Anyone gluten free?

My wife and i went gluten free about 1 year ago. She was getting sick being intolerant. Her doctor suggested if she wanted a big jump in weight loss to try and avoid, white rice, pasta, breads, white potatoes. She did end up dropping 30lbs since last year but she wasnt on a diet. Its really about how gluten affects you. Do you get upset stomach after eating bread or pasta, potatoes or rice?

My gut is much happier being gluten free. When I consume gluten, I get bloated and sick, accompanied by feeling hungover the next day. Not cool!

While other grains like rice and corn do not cause me the same issues, I do replace starches in my diet with more complex carbs when I'm trying to lose weight. I load up on veggies with my meat and skip the bread-y side, or serve quinoa instead of rice, etc. For myself, weight loss comes from eating nutritionally dense foods so that I can feel full and not have a 9pm binge.

James...no i dont get sick or really have any stomach issues, unless i eat too much or too much grease so since ive cleaned up my eating been pretty good. My thoughts were just over all health. The posting i read said she rid herself of fibromyalga so i did a little more research and found it can tigger many other things... ibs, RA, fibro., just to name a few. So i thought i would get others opinions.

There's quite a bit of research that suggests that cutting out grains in general (not just the gluten-containing ones) can have positive health benefits (assuming, here, that you don't just substitute it all with "fake-wheat"). The gluten, lectin, and massive amounts of carbs in a grain-heavy diet have all been linked to systemic inflammation (which generally leads to and/or exacerbates arthritis, fibro, and other inflammation-related diseases). There's also evidence that suggests that as much as 1/3 of the human population has some level of gluten intolerance or sensitivity (see also: "subclinical gluten intolerance"), which can cause IBS, GERD, and other GI issues.

Many of the issues people see relief from when cutting out grains (or even just gluten) are those low-level issues that people just chalk up to "getting older" or "part of life" - the random knee pain, the lower back pain, periodic headaches, lethargy, etc. It all depends on how your body reacts to them, though, so some things might clear up while others still persist, and some things might take longer to subside than others.

Check out paleo recipes in addition to the standard gluten-free ones. They get pretty creative with things (since they cut out all grains, and often dairy as well) and will generally use whole food ingredients, both of which helps with keeping the "fake-wheat" from completely taking the place of regular wheat products.

In my experience, it's only limiting if you let it be so. I've found that after a while, the old gluten/grain filled stuff is no longer all that appetizing, even if it doesn't cause immediate disastrous effects.

If you don't have a medical reason to go gluten free then I wouldn't suggest doing it. As others have stated it is a lot of work to keep up with. Also, products that are made gluten free (like muffins and crackers, not bananas) often have no calorie difference from their gluten-inclusive counterparts and are usually more expensive. The current gluten free movement is on the verge of being a fad diet because so many people are trying it for weight loss when the truth is that gluten has nothing to do with your weight. Generally the people who are losing weight when going gluten free are actually adopting more of an atkins/south beach diet and aren't consuming gluten free substitutes, so it makes sense that they are losing weight because gluten-inclusive products are usually more calorie dense than naturally non-gluten food like fruits and veggies.

So try it if you want to, but understand that it is your calorie deficit that is causing you to lose weight not the absence of gluten.

I totally agree. I had to go Gluten and Super low Sugar for my bladder. I really does make you lose weight at first but the issue is all the prepacked food have just as much if not more sugar in them, same with cals. Sugar is awful and will make you gain weight. If you want to give up anything give that up it has no nutritional value. My Dad has Celica and was 109 when he was diagnosed and since eating gluten free is now 180! Bottom line is it is a fad like anything it is not some mircle diet, Eat clean, you can eat whole wheat bread and not gain its when you eat donuts and crap that people gain weight.

I have been 100% gluten free for medical reasons (gluten allergy) since October 15, 2012. I'm 42 years old and I can honestly say that this was the best thing that I've ever done! I wish I did it 20 years ago! I had unexplained allergies and horrible headaches 3-4 times/week my entire life, and in the past 15-20 years I had unexplained skin rashes, major fatigue (especially during the last 5-10 years), gastrointestinal issues, frequent colds and infections, focus/concentration issues and a ton of other problems. I was on 3 allergy meds/day plus an acid reflux med and had started feeling pretty hopeless because no one could figure out what was wrong with me and people just thought I was always sick. Finally, my primary doctor worked with a gastroenterologist to figure out what had been causing me so many problems for all of these years. He is now using me as a case study to show how big of an impact gluten can have on a person's life. I would WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend a gluten-free diet to anyone exhibiting those symptoms, but only under the direction of a doctor (mainly because if you are going to do any tests for gluten issues or celiac disease, you should NOT cut out gluten during the 6 weeks before the tests or they might not be accurate).

However, I would not necessarily recommend that just anybody cut out gluten 100% without a medical reason. I think that decreasing your gluten intake somewhat would probably be valuable because a lot of gluten-containing foods have a high glycemic index or a lot of sugar/carbs--but not sure that 100% elimination makes sense for most people. First of all, it's hard to do if you're not accustomed to dealing with dietary restrictions or food allergies. Also, as some other posters have mentioned, a lot of gluten-free foods aren't all that healthy either. But I definitely think that most folks would benefit from cutting back on gluten to some extent. If your doctor has indicated that you don't need to be tested for more serious gluten issues (celiac disease), you could try doing an elimination diet for a few weeks and then gradually start eating it again. For me, I noticed a huge difference within 2-3 days of cutting out gluten and when I did a "challenge" and tried it again 4 weeks later, I immediately felt like crap and all of my symptoms returned right away.

My results since going GF...taking NO meds, have tons more energy, zero headaches (didn't even know how it was to go headache-free for a week, let alone a year!!!), haven't had a cold at all in the last year, my hands are no longer dry, bleeding and raw, no more itchy scalp, no bathroom issues, no bloating and I lost 10 pounds (went down almost 4 pants sizes) within the first 4 weeks. I will NEVER bring gluten back into my life, except for the occasional accidental slip up. Best thing I've ever done, hands down!!!! Feel free to friend me or send me a message if anyone wants to learn more about a GF lifestyle or if you are dealing with any of those issues.

I am not gluten free, but my girlfriend is by necessity. Right now she is on the paleo diet; which is gluten free, but also has some other health benefits. There are some good teaser recipes and a link to a full paleo recipes cookbook at this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngIr3jZ2kYk