29 replies to this topic

[kristianne75]

I read on here daily, but am not the wealth of information most of you are, so I rarely post, however I know this is one place my vent will be understood. So....

People who don't really get how difficult it is to stay gluten free drive me up a wall! "Well, just don't eat bread!" says an aunt, who I know means well, but just doesn't understand. The common person, who doesn't have to deal with it, truly has no clue how many places it truly is, and how careful you have to be.

The co-worker who says, when the 10th plate of Christmas cookies was brought into the office, "well, you can eat those ones, or how about that kind?" No. No I can't. Leave it alone, you don't get it, and please do not eat your cookies at my desk! Grr....

What I find even more frustrating though, is people who claim they are gluten-free and say it is so easy. Those people are obviously not completely clean, because I see people on these boards daily who are doing everything right and still get glutened somehow. "Just eat plain meat and vegetables! It's not tough!" Yeah, and not very appealing either.

There, vent over. Thanks for listening, and understanding!

[Takala]

"What I find even more frustrating though, is people who claim they are gluten-free and say it is so easy. those people are obviously not completely clean..."

Oh, really ?

I'm not here to encourage people to cheat because "everybody else does it." That makes the assumption that the average person has no sense of self preservation, nor self control.

The average diabetic isn't snarfing down the platters of cookies, either. Yet we don't see the same attitude very much about how impossible it is to avoid sugar and high carbohydrate foods.

[srall]

Totally get it.

[Skylark]

What I find even more frustrating though, is people who claim they are gluten-free and say it is so easy. Those people are obviously not completely clean, because I see people on these boards daily who are doing everything right and still get glutened somehow. "Just eat plain meat and vegetables! It's not tough!" Yeah, and not very appealing either.

It's hard and it's not at the same time, if that makes sense? I don't find cooking good gluten-free food for myself hard at all and my diet is quite clean. I cook whole, naturally gluten-free foods and bring my own food to work most days. I don't eat plain meat and vegetables either. I love to cook, and I've had no problems finding or inventing great, naturally gluten-free recipes.

It's hard when other people are involved, when you're traveling, or if you're trying to eat processed/convenience foods. I totally "get" that part of your rant. I agree that office interactions and interactions with well-meaning but clueless friends and family can be deeply frustrating at times. "No, I can't just take the topping off the pizza. I don't care if your cousin Matilda does it all the time."

I went to a party last night where a well-intentioned hostess had made Rice Krispie treats with the brand name cereal. She missed the malt flavoring in the cereal. So sad, because she really meant to make something I could eat.

[Emilushka]

The hardest part for me is really having to cook all the time. I personally don't find the actual cooking that difficult, but being that inventive consistently gets really old really fast. And finding gluten- and casein-free convenience foods is also difficult. There are only so many times in one week that a girl can want beans or chili!

[kristianne75]

It's hard and it's not at the same time, if that makes sense? I don't find cooking good gluten-free food for myself hard at all and my diet is quite clean. I cook whole, naturally gluten-free foods and bring my own food to work most days. I don't eat plain meat and vegetables either. I love to cook, and I've had no problems finding or inventing great, naturally gluten-free recipes.

It's hard when other people are involved, when you're traveling, or if you're trying to eat processed/convenience foods. I totally "get" that part of your rant. I agree that office interactions and interactions with well-meaning but clueless friends and family can be deeply frustrating at times. "No, I can't just take the topping off the pizza. I don't care if your cousin Matilda does it all the time."

I went to a party last night where a well-intentioned hostess had made Rice Krispie treats with the brand name cereal. She missed the malt flavoring in the cereal. So sad, because she really meant to make something I could eat.

Your comment about the pizza is exactly what I meant! The people who declare its safe to just scrape it off, wipe it off, eat around it....They have no clue and if they are doing that are obviously still damaging their body. They are not clean. That is what I meant about the people who claim it is so easy. Thank you for putting it into words better than I did!

[tarnalberry]

What I find even more frustrating though, is people who claim they are gluten-free and say it is so easy. Those people are obviously not completely clean, because I see people on these boards daily who are doing everything right and still get glutened somehow. "Just eat plain meat and vegetables! It's not tough!" Yeah, and not very appealing either.

Eh, I don't understand this one. It's no claim to say I'm gluten free - I am. (And dairy free.) And I don't think it's hard. I don't know that I'd say "it's so easy", but I do say "it's not difficult".

Then again, I see nothing wrong with eating meat and vegetables. No one said it had to be "plain" in taste to be safe. We make soups and stir fry and stews all the time. A little bit of spice goes a long way. If we're really lazy or pressed for time, grilled meat and veggies - again, a little spice and a little careful choice of cooking method goes a long way.

I will certainly agree that it is not convenient, however! And I will certainly agree that there is a huge learning curve. I'd bet that if you took a poll, and asked people if they thought the diet was easy or hard, most of the people who said easy would have been on it for more than three years, most of the people who said hard would have been on it for less than a year. This is a HUGE change from what we know, and change is hard, with big change being even harder.

[Jestgar]

"Just eat plain meat and vegetables! It's not tough!" Yeah, and not very appealing either.

I like meat and vegetables. And I can add as much variety as I like using different combinations and spices.

[jenngolightly]

I read on here daily, but am not the wealth of information most of you are, so I rarely post, however I know this is one place my vent will be understood. So....

People who don't really get how difficult it is to stay gluten free drive me up a wall! "Well, just don't eat bread!" says an aunt, who I know means well, but just doesn't understand. The common person, who doesn't have to deal with it, truly has no clue how many places it truly is, and how careful you have to be.

The co-worker who says, when the 10th plate of Christmas cookies was brought into the office, "well, you can eat those ones, or how about that kind?" No. No I can't. Leave it alone, you don't get it, and please do not eat your cookies at my desk! Grr....

What I find even more frustrating though, is people who claim they are gluten-free and say it is so easy. Those people are obviously not completely clean, because I see people on these boards daily who are doing everything right and still get glutened somehow. "Just eat plain meat and vegetables! It's not tough!" Yeah, and not very appealing either.

There, vent over. Thanks for listening, and understanding!

This is a great place to vent.

I'm supporting you with my story. I didn't find the diet at all appealing in the beginning either! I was a super-picky eater with addictions to junk food. I didn't eat any red meat and hardly any veggies. When I first went gluten-free, I tried to replace everything I used to love with gluten-free varieties and they either tasted like crap, or were too expensive to buy regularly. I was sick-and-tired of people saying those kinds of things to me because I felt frustrated with the diet. The worst was when they stopped inviting me to functions because I wouldn't eat anything and would just pout about it all.

But something happened somewhere down the road - I really don't know when it happened so it must have been a slow adaptation. I started eating things I previously hated. Red meat in particular! Whole foods (not the store) became a regular part of my diet because processed foods were yucky or expensive. I found Udi's bread which really tasted like real bread. I could make my own pizza with Udi's pizza crust. I started COOKING! A talent I never explored before. I stopped relying on boxed or frozen food. I used recipes found here or in gluten-free cookbooks. Then I used recipes found in real cookbooks because those recipes used real food that didn't have gluten. Wow. I liked cooking and I liked the food I made.

But yes, I still get glutened. How? Stupid mistakes. My dh and kids aren't gluten-free and he used to cook for me. NO MORE! One time it was beer in the stew. Other times... well, I've given up on teaching him how to cook for me. It's easier for me to cook and leave the grilling to him. And a few times at restaurants.

Feel frustrated! And give it some more time.

[kareng]

I think the hardest part is the away from home stuff. Or people that want you to eat away from home.

Fortunately, for me, I was never a big lover of bread, pancakes, rolls, muffins or donuts. I liked them once in a while. I have found, since going gluten-free, that foods that I didn't like before, taste good! I think being off the gluten has affected my sense of taste and smell. I have also tried foods I didn't either know about or try before. Someone on this site talked about slicing sweet potatoes, toss with oil and oven frying. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. I'm addicted! I have been missing this nutritious treat for years!

[missy'smom]

There ARE so MANY with diabetes who are snarfing down plates of cookies(no I'm not exagerating, actual plate fulls), and totally in denial or misinformed about their blood sugar and how to manage it. So much so that those of us who abstain are seen as obsessive. I have sat across the table from them time and time again, every Sunday, every gluten-free support group meeting. People don't get it on the diabetes front either.

I had someone close to me who has some restrictions as well, sit across from the table and tell me that isn't it nice that I could find something on the menu to eat. I was eating plain salmon and steamed veggies, no seasoning, no butter, that's it. Same exact meal I am "fortunate" to eat at every restaurant I go to. I almost gasped in shock at how insensitive that comment was. I'm not complaining about the meal. I choose to be greatful that I didn't have to cook it or clean up, but it was just so insensitive. I had another person who knows I eat no fruit or grains say that they were suprized that I eat chocolate because it is hard to digest. This is after I told them that I had recently become allergic to chocolate and couldn't have it anymore. At the time, it was the last "sweet" treat I had left and I had lost it. I haven't had cake or cookies or anything of the sort in 2 years.

[mushroom]

I think the biggest complaint I have about eating gluten free (and other things free ) is the amount of time it takes. You can't just go to the freezer case and pick up a pie crust, you have to make it from scratch. If I want to make a cookie crust for a pie, I first of all have to bake the cookies . Cooking (baking-wise) just involves so many more steps than back in the gluten days. We often do charity baking (like for Ronald McDonald House where it figures there will be some gluten free people in some time and therefore I participate) and it is so much easier to pull out a bag of Gold Medal flour (or whatever brand you have) and dump in a cup, than take three or four different canisters of flour (having first figured out what would be the best flour mix for this particular recipe and making the appropriate substitutions) and measuring them out in the right proportions.) Then for fund-raising events the person in charge says we are charging too much for our food made with much more expensive ingredients than theirs I feel like I would rather just give them the money than go to the trouble of making an expensive cake only to have them give it away for four bucks .Same for pot lucks, where we have to make sure it is something we can eat as well as everyone else. We do everything from scratch, others just pull a few ingredients out and put them together. I know you will say, you can make it as hard as you want, but when you start with more limitations than most it IS harder. Those who have to avoid only gluten don't know the half of it.

[plantime]

I find it to be an easy diet. I don't get to eat whatever I please, and eating out can be a hassle, but keeping things is perspective helps. My health is important to me. I am in control of what I eat, and I take that responsibility. If other people don't understand, that is their problem. The "just don't eat bread or pasta" and "eat meat and vegetables" comments are a simplification, but they are also true. I don't feel well when I eat processed foods a lot, but I feel great eating meat and vegetables. Even eating glutenfree processed foods don't make me feel as well as meat and vegetables. Once I got used to that feeling, eating well became very easy, even in restaurants.

Getting past the "I can't eat like everyone else" mindset is the hardest part of the diet, imo.

[shopgirl]

I think it's more of a nuisance than being hard. But then I don't eat out, I hate parties, and I much prefer a very simple meal of brown rice and vegetables.

The only foods I miss are the ones I shouldn't have been eating in the first place — I'm looking at you, Dunkin Donuts Double Chocolate doughnut.

[nikelodeon79]

Co-workers can be the worst. One of my coworkers brought in these amazing looking homemade cinnamon rolls with frosting. I'm telling you, they smelled like heaven. I put up with walking past them for a day and then the next day when he offered me one, I told him thanks, but that I couldn't. (One of my other coworkers chimed in that she "couldn't" have one, either, because of her Weight Watchers, so she knew exactly how I felt). Anyway, the first coworker was going on and on about how I should just try the frosting, because it didn't have gluten. I tried to explain to him that it was impossible that it didn't since it was actually touching the gluten filled roll, but he would have none of it. I finally tried a little bit just to shut him up... and I got sick. Imagine that! I should've stayed strong and refused to eat it!