Gluten Free is Loving Me.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 06:14PM 12 Comments 
Wow you guys, I am learning so much on this gluten-free path. And tonight, thanks to my lovely Tammy - I am going to be reading Elizabeth Hassleback's book on going "G-Free". So interesting how much more prevalent gluten-intolerance and Celiac disease is. And bottom line- overall, I think most of us agree that the things made from wheat/flour blahblahblah are not ideal for our diet. **Please note I am NOT trying to sell you on going gluten-free, just sharing my experience. My reason for doing this first and foremost is to hopefully eliminate the tummy issues that have plagued me in my early twenties and thirties....then I got rid of most of them for a while (as my diet improved) but recently, the stomach aches came back. Pain, bloating, and discomfort. I don't want to just "live with it".So that, in addition to the additional great possibility that going gluten free will also aid in my fat loss goals~ that's where I'm coming from. Understand?
So, day 3 of gluten free. I had an omelette with spinach, mushrooms and mozzarella for breakfast with coffee. For lunch I had a salad from Baja Fresh with lettuce/black beans/salsa/steak/tomatoes/guac/sour cream. <<---later this afternoon I had a slight tummy ache. I think it is either the guac or the sour cream. In the Eat Right For Your Type book, he says Type O's should avoid avocado and dairy....on one hand, he says that mozzarella, goat cheese and feta cheese are ok in moderation, he definitely says cut out the dairy as much as possible. My dairy challenges right now would be the cream in my coffee.....on a normal day I'm not going to encounter as much of an opportunity for cheese- and the cheese in breakfast didn't upset my tummy. But I do really want to focus on cutting down the dairy too. I KNOW cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, anything with a TON of cheese or like melted Brie- major tummy ache for me.
Life is too short to walk around with a dang stomach ache all the time. And guess what? Because of my tummy ache this evening, I got all dressed for my evening workout and couldn't do it.....too cramped up. Sucktastic.
Anyway, I think the next few weeks will be really interesting to see what happens with my body. I am interested to see if my tummy aches disappear as I go more dairy free and more gluten free. I'm also interested to see if my fat loss accelerates at all.
Tell me about any of your experiences with gluten free/dairy free. I've gotten a ton of emails from you and lots of comments, I'm dying to hear more.
Tomorrow's post is going to be about; eating healthy on the road; RESTAURANTS that are offering great options for healthy eating that taste dang good too! Stay tuned.
VLOG to follow- either my Verizon Broadband ISN'T high speed or YouTube is having issues because uploading my video is taking 2.5 HOURS. What is up w/that? At home it is 20 minutes! GRRRR
Question of the day: Do you have tummy issues that plague you? have you considered going gluten-free or dairy free or both? or did any of you try another "way of eating" like vegetarian/vegan, and how did that change your health and your weight?
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Reader Comments (12)
I have a friend that is allergic to gluten. There is a restaurant called Ina's (1235 W. Randolph) that makes Gluten-free fried chicken on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and serves it with gluten-free bread. I highly recommend it for when you start to miss some of those comfort foods. Also, Ina herself comes around and says hi. It's just an all around great place.
I have been gluten/dairy free since November of 2006. If you have these food intolerances
you will feel much better without them. It can take from a few days for some people
to several months for others before they feel much difference.
As far as losing weight, if you stick to naturally gluten free foods, you can lose weight.
The gluten free flours and grains have as many or more calories than wheat flour. Glycemic
Index can make a difference too.
Good Luck!
Well, you know I have issues. I'm not gluten free because I still eat oatmeal. I haven't had issues since my procedure and it's been awesome. I swear I feel like a new woman. I think the pills i'm on are helping me. Maybe I just have IBS? I don't do a lot of dairy...actually none right now. I can tolerate cottage cheese but NOT yogurt.
I've thought of going vegetarian. I don't really like meat. I don't like red meat. I used to be vegetarian back in the day. I lived off of bread...it's fat free right?
Jen- wow what a small world, my friend Margot was just telling me about Ina (who is a friend of hers) and her fabulous restaurant. I must visit there....!!
April, did your doc diagnose you with IBS? It's so funny that you dislike meat where I love it....just goes to show how unique we all are in our tastes/preferences and STOMACH ISSUES HAHA!
Kath- I am definitely feeling better each day....it's awesome! ;-)
Yipee! I made your blog in the comment section! I am ordering the Elisabeth Hasselback book also, my friends are raving about it! Thanks Kelly! I think so many of us chicklets have food allergies and it is truly a work every day to figure out how to be healthy and I love that we are all on the journey together. Be well in your travels this week. Best, Tammy
Kelly~
I had no idea I was allergic until i went Paleo(no dairy or gluten). It's made a HUGE improvement in my stomach issues, mood and sleep.
Good stuff
B
I applaud your efforts. As for the creme in your coffee ,try Soy milk instead,As for me my Ancestry is Polish so G-free is pretty much out of the question.
Barbara, I guess that is the direction I am moving. I am also trying to cut out as much dairy as possible. I think- but thoughts change- that for the time I can tolerate a few bits of cheese here and there but that's it. So interesting and exciting to hear your feedback and experience.
Tammy- that book is a very good read.You'll love it.
Anthony- my father's side of the family is of Slovak descent.....he has a horribly sensitive tummy too. Only he keeps eating the bad foods and just complaining about it LOL
Hey Kelly! Have you heard of foodessentials.com? They help you find brands free of certain ingredients - like gluten! Good luck!
I had not heard of that yet, but I'm checking it out now! THANK YOU!
Hi Kelly,
I really like your website, I visit it almost regularely, but this is the first time I'm posting a comment...
So, to reply to your question I have to write a bit more. Currently I'm doing a higher protein diet, and even though I'm leaning out, I feel quite miserable... I feel like my body and my mind cannot stand any more chicken or turkey breast... So, what is happening is that I'm eating less, which some may think is good, but I don't have enough energy for my workouts. So, I'll have to do something about it... I don't know with what to replace the meat, and it cannot be cottage cheese because it makes me sick...
The only time I really truly felt great was last summer when I did a 30 day raw food challenge, I was never bloated or sick and I had lots of energy. I know that I would probably do best on only raw food, but I don't see myself as a 100% raw foodist... I need to find the right balance for myself, which is pretty difficult.
Nina, I hear you. I cannot do high protein only diets. I lose my mind. I have to be able to have some kind of fruits, some kind of carbs or SOMETHING that isn't just protein protein protein.
Do you eat carbs at all? Rice? Sweet potatoes?
I truly believe after everything I have read it is more about HOW MUCH you eat than precise portions or low-carb vs. low-fat etc. it's calories in vs. out.
Feel free to email me at kellyolexa at gmail.com if you'd like to chat.