Anyone going Wheat Free or Gluten Free?

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allenpearcy
allenpearcy Posts: 227 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am trying Wheat Free for the next 30 days and would love to hear your advice!
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  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
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    I have coeliacs sprue.

    As for advice, don't eat wheat. Or gluten. It's not that hard.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    ibreatheimhungry.com good gluten free meal blog. tons of recipes and links to other gluten free sites.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Not unless I'm diagnosed with Celiac or some kind of intolerance. I don't arbitrarily exclude foods/food groups from my diet without a good reason to do so.
  • Athena125
    Athena125 Posts: 102 Member
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    Corn tortillas and corn chips (both from Trader Joe's) are my best friend. I also use lettuce to wrap things in, celery to put nut butter and/or tuna salad on, and spaghetti squash instead of pasta. Yeah, there are a lot of "rice flours," but I recommend you try to just avoid all the grains as much as possible. Most of the gluten-free products are high sugar - high white flour (albeit, white rice flour) products that you really don't need. It's still processed food. I aim for a max of 3 servings of grains per day but would like it to be 1-2 on most days.
  • juliaskater
    juliaskater Posts: 24 Member
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    Avoid gluten free bread products. The healthiest gluten free substitute product would be whole grain brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta and its so delicious! Seriously, sometimes I feel like that is how I have survived on a gluten free diet! :D Instead stick to foods that are naturally gluten free like yams, sweet potatoes, veggies, fruit, fish, brown rice, milk, etc. Good luck! You can do it! Why are you trying to go gluten free in the first place? I went gluten free because I had stomach problems and wanted to see if I was intolerant. I feel like I am because now after cutting it out for 6 months, my stomach immediately rejects it. Friend me! :D
  • onlythetancan
    onlythetancan Posts: 66
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    I am gluten and dairy free all the time, it makes for allot healthier eating of meats, fruits and vegies, just double check ingredients if you eat out.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    You'd be surprised how many people that quit eating gluten for a period of time then start again and suddenly realized how much it was actually effecting them. It isn't an arbitrary thing, I'm not one to preach but the wheat that we eat has a growing list of studies that are showing that it is causing many health issues even if you don't have Celiac. I am not on a strict gluten free diet but I do try to limit my carbs as much as possible. I have been wanting to try a 30 day "cleanse" of gluten just to see if I notice any side effects when I reintroduce it. The amount of time that I happen to avoid it currently isn't long enough to really tell.
  • jessmart83
    jessmart83 Posts: 283 Member
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    I am trying to do gluten-free. My dermatologist recommended trying it because of my acne and nothing else is working. So I am giving it a shot.
  • Sboobs96
    Sboobs96 Posts: 10
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    I have not had an ounce of gluten/wheat or dairy since the 4th of July. I feel so much better without it and its not that difficult to go off of when you get used to it. But I would not taking gluten out of your meal unless you have allergies. If you cannot afford an allergy test, take gluten out of your diet for a little while and if you feel a positive difference then you probably are. If you are not allergic to gluten, just stick with the whole grains! :) P.S. Any gluten free recipes that originally had gluten in it, SUCK!
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
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    ibreatheimhungry.com good gluten free meal blog. tons of recipes and links to other gluten free sites.

    I second that! I've made the almond biscuits and cauliflower/jalapeno muffins from her site and they were REALLY good

    And to answer your question, I avoid gluten/wheat due to celiacs. I also avoid corn, soy, shellfish and peanuts due to intolerance and have eliminated other grains due to diabetes.

    It's worked for me! No more joint pain, stomach aches or other gastro problems, no more eczema and normal blood/lipid panels.
  • Christie0428
    Christie0428 Posts: 221 Member
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    watch out for sauces, gravy, soups and stews. Wheat flour is used to thicken LOTS of stuff that you wouldn't really think about. I bought frozen cauliflour with a butter sauce frmo trador joes only to realise that the sauce had wheat in it.
  • tropicpalm
    tropicpalm Posts: 39 Member
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    I am gluten free. My advice is make as much of your food from scratch as you can, so you are in control of its contents. And, don't substitute gluten free items that are loaded with sugar for the "real thing". They aren't any better for you than the originals. :tongue:
  • allenpearcy
    allenpearcy Posts: 227 Member
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    Not unless I'm diagnosed with Celiac or some kind of intolerance. I don't arbitrarily exclude foods/food groups from my diet without a good reason to do so.

    Here is what I am reading that has sent me down this path:
    Wheat Belly by William Davis (http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543)
  • kellyes86
    kellyes86 Posts: 21 Member
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    I'm gluten sensitive and can have occasional wheat products but have to very carefully monitor the amount or my body punishes me. Since cutting back, I've discovered a huge love for Quinoa. It can be used in so many different combinations and is very filling. It takes care of any "grain" craving for me - and packs way more nutrients than rice.

    My advice is to carefully read nutrition labels. Do a little research to see what else wheat/wheat products can be labeled as and pay close attention to what you buy. And there are quite a few pre-made gluten free items available for purchase, but be super aware of nutrition on those - they tend to be incredibly high calorie/fat/sugar, not to mention expensive. The only packaged gluten free item I come back to is "Mary's Gone Crackers" Original Crackers, because they're tasty and sometimes on sale.
  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
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    Yup I am gluten free and feel great. I didn't realize how much it affected me until I took it out of my diet!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Not unless I'm diagnosed with Celiac or some kind of intolerance. I don't arbitrarily exclude foods/food groups from my diet without a good reason to do so.

    Here is what I am reading that has sent me down this path:
    Wheat Belly by William Davis (http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543)

    Yeah, don't get excited about that. Most of his theories have been debunked. I can't think of any reason to go wheat free or gluten free (2 different things) unless you've been diagnosed with a problem.
  • honeyandmilk
    honeyandmilk Posts: 160 Member
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    Not unless I'm diagnosed with Celiac or some kind of intolerance. I don't arbitrarily exclude foods/food groups from my diet without a good reason to do so.

    Here is what I am reading that has sent me down this path:
    Wheat Belly by William Davis (http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health/dp/1609611543)

    Yeah, don't get excited about that. Most of his theories have been debunked. I can't think of any reason to go wheat free or gluten free (2 different things) unless you've been diagnosed with a problem.

    Me too. I roll my eyes when people do it and then suddenly say "I have so much energy now! Never felt better!". Please...
  • sarah11918
    sarah11918 Posts: 15 Member
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    We are wheat/grain free, as well as low-carb and the thing I've learned is pretty much avoid anything that claims to be gluten-free... if it says it is, there's a good chance it's still wheat/grain or starch-based, just without gluten. (Of course, if you're only going for gluten-free, that's cool.) Remember, they never have to label the broccoli as gluten-free! ;)

    We make all our own baked goods, breads, buns, crackers etc. using almond flour, coconut flour or flax seed meal (what little we do eat). I've never seen a gluten-free advertised product use these base ingredients, probably because they're more expensive than the others typically used. I just assume that I can't eat anything that's described as gluten-free because chances are it's not grain/wheat/starch-free. So it matters (from a food-choosing standpoint) whether you decide to go wheat-free, gluten-free or completely grain-free because they're not the same thing.

    When your bread is essentially made with fatty flours like coconut/almond, they're much more filling so you eat less. We find this works well for a low-carb/high-fat diet, but if you're doing something different, you'd need to check the macro ratios to see if it's what you're looking for.
  • mariabee
    mariabee Posts: 212 Member
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    I've been gluten-free since January 1st - I do not have celiac disease, nor do I have an "intolerance" but I was always very bloated after eating foods with gluten. This was my test to see if perhaps I should start limiting it indefinitely.

    I find now that I've been doing it for a few weeks I'm definitely feeling lighter (not according to the scale, just in how good I feel when I'm finished eating) - I'm not super "stuffed" feeling even after a big meal. Does that make sense?

    I found going gluten-free very easy, in my opinion, which is kind of weird, coming from an Italian family where pasta and bread are staples.

    Rice crackers are an excellent dupe if you like regular crackers.. there are a million gluten-free breads if you can't live without and several other posters have mentioned quinoa or rice pasta... Quinoa, rice and beans are my go to for carbs, it's nice that they contain protein too.

    I splurged and bought Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour $20 for a large bag - and have been baking with it (my flour swap in banana bread and chocolate chip cookies was barely noticeable).

    I do sometimes get bloated after eating dairy though (gulp!!! I eat dairy constantly) - so this will be my next "cleanse", maybe starting in the spring.

    Hope that helps.
  • allenpearcy
    allenpearcy Posts: 227 Member
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    Avoid gluten free bread products. The healthiest gluten free substitute product would be whole grain brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta and its so delicious! Seriously, sometimes I feel like that is how I have survived on a gluten free diet! :D Instead stick to foods that are naturally gluten free like yams, sweet potatoes, veggies, fruit, fish, brown rice, milk, etc. Good luck! You can do it! Why are you trying to go gluten free in the first place? I went gluten free because I had stomach problems and wanted to see if I was intolerant. I feel like I am because now after cutting it out for 6 months, my stomach immediately rejects it. Friend me! :D

    Thanks Julia, I am have been struggling to lose my last 25 lbs and recently started reading "Wheat Belly" - scary stuff!

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