Gluten free and LOVING it!

Akimajuktuq

Not only am I GF, but I am grain and legume free. I'm absolutely loving it too! So awesome to not feel sick and depressed all the time. My child is enjoying having a mother who can function and do things with her! Am I "suffering" and "restricted" by giving up foods that make me sick; NOT!!!

justkeepswimng

Gluten Free is NOT a diet. Your going to have to eat like this the rest of your life. It is not a choice. You have a good attitude with focusing on what you can have vs what you can't. That's always hard in the beginning.

Be very careful with things marked gluten free. Your going to have to read almost every label of food you buy. Gluten is in almost everything. Some companies claim their product is gluten free but that just means they don't add any gluten to the product but let's say you have chips and those chips are going through the conveyer belt as something that had gluten in it. Well there you go cross contamination.

Cross contamination is going to be your worst enemy. I'm very anal but I do get "glutened" a lot and the results are not nice. A lot of restaurants will claim a prodcut is gluten free too but if they know what they are doing in the kitchen (different cutting board, different knives, changing gloves) you should be fine. But you do have to watch eating out.

Good luck.

Agreed, I don't really thing anything is a diet. Any altering of your day to day food intake is a lifestyle change. Fortunately, I don't think my level of sensitivity is so strong that I can't have something with soy sauce or a little bit of gluten once in a while, just no sandwiches and pasta every day (not that I was doing that anyway!)

I can definitely feel the differences, though, and am really enjoying it!

di·et/ˈdī-it/
Noun:
The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.


I understand what you guys are saying, but g-free definitely is a diet, it is a a lifestyle diet and not a diet trend but nonetheless it is a diet.

I have had ulcerative colitis since I was 15. I had my colon completely removed when I was 20. I am just now trying to do the g-free thing. I have been on it for about two months, but I must admit I am still cheating occasionally (I usually feel like crap after I cheat though which will help me stick to it in the long run.)

MurphysLawTD

Can anyone suggest some gluten free restaurants? This is the first time in months I have to go out and get lunch b/c I didn't have anything to make and I'm not sure where to go.

I'm thinking Muscle Maker Grill, they have something called the Arizona that's advertised as gluten free (I think MMG is NJ specific.)

Any other ideas?

AllisonMart

Eating out is hard because of cross contamination. Some people can handle a little gluten and some can't. I can handle a little, like some soy sauce with my sushi, but not too much over time (so if I have that soy sauce, I can't have a salad that touched croutons the next day without dire consequences). All gluten things like cookies, pizza, etc. are completely out for me no matter what. Even the gluten-free versions make me a little uncomfortable so I don't eat those often either.

Restaurants are getting better about GF but you still have to be careful. When I first figured it out I ate almost nothing but Chipotle for a few days, and I still do well there. Outback has a great GF menu. My rule of thumb is that you can tell how well educated a restaurant is about GF by the menu presentation. If they just hand you a binder with a printed page in it of gluten free options, be very very careful (can't tell you how many times I've found blue cheese on that menu!). If they have a separate, graphic, nice menu like Outback does, it shows they really put some thought into it and you're probably OK. But still...you never know! There are apps you can download that will show GF restaurants near you. A lot of it is research. If my friends want to go somewhere, I'll get online and check their menu first. There are also usually GF food bloggers in your area and there may even be a support group. I live in a small city in Kansas and we have both so I'm sure NJ does too! Our local group does Celiacs Eating Out once a month, where we meet at a restaurant to try their GF offerings. Still, I can't tell you how many times I've been stuck eating a darn salad. Ugh. That's just the way it is, unfortunately. My first symptom is coughing while eating, so I know now to stop as soon as I start coughing.

The longer that you go GF, the more sensitivity you will develop. At first I could still handle eating a chicken nugget now and then, but now I can't. I'm far healthier and better off than ever before, but I can't handle as much gluten, either. I also really don't care, because "Nothing tastes as good as gluten-free feels"!

Sorry can't help you with the burping! Gas isn't my issue but I have heard of it. I'm stomach cramps, diarrhea, and terrible crippling arthritis pain. For months I coudl hardly hold my own toothbrush or hairbrush. I had bad acid reflux before which I controlled by eating yogurt every day, but turns out it was gluten and I haven't had acid reflux in years now. The gas may be temporary - you've made a huge change and your body has to heal and learn to process foods the right way. Start taking vitamins right away if you haven't already. I was severely anemic by the time I figured out the gluten thing and I still take iron everyday just to stay at a normal level. Your body has not been processing your food correctly for a while, possibly years, and it takes about a year for your intestines to heal and absorb nutrients like they should. Give it time. Good luck!

MurphysLawTD

Well, turns out I won't know for sure what the cause of the burping is until I have an endoscopy next month. Should be delightful!!

Yes, I believe I can handle SOME gluten in moderation, but like you said, nothing tastes as good as gf feels!

That's very cool you're part of a group that specifically eats out once a month gluten free. Very cool! I'm sure there's a lot of that around here, I'm just so new to it that I don't know the ins and outs yet.

Thanks for all your words of wisdom! :flowerforyou:

AllisonMart

If you have a local GF group, they are probably registered under the Celiac Sprue Association - www.csaceliacs.info/find will take you to the local chapter search.

It is overwhelming at first. It was probably a year until I no longer obsessed every single day about food! For most of that I didn't know any other GF people either, so it was just me learning it on my own. Hang in there, it will be OK!

monicalosesweight

The one thing I miss is beer and pizza, but I shouldn't be eating those anyway! :drinker:

Gluten Free Beer Red Bridge

Udi's makes a great gluten free pizza crust. I've heard that Against the Grain is pretty good. I haven't had a chance to test that one. I use Udi's and their crust is nice and crispy.

The Red Bridge beer is good and they have that in Florida in Publix which is a local market. I bet most markets have it but it's like 6 bottles and usually refridgerated. I think Anheuser Busch makes it.