A GF diet is very strict. Does anyone rebel against it?

[Abby]

I have; of course I suffer afterwards- but I can't help it. How do I ignore cravings? I also, when I'm low- feel so restricted that I indulge, over eat. Am I the only one? And how do I stop it?

[meanioni]

God no. Hate the feeling of being ill and remind myself of the long term consequences of doing so - e.g. Bowel Cancer and permanent gut damage leading to deficiency diseases.

Don't get cravings any more - there are so many half decent alternatives why eat gluten? I can't think of anything now that is not purchasable or cookable gluten free. That way you can binge safely.

What is it you crave? Why do you feel restricted? Do you need help with a more varied diet? Have you looked into the many possibilities/alternatives that are available?

[Liana]

I'm really lucky ... gluten makes me so sick that I'm NEVER tempted ... but Ohhhh do I get cravings. For most things, I've created a GF alternative (good thing I love to cook)...but there is nothing like a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings! I have just learned to accept that I can't eat gluten or corn or rice or citrus fruit or legumes or lactose or frustose or sulphites .... you get the drift ... If you want my recipes they're free ... on my web site: foodchallenges.ca

Last night we had homemade GF fish and chips ... fabulous! and so worth the effort. All the flavour and pleasure ... none of the pain.

[Hidden]

Hi Abby, I am the opposite and will avoid foods that may have traces of gluten because ingesting gluten makes me so ill.

You are not alone tho' and many coeliac ''cheat'' on their diets. It is human nature to want what we can not have, ''forbiddin fruit''

Now its our perception of cheating and our definition of a treat. And to me making myself ill is not an option yet alone a treat. So I would try anf find gluten free altenatives to the wheat products that you indulge in for when you want to indulge in these foods. The supermarket shelves are chocka block with gf treats, there are also bars of chocolate.

Then when you have dealt with this I'd look at why you want to comfort eat, because it's like the buddhist saying: ''happiness is unhappiness'' Now what this means is that if something can make us happy it can also mnake us unhappy and comfort eating is not good for you its stuffing food into your stomach regardless of whether you are hungry or not and you are causing issues for your body like discomfort and weight gain.

And if you take a step back and look at this realsitically ask your self two questions:

1) Do I want to make myself ill?

2) Do I want to treat my body like a dustbin? (and comfort eat)

Good luck and my advice is ''just say no to gluten full stop''

Jerry

[Charliek1960]

Am with you Abby on this one, and yes sometimes I suffer, sometimes I dont!!! I get frustrated because even after I have been strict I still occasionally become ill....with things suitable for Coeliacs!!!! possible fructose intolerance...And yes it is usually associated with feeling low and depressed as I am also dealing with Underactive Thyroid and arthritis, having just had a knee replacement and feeling isolated right now!!!!

[Jacks]

Never. After decades of ill health due to undiagnosed CD I never want to touch the stuff again, so like many on here I'm desperate to exclude all traces of gluten. I especially don't miss having projectile vomiting, stomach cramps, all kinds of bowel problems, not to mention blisters all over my hands, forehead, legs and back ...

There are loads of reasonably tasty gf treats - just get your own goody box and always make sure you have something in your bag or car. Bake a batch of something and get good at it so you can knock it up at a moment's notice.

How do you stop it? I'd trawl the Internet and look at what will happen to you if you keep doing it - scary stuff! People on this forum are ill with foods of less than 200 ppm.

I don't understand why someone would deliberately ingest gluten except that they may have a risk taking personality - something that may have once given that personality an evolutionary advantage is definitely a modern-day flaw in CD.

[Janey39]

Heck no - would i ever crave being sick, bloated and all other symptoms that go with it NO WAY.

I look at cakes and lovely lovely bread and wish I could eat it but its not worth being ill for a week :(. Before being tested etc I had to three times go back to eating wheat / gluten for 6-8 weeks at a time and that will haunt me for the rest of my days.

So much better not eating the stuff but they do hide it in all kinds of things that would just would think about, so I read all labels so sometimes shopping takes forever - but in my mind better to be safe than sorry.

[Jacks in reply to Janey39]

You did a gluten challenge THREE times! Your bravery is outstanding. I did it once and it was a nightmare. With this knowledge, you are my new hero:-).

[dinger]

You must be mad I never cheat its just not worth it. I do sometimes dream of eating a crusty roll with cheese but dreaming about it is all I do. I don't suffer as badly as the rest of you but bloating and an upset stomach is enough to put me off cheating.

[kay1982blru]

I've just been through a period of "binging", but I didn't feel any worse for doing it! I've been diagnosed for just over a year now and it's the first time I've eaten gluten knowingly since diagnosis. I think part of the reason I did it is because I haven't felt any better on the GF diet and I just felt like it was alot of effort without any rewards! But, I suppose it must be giving me long term benefits ...and they can't misdiagnose can they? I wasn't diagnosed through the blood test it was through my endoscopy.

Anyway, I completely know where you're coming from when you talk about craving certain foods. Yeah there are gluten-free alternatives but they're not as tasty (most of the time) unless you can cook and have the time to experiment!

[KarenBC in reply to kay1982blru]

Gluten free isn't enough for me. I have had to go grain free (soya, corn and rice) or still have gluten symptoms. They are starting to do research on 'gluten cousins' in the states. Perhaps its worth a try?

[Hidden]

The damage to the gut from a small amount of gluten to a coeliac (forget about reactions) is just not worth the effort of consuming. In my opinion I add.

[shamz123]

i cant stop craving for food thatt contains wheat and eat it even though my tummy kills me in the end.

[elizabeth44]

abby after reading all the replies if u didnt already feel guilty enuff and low all those perfect people wud make u feel 100 times whorse oh 2 live in a perfect free gluen world where the alternatives r the same taste quality convenience and cost ha ha i cheat sumtimes and pay 4 it so ur not alone !

[meanioni in reply to elizabeth44]

Nonsense! It has nothing to do with being perfect or trying to guilt anyone. It's your own personal choice. I gave my reasoning for why *I* don't eat gluten.

There are life-threatening implications of not following a GF diet.

Also in my reply I asked a series of questions - Abby clearly is struggling with the diet and needs help. I can completely relate to that and like most people here would try to help.

[ladyshelly]

hey there....i do not think anyone is putting themselves out there as perfect but are honestly answering the question asked....every one of us should take responsibility for our own bodies & actions & subsequent reactions....yes its human nature want what you cant have & personally I would suggest looking @ ways of treating yourself that does not involve food @ all....i personally do not even notice the majority of stuff I cannot have but when it comes to having a beer its a craving which thankfully I can now address by stocking up on GFL from the supermarket...I never want to ingest gluten again as it is a pioson to me & there are far more fun ways of causing myself a little mischief than eating gluten !!! I like some others only have to remind myself of the long term benefits of living gf but I know I suffered from being down for a long time before & after diagnosis & now I treat myself in non food ways & take 5htp every day to boost my serotonin levels as I do not wish to go there again....this lifestyle can be tough on us emotionally & especially for those with little or no support ... I only hope that we all look after ourselves to the best of our abilities & support one another ....I guess thats why we are all on here :~)

[ladyshelly]

maybe the people who are feeling down or depressed should be dealing with this as an issue in its own right ....

[Hidden]

I think that we only have to refer back to Abby's question and it is bound to provoke a reaction as poor Abby is obviously suffering and asking for opinions, advice and help.

Abby's says:

''I have; of course I suffer afterwards- but I can't help it. How do I ignore cravings? I also, when I'm low- feel so restricted that I indulge, over eat. Am I the only one? And how do I stop it?''

I also feel sorry for Elizabeth and any other coeliac who feel they need to cheat on their diets they are not cheating those of us who comply with our diets they are cheating themselves and denying them selves good health. So by mocking those that have responded honestly to Abby is a distraction from her own self guilt and unhapiness, methinks. As I for one saw nothing self righteous or condescending in the replies to Abby, I saw shock horror and why on earth do you want to make your self ill. Appart from the few who also ''cheat''

I respect freedom of choice and at the end of the day ''we'' all have to take responsiblity for our own actions or suffer the consequencies.

Jerry

[elizabeth44 in reply to Hidden]

i wasnt mocking any1

[Irene Administrator]

This topic always provokes a response divided into two camps. I always think it must be doubly difficult if you didn't have any stomach symptoms before diagnosis. In this instance it must be difficult to tell yourself that you need to stick to the diet but, with or without symptoms, once you've been diagnosed the medicine is the same, gf all the way. Interestingly once the gluten has been removed from the diet the body can start to react to other foods which have a similar make up to gluten. This is why they suggest not touching oats in the first year of healing. If you're already good at the cooking lark then you're part way there. But if you don't know one end of a pan from another then there's that learning curve to contend with as well.

[FionaGFG Administrator]

We'd just like to say that if anyone does have struggles with the gluten free lifestyle but doesn't want or feel able to raise that online in the forums then they are more than welcome to email us the admins of this group. We can hopefully pass on some tips or use your concerns/ challenges to formulate a series of blog posts for all members which address the issues.

Personally for me I found the cravings and over eating tricky at first. Ah just another bag of Cadbury's chocolate buttons won't be bad I used to think as I can't have x y and z. After a few months I realised I needed to face up to the lifestyle and radically rethink how I used to cook and eat. No more M&S ready meals for me on the way home (their gf options used to be non existent!). So 'can't cook, won't cook' learnt a few more basic meals and decided to avoid:

- temptation - don't go into those coffee shops with croissants the size of houses!

- be prepared - always have some fruit on hand for a safe gf snack on the go - after all nature provides for us well we've just become very lazy and got used to buying processed foods

- don't ever expect to replicate what food used to taste like - for me this is the biggest lesson - as you'll often forever me unhappy trying to recreate the magic of gluten. Instead - and it is hard - try and embrace new foods. I have always hated mushrooms, fish, tomatoes, cucumber, salad, avocado yet I now force myself to eat these foods and experiment when I dine out so I don't just have the gf mass produced equivalent

- lastly do consider the long term health risks - gluten effects every tissue in the body which is why our symptoms vary so much from person to person - from depression to rashes, to stomach pain & bloating and cancer if gluten isn't avoided

- don't put yourself in a situation with lack of preparation where you are tempted to deliberately eat gluten or risk cross contamination

- having had 2 endoscopies and other prodding and poking I just bear in mind that all that was pointless if I cheat on the diet. Don't get me wrong sometimes I wonder if the diagnosis was correct, whether I'll have any reaction if I have gluten (as I was never a typical coeliac)..but I normally talk myself out of it - or good friends did in the early days.

- give yourself permission to make mistakes

- treat yourself in non-food ways and try and focus on foods you can eat and enjoy rather than thinking what you can't eat

Do remember that there are lots of bodies where you can get help:

- nutritionists

- dietitians

- counsellors

- coeliac support groups

- hypnotherapy

etc

I'd recommend you try and ping down:

- what, where, when and why you feel tempted and when you cave in - if you can spot a pattern or common temptation it'll surely be a lot easier to avoid it

Hope this helps do let us know how you are getting on.

[meanioni]

I think after a while on a strict gluten free diet you kind of come out the other side and the cravings go. I rarely if ever crave anything gluten-ous - I was first diagnosed before Free From foods became so readily available and the choice now is amazing.

The other thing is that there are not many things I can think of that are not available in a gluten free form. But I do get excited when I come across something new which I can eat and in some cases, I find that the gluten free alternative is comparable or even better than the "original"...

Recently discovered gluten free pasties - man I was in heaven (being a West Country boy)

And I also remember my excitement when free from fish fingers first came on the market - lots of people laughed but it was nice to have some after 8 years of not eating them!

Only thing that was tough recently was when I went to Hamburg for a long weekend and discovered that the Germans love their gluten and milk (boy, do they ever!) - walking around the Christmas market with all the amazing pastries, breads, sausages, cheeses.... But... I was not tempted, the challenge was more finding something edible! We ended up eating pork kebabs and hot roast chestnuts, washed down with gluhwein. Hmm not bad!!!!

[Diana]

As a non gf, yes I will get picked on, but hey! I'm a blood type 'O', and know I shouldn't eat wheat, and had very bad cravings, some folk, can have kamut, and spelt, and seem to do ok, so prob solved, bake with it, or use rice flour,I'm affected by the 'dreaded cornflour' which makes me bloat, since baking no more cravings, its tough, maybe its worth trying these flours, take care and good luck!

[lizziew]

I will admit I used to take a lot of risks with my diet but then I developed ulcerative colitis and went through so much pain, almost died and now have to take 13 tablets a day to control it. I'm not saying that not sticking to a GF diet causes coeliac to develop this disease as I have no proof of that but I'm sure it was a contributing factor for me and if I have any gluten now I run the risk of having a relapse in my UC which is a lot worse than any of the symptoms I had when I just had coeliac disease so I am a lot more careful now.

[Catwoman]

I am the same, I can't stop cravings to what I call real food, such bread, mcdonalds, greggs.

I don't know how to stop eating wheat foods, help?

[meanioni in reply to Catwoman]

I think the key initially is finding a gluten free alternative to one food that you really like. If you can start with that, it makes it easier to phase in others.

Back before there was so much choice I remember getting excited by the prospect of a gluten free chocolate muffin. So bought lots of them and when I had a craving, ate that. Over time, expanded to cover other alternatives. The gluten containing items then drop away.

I would also suggest carrying some gluten free food on you to help with the "I'm out and can't find anything to eat" syndrome.

Finally would try to find someone else who has coeliac disease with whom you can compare notes on products, cook for each other and with whom you can eat safely.

Then you can satisfy the craving but not in a way that will cause any long term damage.

[Alison77]

Not worth beating yourself up about. I fall off the wagon sometimes usually because there is no choice wherever I am. It just means a day or two of feeling uncomfortable but then its fine. There really are worse things in the world...

[meanioni in reply to Alison77]

Everyone has to make their own decision; people take risks with lifestyles and smoke/drink/drive too fast/have unprotected sex, etc...

Problem with Coeliac Disease is that the consequences of continuing to eat gluten can be wide-ranging, painful, life-threatening and seriously limiting of your lifestyle and what you can eat. i.e. it no longer becomes a choice thing. And its pretty much a one-way street. It does not get better, just worse.

Not being "holier than thou" but my advice is to try to avoid gluten if you possibly can because now it may mean a bit of discomfort, but in the future will mean something a lot more serious.

[Whydothis in reply to Alison77]

The problem is that it doesn't just mean a day or two of feeling uncomfortable - it means setting back the whole healing process in the intestine, and so the proper absorbing of essential nutrients, not to mention the long term cancer risk.

Not worth it, ever.

[Whydothis in reply to Whydothis]

Sorry - just realised I was reading a very old post! How did that happen?