What Are Some Ways I Can Stay Focused And On Track?

[wilem008]

I cheat on my diet all the time and I suffer for it!

Its stupid I know but when I went gluten free I had to cut out all the foods I love - especially bread!

I make myself gluten-free bread and I have gluten-free pasta but I eat at restaurants (a few times a week) a lot too and thats where the problems occur!

I guess I just feel left out. Everyone orders garlic bread and I have to sit there and pretend I dont want any....I sneak myself a little piece when I know full well that I shouldnt!

How can I control my cravings - How can I stay focused?

[smiles]

Wilem,

changing your diet is not easy, but as you know any little amount of gluten can hurt you if you have celiac/gluten intolerance. i know what you mean about the whole going out to dinner thing. before i decided to go gluten free, i was eating everything and going out everywhere to eat 5 or 6 days a week.

what has helped me stay on it was avoiding going out to eat as much and trying to limit the places i go to to to gluten friendly only. luckily i have been able to find 2 restaurants. one is a privately owned restaurant. the other is bonefish grill. if there are any by you, check them out. the food is good.

as for the bread thing, i know it is not easy. what helps me is to eat something light beforehand. that way i won't be salavating for the evil bread and can focus on my drink or the conversation. it really does help. i also try to keep snacks with me all the time and try and eat a lot throughout the day so that i never feel starved. starving will make you want to cheat. some snacks i keep with me are vegetables such as carrots or rice crackers. i also keep a beverage with me at all times. sometimes i think i am hungry when i am really just thirsty. you can also make things ahead of time such as breads, muffins, whatever and freeze them.

lastly, i focus on the foods i can have rather than on the foods i can not have. when i am in the supermarket i do not even look at the foods i can't have. it takes a lot of commitment and time. i also found that once i was able to completely cut out the gluten the cravings for it started to go away. i now look at gluten like it is poison.

do not beat yourself up if at first you are having trouble. this is normal. it may take several months before you are able to completely cut it out. the important thing is you are on the right path. i hope this has helped.

[home-based-mom]

I cheat on my diet all the time and I suffer for it!

Its stupid I know but when I went gluten free I had to cut out all the foods I love - especially bread!

I make myself gluten-free bread and I have gluten-free pasta but I eat at restaurants (a few times a week) a lot too and thats where the problems occur!

I guess I just feel left out. Everyone orders garlic bread and I have to sit there and pretend I dont want any....I sneak myself a little piece when I know full well that I shouldnt!

How can I control my cravings - How can I stay focused?

Suggestions:

1) Remember how sick you get and focus on that.

2) Take gluten-free garlic bread with you. Eat yours when they eat theirs.

3) Don't pretend you don't want any. Pretend it's dog poop and is contaminating everything it touches and everyone who is touching it.

4) This is tough but read posts and signatures on this forum about members parents, aunts, and uncles. Pay attention to the debilitating health issues. These people spent a lifetime eating gluten but shouldn't have and suffered immensely with cancers, pain and emotional issues among others. Ditch the victim mentality (poor me I can't eat garlic bread) and Praise The Lord that you have information that has enabled you to take a very simple step to take charge of your own health and keep from ending up that way.

5) Remember you can't change that you have celiac or gluten intolerance. You CAN change your attitude. It's like that cheesy saying goes: Success comes in CANS.

[Salem]

I used to go to a restaurant starving hungry. When the bread came, I would dive in. The next day I would be laying on the couch wanting to die. So stupid! Now I eat a bit before I go out so I won't be tempted to eat the bread.

For me, bread was like crack. I craved it, but it was killing me. I needed to stop eating bread to stop the cravings. Now I can look at (glutenous) bread and it doesn't look good to me. I think of the bloating, the pain, the brain-fog. I'm not interested anymore. No bread is worth that pain.

[samcarter]

Every week my family and I go to a wonderful restaurant that serves piping hot, delicious sourdough bread at the table. I used to dive into that basket like I was starving. (I usually was--we walk to the restaurant and it's about 1/2 mile or more).

I manage to not eat any while buttering some for my kids, by remembering how awful I feel when I eat gluten. How depressed I get, lethargic and the gas and bloating. Sometimes I bring a couple of homemade gluten free pancakes, to spread with butter, but I'd rather just go without than use a substitute. I get a soda, which I love and don't have the rest of the week, and enjoy that. I make sure to eat something before we head out so I'm not that hungry.

You might want to order a gluten-free appetizer when you sit down, so you have something to nibble on while they're eating the garlic bread. Call ahead or check the menu online to see what you can eat. Usually what we're missing when we eat with others is just the feeling of sharing the same food, of all doing the same thing. It's hard to be the only one not eating.