Starting January gluten and alcohol free...

[Rosie2m]

Hi guys! Hope your all having a fab Christmas! I’m posting to say I’m binging on everything I know I won’t be able to have come January. After a recent thyroid diagnosis and being plagued with illness for the last 3 months including oral thrush for almost a month I have decided to take the plunge and start a 3months gluten and alcohol free trial to see if it makes any difference. At the very least I hope to at least lose some weight lol! I may well pop up needing some support from time to time as I love bread almost as much as I love to sleep and that’s ALOT!! Lol! Anyway hope you’re all having a fab time and thanks for all the help I’ve received so far xxx

[shaws Administrator]

I wish you well on your new regime. Some gluten-free breads are good and you might not notice the difference between it and ordinary bread. You might have to trial a few before you decide.

[Rosie2m in reply to shaws]

Thanks shaws, I had to do the low formap diet years ago and survived on the genius bread and did ok, someone did mention another brand to me but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was. Nothing quite like a fresh baguette tho lol x

[Lalatoot in reply to Rosie2m]

Tesco own brand gluten free bread either white or seeded brown is the best I have found.

[Rosie2m in reply to Lalatoot]

I’ll give it a go, thankyou!! Xx

[Lalatoot in reply to Rosie2m]

For rolls marks and sparks are best.

[Rosie2m in reply to Lalatoot]

Fab, I have a marks just down the road!! Thankyou so much!! Xx

[Lalatoot in reply to Rosie2m]

If you are into cooking or have time you can create your own gluten free flour blends. I am starting to make my own gf bread using info I found online and a new book.

[Girlslovescifi in reply to Rosie2m]

My favourite is B Free seeded bread from supermarkets or my local bakery’s GF bread! I am giving up the booze too. Good luck!

[Rosie2m in reply to Girlslovescifi]

Ah that’s the brand someone mentioned before! Thankyou! Good luck to you too, I’m hoping that it makes me feel so good I don’t want to drink anymore but I hate being sober around people who are drinking so I’ll probably also become less sociable lol! Xx

[Girlslovescifi in reply to Rosie2m]

I think I’ve tried all the brands and varieties. Think it’s B Free that do crumpets too, which are good. I cheated and ate gluten over Christmas, but back on avoiding it now!

[Rosie2m in reply to Girlslovescifi]

I’ll have to give them a go! Do you feel a lot better eating gf? I’m really hoping it is going to make a lot of difference 🤞and also help shift the weight I’ve gained in the last few months! X

[Girlslovescifi in reply to Rosie2m]

I don’t think I have any major intolerance - I quit to make sure I absorb my meds effectively. It certainly helped with bloating and bowels. Hope it helps you!

[Gooddayeth]

Marks seeded loaf is good.

[humanbean]

Be aware that some people get quite severe gluten withdrawal symptoms.

I suffered with them but found that I got my first benefits from giving up gluten after 5 days.

What I found worst was that the withdrawal issues took me by surprise. I didn't know to expect them, and I felt like I had the flu.

mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/...

You might find that following the advice for treating keto flu might help. If nothing else they won't do you any harm as far as I know (but I have no medical training).

dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ket...

[Tuscansun]

Good luck with your new way of eating! I can tell you that you liked to sleep cause you ate loads of gluten. As soon as you exclude it, you will sleep less and feel more energised.

[DuchessOfCatford]

Well done you will really notice a difference. After I found out for sure I was def hashimotos auto immune and not just under active I went totally GF 18 months ago and totally transformed and noticed differences within a week. Google Amy Myers info and zonulin. I don’t like any GF bread really so I try to avoid and have something different. Be prepared in your fridge and cupboard for when you want to it. And be totally GF not just ‘a bit’. Different GF pastas are nice too. Lots of colours available made with different things. You have to be more inventive but it comes. So much easier eating out with the GF menu and usually now manager takes and brings your order over the waitress. Good luck. You will notice difference for sure. Phil vickery does good GLuten free recipes for coeliacs too amongst loads of others with fresher food. Deliciously Ella, Megan Rossi. Loads.

[Rosie2m in reply to DuchessOfCatford]

Thankyou! I’m prepared for it to be hard, I did it for 6 weeks a few years ago and it was tricky but definitely not impossible. I find it trickier because of the kids but less gluten definitely won’t be bad for them lol. Yes I think it’s definitely becoming a lot easier to eat out, even buying sandwiches excetra there is normally gf options. I’ll have a look for some recipes, thankyou x

[Greml1n in reply to Rosie2m]

As the mum of a coeliac, please don’t put your children on a g/f diet. Whole grains are SO good for the heart and a lot of g/f substitutes are made from rice or potato starch which have more calories. Cakes taste almost the same but bread and biscuits are very different. A g/f diet should only be eaten if it is medically required.

The diet needs to be adhered to for 6 weeks minimum ( to allow the gut to heal) even if you don’t feel any better. It took a year for my daughter’s gut to heal.

[Rosie2m in reply to Greml1n]

No I definitely wouldn’t put them as gf, I think it’s important for them to have a balanced diet. I think that’s why I’m dreading starting because there will be so much temptation lol! X

[cgauthie]

Good luck! I found it took a year of gluten free eating to turn everything around.

[Rosie2m in reply to cgauthie]

Crikey that’s a long time to keep going especially if your not feeling any results in the early days. I hope to feel some sort of results fairly quickly or I will be tempted to give up 😬 x

[cgauthie in reply to Rosie2m]

It happens gradually.

Every two months when I had my blood tested, I saw small improvement. Then at a year my results were normal

It was so exciting !

[Fruitandnutcase]

Good luck with your new regime. I’ve been gluten-free for five years + and like you I just loved bread. I say loved because although you can get gluten free bread it just isn’t like a really good artisan loaf. That and a nice big fat fruit scone from our local garden centre is probably what I miss most about being GF.

I’d say join CoeliacUK to get started. It’s worth every penny to get hold of their food dictionary, that lists almost every gluten free food and ingredient known to mankind. The website has recipes and all sorts of useful information.

Eating out is much easier too these days too. Look at online menus before you choose where you want to eat and that will give you an idea of how GF friendly a restaurant is. I like Cote, Cafe Rouge, Nando’s, Pizza Express.

I’ve found snacking is more difficult which may not be a bad thing. I used to carry a little tub of nuts in my handbag fir emergencies and I used to buy a bit of cooked chicken from M&S

Can’t help yu on the alcohol front because I don’t drink all that much although I do love a glass of Prosecco every now and again and have the odd glass of red wine but I wouldn’t miss It if I gave it up.

Goos luck with it.

[Rosie2m in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Oh that’s a really good idea actually! I’ll join it to access that, if it makes my life easier as you say it’s worth every penny! I’m not a big snacker anyway so I’m not too worried about that, more what I’m going to eat on days that I work as I tend to normally just grab food on the run but I’ll have to be more prepared! I think I’ll be ok with the alcholol all the time I’m not out with others drinking. It’s going to be a hard few months I feel lol xx

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Rosie2m]

You’re well on your way then, planning in advance is the way to go and have a back up in mind for emergencies - like my nuts and cooked chicken.

I should have said be sure to always read labels on everything you buy because gluten can come in the weirdest places - I discovered that M&S use wheat in one of those little tubs of mixed nuts - why?

Also watch out when you buy from GF shelves. I picked up a chocolate Yule log and discovered that someone had put a ‘regular’ one on the shelf beside the GF version.

[Rosie2m in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Quick question, do you avoid the ‘May contain wheat/gluten’ product too? X

[MichelleHarris]

Had a birthday party last night and my friend made a birthday cake for the birthday girl and guests and a special non diary and non gluten free cake for me and a couple of vegans, using avocado and peanut butter! Who would have guessed you can do that. It was very light and delicious. After a month of gluten and diary free I was ready for a treat. Hope it goes well for you x

[galathea]

Ihave been gluten free for the past 10 months. During that time i have accidentally eaten gluten twice and its made me feel terrible. Really bloated painful stomach and dire rear. It makes it very easy not to eat it.

Where i got caught out was: crab sticks. They have wheat in them... and galaxy low cal hot chocolate. It has barley malt in....

If you really do have a problem with gluten, you will be so much better for not eating it that going without bread wont be an issue. There is an amazing amount of gf stuff available.

Xx

[Rosie2m in reply to galathea]

I would definitely not of thought crab sticks would have them in!! I’m going to give it my best shot and see what happens, if after 2-3months I feel no different then I’ll probably reintroduce it and see how I feel. I’m hoping that I see results as I’d love to start feeling better! I don’t imagine it’s goi got be easy tho lol! X

[galathea in reply to Rosie2m]

I find i eat more cakes and biscuits now i am gf than i used to. People automatically assume that is what you miss most and keep buying gf ones for me!

What i missed most was fish fingers. But i bought some gf ones from asda. ( they have a seperate gf deep freeze section) about a week ago.... they were lovely.

Asda also do gf breakfast wraps, Brilliant, you just microwave them for 2 minutes and voila! Breakfast sorted when you in a hurry. (Freezer section)

Xx

[thyroidmom84]

That’s great- I plan to start GF diet in the new year as well! Still trying to come up with my grocery shopping list.

[Rosie2m in reply to thyroidmom84]

Yes I feel I’m going to have an issue too, I’ve not even started one yet but I’m going to join the celiac group and get all the info I can from there to help me make one lol. X

[Rosie2m in reply to thyroidmom84]

Good luck x

[MichelleHarris]

Really great Artisan market near me. There is a national award winning Artisan bakery and they make a sour dough bread with the oldest grain Emmer grain. They assure me that its gluten and diary free and I have googled and seems to confirm it. The bread is expensive x

[Buddyluna]

Good luck. You will have much more energy and not feel so tired. I take150mg of levithyroxine daily at the same time and fasting. I do not suffer the tiredness problem or the weight problem but I make sure to do lots of exercise everyday. Always do more than 10000steps cycle swim and run 5km. I will not be beaten by this disease. Di