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gluten free/dairy free, eating more vegetables
I must be crazy but I have decided to try my hand at the gluten free/dairy free diet that a lot of people are doing lately. Before the speeches start about "its not what you eat its how much you eat" etc, I want to say I know a healthy diet should include all food groups and I am not doing a low carb diet. I have done weight watchers successfully lost 30 lbs and still ate desserts and pizza. I do want to lose some weight with this GF/DF diet but I have also had stomach problems my entire life, mostly just feeling nauseous basically always, and I throw up after eating more than any person should. I have had acid reflux checked and everything else checked you could think of, everything was fine, so that leads me to believe it is something I'm eating. My lifelong nickname has been "little miss throwup" yuck! I hope that's not an overshare but I spent most of our last family vacation eating tums like candy and sitting out fun things because I was feeling too pukey to participate. I notice when I eat a lot of bread/pasta etc I always feel bloated and terrible and dairy makes me feel really gross too. So I am doing this mostly to see if my stomach issues calm down and I can have some relief and not constantly feel sick to my stomach 🙁 it's not a fun way to go through life let me tell you!
My biggest issue seems to be consuming a balanced diet, I have been doing this for about a week now and I feel pretty tired, I think I am not getting all the nutrients I should be. Does anyone else have a similar diet and have any tips or recipes? I am going to see if I can take some vitamins to supplement also. My biggest issue so far has been not bringing a snack or something to eat at work, so then I work for a long time without eating anything at all whereas before I would just eat when I was hungry (I work in a restaurant so there's always something to eat, but there's literally 1 dish that is gluten free and that is our vegetarian chili which only sustains a gal for so long!) I feel like I've been eating rabbit food basically and then at night I come home and eat a bunch of food to replace the hours when I was starving..which I know is really bad. So I need to start keeping some almonds and a banana in my purse, and prepare some cooked food to bring to work with me.
I mostly want to know if anyone else has done this sort of elminination diet, what the results were, did you feel better after? I am also hoping this helps increase my consumption of fruits and vegetables, I have already replaced my nightly bowl of ice cream with a bowl of fresh fruit drizzled with a little bit of organic dark chocolate or a big mug of freshly made hot chocolate made with almond milk and melted dark chocolate. I found an awesome recipe for "cream" of broccoli soup that I have had a big bowl of every day and it's completely made of veggies and veggie broth. I have gotten a lot of advice on facebook but mostly everyone is either GF or DF, not many people doing both. It has been a little rough (my parents ordered mushroom pizza last night and I couldn't have any!!) but I have decided that if it's a special occasion or we go out and I really want a little bread or a little cheese I can have it once in a while so as not to completely deprive myself. I am also opening a cupcake business so we will see how that goes! Lol. How will I exist without my beloved feta and goat cheese?! Any advice, recipes or tips anyone has is suuuuper appreciated!!! I'm also crazy for starting this before the holidays!!!
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15 Replies
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My soon to be mother in law is GF and DF(mostly, occasional butter if it's in a recipe). She has been for many years. Some of the things that she laments are lack of "fun" foods, so I started creating GF cookie recipes and other dessert things and she loves them. I am also working on a GF pasta recipe, trying to get some flavor into it as well, liek a sun dried tomato or a spinach pasta. I also came up with a GF protein bar that had a good taste, but it had almost zero shelf stability.
Best advice I can give is search online for GF friendly food stores in your area! There is a GF bakery in MN called bittersweet bakery and they offer some great things. But, research what you can find that's close to you, other people working GF friendly stores have been very helpful to me while I try to come up with recipes! Good luck.
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For sure check out a local gluten free shop if there is one in your area. Ceiliac.com is a good recourse with lots of info. I just did 4 weeks of gluten free hoping I’d feel better after, but no luck. I’ve heard it takes 4-6 weeks to clear totally clear your self from gluten & it’s best not to cheat at all during that time. Also, I just learned coffee can trigger a reaction for some with a gluten sensitivity:(
I really like quinoa for gluten free pasta, chex for cereal, & Kens salad dressing brand. Also, my mom makes awesome brownies with black beans of all things.
My mom found out she has celiac last year & feels much better now that she has changed her diet. -
My daughter (5) has severe allergies, among other issues. We have had to do the gf/df for a while now for her. Honestly i dont recommend it unless you have a medical condition (celiacs or a medically confirmed sensitivity, and yes there are tests for it).
My daughter just now did a challenge diet for dairy and was given the green light to add dairy back into her diet. She is so very excited to be able to eat a "regular" food because her diet is so restricted.
Honestly, the best diet is one that is high in lean protiens, veggies, fruits, healthy fats, and complex carbs.
It sounds like you need to work on eating healthier, drop the sweets (ice cream every night) and eat at regular intervals throughout the day (which will stop the bingeing at night). Keep a journal of all the food you eat, make sure you are eating enough cals (rabbit food does not sound like you are eating well at all), and write down how the food made you feel and how you felt before eating (hungry, tired, sad, etc).
I am willing to bet its less of a "sensitivity" thing and more of a lifestyle thing. That is to say not eating enough, not eating at regular intervals, allowing glucose to bottom out/get too high (which can lead to nasuea, throwing up, and not feelign too hot), and eating foods low in nutrients.
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I also suggest you find health food stores in your area! You don't have to give up bread completely if you can find a gluten-free substitute. My friend has been doing gluten-free for a while now and it has helped with relieving her migraines. I asked her about it and she said it isn't as difficult as I originally thought it would be.
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I know this is gonna be hard to believe considering how svelt I am (Hey everyone stop laughing at the fat kid let him believe what he wants). I've been dieting lately. My approach has been simple, run every morning and keep my caloric intake down. I use an App for my phone called "lose it" to track my caloric intake.
Knowledge seems to be the clincher here. When I know how many calories I'm putting in my body I am making better food decisions. I don't want to eat a 500 calorie cookie when I know it won't fill me up and will take the place of a filling dinner at the same count.
With any diet you will feel like crap for a week or so, its your body adjusting to the change in nutrition. If it goes longer than that though you definitely need to adjust.
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One of my nieces is not only Gluten intolerant, but she is also a Vegetarian! Talk about hard to feed! I know one of her favorites is quinoa. She makes it with vegetable broth, and then just adds steamed veggies. One of her favorite places to eat is Chipotle. She can get whatever ingredients she can eat, and then just asks for a bag of the corn tortilla chips when she's at the register. It's her splurge! Good luck my friend!!
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you may experiencing an adjustment period
carbs give a body energy… so if you are feeling low on energy, you need to up you sugar intake.
more fruit, dates are sugary and high in fiber, more grains (i'm guessing you are only eliminating wheat, and not rice and other grains)
and if that's not enough, you could always get a coffee- if you drink coffee
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Hi So I have a bunch of friends on the paleo diet….. which is a lot more restrictive than just GF/DF.. My boyfriend has also done random months of paleo.. which means by default I have to do it if we want to eat together.. haha
So here's my random 2 sense based on my own research.. things I've done.. things my friends have done.. what works for my athletes trying to reach peak performance
As far as grains and pastas and breads…. I don't think you're the only one who feels bloated… the problem is that no one eats just one serving size of these foods… which then leads to over eating.. bloating.. weight gain.. and upset stomach… I have limited my pasta in take to pretty much none. If I can't have a big old bowl of pasta with alfredo sauce than why bother.. haha………. My favorite thing in place of pasta.. SPAGHETTI SQUASH!. It's a vegetable but it looks like pasta! It doesn't have much of a flavor so you can put anything on it! I would also recommend quinoa.. it has protien in it so it will help to fill you up in a good way…… and wild rice
For snacks throughout the day…. Hummus is always a good option with some veggies….. Nuts and fruit… make your own trail mix blend with nuts and dried fruits
My other suggestion would to get checked for allergies if you say you've had GI problems… besides diary and gluten, egg is also a very big allergy and egg is in alot of things
If there's no medical reason to stay away from certain foods then you don't have to go all or nothing. Don't eat a big bowl of ice cream but add a small yogurt and fruit as a snack during the day.. or a little granola……… If you don't have to be super strict there's nothing wrong with a little here and there if you're having problems with energy and eating balanced….. it's very hard to figure out a diet that takes away the biggest staples of the american diet
Also remember beer is pretty much nothing but gluten!! 🙁
Last thing…… When I was forced into my BF's diet… here's what my meal plan looked like (remember if your replacing pasta and grain with veggies you can eat a ton more)
Breakfast – 2 or 3 Mini cupcake sized veggie omelet/frittatas (onions, mushrooms, peppers) and sometimes sausage too
Lunch – big ass salad – lettuce, all the veggies i could find, bacon, hard boiled eggs, O&V
Dinner – some sort of meat (usually chicken, it's the cheapest!) grilled or baked…… some sort of steamed or grilled veggies…… and most of the time home made sweet potato fries(I could eat a whole plate of them!)
Snacks – greek yogurt with fruit and granola…… hummus with veggies…. salsa or guacamole
Hope that helps!
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I eat mostly paleo – but not because I want to lose weight. I am intolerant to wheat. I don't do completely dairy free though, I think it's important to get calcium where you can – I'm lactose intolerant though so I drink zymil, a lactose free milk and there are some cheeses that are quite low in lactose. Eggs don't count as dairy btw.
The thing with grains and dairy and bread is that we have not evolved to eat these foods. Wheat is incredibly processed and our body doesn't know how to break it down. Our body breaks down carbs into sugar becuase it has no other way of processing it – and sugar is so bad for you it's not funny.
I've pretty much eliminated sugar and grains/wheat from my diet and try not to eat any processed foods. The only time this becomes difficult is when you're out – because all "convenient" foods are made with bread / wheat / pasta… it's cheap and easy. As long as you prepare foods at home to take out for lunch at work etc you'll be fine. And a lot of places are doing GF these days anyway, so that makes it a bit easier.
If I'm going to a cafe with my family for e.g. and there's nothing GF on the menu, I'll just order the biggest burger and take away the bread. Then you have a nice bit of meat, and heaps of salad, tomato, onion, and I just eat it with a knife and fork.
My bf has read so much about this because of my food intolerances, and he understands the biochemistry behind it so much better than I do, but a good documentary to watch is "Fat Head". You can dl for free online (legally).
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I've been eating gluten free and mostly vegan for about a month now…I took a food sensitivity test that showed a sensitivity to gluten, eggs, cows milk, garlic and s few other things. My approach has been to use google for recipes, then adapt them to what I have in the house. I always have nutritional yeast, almond milk, coconut milks, various flours, chia seeds, flax meal,canned tomatos, beans, spices, zucchini, squash, broccoli, and potatos on hand. I've managed a pretty bomb lasagne. Last night I made black bean and yam enchiladas. I have a vegan cheezy potato soup I love!!!
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Thanks for the advice everyone I really appreciate it! i should have clarified I am just experimenting with this to see how it goes and if I feel any better and to make me more aware of what I am eating. I also don't know if I can eat this way my entire life but I want to at least give it a shot. If it doesn't work out I will re-evaluate. I appreciate everyone's input and experiences! Thank you again 🙂
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Good for you for taking charge and seeing if you feel a difference. I started the paleo diet in June after a lifetime of having a really fussy stomach – I hoped to see improved energy and performance of course, but most of all hoped it would help my tummy issues.
I will tell you that eliminating dairy and gluten can be a definite shock to your system – I went through a detox of sorts that included fatigue and extreme moodiness. It passed rather quickly though – google "paleo flu" and you will see that you are not alone.
Some people realize that they feel better almost immediately, like me – others it may not be a big enough difference to continue. I hope that you will keep us posted on how this works for you!
By the way – I also learned that my chocolate cravings were due to not eating enough fat. Spoonful of almond butter or guacamole – yes please. 🙂
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Yes – fat is so important for a healthy diet!!
Contrary to popular belief, fat doesn't make you fat. Sugar does.
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I had to go Gf/df AND SF about a year ago. While following the diet I felt GREAT! I was never tired, my menstrual cramps were practically non-existent, eczema rarely flared, and my digestives issues were no longer a problem. I was exercising a lot so I was losing weight anyways, but eliminating sugar helped melt my abdominal fat! I have fallen off and feel like CRAP! You may want to see a Naturopathic doctor, mine help me tremendously. Good luck!
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I'm a GF/DF/SF vegeterian (and I feel great when I follow my diet and not so great when I don't. I've had this diet for over 10 years. Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn't feel restrictive if you focus on all the good stuff you "can" have (quinoa, millet, etc) instead of focusing on what you "can't" have (store bought junk food, etc). Actually, after you've eaten this way for awhile you'll find that you don't crave gluten or junk food anymore.
My biggest tip would be to get into green smoothies and have one each day. If you're interested, message me and I can give you info for an online group that does a green smoothie challenge and has tons of information about doing so (all free). Green smoothies really help cut cravings.
You might also want to read Wheat Belly to get an understanding of why wheat may be causing your stomach issues. He also talks about how certain GF foods are no better than gluten foods when they contain certain starches, etc. This was the problem I had when I first switched my diet….no gluten but tons of store bought GF foods…..not a good idea.
I could go on forever, but I'll stop here 😉
Good luck!
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