Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Forgot to mention...

One of the things my doctor said I'm supposed to avoid like the plague is gluten...  Okay...  That's what I said in her office- "Okay"- all casual and intelligent-like, with a slight knowing nod of the head, as if I needed no further explanation.  Cuz, you know...  I gotta act like I got the smarts even though I don't. 

So, dear friends, my question(s) for you is:  WTH is gluten and what can it do to me?  How do I recognize it in my food when I don't know what it is?  It is not listed with ingredients in food, is it?  I've never seen it.  So how will I know to avoid it?  It has something to do with wheat or flour, does it not?  How do you eliminate it from your diet?  Does eliminating it require the purchase of fancy schmancy (and expensive) ingredients from snooty health food stores with blonde workers wearing tank tops in November?  Does eliminating it make your food taste like crap?  Cause I don't want anything to do with gluten-free living if it means everything will taste like crap.  Why bother eating crap?  Why does my doctor think that I would know these things?  Is it possible that I actually do appear to be somewhat intelligent?  Doesn't a doctor's job description include telling patients how to follow their directions when said patients are clearly idiots and just pretending to have smarts?  Does my doctor think it's comical to send me on my merry way with a clueless look on my face?

I have a feeling that, even though I don't know what gluten is, it has been the key to my happiness for the last 43 years.  I'm almost positive of this.  Gluten and Chocolate are what has kept this little girlie afloat lo these many years.

I'm heading to the store tomorrow to stock up on healthier crap.  Wish me luck.  I have no idea what I'm doing (Oh, really?  Who could tell?).  I've been scouring the internet (always a reliable source of accurate information) for info on what I should/should not be eating.  Oy...

P.S.  Check back soon for pictures of my peeps.  I'll get them up as soon as I can.

P.S. again...  Thank you for the B-day wishes!  I had a great day!

15 comments:

Elaine said...

Glute is in wheat flour. I'm not sure what else, but yes, it is in wheat flour. I know when I bake bread with whole wheat flour I put EXTRA gluten in it because it makes the bread less dense. I'm wondering why your dr. said to avoid gluten. You don't have celiac disease, right? But I'm not a dr., so what do I know. There are several different breads you can get at health food stores and some grocery stores that are gluten-free (look for Ezekiel bread). Also, if you use oat flour (I think) or rice flour (for sure) those are gluten free. That skinny conservative chick from The View recently came out with a book on living gluten free, I think. I don't remember her name since I don't watch the show, and I don't remember the title of the book, either. Lot of help I am, no?

Kelli said...

Ah, your last 2 posts have been exactly what I have been dealing with. Except? My doctor says my BP and cholesterol are the lowest they've even been. HOWEVER, my weight? Up 15 pounds since I became a mom. Ugh.

I know I could never cut out gluten. It's in a lot (A LOT) of yummy foods. I teach special ed and lots of my students with autism are on gluten free diest. They eat chicken breast and fruit. Oh and gorilla munch, this oh so tasteless cereal. I'm not a fan, but it you really do want to cut out gluten, there are options.

Right now I have started using the daily plate on livestrong.com. It will give you a calorie goal for how much weight you want to lose and then you can track everything you eat.

I plan on doing a blog post tonight just to keep myself accountable with my weight loss (hopefully loss). Because really, I have to do something! Good luck!

rachel said...

At one point, some doctor incorrectly told me that I had celiac disease, and I had to live like I had celiac disease for 4 months until someone more intelligent told me that the first guy was a moron. Anyway, I learned a lot in those four months.

I found - this was JUST ME - that I loved gluten SO MUCH that I couldn't possibly bear to try to replace it. Rice flour just isn't worth it...gluten free bread depressed me. Gluten free brownies are just...not very good, although they have a chocolate flourless thingy at Outback that is very delicious (although obviously not diet-happy). But otherwise, gluten replacements were super duper insanely expensive and required me to cook WAY MORE than I would otherwise cook. So I just...ate rice. Like real rice. With everything. And corn. And popcorn (make it the stove way, not the microwave way - it tastes way better and is way healthier). And corn tortillas (not all are gluten free, but some are). It worked for me...also, you can get a GF pizza from Amy's (sold in the normal grocery store, usually in the "healthy people" aisle) that works when you are dying (proverbially, of course) from wheat deprivation.

There is a list somewhere of all the ingredients that pose as gluten that are not called gluten, since almost nothing has "gluten" in the ingredients.

But I'm with Elaine...make sure you know why you need to cut out gluten. Cause it's kind of a PITA to do it if you don't have to, and certainly it doesn't make it easier to lose weight (things like rice flour are just as bad - if not worse - than the diet products that are wheat-based).

Sorry so long...feel free to email me if you have questions. Good luck!

Lina said...

Hi Michelle,

Since the diabetes runs in my family I can tell you that after my mom's diagnoses and my grandma's their doctors had them meet with a dietician who explained the diet related information. You may want to ask your doc to hook you up with one.

The other thing I wanted to tell you is that you should check out the blog A Year of Slow Cooking (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/). I think she does all her crock pot recipes gluten free and she has kids...you can search for her gluten free recipes on the left side - the gluten free tag.

Good luck with this Michelle! You can do it!

Heidi said...

I'm not sure why you would have to be gluten free if you don't have celiac disease (people who can't digest/process gluten).

Maybe just start with cutting out white flour and sugar first.

If you google "gluten free" you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Elaine for reminding me who I just heard on Hannity talking about her new book about living gluten free! Elizabeth Hasselback!! And let me tell you, she was very convincing, I was sitting there thinking "hmm... maybe I should go gluten free! Maybe the whole family should go gluten free!" And then we got to gymnastics and the idea promptly left my head.
But! Here's the book:
The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide ...
after you read it maybe you can tell me if I should read it too? :-)

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Nancy said...

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? Go to their website, they have a list of all their gluten free products.

Here in the Minneapolis area, there are bakeries that specialize in gluten free baking. Keep your eyes open for any in your area.

Nancy

Tami said...

I just interviewed the crockpot365.blogspot.com lady and am getting ready to write a story about her, her blog and her new cookbook. Got a copy of the cookbook to review and it looks like there are a ton of great recipies in there - and like Lina said - they're all gluten free...or can be made to be. Let me know if you want more info.

Hubbards said...

Our youngest daughter has ADHD and we were researching alternatives to meds and one was a gluten free diet. Not sure we could stick with it though. We felt it would change too much for her and she does not deal well with change in her routine! I want to check out the crock pot recipes though!!!!

Erica said...

You have received some really good advice here on gluten. I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy several years ago and until my system settled down I went gluten, dairy, egg free for about 2 years. Talk about a diet! I lost weight pretty quick. There are a number of gluten free cook books out there and yes, you will have to seek out specialty food stores for gluten free items, but it can be done and you will feel tremendously better once your system settles down.

Best of luck!

Colleen said...

Linlee is gluten free (and casein free, which means dairy) due to her autism. It is so hard to get gluten out of the diet; I swear it even floats around in the air. However... If you have a Whole Foods near you somewhere, they have great GF options, treats too. Fred Meyer also has a GF freezer section (at least ours does) with the brand Kinnickinnick. I've had the best luck with that brand for Linlee. She likes the bread and pizza crust. I've hear that Walmart now has a GF section and if you check, most grocery stores are now stocking a GF section too, although selections can be small.

There is a blog called The Gluten Free Girl and she has some really great recipes on there.

Good luck!

Colleen said...

P.S. Your birthday was four days before mine!

Kathy said...

I am glad that you have an answer. I figured that you had hypothyroidism. I have had it for about 30 years. Taking the meds will help many of your symptoms. Sorry about the diabetes. Get it under control with diet so that you do not have health problems later on. It is hard but switching to a healthier diet will be so much better for your entire family. I hope you are feeling better soon!!!!!!!!