[Krayon]

hey everyone my name is kerry, i am 20 and live in scotland. since jan07 i was on weight watchers loosing a whole 2 stone in 6 months BUT i didnt loose any visible weight. a woman i go to for physiotherapy etc said it could be because i have an intolerance to gluten and wheat flour and its probably causing me to hold alot of water. she has advised me to try a gluten free diet and i thought it would be good.
i didnt realise the amount of things that have gluten in them, i love having a hot choc at night and the hot choc i buy has gluten in it, are there any brands people are aware of that doesnt have gluten in it? can anyone suggest any other foods? i love pasta and have gluten free pasta. and im cutting out bread altogether, replacing sandwiches at lunch for homemade soup.
id like to hear about other peoples experiences and how they found it when they started.

Kerry

[gfgypsyqueen]

Hi, I'm not sure what products you have in Scotland. I use Hershey's cocoa powder (not a mix) nad add the milk and sugar. Tastes great! BioNature is my favorite pasta. My kid likes Glutino best. As for breads...start learning to bake bread. Few of the store bought breads are worth the money. Glutino crackers are great, expensive, but really good. Try Glutenfreepantry.com for a lot of good mixes. We live on their coffee cake. I add chocolate chips

Hope that helps

[HannahHannah]

Hi Kerry. I've been gluten free since February this year, and yes, gluten is in EVERYTHING!!! (well, everything good anyway!).

First of all, congratulations of the weight loss; even if you don't see it as visible, it's an amazing start and a fantastic achievement in such a short period of time .

I'm not going to lie, going gluten-free is so hard at first - you just want to stuff your face with cake and bread, but it gets better, and easier. You *will* feel better. It took me about 2 months to get used to it. Now I don't even blink when cakes are being handed round the office!

When I first went gluten-free, I lost 2 and a half stone in about 3 months, and it's stayed off. I'm still losing, but it's at a slower (and much healthier) rate.

In terms of practicality and finding gluten free things, I'm in London, so I might be able to help in terms of what is around in the UK . My key advice would be: fresh, simple, plain ingredients, and cut your dairy intake. This way you *know* exactly what is going into your body without having to strain your eyes on those tiny labels!

My advice with hot chocolate would be to buy Green and Black's cocoa and make it yourself my adding a little sugar and milk (if you're having digestion problems, I would recommend soya milk - the hot chocolate will taste more creamy!). This way you know exactly what is in your drink, it tastes better, and it just has fewer processed ingredients. But if you want something instant, there are plenty of hot chocolate mixes out there without gluten - just check the labels and try different brands. You never know, there may be one you prefer to your regular brand .

Gluten-free pasta is, as many people on here will agree, nowhere near as good as good old gluten-filled pasta! To be honest, I'd avoid it. It's not nice, and it'll just make you miserable and pine for the real stuff!

Great foods I would recommend: I eat tonnes of rice, quinoa (a great substitute for cous-cous, and really good for you), and just filling-foods like potatoes. I find a main problem is just not being able to be full on salad and fruit!! There are a few gluten-free cereals out there that are great for breakfast. I'd recommend Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise cereal (they sell it in Tesco, Sainsbury's etc).

Homemade soup is great for lunch. Just think how much more nutritious it is for you than sandwiches. A good tip from me is to add a little dash of sesame oil to soup. Remember, there are stock cubes you can get that are gluten-free to add more flavour (Knoll brand).

I hope that's helpful - if you need any more tips, just let me know!

Hannah.