How many of you are gluten-free?

[baileymouse]

My husband has been begging me to try a gluten-free diet for years, even prior to the DS. He's convinced wheat is my enemy.

I can have good days and then I have bad days, so I'm thinking that I might try it as a New Year's resolution. I told him he's going to have to keep me in steaks and bacon.

[smscott7]

I am interested in what answers you receive. I am wondering about trying this too.

[Deleted]

My son had been gluten free when he was younger... We've been discussing going that route again as a family, so I'm interested too!

[Deleted]

I will be going gluten-free after the holidays. Hey, I'm Italian so that means there is tiramisu, cannoli, pasta, etc. during Christmas time and I'm not silly enough to try to give up gluten with these things around.

I'm going gluten-free because of the suggested connection between glutens and autoimmune/inflammation responses in the human body. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune nerve disease a few months ago and the prescribed treatments are rough. So, if I am gluten sensitive and can help lessen the effects of this disease I'm all for giving that a go. If I'm lucky I can have less of the treatments and make life a little better.

[lo]

If you have a slow cooker, this lady's recipes are all gluten-free. Just make sure to check the labels if you are using different brands from what she has listed (:

crockpot365.blogspot.com/

[majormom]

I stay pretty gluten free. Here's another good resource: www.facebook.com/elanaspantry

[beemerbeeper]

I stay pretty gluten free. I tiny bit blows me up. Apparently it is in tootsie rolls because I can eat 3 little ones and in 30 minutes I look 12 months pregnant and am in pain.

So I just try to avoid it. I think avoiding it helps keep my weight down anyway so I'm not complaining.

~Becky

[Linda1814]

I'm pretty much gluten free. I seem to tolerate gluten less and less as time goes on. It's really not bad. I've made a conscious effort to be stricter with my eating over these last few months. There was a time when I thought at least if I was careful during the day, I could relax a little at night .... not go crazy or anything but if I wanted a bite of bread or a couple croutons on a salad sort of thing or a creamy soup from a place where I wouldn't know the ingredients, I would. But now, I don't eat anything questionable. My belly is so much better for it. I have less bloating, I don't look pregnant, my face is less puffy, and there is no gas... definitely a flatter belly.

I stay away from anything overly processed, anything with modified food starch, anything with any sort of flour, anything with high fructose corn syrup.

I am curious to know how much is too much at this point. Like the last two times I had sashimi, I had regular soy sauce and I wonder if that is why I had some stomach issues those nights.

I eat most of my meals in restaurants since I travel much of the time for work. Some days its hard so I have things on hand that work for me. Yesterday I went to lunch with some colleagues ... there are three places within walking distance - Subway, a Thai place, and Olive Garden. We went to Olive Garden and there was only one GF choice on the lunch menu - grilled chicken caesar salad. I did find a snack box in the hotel marketplace. Some of them have around 25 grams of protein in them. I plan on getting some and stashing them in my laptop bag for days when I don't have a lot of options. They are shelf stable and I actually found them at Walgreens recently. www.gopicnic.com/Gluten-Free-Meal-Variety-Packnd

[Sandra C.]

I have been gluten free since my pre surgery diet began. I feel more energized, less overall swelling, ankle swelling all gone. I always favored the Atkins diet. when Dr.K. gave his intro lecture he explained the D.S. diet was most like Atkins, with lots of protein. That was the point when I knew D.S. was perfect for me because I was never hungry on protein diets in the past and had good results. My nutritionist gave me a long list of approved foods for 3-6 months out from surgery with lots of carbs like fruit, pasta, toast,more starchy veggies, to accompany the protein which must be eaten first. I tried many, but stopped losing. She uses carbs to slow weight loss, so I sure don't want to do that this soon. Sticking to all protein has helped me curb appetite , eliminate most cravings and watch fast downward results on my scale, encouraging me to stick to my diet. Really not looking forward to the end of the easy weight loss window everyone talks about. not sure when it usually closes. Anyone have experience with this?

This week on our first real vacation since surgery, eating in restaurants has been easier than I expected. Surprised the wait staff were helpful when I asked to eliminate parts of the dishes to suit my needs. I was able to eliminate the bread, cheese and onions for "onion soup". In another instance they were going to send out the chef to discuss exactly how i wanted the dish cooked. I wanted the crab/spinach fritata without the scrambled egg, more spinach, added feta cheese. Not a problem they said. Don't hesitate to ask, people are more understanding than you think. ;-)

[Julie R]

I had been having problems with random attacks of acute joint pain and peripheral edema. Since going (mostly) gluten-free, those problems have resolved. I still have my bad days, but the joint pain had me really concerned. As others state, most of the time, I have pretty decent control over my diet. During the holidays, it's a bit tougher! As someone else also stated, high fructose corn syrup seems to affect me as well. There are many gluten free products out there now, for baking, etc. I'd like to try some one of these days. For the most part though, if I stick to corn, potato and rice products for my carbs, I do very well. I do try to go easy on those, though, from a weight gain perspective, but if I'm craving a bowl of grits or some potato chips, I'm on it!

[baileymouse]

Thanks, everyone! I think that come Jan. 2, I'll be on the gluten-free train. Like Sandy, I'm Italian, so this is a foreign concept to me, especially since Calandra's bakery is right next door to work, haha.

I've been swollen, I have issues. It sucks. I think that gluten-free living might really help.