When I was first diagnosed with coeliacs almost 10 years ago choices were few and dismal.
I look around the gluten free section ow and see a whole range of breads, ciabatta, focaccia etc and am uplifted,
Mind you there are loads of GF cake and biscuit options and as I have gone from a size 8 / 10 to a size 12 / 14 since diagnosis I'd rather avoid those if possible.
How do others keep on top of their weight now that nutrients are being absorbed?
Hi Wee and you have a very positive attitude so good for you.
I was diagnosed 18 years ago and it was a nightmare as Kellogs crunchy nut cornflakes were listed as gf then as malt being less than 5% of content did not have to be labelled as containing malt. I also had issues with codex on prescription so was not impressed with so say gf foods. I also tend to avoid the free from shelves as they have so many products made with oats/oat flour. But it doesn't bother me as I appreciate feeling well after years of being sickly and anaemic etc. I am now in my 50's and feel younger than when I was in my 30's.
So I have a positive attitude to life and my diet, regardless of my sensitivity to gluten. And the big improvement for me was when ALL ingredients had to be listed.
As for putting on weight I'm not very good at sitting still for long!
Here's a BMI calculator so you can check your own:
It might be a good poll for GFG ''what's your BMI?
Thanks Jerry, I'll check that out.
Yes I do feel positive, awareness is better than it was, the range is improving and I don't feel as much like the 'dinner guest from hell' as I used to...
I still get a bit irritated when menus in restaurants confirm foods which are suitable for vegetarians, and vegans, and yet look at me askance when I ask what is gluten free.. One waiter thought I was asking for FREE food.. ha ha
Oh well got to laugh I guess..
Great topic t start a discussion on! As I have only been at this GF game for 7 months now I do wonder how people who have been tackling it for many years feel and what other problems that have faced along the way. I have read a lot about the disease and the links to other ailments it wonder how prevalent these associated problems really are ?
I haven't managed to put any weight on yet but I guess it is early days, I had a follow up biopsy a couple of weeks ago so I'll wait and see the results of that. Like Jerry I don't tend to still for long and I'm convinced this is why I manage to stay thin (maybe too thin).
Anyway I look forward to many more comments on here.
I was diagnosed 5 years ago and even in that short time things have changed dramatically: groceries are better labelled, we have a much greater variety, the goods are of higher quality. Travel and eating out are so much easier because the food industry is better informed. Family and friends are beginning to "get it" ...well some of them anyway. All in all, food and beverage supplies and variety have improved. If eating gluten free were my only concern, I'd be a happy chicken ...regardless of my weight. ianwoowoo... the co-morbid disorders and diseases are the norm not the exception. I personally don't know anyone who just has gluten issues be it allergy, sensitivity, intolerance or Celiac Disease.
It is good that there is a large range of choice now, but only if you can afford to pay 4-5 times more for the gluten free alternatives. I tend to leave the 'free from' products alone except for pure oats, for which there is no alternative. I suppose I'm lucky that I can get bread, flour and pizza free on prescription and my wife can turn out great GF cakes, pies and pastries using the flour. I guess between us there are thousands who can't afford the supermarket free from products and just as many who havent reached the big six o and still have to pay for their prescriptions. My thoughts go out to them.
As for travel getting easier, I still have trouble finding GF food on the go at any airport, and in any British holiday resort.
I've been through the small range of options at Wetherspoons in many airports - chicken tikka, nachos and baked potatoes. Thats about it.
If like me you don't think a bowl of fruit salad from Marks and Spencers is warm, filling and satisfying when you're on the move you have to carry around your little pack of ready made GF sandwiches whenever you leave home on a journey. Not the same as an instant hot burger from a van with the aroma of onions filling the air.
I see eating away from home without checking and booking beforehand as a bit of a national lottery still. If you manage to get something good to eat , and don't get glutened by it, you're a winner.
I don't know about the food industry being better informed. I think if anything they are more wary now and tend to put 'Coeliac stay away' warnings on their products as an easy alternative to managing their production lines and keeping gluten out of where it should.'t get..
The best understanding of the problem with gluten and coeliac disease I ever came across was in Jamaica, where the restaurant staff were extremely helpful, friendly, and understanding. The worst is the mobile caterers who replaced the canteen where I work, and provide a huge range of gluten-loaded snacks. They can't even guarantee their salads haven't been contaminated.
The thing that has made me feel most positive in these past few weeks has been discovering that I can brew gluten free beer at home!
Hi philaustin, Do share your secret there re gf beer! I SO miss my occasional beer...is it a package you buy or are you brewing from scratch? I'd LOVE to give it a go!!! Can't wait to hear from you! cheers, Lexy
Hi Lexi. Take a look at this.
hamstead-brewing-centre.co....
It is a package that you buy. Two tubs or sorghum malt, gluten free yeast and flavouring. Makes 40 pints. I made the 'American style' lager. It has a citrus flavour, but having nearly finished drinking it all I have got quite used to it. I bought some St Peters sorghum beer once , very expensive in posh green flat bottles, and I think it tasted like that. I now have 40 pints of the Czech Style lager brewing. I heard about it through the Beds & Herts regional group newsletter and bought mine from the Happy Brewer in Union street, Bedford. You can buy kits directly from the supplier, who created the brew working with Steve, the guy who runs the Happy Brewer. Cheers, Phil!
M & S coffee shops now lists Soup with Gluten free bread or rolls, yet every time I have been there - yes you guessed it, they had none in. I always get offered the large chocolate gluten free muffin.
I get a little miffed when the gluten free option in these coffee shops and cafe's is loaded with fats ugh.
I too have gone up a size since being diagnosed 5 years ago.
Does anyone know of a gluten free / vegetarian cookbook or links.
thanks
The choice certainly has got better even in the 2 years since my son was diagnosed. Thankfully he gets his staples on prescription and prescriptions are free to everyone here in Northern Ireland. I do try to bake treats for him using his flour but find, like everyone else, than eating out/on the go is a problem as is snacking, he does get a bit fed up with fruit. Weight isn't an issue for him as he is still under weight since before his diagnosis and we struggle to get weight on him at all. This is why I would love more snacking options for him and not too expensive!
I travel occasionally with my job and I use M and S to take snacks on a train They do a good range of GF sandwiches but often as not there are none left.. I feel like skipping when I see they have some in.. I snack on nuts and fruit and GF oatcakes and I adore Tyrells GF popcorn sweet and salty..
I reckon my downfall weight wise is red wine and cheese..
..I just have to remember to take and cook smaller portions..
Last coeliac awareness week I gave a presentation to my work colleagues about how GF for coeliacs is vitally important and that it isn't a food fad, an intolerance or allergy but an auto immune disorder with potential life threatening consequences.. I think I opened a few eyes..
Hi Wee you said:
I feel like skipping when I see they have some in..
Now if only you did or better still did cartwheels they would make sure that they always have some in just for the entertainment value and it would help to keep your weight trim and raise awareness!
Seriously you have highlighted how we appreciate simple things that wheaties take for granted.
I keep on top of my weight the same as everyone else in the world does !! watch what I eat--- just because there are GF biscuits and cakes you do not have to eat them..... it is nice to know there are treats out there now and, we can be "normal" at coffee breaks and tuck in to biscuits etc , but--- my advice--- look around the cafeteria and really watch what the slimmer people eat
Good to read some positive comments (?). Things have certainly improved a lot over the last 10 years, I remember struggling to find a gf cookbook and ingredients - thank goodness for the Indian supermarket and gram flour.
I now use buckwheat and quinoa a lot.
I'm pleased there is more choice out there but I don't often buy free frem food - too many additives and I can't tolerate much yeast. I guess not eating bread stops me putting on weight. But age and hormones play a part!
Well done for giving a talk to your colleagues, Weee, not enough people know about coeliac disease.
Ianwoowoo, as Liana said, a great many coeliacs have other autoimmune disorders. You're lucky if you don't. The was a poll on here some time ago asking people to indicate what other problems they had..GFG have also posed the question recently.
Being gf can be a struggle at times, I still sometimes forget to take my own food on a day out, expecting there to be a gf option. But like Jerry I do feel more healthy, with more energy than I did 20 years ago.
my daughter saw it on facebook this morning. celiac prescriptions battle goes to house of lords does any one els know any thing about this.
It's the Oxford PCT who are planning on completely stopping prescriptions for coeliac:
Ps this is when it started:
oxfordmail.co.uk/news/94764...
Here's a link to GFG when this first appeared in the news:
glutenfreeguerrillas.health...
There is an ironic twist here with this blog starting as things can only get better!
Hi there, i have been diagnosed recently, with coeliac disease, so it's all completely new to me. I have been 'experimenting' with food but am finding it difficult at the moment. Especially at lunch times at work, beans seem the option at the moment, i feel i will get tired of salad very quickly, and am looking for lunch ideas, if you can help?
As for keeping the weight off, i am a runner normally, but have been too tired to run for a long time. However i ran on friday, i felt great, so my way, will be to run, or exercise.
I admire the optimism though, i think i need some of that in spades at the moment, most of my friends are looking out for me, but they have got as far as the beer section, 'don't worry, there is gluten free beer, so it's all ok!!!'
chin up!
Hey magicmarker,
If you have a microwave at work then a good option is to make a batch of food when you have time and freeze it in portions. Equally, making a batch of food on a monday and having it for lunch 2/3 days on the trot is good too.
It saves loads of time. Make soups, pasta bakes, stirfrys, casseroles. Quick things and easy to find simple recipes online.
A thermos flask for hot food is also handy as are bento style sandwich boxes.
It's not easy at times magic.. But it does get easier.. Beans on gluten free toast with a sliced tomato and some grated cheese..yum.. or some home made chicken soup with gluten free bread/toast/ oatcakes..
Regular exercise is a must, not just to keep trim but it tones muscles helps bone density and, most important, boosts feelings of self esteem.
Good luck
Ellen
Thanks for that, i have yesterday recieved a pack in the mail, from Coeliac UK, which looks really helpful. There is a little book in there, which i suspect will become my little bible!! With lots of information of food i can eat, it'll make shopping easier at any rate.
As for exercise, i am all over that, esp now that i am feeling tonnes better in myself, not lethargic and tired as before and ready for bed, ten minutes after getting up! 
thanks again, i like this website, it's a useful resource...
Mark
Have a look at my blog in snacks. I have to lose 6 stone, well on the way to losing the first one.
have been bad for past 12 hrs!! only thing was diet coke with drink! on bottle it says barley malt extract!
Is there such a thing as GF chorizo? 
Does anyone else get sudden tiredness/ weakness?
Do you eat things that might be contaminated?
