How Does Everyone Feel When They Cheat?

[kareng]

I usually don't cheat, but sometimes, when my willpower does fail me, I always end up feeling guilty...though I don't have celiac just gluten sensitivity the symptoms make me regret cheating even more

Once again, please note this is 4 years old. These posters are probably not still active.

We have lots of great similar threads that are only days old.

[CeliacAndCfsCrusader]

I have been gluten free for 7 1/2 yrs and can honestly say I have never cheated, never even wanted too. I was so sick before going gluten free, that cheating has never been an option for me.

Coming up on 5 years since I've been diagnosed, ZERO cheating.

Gluten = Poison

What's not to understand?

PS: I just had a horrible dinner with DeBoles rice pasta, and if I ever wanted to cheat, it would be this instant DeBoles...you stink!

[JustNana]

Cruel shoes

That was a beautiful post. Thoughtful and truly helpful.

I feel for the celiacs who don't have awful symptoms that are alleviated by a gluten-free diet. Not sure how perfectly motivated I could be either.

[love2travel]

I feel for the celiacs who don't have awful symptoms that are alleviated by a gluten-free diet. Not sure how perfectly motivated I could be either.

That's me! I had a very hard time believing I had celiac. I had the doctor double check and had the biopsies just to make sure. It took a lot of convincing! But as soon as those biopsy results came back (after I had a gluten binge - I made up a long list of things I thought I would never have again) I went strictly gluten free once and for all. No cheating, not even once. I just cannot do it. Perhaps if I cheated and nothing happened then did it again with no symptoms I would not be as obsessively careful as I am. Not only that but I am a cook and baker and create fantastic food each day anyway.

And I feel so bad about those who get so incredibly ill from gluten. Either way, a gluten-free diet for life is what we all must adhere to so we are all in the same camp. And thankfully we help each other out!

[hopeonthemove]

Yeah, I wish I was one of those people who said they never cheat, but I'm not! It may be because I never wanted to take the test to see if I actually have Celiacs and this helps me delude myself into thinking that I may not really have a problem with gluten. But the rational part of me knows that I do have a problem, it will hurt me, and so then I have this bad moment of wondering if I am sabotaging myself on purpose!

For me it is an emotional attachment to snacks and food, when I get stressed or sad I tell myself that I "deserve" to have whatever I want, and then I just go for it. Yesterday I felt sad and tired, so I went for the mini bagels that the kids have at home, some Cheez Its, and whatever other random snacks I felt like eating. The fact that I didn't vomit them right up made me feel like I could just go on eating anything I wanted, and the terrible decisions lasted all day long. I went to bed last night with a terrible headache, felt exhausted, depressed and hung over. Today I feel even worse! It wasn't worth it. But even though I can see that, my emotional eating is a real problem that I struggle with, and I'm sure I will continue to struggle with.

I've baked gluten-free versions of desserts to try to give me a safer outlet for the snacking, and the result is that I either feel like I'm getting a dumb substitute for the real thing or I overeat the gluten-free version because I "can".

I think that overall, nothing is going to change in my cheating habits until I start treating my body with respect. And included in respecting myself is understanding that my body isn't lying to me when I have reactions to gluten - I really do have a problem, and pretending I don't is disrespectful to the messages my body's trying to send me.

[ravenwoodglass]

Yeah, I wish I was one of those people who said they never cheat, but I'm not! It may be because I never wanted to take the test to see if I actually have Celiacs and this helps me delude myself into thinking that I may not really have a problem with gluten. But the rational part of me knows that I do have a problem, it will hurt me, and so then I have this bad moment of wondering if I am sabotaging myself on purpose!

For me it is an emotional attachment to snacks and food, when I get stressed or sad I tell myself that I "deserve" to have whatever I want, and then I just go for it. Yesterday I felt sad and tired, so I went for the mini bagels that the kids have at home, some Cheez Its, and whatever other random snacks I felt like eating. The fact that I didn't vomit them right up made me feel like I could just go on eating anything I wanted, and the terrible decisions lasted all day long. I went to bed last night with a terrible headache, felt exhausted, depressed and hung over. Today I feel even worse! It wasn't worth it. But even though I can see that, my emotional eating is a real problem that I struggle with, and I'm sure I will continue to struggle with.

I've baked gluten-free versions of desserts to try to give me a safer outlet for the snacking, and the result is that I either feel like I'm getting a dumb substitute for the real thing or I overeat the gluten-free version because I "can".

I think that overall, nothing is going to change in my cheating habits until I start treating my body with respect. And included in respecting myself is understanding that my body isn't lying to me when I have reactions to gluten - I really do have a problem, and pretending I don't is disrespectful to the messages my body's trying to send me.

I'm so sorry you are dealing with this problem. You might want to start a new thread asking for ways to cope with this issue in the Coping section. You also may want to consider doing a gluten challenge for 3 months or so and then get tested despite the fact that false negatives are common. You may find you do get a positive result or your challenge may make you so ill that it will leave no doubt in your mind that you need to stop cheating. It might also be helpful to get the kids gluten free snacks so when they snack you can also and not be cheating on the diet. Gluten can be quite addictive and it is hard to avoid addictive substances if they are all around us.

[GFinDC]

@Hopeonthemove,

I think the longer you are off gluten the easier it becomes. There are numerous posts on the forum about gluten withdrawal symptoms and the opiate like affects of gluten peptides on the brain. Some people have headaches and other withdrawal symptoms form stopping gluten. But if you stay off it the cravings should diminish in time. Your autoimmune systems doesn't stop immediately after being spun up. so it can go on attacking your innards for a while, several weeks mot likely. So you aren't hurting yourself for one day, your are hurting yourself for weeks at a time. It's much better to feel good than to feel sick, IMHO. Eating is very habitual type of thing. People get so used to eating the same things whenever they want, they just don't think about it really. We have to break that eat whatever and whenever habit and focus on our food choices much more than most people. That can be tiring at first when it is all new. I suggest you keep lots of fresh fruit around to snack on. And eat some protein every day. Protein can help curb cravings because it is a slower release source of energy.

As long as your gut is damaged you also will not be absorbing vitamins and minerals correctly. That can also lead to cravings. So staying strictly gluten-free can lead to fewwer cravings as your gut heals and you absorb more of the nutrients your body needs to function correctly and heal.

[Marilyn R]

I don't cheat. Ever. I occasionly make a mistake and have to call in sick and feel like complete dog meat, like if I eat something a neighbor tells me they made just for me and it's gluten-free. (I've always been a sucker for peer pressure.)

My mother ended up living the last six years of her life in a nursing home. It took two aides and a machine (Sit to Stand, they called it) to get her from the bed to the toilet. She couldn't give up her bread and Danish pastries. She wasn't dumb, just non-compliant. I'd rather die this instant then live the life she lived for six years.

Sorry, that's harsh, but it's also the reality of my experience with this serious disease. I don't know if you have children or not, but my best advice is if you won't be compliant for yourself, it's really selfish not to be compliant for all those people who love you.

[Marilyn R]

Once again, please note this is 4 years old. These posters are probably not still active.

We have lots of great similar threads that are only days old.

Whoops, went backward on the posts vs. forward. Sorry alot KarenG.

[Motherbird7]

Sorry to say it, but in the 2.5 years since my diagnosis, I have never cheated, nor wanted to. If you keep eating gluten even though you know it will make you sick, I think it would be very helpful for you to reflect and figure out why. Here are some ideas for you to think about:

- Can't eat family favorites? Post some recipes and we'll help you convert them.

- Gluten-free is not as convenient? We can give you ideas for grab-and-go foods.

- Gluten-free food too expensive? We can give you ideas on how to get the costs down.

- Don't know how to cook tasty gluten-free foods? We can help you find easy, delicious recipes.

- It's hard to eat out? Tell us what you like to eat and we can help you get a safe meal at a safe restaurant.

- Don't know what to eat? We can help you learn to read labels.

- Don't know how seriously sick you can get from eating gluten? Let some of us that nearly died before diagnosis tell you how serious it can get.

- Don't have the will power? We can help you with that too.

Hope this helps.

I am crying reading this because I am so grateful for you and this community who ARE making it emotionally so much easier than I was afraid. I am turning to this forum on my down days when I am scared, and on my up days when I feel confident I can learn and adjust to something new. While I technically have probably still been exposed to gluten since I am only 3 months into it and not stressing too much about cross contamination, I am aiming to be %100 as soon as I can learn how and maintain habits that keep me there.

I worry if I am getting gluten I don't notice but so far the times I realize I goofed, I have definitely had symptoms. In fact, I was wondering today if feeling pessimistic about being gluten free might actually be an early sign that I was glutened because most of the time, when I am feeling good, I don't feel that being gluten free is so hard and I have more confidence that I can do it...with help of course!