Cravings!

[Amby]

I've been doing a gluten free diet for a little while now and I am having the biggest cravings for stuff I can't eat. I know in the long run it wouldn't be worth it, but would taste sooo good! lol! Do you guys ever think about cheating and if you did, does it make you very sick afterwards? I've noticed my DH going down and getting lighter and I don't want to mess that up.

[Adalaide]

Early on the cravings were so bad I felt like I'd dry up into a prune crying so much. I spent like an hour in bed bawling like a toddler who was denied candy when I realized I'd never have KFC again. There's no way to avoid how much it sucks, but everyone here reassured me that it's normal to be generally miserable while I adjusted. Once I let myself be miserable a little over things I couldn't have it started getting better. I no longer have the urge to strangle my husband every time he buys pop-tarts, even if I do stare at them longingly and make him let me smell them.

I think about cheating every day. I dream about bread, cake, cookies, brownies. Sometimes I'll stand in the pantry holding a can of Pringles with the lid off and just smell them. I stood in front of the freezer full of ice cream cake last week and just pouted while staring longingly. I am an extremely weird person, but for now this is part of how I cope and overcome my cravings. I wouldn't recommend this if you think that it would just make the temptation worse.

The other thing I do to overcome cravings is indulge. I've learned to make mac & cheese, which is my ultimate comfort food. If I decide I simply can't go on without cake, I will hop in my Jeep and drive half an hour to get a gluten free cupcake. Last week I went and got a jumbo, run a marathon to work it off, size shamrock shake. I paid almsot $20 for a 10-inch pizza. (To be fair it did have shrimp and artichokes on it, and was worth every last penny.)

I got myself some lovely CC about 2 weeks ago. That was the last piece of my puzzle to stay gluten free. That night was simply awful. I felt like I was dying. Not something I wish to repeat, certainly not on purpose. But God help me if my husband bring Girl Scout cookies into my house. One of us will not survive that healthy and I have the feeling that will be me.

[BrittLoves2Run]

I've been doing a gluten free diet for a little while now and I am having the biggest cravings for stuff I can't eat. I know in the long run it wouldn't be worth it, but would taste sooo good! lol! Do you guys ever think about cheating and if you did, does it make you very sick afterwards? I've noticed my DH going down and getting lighter and I don't want to mess that up.

I miss A LOT of things, but then I think back to how freakin' sick I was and know that it's just not worth it. This is a life long thing. I have to accept i'll never have them again and just stick to the "new" foods I can have. I feel you on the Mac and Cheese. I make the Annies kind and I really like it. I've also found some Gluten Free Chocolate chip muffins that I really enjoy and they are only 170 calories. Every so often I sit around and think about all the things I can't have anymore.. I think the worst for me is Beer. The gluten-free ones are just not the same.

[everything-free]

It definitely does get easier.

I was a huge chocolate person, at one point a few years ago I am pretty sure that I ate it almost every day. I'm now gluten,lactose, potato, and sugar free, and I am proud to say I can't remember the last time I've had chocolate. This did not come easily and I still have off days where I'm upset that I can't eat the things that everyone else can. Of course I still want it and crave it when I'm standing in line at the grocery store, but I just think about how bad I would be feeling after I ate it and move on.

I am still trying to work out all of my intolerances and it seems like there is something new I can't eat every other week. I just keep telling myself I'll do anything to feel better again and it gets me through most days.

Just think about how much better you'll feel if you eat something that your body won't punish you for later. There are many gluten free substitutes out there, I know most of them aren't the same, but I don't even notice the "weird after taste" that people who aren't gluten free tell me there is because I am so used to all of the food.

[Sparky84]

Betty Crocker gluten-free brownies.... best brownies I have ever had!!! Try them, you won't be disappointed.

[divinemissliss]

I hear ya. I am only a little more than a month in, and I feel like it was easier in the beginning. Maybe just hitting a rough patch? I won't lie, there have been times I have burst into tears in the past week over not being to have something that everyone else is having. Seeing as I am a fairly well-adjusted adult and not a toddler, this is a bit off-putting. You have my sympathy, but try to stay strong. Nothing tastes as good as feeling good, um, feels.

[Christine0125]

So true on the beer! I have tried Redbridge and New Planet tread lightly ale and they don't come close to Yeungling. The Woodchuck ciders are quite good. I think it's going to just take time to find my new favorites.

I am about 3 weeks into the diet and I definitely had a woe is me day today!

I miss A LOT of things, but then I think back to how freakin' sick I was and know that it's just not worth it. This is a life long thing. I have to accept i'll never have them again and just stick to the "new" foods I can have. I feel you on the Mac and Cheese. I make the Annies kind and I really like it. I've also found some Gluten Free Chocolate chip muffins that I really enjoy and they are only 170 calories. Every so often I sit around and think about all the things I can't have anymore.. I think the worst for me is Beer. The gluten-free ones are just not the same.

[kareng]

Some advice for replacing gluten favorites with gluten-free versions-

Wait......then wait some more....

Try not to replace a beer with a gluten-free one right away. Wait until you have sort of forgotten the " real" beer. Drink ciders, wine or something else for a while. The same is true for other foods like a baguette bread,chocolate chip cookies, Cheezits, animal crackers....

Brownies replace well if you like a fudgey brownie. Chocolate cake can be quite good. Kinnitoos Oreo type cookies are yum. Use this time to try some new foods or drinks. It can be fun.