How To Get Back On The Horse?

[zoogirl]

Totally fell of my gluten-free diet a few weeks ago while my dad was in the hospital and dealing with recorvery. Finding gluten-free food while at the hospital so many days was pretty much impossible. I've been struggling to get back on it for a couple weeks now and not doing well at it at all. I really want to start eating small nutritious snacks every 2-3 hours rather than bigger meals. I feel a lot better when I do that and it seems like it would be easier to find those kinds of things that are gluten-free. But I have trouble finding enough variety to keep that up very long and then end up grabbing something I shouldn't. Any suggestions??

[Kay53]

Totally fell of my gluten-free diet a few weeks ago while my dad was in the hospital and dealing with recorvery. Finding gluten-free food while at the hospital so many days was pretty much impossible. I've been struggling to get back on it for a couple weeks now and not doing well at it at all. I really want to start eating small nutritious snacks every 2-3 hours rather than bigger meals. I feel a lot better when I do that and it seems like it would be easier to find those kinds of things that are gluten-free. But I have trouble finding enough variety to keep that up very long and then end up grabbing something I shouldn't. Any suggestions??

I had a hard time when I got off my diet also. I did awesome for about 4 mos then one slip lead to another. Still making mistakes and I also need to be 100%

[Katrala]

I wish I had suggestions for you, but all I can do is wish you luck.

I guess I don't understand falling off the horse. Maybe it's something everyone goes through?

[ravenwoodglass]

Keep lots of gluten free snacks on hand, hard boiled eggs, nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruit, veggies cut up and ready to dip in your favorite salad dressing etc. Lots of simple ready to go stuff and keep gluten stuff out of your house or at least out of your sight.

[T.H.]

Keep lots of gluten free snacks on hand, hard boiled eggs, nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruit, veggies cut up and ready to dip in your favorite salad dressing etc.

That seems to work best for us, too. As soon as we get veggies home, I start cutting up a big pile, so when I'm hungry, it's all done and ready and I'm not tempted to eat something stupid.

Other dips we've used in the past for veggies and fruit:

honey - for apples, or pieces of cooked chicken

lemon juice - for fish

peanut butter - apples, celery

vanilla yogurt - most fruits. If you add a little jam to it, it works well with melon, too.

hummus - for rice chips, meat, and to put into little lettuce wraps

[Skylark]

Try to stock up on tasty gluten-free snacks like nuts, fruit, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, cut fresh veggies, and Larabars. Corn chips and potato chips work well for snacking. Use dip, guacamole, salsa, hummus, or have a few olives, pickles, capers, or other gluten-free condiments to add interest. Bake some fresh gluten-free bread from a Bob's Red Mill mix (they turn out well) or make some Pamela's gluten-free brownies if you're missing sweets. Also, it seems like you can find a gluten-free version of almost anything you'd want these days. I know it can be a little expensive, but you might help your willpower with gluten-free versions of the snacks you tend to grab when you're looking for variety.

Keep in mind that gluten is a little addictive for some of us. You may really have to use some willpower to keep from reaching for it. Staying gluten-free will be much easier if you can get off it cleanly for a couple weeks. Maybe reward yourself if you get to the end of a week gluten-free with something small that you might not otherwise buy. For example, my treat might be gluten-free pizza at a local pizza place, or a bar of overpriced, fragrant handmade soap. I have a friend who treats herself to manicures too.

[eatmeat4good]

Do some mental imagery about the dangers of gluten and what it must be doing to your intestines. You must find a way to make yourself stay strict...and along with having good food choices available you need to have a mental picture...a reason you are staying gluten free. You must not get very sick from gluten or you wouldn't be able to fall off the wagon. I don't say that to criticise you but to tell you that you might need another way when some of us just have to want to avoid being violently ill. You can't let yourself give in if you really are Celiac and if you do not have overt symptoms then you might benefit from reading about and thinking about the long term negative effects of gluten on your health.

Just a thought for you in addition to the food suggestions you got from other posters.

Usually I want to be a positive thinker, but in the case of Celiac, with so much to lose from eating gluten, in this case I believe thinking of the possible negative consequences could be a powerful motivating force for you.

Wish you the best.

[zoogirl]

Thanks, everyone for all the great suggestions!

I do have a different experience than a lot of people with gluten issues, I think. My symptoms don't come on in sudden, severe attacks, but build up over time. That's why it took so long for me and my doctors to figure out what the heck was going on. Once they peak, they are pretty bad, but like I said... I have no willpower! So, it's really easy for me to think I can have that one brownie, which leads to another, and then batter-fried fish a few days later, and then... vicious circle. Definitely need to keep lots of good snacks around and work on the mental imagery.

Thanks, again!

[Goof]

I like to have some kind of nuts around to snack on. Actually, it's become a standard part of my day. I will often keep a jar of nuts on my desk at work. I usually take a Nature Vally Peanut Crunch bar to work in the morning (bright gluten free labeling on package). Popcorn is another one I like to munch on, too. Tasty and cheap! Try to stick to the more plain varieties. I like Jolly Time Kettle Corn. Pretty rockin!!

[azgirl5]

In addition to all the great suggestions here, try KIND bars. I am completely addicted to the almond coconut. Easy to throw in a purse and at least fends off the hunger pains for a bit until you can locate something celiac friendly.

[samie]

I understand it can be hard at times. What others suggest are good ideas. Also some others if you like miss bread that it good two ideas are bake some bread i did my first one last night it was so good and soft i got gluten free pantry bread mix. It was easy. Also if you are craving sweets you could have snickers 3 muskteers starbust reeses. Or betty crocker sells gluten-free brownies cake and cookie mix.

[lovegrov]

Krista, envision this. My symptoms also slowly built up, essentially taking decades to come to a head. But when it hit, it hit. Eleven days in the hospital after I was no longer able to walk on my own or even carry on a conversation, 10 weeks off work, months before I felt "normal." Believe me, you don't want to go there.

richard

[tarnalberry]

Willpower is not a trait you either have or don't have - it's a skill built with practice over time. (And, unfortunately, one that our schools and culture don't seem to value to teach or encourage.) Every single time you successfully use your willpower to keep you from doing something you know you shouldn't, you strengthen the neural pathways that help you self-regulate your own behavior and weaken the ones that make you react (rather than act from thinking). Keep practicing it, and don't let yourself use the "I have no willpower" excuse.

[love2travel]

Do some mental imagery about the dangers of gluten and what it must be doing to your intestines. You must find a way to make yourself stay strict...and along with having good food choices available you need to have a mental picture...a reason you are staying gluten free. You must not get very sick from gluten or you wouldn't be able to fall off the wagon. I don't say that to criticise you but to tell you that you might need another way when some of us just have to want to avoid being violently ill. You can't let yourself give in if you really are Celiac and if you do not have overt symptoms then you might benefit from reading about and thinking about the long term negative effects of gluten on your health.

Just a thought for you in addition to the food suggestions you got from other posters.

Usually I want to be a positive thinker, but in the case of Celiac, with so much to lose from eating gluten, in this case I believe thinking of the possible negative consequences could be a powerful motivating force for you.

Wish you the best.

Same here. It's tricky for me in ways because I didn't feel ill eating gluten. That is one reason I am so very strict because I cannot tell whether I have been glutened. In the eight months I have been gluten free I have not given in to my temptations for another reason - I, too, am a visual person and visualize my once-flat villi standing up straight and strong, fighting off the bad guys. But most of all, especially now that I am informed, it is my responsibility to account for how I treat my body. I do not wish to end up with a celiac-related cancer or illness. I do have fibromyalgia which can be unbearable much of the time and absolutely am trying my best to be proactive in doing what I CAN do to prevent future problems. My husband and family need me.

But I do confess that I spend a lot of wonderful time in the kitchen creating yummy things. I am grateful that I do have the time to do it. It makes a huge difference having access to delicious things and gluten-filled foods are at the very back of my mind (except when in social situations which can be tricky).

This can be done. Take it one meal or snack at a time. Each time you overcome the challenge the more ammunition you have for the next one. Then before you know it, a month will have passed and then another and another and it will have become habit. Hang in there!

[Booghead]

I really like "Fruit Buddies" They are puree'd fruit in little bag, like a capri sun. But with a different lid. They are a little smaller then caprisun. They have different flavors. I like apple banana. But I also think apple cinnamon sounds pretty good. No fat, no carbs, only 50 calories (for me these stats aren't helpful). I need some fat in my snacks usually. But these work well on the go.