As a follow on from my fruit question......

[Ali911]

As some of you know I'm on a very strict low-fat diet for health reasons & I was concerned about the amount of fruit I was substituting for the 'naughty' foods. I had a long chat with the dietician yesterday & she assured me I could eat fruit freely without worrying too much about the sugar .. apparently my body will let me know if I have consumed too much! They now want me to eliminate gluten which I think will prove a much harder test. However I'm coping pretty well so far with the low-fat so perhaps it's just a mindset thing .. weigh in tomorrow so we will see what the scales say but ultimately I am doing this for my well-being & to fight the ba**ard cancer.

One day at a time

Good luck everyone xx

[Hidden]

That's good to know! The amount of fruit you said you were eating didn't seem over the top, so it would have been difficult to limit how much fruit sugar you were having within those amounts. Good luck giving up gluten. I've had to give up wheat. I suggest approaching it as an opportunity to start thinking more creatively about what you're eating (and get a big bag of oats and loads of oatcakes - you may need to find the gluten-free varieties, as normal oats contain traces of gluten - also rice, polenta, sweet potatoes, barley, the list goes on...). Good luck, and good to hear the dietician has given you encouraging and useful advice

[Ali911 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Ruth .. I'm going to view it as a challenge & do some research, keep tracking everything I eat as I do now. Has giving up wheat made you feel any better or helped with the weight loss ? Sorry I may be picking your brains soon I'm becoming an expert label reader!

[Hidden in reply to Ali911]

I have written some previous posts about this, there was a particular one (a few weeks ago) where I listed some recipes I've found useful. healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh.... Others on here are also gluten/wheat free, so hopefully you'll get more responses from them too. I've been avoiding wheat and dairy since May and at the same time been following the NHS 12 week plan, as well as doing a lot of exercise. Combined this has all helped me lose weight, but a lot of it comes down to making the changes in a healthy way. I haven't replaced like for like. e.g. I don't have 2 slices of gluten free toast in place of normal toast, I make potato cakes or oat pancakes instead, etc. You'll not only become an expert label reader, you'll find yourself tending towards things with shorter ingredients lists too

[Ali911 in reply to Hidden]

Aha, I will go & have a look thanks. I'm starting week 5 tomorrow so haven't read any further back. Agreed on the short lists

[alex7ra in reply to Ali911]

There are really good gluten free pastas available these days; brown rice for example. Also rice is a great gluten free carbohydrate.

Porridge made with almond milk topped with fruit would be a really good breakfast.

Watch out for soy as I was surprised to find that contained gluten. They do gluten free versions of soy sauce which brings loads of flavour to different foods.

The blog deliciouslyella.com has loads of sugar free, dairy free, gluten recipes on which is worth a look.

Good luck and I have everything crossed for you to make a speedy recovery.

[Ali911 in reply to alex7ra]

Thank you Alex always nice to have recommendations .. I will check out that blog. I have plenty of available time to read at the moment so I can learn as I go along

[Hidden in reply to alex7ra]

I've replaced soy sauce with tamari sauce but it's more expensive (they have it in the supermarket free from section or in Holland & Barrett etc). Although as I'm not using any of those sugary stir fry sachets etc anymore, the savings come from elsewhere.

I've also discovered 'nutritional yeast' which adds a cheesey flavour to things, as well as protein and B vitamins etc, e.g. it can be stirred into risotto, mashed potato etc. Also not cheap, but a tub lasts ages and makes all the difference flavouring-wise.

[andrewleeone]

Stop eating bananas when they come out of your ears!

[Ali911 in reply to andrewleeone]

Haha, fair point *hurriedly swaps the banana for some grapes*

[Penel]

Interesting that they advised you to go gluten free, it is unfortunately associated with various health problems and it can be difficult to digest. I've been strictly gluten free for about 10 years. You need to avoid wheat, rye and barley.

The safest option is to cook from scratch and thankfully there are lots of gluten free recipe sites. Eating out has become a lot easier over the past few years with restaurants having to be aware of allergens. Do try to avoid the supermarket gluten free bread, the emulsifiers and other additives will not do you any good.

You could have a look at the Coeliac UK website and there is a HU site called Gluten Free Guerillas if you need any specific advice. Good luck and remember to read every label, as the damn stuff gets put in a lot of ready made food.

[Ali911 in reply to Penel]

Thanks for the useful advice. Good to know it can be done it just seems very daunting. I have nothing to lose by trying it though. My cancer is incurable so anything I can do to improve quality of life is a positive in my book. I will investigate the websites. It really is true 'we are what we eat' isn't it!

[Penel in reply to Ali911]

Have a read of "Living Gluten Free for Dummies", it may help to make things less daunting.

If you are spending time looking at improving your quality of life, perhaps have a look at Paleo and Primal diets. Some of it is too extreme, but there are some useful ideas in there too. There are several blogs out there on general health issues, the one by an American called Chris Kresser is good if you are dealing with major health issues.

Once again, good luck with it all.

[Ali911 in reply to Penel]

Brilliant thanks for further ideas .. I'm learning a lot! All this reading is keeping me focussed & feeling positive x

[Jo4950]

Hope it goes well tomorrow and you have a result you will be happy with.

Have a good week.

[Ali911 in reply to Jo4950]

Thank you .. I'm hopeful but we'll see

Hope your week goes well.

[tygridia]

I have coeliac disease, so I cannot eat gluten. My advise is buy good quality food and avoid pasta made out of corn (too much sugar). Stock your kitchen with Dovesfarm gluten-free flour (perfect for pancakes), buy pasta made of buckwheat/sweet potato/quinoa (it's delicious and really nutritious), Genius bread (most GF bread is terrible, but this brand is rather good) and quinoa (a live-saver) and go to vegetarian shops for specific products (they are really well stocked on 'free from' food). Also, when you go to the supermaket avoid the bakery alley, it's a pain in the beginning when you are craving gluten.

Hope this helps! Contact me if you have any questions!!!

[Ali911 in reply to tygridia]

Wonderful suggestions thank you. It all seems like a minefield at the start but I'm hopeful I will adapt especially if I feel improvements in my body. Yes, I know totally what you mean about the bakery aisle .. it's always the things we can't have that suddenly seem THE best! Thanks for the offer I may well have questions

[2bFabnfit]

Investigate Nakd bars as treats. They are gluten free and all natural. May fill the deprivation gap.

[Ali911 in reply to 2bFabnfit]

All suggestions gratefully received