRS

WannabeaCullen - I know what you mean about s'mores! Yum! Seems I need 1 a year, but still need 1 regardless! I just came across a recipe for graham crackers. I was so excited to have a s'more and make a homemade pie crust that I could eat (for my favorite lo-cal summer frozen pie). Thought you might enjoy the recipe (you could freeze extra crackers too). Sorry I didn't notate which website it was from


2.5 ounces sorghum flour (that's about 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons)
2.5 ounces brown rice flour, ground super fine, if possible (1/3 cup, plus 1 T)
2.5 ounces tapioca flour (1 tablespoon shy of 1/3 cup
2.5 ounces sweet rice flour (1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 ounces unsalted butter, just out of the refrigerator (7 tablespoons)
3 ounces mild-flavored honey (1/4 cup)
3 to 6 tablespoons cold water
cinnamon sugar (optional)

Combining the dry ingredients. Measure out the sorghum, brown rice, tapioca, and sweet rice flours. Put into a food processor and whirl them up. Add the cinnamon, baking powder, xanthan and guar gums, and salt. Mix until everything is well combined.

Cutting in the butter. Cut the butter into small pieces (about 1/2 tablespoon size). Add to the flours in the food processor. Pulse until the butter is incorporated into the flours. The mixture should have a coarse, sandy texture, like cornmeal.

Finishing the dough. Stir together the honey and 3 tablespoons of the water. With the food processor running, pour in the honeyed water. Let the food processor run for a few minutes, allowing the dough to form a ball. The final dough should be soft and pliable, even a bit wet. If it still has not come together entirely after a few minutes of processing, add the remaining cold water, a tablespoon at a time.

Refrigerating the dough. Put the dough in a suitable container (or wrap with plastic wrap) and put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This will be just enough time to let you clean up the mess, put away the flours. Oh, and to...

Preheating the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Have another piece of parchment paper, same size, ready as well.

Rolling out the graham crackers. Cut the ball of dough in half. Return the other half to the refrigerator. Put the ball of dough onto the parchment-lined sheet tray. Cover it with the other piece of parchment paper.

Carefully, roll out the dough to a rectangle about 1/2 the length of the sheet tray, or until the dough is about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. (You'll have ragged round pieces on the edges. Leave them on. They'll make great scraps for graham cracker crusts.) If you want the final crackers dusted with cinnamon sugar, do that here. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes.

Decorating and baking. Pull the sheet tray from the refrigerator. Using the tines of a fork, prick holes into the crackers in a regular pattern that looks good to you.

Bake the graham crackers until they are golden-warm brown and starting to be hard, about 15 to 20 minutes. (Turning the tray halfway through baking will help them to not bake too brown.) Allow them to cool on the sheet tray until they are cool to the touch and hardened even more, about 30 minutes.

Repeat with the second half of the dough ball.

Eat. Dunk in milk. Make s'mores. Enjoy.

Makes about 16 graham crackers (or more if you cut them in half, as we did for Little Bean's small hands)



Also as far as the doctor thing goes - make sure he is on board or find a new one. Mine didn't know much about gluten issues, but has become well educated and is ALWAYS supportive!

nicolee516

thanks cardio for the recipe! I will have to make them so we can have a realy smore's night too!

JoyElizabeth

Hi - so glad I found this thread! It's so great to find people that are not only interested in losing weight, but also understand the importance of the quality and type of foods that go into our bodies and the effects it has on us! I'm still learning about this, but I've actively been on MFP for over 2 weeks now and things are starting to fall into place a lot easier than it has done in the past.

Like many of you, I have intolerances though I haven't been officially diagnosed - my doctor (a fantastic woman who believes in trying natural and alternative approaches before going allopathic) has noticed that I am really in tune with what my body is doing and a huge part of me has been flippantly rebelling because "being mindful" all seems so melodramatic.

But the only person that really feels the effects is me, and so I'm coming to the conclusion finally that ignoring this a pretty dumb thing to keep on doing to myself. I didn't really want to have to make the connection between what I was eating and how it was affecting me - but I'm at the point where I'm sick of being affected and have to find a better way of co-existing with food so that I don't keep getting the raw end of the pointy stick.

The hard part was that it would take 6 weeks or so for it to really make such a difference that I had to do something about it - it was easy to live in my state of denial because there were no immediate and apparent side-affects like some of you guys get within an hour (with the exception of meat and eggs - projectile is disgusting).

I don't know quite how to put it, but the best I can do to describe my journey is that my body has basically been saying "eat clean & live clean". It's been quite an arduous and frustrating journey, but in 1998 I had the biggest "live clean experience" that changed everything about the way I was living, and from there it's been a discovery process without me even knowing what I was supposed to be discovering! Things were just brought to my attention that I was doing it wrong - and this is what I have been rebelling against - that I was getting it wrong. The difficulty was that I didn't know how to get it right and in reality, I didn't want to "have" to get it right - that was too much like hard work - and in truth, I didn't *want* to think about it.

For a few years I was introduced to healthier eating and while all of them sounded good in theory and had some really valid points, after trying it for a while, it all became too hard and unmanageable - contradiction between the "experts" being the hardest.

I already disliked seafood, but in June 2002 my body rejected red meat. Now don't get me wrong, in the few years prior I even *tried* to be vegetarian, but failed because every time I smelled chicken or bacon or lamb cooking, I was a slobbering mess and gobbled it all down. So 2002 was a real shock to me. Then in March 2003 my body rejected chicken - I couldn't believe it. And so if you don't eat seafood, red meat or chicken, then all that is left is .... well, nothing. So here I was, a fully fledged vegetarian! And the most surprised by it was me!

Over the past 6 years though, I have been working with my doctor to correct my hormones, get my liver working properly, clear myself of the mind-muddying and energy zapping effects of candida, and trying to shrink my ovarian cysts so as to avoid a total hysterectomy - she told me to avoid dairy, gluten, chemicals and sugar - and try as I might, I've never had the will power to do this - it was all too hard.

But since I started with MFP, things have begun falling into place and finally I'm able to live how I'm supposed to live - my doctor would be proud of me.

So, here's a run down of what I can and can't eat.

I don't eat seafood or meat of any description - if it's had a face, I can't eat it - even the thought of eating it is disgusting.

I am fine with eggs occasionally - so long as it's cooked both sides and all the way through, and providing no-one makes chicken noises, otherwise my body rejects it - but it's the easiest form of protein for me that tastes half decent and so I still try at least once a week to get some eggs in there, but it's tough and I have to force myself.

I am a singer, and I find that dairy and gluten stuff up my sinuses and throat, stopping me from reaching my 3 1/2 octaves, plus I tend to bloat with gluten as well, and that's no fun.

Sugar tends to make my mind buzz about like a blue-assed fly! The jury is still out if natural sugar in fruit is too much - I don't want it to be, but it's certainly too much for the MFP sugar goals!

Does anyone know anything about xylitol? It sounds too good to be true - it tastes great, but whether the sweet comes from cane sugar or birch tree or corn, does it really make a difference in how good it is for you?

Anyway, caffeine in all it's forms does the same thing as sugar but it keeps me awake until the wee hours of the morning as well, and then I'm just a mute zombie for the rest of the day following - Good bye Tim Tams and Cappucinos. (If you take out the dairy, sugar and caffeine from a cup of coffee, all you are left with is ....Hot Water! But don't worry, Dr Deepak tells me that Hot Water is the best thing to flush ama - which are toxins, and so I'm all for that!)

Thankfully I can tolerate rice, soy and corn, but once I settle a little more with this, I plan to cut out some of the soy - Sanitarium soy Hot Dogs and Rashers have been my saving grace for protein at the moment, although they do compromise some of my other sensitivities to a small degree and is why I want to cut them out - I just need to get more info on how to cope with them not being there and weigh up the pros and cons of each.

But fortunately I love veges - I'm not really into cooking and I don't do left-overs very well at all (Deepak Chopra reckons there's no prana left in left-overs and so that's the only thing I can come up with as to why I don't particularly like left-overs and really have to force myself to eat them). But http://wwwJoyfulBelly.com has certainly helped with great veg ideas that are all natural and tasty and can fit in with anyone's sensitivities - and my family love it when I motivate myself to cook from this site.

So my challenge is to keep it healthy, without having to do too much cooking, keeping it convenient, and without having to have a bachelors degree in nutrition to stay alive and upright.

The past 2 weeks has been easier for me thanks to the great support of MFP, and I'm happy with my progress so far - I've a long way to go, but at least I'm on the right track - can't wait to lose the weight I'm supposed to have off and then go back to the doctor to get the all clear. And I'm sooooo glad that I have found this thread!

Well, that's me "unplugged" - it's been a long update, but I hope to know more of all of you on this site as time progresses. If anyone has any comments and suggestions that might help, then please let me know and I'll take it under advisement.

Wishing you all the best on this journey and I hope to make your acquaintance soon.

Until Next Time,

Kind Regards,

Joy.
:flowerforyou:

cutmd

Hi joyelizabeth

Wow, so what do you eat on an average day? No gluten, meat, and cutting down on soy it seems like your calories would tend to be too low on average. Do you take whey protein or something? How will you take in protein sufficiently without the soy? I guess that leaves you with eggs and rice and beans for protein?

I wouldn't worry about the naturally occurring sugars in fruit, myself, especially since you don't eat regular sugar

Xylitol is ok, supposed tom cause some gi upset in large quantities, stevia is supposed tomb more natural

Wishing you the best in your journey :flowerforyou:

nicolee516

Wow Joy! that's an amazing story! Mine is actually pretty similar, except that my body doesn't reject meat. It rejects wheat, corn and soy. Just to be aware, soy acts like an estrogen in our systems and messes with the thyroid. If you start noticing other issues, maybe check into that???

leavinglasvegas

Hi JoyElizabeth!

I can't tollerate meat either. I have been known to cave from time to time, but its not worth the pain it causes. In February I went totally Vegan and have loved it ever since. I'm also a HUGE Deepak Chopra fan! I saw him speak last year and it was so amazing! Someday I hope to visit the Chopra center. I get updates from there often and it is so tempting, yet expensive.

The book The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone is really good. She gives eating plans that are macrobiotic, minus the animals. The recipes are really good and mostly don't contain gluten. If they do, its rare and can be easliy adjusted.

Good luck to you. Feel free to add me as a friend. I have alot of other veggie friends too, some vegetarian, some vegan.

Holly