Going gluten and fruit free

Cutting out gluten won't necessarily make you lose weight. And cutting out fruit? Lots of vitamins, minerals and nutrients in them. You should never cut out any food unless it a medical reason where you have to.. not to lose weight.

Keeping the same number of calories, whether you have gluten and fruit or not won't make a difference.

I'm not sure why a doctor would tell you to cut out fruit. Don't take nutrition advice from a doctor... see a dietician or nutritionist.

... eliminate gluten and fruit. Has anyone done that before? What did you eat since I love bread?

Ah. Bread... I gain weight just thinking about it... I love bread too, and to avoid going cold turkey, I substituted for sprouted wheat bread. Sure, it's not as good as baguette or caraway rye, but it's better than nothing (also it has a built-in feature of reduced temptation...). I also love pasta, and there are various gluten-free pastas that are not bad at all. I definitely noticed that it's easier to lose weight without gluten.

Gluten is quite hard on the digestive system. For me, a gluten-free, high-fiber and protein diet seems to do the trick.

As for avoiding fruit: although we all know the benefits of fruits and vegetables, the sugar content of fruits is quite high (not so with veggies). My assumption is that the Dr meant to avoid fruits only during the "kickstart" period, not long term. No gluten and reduced sugar will help set you on a "downward weight slope."

Good luck!

unless you are gluten intolerant, giving up gluten wont do a darn thing. Giving up simple carbs, maybe. Fruit has fiber. I wouldn't give up fiber. So basically, this all sounds like bad advice. Second opinion!

Is your doctor a nutritionist? What's your calorie goal? Maybe you're not eating enough?

Not so sure about the fruit, it can have rather a lot of sugar in it. Are you going to eat gluten free bread or no bread at all? The bottom line probably is that unless it harms you, experimenting on what your own body responds to is a good thing.

You could go completely gluten free and still be eating more or less the same macronutrients as before. (Ask me how to gain weight eating brown rice pasta! I'm great at it) I don't see where this would make any difference to your body, especially over a short time frame.

Maybe what he was trying to suggest is an Atkins-like approach? During the beginning "induction" period of the Atkins diet you eat less than 20 grams "net" carbs per day. (Subtract number of fiber grams from number of carbs to get net carbs, more or less.) When you are eating this low carb, fruit can easily push you over your daily total. This does result in weight loss in my experience, but in my experience it also comes right back on and leads to post Atkins freedom binge.

Fruit is good for you. If you don't have celiac or a gluten sensitivity, gluten is not bad for you. Reduce consumption if you want, but all you're basically doing is cutting calories.

He sounds like he may be loosely recommending Phase One of the South Beach Diet, which generally limits you to lean meats, vegetables, low fat dairy, and eggs. No fruit, no carbs at all during this stage which is for 2 weeks.

The goal is to kick-start weight loss, but also to reduce your body's cravings for sugar and other carbs.

When my husband and I did it, he lost 10 pounds the first week and I lost 4 (keep in mind I was small to begin with, and was just doing it more as a cleanse and to be supportive). The first couple of days were HARD, because you don't realize how much bread and pasta just fill up your tummy till you're trying to fill it up with V8, celery sticks, cottage cheese, turkey slices, etc. But your stomach size eventually adjusts, and you do kick the addiction to sugar.

I'm not as much of a fan of the program because of the use of artificial sweeteners. I'm into REAL FOOD, so the same can be accomplished following a regimen like that of the Paleo diet. Just eat real, unprocessed food (which automatically excludes pasta and bread). It is higher in fat, but fats that help us feel full and satisfied, and that our body knows what to do with. This website has the basics on how to go Paleo: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-101/

Good luck!

I am also starting this. I have the same problem as you and I am going to try the gluten free/ or at least minimal gluten intake and see how it goes. I got the Wheat Belly cookbook out of my library and it is an interesting read and the recipes are ones I would easily make and like. I have a friend who used this and she lost weight eating gluten free and felt really good. I would love to hear how it goes for you. I know a lot of people who have chosen to go gluten free and have had a lot of issues with their bodies lessen due to the change. It is in no way unhealthy to eat gluten free so if it helps you or me lose and maintain a healthy weight then it is good. I may not be able to go completely gluten free but I plan on trying to make 1/2 of my week's meal that way just as I make vegetarian meals on certain days. Good Luck!

I am always amazed at the amount of pseudoscientific beliefs that are in our society and especially in the realm of diet and weight loss. First of all while there are medical conditions to which gluten needs to be avoided in (celiac disease or actual allergy to gluten) this should no way imply that gluten is harmful to others. Sadly many people believe this and gluten has become a pseudoscientific boogeyman of sorts. By this same logic we should all be avoiding peanuts, shellfish, and nearly all other consumables to which a small portion of the population is allergic to. Maybe even people who are not allergic to penicillin should avoid it as well because some people are.

I am always amazed at the amount of pseudoscientific beliefs that are in our society and especially in the realm of diet and weight loss. First of all while there are medical conditions to which gluten needs to be avoided in (celiac disease or actual allergy to gluten) this should no way imply that gluten is harmful to others. Sadly many people believe this and gluten has become a pseudoscientific boogeyman of sorts. By this same logic we should all be avoiding peanuts, shellfish, and nearly all other consumables to which a small portion of the population is allergic to. Maybe even people who are not allergic to penicillin should avoid it as well because some people are.

Well put. It will be ignored because it's not trendy alas...

I am always amazed at the amount of pseudoscientific beliefs that are in our society and especially in the realm of diet and weight loss. First of all while there are medical conditions to which gluten needs to be avoided in (celiac disease or actual allergy to gluten) this should no way imply that gluten is harmful to others. Sadly many people believe this and gluten has become a pseudoscientific boogeyman of sorts. By this same logic we should all be avoiding peanuts, shellfish, and nearly all other consumables to which a small portion of the population is allergic to. Maybe even people who are not allergic to penicillin should avoid it as well because some people are.

Gluten intolerance and celiac disease are not allergies, speaking of pseudoscientific misunderstandings. I'm sure that the OP's doctor is more qualified to give her advice than we are.

P.S. @HealthyEater - I have celiac disease, and my diary is open.

I am always amazed at the amount of pseudoscientific beliefs that are in our society and especially in the realm of diet and weight loss. First of all while there are medical conditions to which gluten needs to be avoided in (celiac disease or actual allergy to gluten) this should no way imply that gluten is harmful to others. Sadly many people believe this and gluten has become a pseudoscientific boogeyman of sorts. By this same logic we should all be avoiding peanuts, shellfish, and nearly all other consumables to which a small portion of the population is allergic to. Maybe even people who are not allergic to penicillin should avoid it as well because some people are.

Gluten intolerance and celiac disease are not allergies, speaking of pseudoscientific misunderstandings. I'm sure that the OP's doctor is more qualified to give her advice than we are.

P.S. @HealthyEater - I have celiac disease, and my diary is open.

Good thing the Dr had the strep to diagnose her problem then.

I'm so tired of hearing gluten-free being bandied about as some kind of new health kick/weight loss strategy. I think it's very irresponsible for a *doctor* to recommend going gluten-free for weight loss. Giving up gluten has pretty much nothing to do with losing weight. It is wheat protein, not some evil dietary substance like so many have come to believe. The only people who benefit from going GF are those with celiac disease. For everyone else, it's a fad, and a potentially very expensive one at that.