Going Gluten-Free

[MericoX]

I'm going gluten-free to help loose weight.. and plainly eat more healthier. It's interesting finding stuff without gluten in it that I like (I'm a picky eater anyways) but I am having fun with the challenge thus far.

If anyone has any gluten-free substitutes/brands they know of I'd be happy to hear them! Or any good simple recipes. I don't have a lot of money to buy gluten free stuff, or things like gluten-free flour (maybe next week though).

Today is Day 3, and I've already lost 2lbs. I've noticed half the time I'm not really hungry! Breakdown of my meals so far.

Day 1:
-Vans gluten-free apple cinnamon waffles with butter and cinnamon sugar
-Humpty Dumpty salt n vinegar potato chips (bad.. but gluten free!)
-My recipe of chicken, ranch dressing, and srachi sauce.
-M&Ms (bad.. but again.. gluten free! lol)

Day 2:
-Eggs and bacon
-Honey ham, all natural cheese puffs, raisins, fruit snacks
-generic Crystal Light raspberry lemonade
-Wendys bacon and cheddar baked potato (omnomnom)

[Renee750il]

I've found that the Udi's brand of gluten free stuff is okay. I rarely eat any of the breads, though -- just cutting out white food altogether for the most part, sweet potato instead of white, etc.

Truthfully, cutting out gluten has made me not really care too much one way or the other about food. It's just fuel. Even stuff I used to really love doesn't matter. The only food that really still tastes good is Mexican, and it's pretty easy to eat gluten free.

[smkie]

sighs...nuts and dried fruit. Yeah, hates the gluten thing completely. Lost weight I have never been able to get back even when I did reintroduce because it changed the lesion battle not one bit. I still pretty much try hard to keep it to a rock bottom minimum but if I understand right even a little bit blows the whole deal.

[Renee750il]

Yup. Even a little bit blows the deal, Smkie. It's not something you can do by increments; it's all or nothing.

You'd think I'd be really thin by now, but I'm not. I'm better, but not down where I should be. I really need to add the ultra low carb to it.

[MandyPug]

The produce section of the grocery store is a great place to find gluten free snacks Nothing beats veggies and dip!

[AllieMackie]

It's been pretty easy for me so far. The hardest part is not being able to grab a quick sandwich if I'm hungry at work, but I go get vegan soup instead if I get that urge. It's gluten-free, costs the same, and I have to walk the same distance. :P

At home, it's easier. A lot of my cooking has essentially been gluten-free anyway. Cutting out my starchy carbs and replacing them with good carbs in minimal doses has significantly improved my moods, and I've lost weight!

Originally Posted by MandyPug

The produce section of the grocery store is a great place to find gluten free snacks Nothing beats veggies and dip!

^ very true! Substitute with lots of veggies. Get creative!

[MericoX]

I figured meat/fruits/veggies were a given. LOL. I'll only eat carrots and very rarely cucumbers as a snack (I don't like any other veggies uncooked). But planning on having a big ol' bowlful at dinner when I'm actually at home to eat.

[Zoom]

One thing about veggies--be aware some of them actually have a very high sugar content (carrots, beets, etc). Cutting out gluten is awesome, but replacing it with high levels of sugar, even if it's naturally occuring, sort of mitigates the good. Not completely, but there is an effect.

[AllieMackie]

Originally Posted by Zoom

One thing about veggies--be aware some of them actually have a very high sugar content (carrots, beets, etc). Cutting out gluten is awesome, but replacing it with high levels of sugar, even if it's naturally occuring, sort of mitigates the good. Not completely, but there is an effect.

Same with fat, as I discovered. The basics of any diet should also apply to gluten-free if you're doing it for weight loss - cut fat where possible, cut sugars where possible. Otherwise, once the initial water weight is lost from the lack of gluten, a plateau will happen.

Zero-cal sugarless veggies like cucumbers are great for snacking. Putting a lot of zero-cal veggies with low sugar content in soups, casseroles, steamers etc. is a great way to fill up. A few I use a lot are celery, broccoli, leeks, spinach and asparagus.

Also, I've snacked on less apples and tangerines lately, but I still nom them occasionally as a sweet snack. I've used a lot of dark berries (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries) in my morning smoothies for antioxidants. They're still quite sweet as well, but they have less carbs than an apple.

ETA: Two of my big secret weapons in my cooking are lentils and quinoa. Both are gluten-free, and quinoa is a complex carb as opposed to a super-starchy one (though it's still a bit more starchy then I'd like). They can be added to a million different dishes, since they tend to take on a lot of the flavours in a dish instead of adding their own flavour. Both are good, healthy protein sources with a host of other nutritional yumminess to them as well. I make a lentil casserole every week or two, and where I used to use white rice I've now put in quinoa. It's great for multiple meals and is super yummy.

[Dekka]

Actually I don't cut fat. People doing keto go out of their way to eat lots of fat and drop weight like crazy.

I am now down 13 pounds now and fit into jeans I didn't since I was running.

Gluten free is a good plan. But you don't have to cut out the fat to loose weight. I am currently reading a book called Good Calories Bad Calories. Its basically a HUGE scientific review on fats and carbs, as well as the real causes behind heart disease and cholesterol. Its a very good and very surprising read.