Just So Down, Suggestions Or Advice?

[Free-CountryGirl]

Hi everyone,

I am just so down and depressed right now. I keep getting glutened, it's gotten to the point of ridiculous in my opinion. I have been trying since 11/21/10 to stay gluten-free, but it seems almost every week at LEAST i get glutened, whether it be my own stupid fault or I'm traveling and my food is cross contaminated from stupid resturaunts who think they know how to do Gluten Free. I am so sick and miserable! Gluten makes me gain weight like a polar bear, and I am overweight already from not knowing for years that i had celiacs. I am just do distraught, and so depressed by thw weight gain. I would feel better if I was gluten free and working towards being healthier, but constanttly getting glutened, and living in a gluten household is just so depressing. I have to watch everyone eat things I can't, and normally I can deal with that. But when i get accidently gluten, i go literally crazy for food, particularily gluteny chocolate-y foods. So my willpower weakens and I get glutened some more because I am really just an idiot (who glutens themselves?!) *sigh*

Sorry for my vent, I am just so unhappy and frustrated at the moment :/

anyways, my question is, for anyone who has dealt with food cravings when glutened, what do you do? Any comforting words and advice is GREATLY appreciated!

[Lisa]

I am so sorry that you feel so bad. It sucks sometimes and we all know it. It's ok to vent.

I would go back to basics....eat simply i.e. meats, potatoes, whole grain rice, fresh veggies and fruit. Try to keep a balance diet and stay away from processed foods.

Keep a food diary so you know what could be an issue and stay close to C.com.

BTW - love the picture of that beautiful Arab.

[AzizaRivers]

I would definitely go with what the first poster said about going with who foods for awhile. I don't recommend my own suggestion until you've got your glutenings under control, but for when you do, about the foods cravings...there really are some decent alternatives. I have found a gluten-free way to either buy or make (usually make, from scratch) almost every gluten food I miss.

Good recipes are out there. If you need help finding something that will satisfy your cravings without making you sick, any of us are willing to help!

[Sweetea888]

I really feel for you. I can remember standing in the grocery store choking back tears a few weeks after I was told I had celiac disease. It seemed that I would never be able to eat normally, nor would I be able to figure out what foods have gluten and what foods don't.

However, there are very good lists of gluten free foods of all types. Too, more and more foods are being labeled as gluten free. You do have to go to a lot of trouble at first to figure out what brands of various foods you can have, but it can be done. Keep a list with you, or put information in your phone or on your computer until you learn some of it. Health food stores are good, but actually I have found that WalMart labels a lot of the food it sells. It is great to be able to buy something and know it is gluten free!

Figure out which salad dressings you can eat that are gluten free. Hendricksons makes a pretty good low fat/low cal dressing and now they even have it in individual packets where you can carry it with you in your car or purse. You can get plain salad almost anywhere and baked potatos are available (get them without margarine or sour cream unless you know the restaurant or fast food place carries a gluten free brand) at many places when you are traveling. You can order the Hendricksons at Open Original Shared Link

I gain weight if I don't plan ahead because fritos and M and M's are gluten free, available everywhere, and are safe....but they also are full of fat and sugar. Fruit and veggies are gluten free, and so are some yogurts - Yoplait has a new Greek yogurt brand that is really good and is marked gluten free. Rice chex and Corn chex are gluten free and there are some great breakfast bars called Think Thin...they are also great for dessert if you want something that seems rich and is chocolatey...without too much guilt.

Hang in there. You will get into the swing of it. Remember that eating gluten sets off our immune system...it is really important that we don't ingest gluten if we want to stay healthy. Start simply. Figure out a short list of things you can easily buy and prepare. Get your own cutting board and make sure nobody uses it but you. Don't eat in restaurants where you aren't sure the waitstaff and kitchen folks understand food prep for celiacs. I have NEVER gotten sick from eating at a Pei Wei or a PF Changs. Too bad that isn't the case at other places where they claim to be careful. A lot of Italian restaurants are now offering gluten free pasta. It is MUCH better than it used to be for us celiacs. And it is getting better every day.

Hi everyone,

I am just so down and depressed right now. I keep getting glutened, it's gotten to the point of ridiculous in my opinion. I have been trying since 11/21/10 to stay gluten-free, but it seems almost every week at LEAST i get glutened, whether it be my own stupid fault or I'm traveling and my food is cross contaminated from stupid resturaunts who think they know how to do Gluten Free. I am so sick and miserable! Gluten makes me gain weight like a polar bear, and I am overweight already from not knowing for years that i had celiacs. I am just do distraught, and so depressed by thw weight gain. I would feel better if I was gluten free and working towards being healthier, but constanttly getting glutened, and living in a gluten household is just so depressing. I have to watch everyone eat things I can't, and normally I can deal with that. But when i get accidently gluten, i go literally crazy for food, particularily gluteny chocolate-y foods. So my willpower weakens and I get glutened some more because I am really just an idiot (who glutens themselves?!) *sigh*

Sorry for my vent, I am just so unhappy and frustrated at the moment :/

anyways, my question is, for anyone who has dealt with food cravings when glutened, what do you do? Any comforting words and advice is GREATLY appreciated!

[Free-CountryGirl]

Thank you everyone, and thanks so much for the advice Sweetea888!

And Lisa, do you love arabs as well?

[dilettantesteph]

I used to have a terrible time with depression when glutened. Now it just happens a tiny bit, after three years. That is the glutening and the depression. It used to be so bad that it is amazing that I didn't kill myself. It took quite awhile for me to get the hang of the diet. Can you stop eating in restaurants? Can you bring your own food when traveling? Can you get out of that gluteny household? If not can you make your own mini kitchen with a dorm fridge and a hot plate? Knowing that it will get better should help somewhat. I also found that probiotics when glutened helped.

[Takala]

Celiac and gluten intolerance cause malnutrition because the gut lining is damaged. That "sugar" craving is just your blood trying to balance the chemistry of itself to where it needs to be.

Try eating a lower carbohydrate, higher (good) fat and protein diet. Many of us are carb intolerant, and do miserably on the modern American scheme of eating low fat and way too much cereals and breads with an obsession over avoiding fats. You need more vegetables on this sort of diet. Good fats include nuts, olive oil, avocados, coconut milk. Eggs are good for breakfast, and hard boiled ones for snacks. You also need to up your vegetable fiber content, and well rinsed canned beans are perfect for this, as is canned pumpkin, besides the fresh vegetables. Be creative. Don't automatically eat cereal for breakfast, for some of us, that starts the day off all wrong. (I eat an egg, fresh fruit, nuts, and hard cheese and sometimes a vegetable for breakfast, for example. Coconut milk goes in the coffee or tea. I also will eat any sort of dinner leftover. I Don't Do Sugar In the Mornings. If I eat toast, it was very high protein gluten free toast made from bread I made myself, from nut meals and flours like teff, amaranth, etc.)

I treat myself with the really high quality chocolate because then after a small square or two, it's so rich I am satisfied. The Ghiradelli semi sweet baking bars are perfect for this. And I make myself "earn" it by moving around.

Do start yourself on a gluten free B complex, multivitamin, and calcium and magnesium supplement. That and the higher fat diet should help kill the cravings.

Most of us who do any traveling automatically pack food to take along so we are never dependent on others to feed us. It's like breathing. This can range from a snack in the purse to a small lunch box to a cooler packed with several meals.

I think a lot of the foods we end up finding, preparing and eating gluten free, are much higher quality than the trashy junk regular people eat. There isn't much need for that envy. You can also make enough gluten free things to share with other people, if they are good. It's a whole different mindset.

[FooGirlsMom]

I crave bad foods when I get ahold of things I don't tolerate well, like soy. I also do it when I'm hormonal. The only thing I can suggest is to have goodies around that you can eat...like chocolate or chocolate chips you don't react to. You can also bake things like banana choc chip bread (wrapped & frozen) and keep them in the freezer in safe zip locks for moments of "crazy". If you aren't allergic to dairy, I just made the Betty Crocker recipe for carrot cake (using 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 butter for the butter amount) and it was so good everyone was oohing and aahing who don't eat gluten-free. That can be wrapped and frozen too.

I really find that "dealing with reality" is so important. If you prepare for failure with a back-up plan you will feel better.

The cross-glutening is tough in a restaurant. I don't know if you have to eat out due to business or not. If it's your choice, you can eat at home & have separate items to cook with. I cook gluten free & non-gluten free because 1/2 my family is and 1/2 isn't. I make desserts gluten-free so I don't have flour floating around the kitchen and since my gluten-free desserts don't taste gluten-free no one complains. They ooh and aaah.

Reality is - you have to work around the gluten in your household. I would suggest that you work out a time with your family members when you can have the kitchen to yourself (cleaned & scrubbed) like a weekend day and do your week's cooking ahead of time, except simple things like salads & pasta. Freeze & store (or refrigerate if it'll keep) and take a load off yourself. You can have clean surfaces to work on. If I am ever "suspect' of a surface that just had bread on it, I use a pc of wax paper to work on.

Hope you make it through. I know it's hard and frustrating sometimes. You can do this. We all have had to even though we don't really want to. Health is worth it though.

The weight will come off if you stick to the meats & green veggies primarily & watch your fruits & sugars & simple carbs. But first you should focus on changing habits and going gluten-free. I blow up like a blow fish with gluten & allergens I can't eat too. I'm still losing wt. myself. Trying to move more helps too.

Hang in there and here's a hug (((HUG)))

FooGirlsMom