Gluten free diet help?

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cmonskinnylovee
cmonskinnylovee Posts: 339
in Health and Weight Loss
I think I might have a gluten allergy- but I have no idea how to correct this. What kind of foods can I eat, and what should I avoid? So far from what I've been reading, it seems like I'll be on a strictly 'clean' diet. IE lean meats, fruits and vegetables.

I really don't want to be gnawing on carrots for the rest of my life, especially if it's necessary. I am a carb lover- is there any hope for me?

Replies

  • Leslietheriot
    Leslietheriot Posts: 303 Member
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    Alot of the Wal Mart brand items (Great Value) are now "gluten-free".
  • cmonskinnylovee
    cmonskinnylovee Posts: 339
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    Alot of the Wal Mart brand items (Great Value) are now "gluten-free".

    really??? :D that makes me very happy!
  • Heatherbelle_87
    Heatherbelle_87 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    Check out Sprouts, whole foods, and fresh & easy. All of them will have gluten free options. I would advise learning to make your own bread as its better & cheaper then what you can get in the store. There are also alternative pastas and crackers (though be careful with crackers if you have a nut allergy) you are cut off from most canned soup but you can learn how to make a great veggies and gluten free pasta soup in a crock pot (or stove top) and really its not as bad as it sounds. My fav crackers are crunchmaster's multiseed crackers (they are sold as multi-grain gluten free crackers at major retailers, multi-seed at specialty stores). Read the cooking instructions carefully on the pastas! Seriosuly easy to under or over cook depending on which type you choose (rice being the most common) There are amazing gluten free desert options at whole foods.

    You WILL spend more if you opt to go with carb replacements versus a "clean" diet but you can slowly transition yourself to less and less processed things
  • cmonskinnylovee
    cmonskinnylovee Posts: 339
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    Check out Sprouts, whole foods, and fresh & easy. All of them will have gluten free options. I would advise learning to make your own bread as its better & cheaper then what you can get in the store. There are also alternative pastas and crackers (though be careful with crackers if you have a nut allergy) you are cut off from most canned soup but you can learn how to make a great veggies and gluten free pasta soup in a crock pot (or stove top) and really its not as bad as it sounds. My fav crackers are crunchmaster's multiseed crackers (they are sold as multi-grain gluten free crackers at major retailers, multi-seed at specialty stores). Read the cooking instructions carefully on the pastas! Seriosuly easy to under or over cook depending on which type you choose (rice being the most common) There are amazing gluten free desert options at whole foods.

    You WILL spend more if you opt to go with carb replacements versus a "clean" diet but you can slowly transition yourself to less and less processed things

    I feel like I'm going to be malnourished for some reason. I know it makes absolutely NO sense, but this all feels so negative to me.

    I packed my lunch for tomorrow, and it consists of carrots, grapes, an apple, a nectarine, and some water. That looks like starvation to me :(

    Oh God this sucks. Thank you for the helpful information though :)
  • Heatherbelle_87
    Heatherbelle_87 Posts: 1,078 Member
    Options
    Check out Sprouts, whole foods, and fresh & easy. All of them will have gluten free options. I would advise learning to make your own bread as its better & cheaper then what you can get in the store. There are also alternative pastas and crackers (though be careful with crackers if you have a nut allergy) you are cut off from most canned soup but you can learn how to make a great veggies and gluten free pasta soup in a crock pot (or stove top) and really its not as bad as it sounds. My fav crackers are crunchmaster's multiseed crackers (they are sold as multi-grain gluten free crackers at major retailers, multi-seed at specialty stores). Read the cooking instructions carefully on the pastas! Seriosuly easy to under or over cook depending on which type you choose (rice being the most common) There are amazing gluten free desert options at whole foods.

    You WILL spend more if you opt to go with carb replacements versus a "clean" diet but you can slowly transition yourself to less and less processed things

    I feel like I'm going to be malnourished for some reason. I know it makes absolutely NO sense, but this all feels so negative to me.

    I packed my lunch for tomorrow, and it consists of carrots, grapes, an apple, a nectarine, and some water. That looks like starvation to me :(

    Oh God this sucks. Thank you for the helpful information though :)

    A great (and cheaper) carb filler is brown rice. The extra fiber in brown vs white rice makes it take longer to digest making you feel full longer. You can make things like Jambalaya or things in another gluten free sauce to go over it
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
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    There are tons of things you can have. You have to avoid wheat, rye, barley, and some people can't do oats. But there are so many good alternatives now. Many grocery stores have corn pasta, which is so much better than the rice pasta.
    You can check out the King Arthur Flour website for some good GF baking recipes using flours like tapioca flour and brown rice flour.
  • monocot
    monocot Posts: 475 Member
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    My sister is gluten Free. And She eats a ton of stuff.
    You can get a ton of different breads and deserts.
    You can still enjoy chips but not a couple Kinds.You can still enjoy Jello
    And chilis and and pasta. Just have to buy a certain kind of noodle
    Rice you can eat to your hearts content.
    Taco Salad!, You just have to read labels a bit more and buy speciality bread and pasta.
    And some Crackers. it's easy,
    I cook for my sister all the time and i just have to read labels a bit more then usual.
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
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    You can also have potatoes, rice, corn. All those are yummy carbs.
  • cparkburke
    cparkburke Posts: 27 Member
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    Why do you think you have a gluten allergy?
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
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    Yes, read the labels carefully. My son-in-law has celiac disease, and he can't even have things that are processed on shared machinery with products with gluten. You may not be that sensitive though.
  • hermione_ar
    hermione_ar Posts: 68 Member
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    I'm gluten free, add me as a friend if you like and you can look at my food diary. I have heaps of meal ideas I can give you if you want. :)
  • MakingChange
    MakingChange Posts: 22
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    I know this is an incredibly boring suggestion, but have you consider visting your GP to find out if you have an intolerance to Gluten?

    I went on an exlusion diet a few years ago, it seems really daunting to think of all the things you can't eat. Thankfully, the world has come a long way in gluten free alternatives, you'll find heaps of them in your local grocery store.

    Just keep in mind that GF alternatives usally have more sugar than their gluten containing cousins!
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
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    I feel like I'm going to be malnourished for some reason. I know it makes absolutely NO sense, but this all feels so negative to me.

    I packed my lunch for tomorrow, and it consists of carrots, grapes, an apple, a nectarine, and some water. That looks like starvation to me :(

    Oh God this sucks. Thank you for the helpful information though :)

    You're basically only removing wheat, rye, and barley-based products from your diet. You're not going to starve. Eating clean is probably your best option, but there's a lot you CAN eat. Fruits, veggies, and meat are the obvious ones, but you can also have stuff like nuts, rice, potatoes, corn, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, etc. If anything, you're going to be better nourished.

    Also, I'm with the guy who said talk to your doctor first.
  • HazelAngelstar
    HazelAngelstar Posts: 54
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    i'm on a wheat-free diet, so majority of my diet is gluten-free (and has been for almost a year). Add me as a friend if you want. I have found alternatives to just about everything I would have previously eaten - either directly through using gluten-free products, or by finding something to use as alternative.

    You also become an expert at checking food labels - and will find that a lot of processed foods are out the window (not necessarily a bad thing, cos of all the other stuff in them) ... but there is, as others have said, a lot of naturally gluten-free products available, plus good choice of commercial gluten-free products.

    however, not all my substitutions are gluten free - as its only wheat gluten that is a problem for me; i can eat rye & barley without any problems. Oats are ok for some people on gluten-free diets, as although they do not contain gluten - they are often contaminated by the gluten from other grains.

    good luck - its very daunting at first; but it becomes much easier as you get used to what you can & cannot eat.
  • cmonskinnylovee
    cmonskinnylovee Posts: 339
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    Why do you think you have a gluten allergy?

    If you honestly want to know, I'll tell you but it's a little TMI.

    I have been bloated, and had horrible gas pains everyday for months now. I get bloated almost immediately after I eat, and it doesn't go away. I have a hard time 'going' sometimes as well. Also before all this happened, I was lactose intolerant for about a month, and I read that a lot of people with gluten allergy's are sensitive to milk because their stomach lining is inflamed.

    Oh, and this morning I was in the bathroom every ten minutes, I think my lower intestine was seriously trying to get all the toxins out. It still hurts :(
  • cmonskinnylovee
    cmonskinnylovee Posts: 339
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    I feel like I'm going to be malnourished for some reason. I know it makes absolutely NO sense, but this all feels so negative to me.

    I packed my lunch for tomorrow, and it consists of carrots, grapes, an apple, a nectarine, and some water. That looks like starvation to me :(

    Oh God this sucks. Thank you for the helpful information though :)

    You're basically only removing wheat, rye, and barley-based products from your diet. You're not going to starve. Eating clean is probably your best option, but there's a lot you CAN eat. Fruits, veggies, and meat are the obvious ones, but you can also have stuff like nuts, rice, potatoes, corn, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, etc. If anything, you're going to be better nourished.

    Also, I'm with the guy who said talk to your doctor first.

    I can't go to the doctor, I live with my parents and they make me pay for the treatment when I go and get it. They say its because I'm a hypochondriac, I think it's because they're cheap.

    I might be a hypochondriac, but being bloated and constipated for almost two months is NOT something I can just imagine is happening.
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
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    If you enjoy cooking, there are a lot of blogs that are gluten-free and have a LOT of recipes.

    This is by far my fave blog, and she has a lot of posts on exercise, too:
    http://fitnessista.com/

    Also, just google "gluten free blog," and you'll see a lot of blogs with recipes and helpful advice. I hope this helps!
  • unsuspectingfish
    unsuspectingfish Posts: 1,176 Member
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    I feel like I'm going to be malnourished for some reason. I know it makes absolutely NO sense, but this all feels so negative to me.

    I packed my lunch for tomorrow, and it consists of carrots, grapes, an apple, a nectarine, and some water. That looks like starvation to me :(

    Oh God this sucks. Thank you for the helpful information though :)

    You're basically only removing wheat, rye, and barley-based products from your diet. You're not going to starve. Eating clean is probably your best option, but there's a lot you CAN eat. Fruits, veggies, and meat are the obvious ones, but you can also have stuff like nuts, rice, potatoes, corn, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, etc. If anything, you're going to be better nourished.

    Also, I'm with the guy who said talk to your doctor first.

    I can't go to the doctor, I live with my parents and they make me pay for the treatment when I go and get it. They say its because I'm a hypochondriac, I think it's because they're cheap.

    I might be a hypochondriac, but being bloated and constipated for almost two months is NOT something I can just imagine is happening.

    I don't doubt that, but there's always a possibility that something else is going on.
  • cparkburke
    cparkburke Posts: 27 Member
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    Why do you think you have a gluten allergy?
    ...bloated, and had horrible gas pains everyday for months now... hard time 'going' sometimes as well... lactose intolerant for about a month, and I read that a lot of people with gluten allergy's are sensitive to milk because their stomach lining is inflamed. Oh, and this morning I was in the bathroom every ten minutes...

    Aw, that all sucks... sorry to hear it.

    Ok, the reason I asked: Being gluten-free takes a bit of attention, and if you don't have to do it, it's not worth adding stress to your life by guessing what's wrong. MakingChange is absolutely right... you should see your doctor. Most important, you might have Celiac's or some other autoimmune issue that REQUIRES CORRECT dietary changes. On a happier note, you may have a more easily correctable condition that won't require you giving up as many foods.

    I know you said you "can't" go to the doctor, but I think this idea is worth revisiting... either out of your own budget, or keep talking to your parents.

    How are you feeling now that you've cut out gluten?

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