Food intolerance & Slimming World

[MommyWhoop-Whoop]

Hi, I wonder whether anyone else had experienced this or can assist.  I have an underactive thyroid which is managed with thyroxine (but very unstable).  I have food intolerance of cows milk products (i.e OK with sheep and goats products), soya, gluten and eggs.  I have recently started slimming world but am finding it very difficult due to food intolerances.  Has anyone else with this level of intolerance coped with Slimming World or should I try another food optimising regime.  I am now VERY desperate to lose some weight.  GP doesn't seem to want to help and I have paid out for nutritionists who always seem happy to take my money and prescribe me supplements.  Please help???

[Diana]

There is lots of help out there, I notice now you can get goats cream !   Rice stuff is good, flour is great for sauces and cakes, egg replacer is widely available too.

Lots of flavour from olive oil, lime , lemon or garlic,  ( chilli if you like it, and herbs) you could make up sauces too ( check blood type recipes ) for stir fries and stuff, lots of stuff in free from isles for coatings too.

Stick to basics, eat loads of veg, and low sugar fruits, check replies out online and adapt a calorie controlled plan.

[IndigoBlue61]

I don't know much about SW but have friends with food intolerances and like Diana suggested being able to cook and prepare your own food is a major help 😕 There are alternatives for some, ie rice milk but good knowledge is important to maintain healthy gut and a have balanced nutrition. 😊

With regards to weight loss like everyone else you need a have a calorie deficit by eating less and moving more 😊

[Venusflytrap]

You said you had just joined your slimming club.  Were you able to discuss these issues with your leader?  Some will be better than others on these issues.  Do you have a phone number or email address for contacting her?  You are paying her to look after you.  Ask for her help.  If she can't help you then you need to find another class to give you the support you need.  

You say you have food intolerances, which I was inclined to accept until you said that you had unsatisfactory relationships with "nutritionists".  Have you actually been tested for allergies by the NHS?   With a skin test?   Have you been managed through an exclusion diet so that you are absolutely sure you do have allergies.  I think sensitivities are a different issue.  I have one family member who is sensitive to cow's milk.  This was really obvious when he excluded milk from his diet, his eternally blocked up nose vanished.  We have now found he can eat cheese and yogurt, but he is better with a milk alternative for drinks, sauces etc when cooking for himself.  But it is a sensitivity not a life threatening allergy, so I don't make all our milk sauces, custards etc with a milk alternative, I make them with skimmed milk, as the fat seems to be one of the issues, and he chooses whether to eat them or not.  For his cereal breakfasts, I bought one of every soya, coconut, almond etc options in ASDA.  I chose ones which matched or were less kcal than skimmed milk.  He now has his favourite on cereals but has said that it doesn't really work in drinks so he just has skimmed milk in those occasional hot chocolates.  "Nutritionists" will find you some food allergies, after all you are paying them to do so.  But they are not usually doing it by a scientific method as that is way too time consuming and troublesome.  I wonder if it is worth you re-testing yourself for each of these sensitivities again and see if you do need to manage them out of your diet completely.  Just because they are all really common and nutritious foods that the exclusion of them all must make your shopping, planning and cooking so difficult.    

If you are able to work out one day's food on your chosen diet so that you always have the ingredients for a no think breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can use that as your base and add new meals into your repetoire as you work them out.  Porridge made with water and berries for breakfast should be fine.  You can get ranges of berries frozen, which is a great backup for the fresh options.  Another breakfast could be bacon medallions, baked beans, tomatoes and mushrooms.  Lunches could be a lean meat, like chicken, turkey, ham etc, wrapped with some chopped salad in gem lettuce leaves.  So sandwiches without the bread.  Or you could have some dips like houmous, mashed avocado with lemon, taramasalata etc: carrot, cucumber, pepper and celery sticks and a couple of poppadums to dip.  Dinner could be based on potatoes, rice,  a non wheat noodle or even courgettini with meat, fish or beans as the protein.  I am sure you will soon work it out.  And at least that gluten intolerance is keeping you away from all the bread, biscuits and cakes that tempt the rest of us day in day out.  

Keep going, you can think your way out of any problems that get in your way, and if you get stuck, there is always your weekly class and us to use as a sounding board.  

[MommyWhoop-Whoop]

Hi Venus Flytrap.  Thank you so much for your very considered response.   In reply to the areas you've correctly identified.  

Slimming World - I explained my issues to the Consultant who promised to send me some information about SW and food intolerance... I'm still waiting.  I believe that the food regime is designed primarily for people without this level of intolerance and lovely healthy food is heavily (syn) weighted.  Don't get me wrong, I'm trying to follow it, but end up eating the same things and am unsure whether the balance of food is right for the nutrients I need.  I don't eat processed food and cook everything from scratch so that I know what is in it.

In terms of NHS - I've had a skin prick test and that came back with some intolerance and also had a Genova Test with Nutritionist which identified gluten intolerance.  Hence elimination of gluten, eggs, soya and dairy.  I know that I can't eat these foods as my body tells me so!!!  I do eat gluten free pasta etc, but a lot of the gluten free foods are packed with unhealthy alternatives.

I think I really wondered whether there was anyone else who experienced this level of intolerance and how they manage it, or whether there was an alternative to slimming world which had been researched to provide all the right balance of nutrients and resulted in weight loss.  

Thank you all again for your support.

[Penel]

Hi MWW

I have to avoid gluten, lactose, soya and nightshade vegetables. Have a look at the Coeliac UK website, and at the GlutenFree Guerillas on HU for some ideas. 

healthunlocked.com/glutenfr...

You are definitely right to avoid most readymade gluten free foods as they are often loaded with additives and sugar. I would also recommend avoiding readymade gf bread because the additives! 

There are certainly sites out there that cater for your level of intolerances. Perhaps try The Intolerant Gourmet.

 As you also have problems with your thyroid, there is a possibility that you are insulin resistant, so a lower carb diet might be the way to go. The ideas behind the Paleo diet might be useful to you, but without becoming too extreme. Have a look at blogs/books by Sarah Ballantyne who writes about food intolerances and how to deal with them (usually associated with autoimmune problems). The emphasis is on food quality and optimal nutrition.

thepaleomom.com

Good luck. It can be done but it does take planning! 

[MadMavis]

Hi I have just found out that I am intolerant to gluten, dairy, yeast, tomato and potato I have been following SW for a couple of years, so know the plan well but trying to get my head round how to adapt it. Any tips rtf would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.