Cutting back on gluten

[Kimenem]

I've been reading some past posts on gluten FREE diets but was wondering....what do you all think would be the best way to just cut back? No bread or pasta? (which we're supposed to be having tonight ) It's the other stuff that gets me: soups, salad dressings (I like balsamic vinegarette). I haven't been diagnosed with an allergy; I'm just wondering if cutting back will help with weight loss and insulin resistance.

 

[ellesan]

It might help, you won't know until you try. There are a plethora of gluten-free foods out there now, no need to go without bread or pasta! Lots of baking mixes in the store are now gluten-free and there are many pasta and cracker choices. It just takes a little work to look at all the labels and find what you like.

Luckily most items that are certified gluten-free are putting it on the front label so it's easier to see.

My blood work wasn't + for Celiac, but I feel better when I eat gluten-free.

 

[caseysmomgo]

A little over a year ago I did a beta test for Dr. Mark Hyman's book "The UltraMind Solution". (I have no other connection to him or his book other than I followed his blog and was chosen along with about 300 other people to follow the program in his book and then write a review of it on Amazon, etc)

One of the things I had to do was go gluten free for 6 weeks. Totally. It was difficult at first, (especially since it was December right before the holidays) but I lost 5 lbs the first month and weight-loss was really not my goal (although I was happy about the 5 lbs!). I really didn't watch the quantity of food I ate, other than go gluten-free, also dairy free, no sugar, and clean eating, no processed foods, organic whenever possible, etc. I continued to exercise as usual. I had always had some sort of sinus problems, and those basically went away, and all in all I felt great. After the 6 weeks I continued to stay gluten free. (I've also stayed pretty much dairy free.)

Bread was the hardest to give up, and I haven't found a good gluten free bread that I like, but there are tons of gluten free organic foods out there like crackers (Mary's Gone Crackers are awesome), waffles (Van's Waffles), salad dressings (lots of good brands), and Tinkyada has some awesome gluten free brown rice pasta. Trader Joe's brown rice is great, too. Plus, when you think about it, a lot of clean eating is gluten free anyway. Fruits, veggies, etc... If you're going to cut back on gluten, I'd think bread and pasta and baked goods would probably be the biggest items to start with.

Anyways, I stayed gluten free until around last July/August, when I started incorporating some gluten back into my diet. Coincidentally, I started gaining weight and feeling crappy again. So I'm back being gluten free and I'm starting to feel better again. The longer I've done it, the easier it has become. I've never been diagnosed with a gluten allergy either, but if getting rid of gluten makes me feel better, I'm sticking with it!
I read an article somewhere that if you can't go totally gluten free, going low gluten is still helpful for some people.

Sorry this was so long! Hope it helps?

 

[Kimenem]

Thanks for the info. It just seems so overwhelming. I guess just taking it a little at a time would be better than nothing. For me, that means just cutting out bread and pasta. My biggest problem is sweets. I found the Fiber One brand of pop tarts and told myself that were better than regular because of the fiber I'm not a big pasta eater either. Come to think of it, I don't even have to have bread. SWEETS are my problem.

What about things like the following as far as gluten:

1. Cottage cheese and pears
2. Balsamic vinegarette dressing
3. Grilled chicken, fish, turkey (what can you marinate them in?)
4. Oatmeal

 

[caseysmomgo]

There are lots of web sites out there with great gluten free info. Celiac.com is one. Elanas Pantry has gluten free recipes, also gluten free girl. Can't think of what others are my favorites and sorry I didn't provide links... If you're going to seriously cut out all gluten, you need to figure out what some additives are made of, because some are made from wheat, etc, and reading labels is crucial. If you're just going to reduce gluten and not eliminate it entirely, then you probably don't need to be as strict with trying to catch every last iota of hidden gluten in condiments, etc.

Regarding your list...Some cottage cheeses are gluten-free, but some contain modified food starch, which can be made from wheat.

I use balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, etc. I buy organic salad dressings that are gluten free, such as Organicville, Seeds of Change, etc, or better yet, it's healthier to make your own and you know what's in it! I also use organic gluten free ketchup, mustard, etc.

I usually just put spices on my chicken, fish, etc, and grill them as-is, or use olive oil/balsamic marinade, gluten-free dressing marinade, lemon juice, mustard, honey,...you can really get creative.

Oatmeal...when I first went gluten-free I avoided oatmeal because I read that it was not gluten-free. Then I started reading stuff that said it is naturally gluten-free, but there can be problems with cross-contamination, etc. So confusing... So I started eating it again. I've been eating Bob's Red Mill whole oats.

It is kind of confusing, but there's a lot of useful info out there. There are some great Gluten Free cookbooks as well. I'm certainly no expert on this and there are others who are way more knowledgable, but this is just some stuff I've learned on the way to being gluten free. I've found that eating clean with less processed foods makes it way easier to eat gluten free because you know what's in it!

Good luck to you!

 

[Kimenem]

Thanks so much Denise. It sounds like you really have it down. Hopefully I'll be able to get to that point one day. I'm going to start with the basics and see what happens. I may be satisfied with those results, if any. That way, I won't have to worry about being so careful with labels, only the obvious stuff. I've seen things in the grocery store that say gluten free but never paid much attention. Time to change that.

 

[RapidBreath]

I put out a blog post with you in mind. I hope this answers most of your questions.http://www.edhdiet.blogspot.com/

As for grilled meats often they aren't really grilled at all and the marks are just 'caramel' coloring which is derived from wheat.

If oats are back on the menu thats awesome. I have missed them.

The modified food starch was a new one for me, thanks for the info Gayle!

I'm on the gluten free diet because of my IBS but I don't know that going gluten free helps with weight loss really except that it puts most fattening foods off your list of foods that you can eat.