Having a hard time adjusting to this diet

[Madeline016]

I was diagnosed with celiac disease a little over a month ago and it was much harder than I thought it would be. I myself am a picky eater and having to completely drop the foods I love to eat was difficult. I have always been skinny and had trouble gaining weight but I feel like now that I can't eat anything with gluten it feels impossible. I'm 16 years old and I struggle staying at 80 pounds. It's hard to cope with not being able to eat my favorite foods. And I hate having my mom have to make 2 meals now for the family. Something for me to eat, and something for everyone else. I'm trying to eat more but I just feel like my options are so limited. I miss eating dominos pizza and McDonald's, these gluten free meals are so expensive. I just wish I never got this disease. Sorry I'm kind of ranting. I just want to gain weight.

[GFinDC]

Hi Madeline,

Welcome to the forum!

Adjusting to the gluten-free diet is not easy for many of us.  We get used to eating certain things whenever we want and it can be difficult to change that expectation.  But just like we learned to eat the foods we liked before going gluten-free, we can learn to like the foods that we eat gluten-free.  It just may take some time.

Eating gluten-free doesn't have to be expensive though.  Many foods are naturally gluten-free and good for a body.  The mistake many people make when first going gluten-free is to try and replace all the previous gluteny foods with similar gluten-free foods.  That can be disappointing as many gluten-free foods are not going to taste the same as their gluten counterparts.

Instead try switching to a whole foods diet of meats, nuts, veggies and eggs.  These foods don't cost any more for us than they do other people.  Try to avoid gluten-free baked goods for a few months.  Actually, try to avoid processed foods of any kind for several months.  It is much simpler to eat a naturally gluten-free diet of whole foods than to search ingredient lists of every item you buy.  And getting all those preservatives, food colorings and etc out of your diet is a good thing too. 

It all gets easier in time, but it does require some effort.  You may find it helpful to carry fruits like oranges and apples with you to snack on.  Or nuts or hard boiled eggs.

[Ennis-TX]

Yeah it is hard for many of us at first, whole food diets help then using gluten-free foods a treats. By example I make a pizza with a Califlour Foods Plant based crust once a month. Or make some crazy recipe I find and play with once a month.

And please read the newbie 101 section I spent months not getting better because I shared the same kitchen with my gluten eating family without reading up on cross contamination. Even then stuff would go wrong at least every week til I got my own place that was completely free.
Do note I spent years taking damage and was quite the mess from various symptoms and secondary issues.

Bit of something you might notice but many of us have list of other food issues in our signatures.....if you keep getting exposed other foods can become issues due to getting food allergies, in tolerances, or sensitivities.

My staples now days are omelettes, stir fry with coconut amnions sauces, quiches, any baked goods from my bakery, meat loaf, stews/soups, sometimes I get a bit burgers, tacos, etc, when I get a catering line up or left over from serving. But due to various issues I have to avoid gluten, carbs, dairy, corn, soy, peanuts, and a list of minor things and limitations on how much of certain foods I can stomach without getting sick due to pancreas  and stomach issues.