Once again, Verizon dropped the ball, and I have literally been without internet access since the last time I posted. W.T.F. But it finally seems to be resolved after having a technician come out today, thankfully. Even so, while I have internet capabilities I decided to get my ass over here and knock out a post before my internet (potentially) craps out again because I miss you all! PS This is a long, semi-serious one, but is filled with (what I hope is) good information! I wanted to give ya'll your money's worth since I've been out for a bit!
Anyway something I wanted to discuss today: being Gluten-Free. Lately, it seems like everyone I meet deduces within 5 minutes that I'm g-free (usually because they either offer or mention some sort of noms I can't have). And I get the look.
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| What you mean, you don't eat no |
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| G-Free Diet of justice! |
So I decided to answer some of these questions. Surprisingly, a lot of people have heard of g-free, with it being a fad diet and all, but no one seems to know much about it unless they have an allergy or Celiac. So Imma discuss this for those of you who are curious about the basics, and how I live without my [wheat-infested objects].
First and foremost: I do not have Celiac Disease. I am merely gluten intolerant. How do I know? I've always had stomach problems. And the doctors, they don't really know why I have said tummy troubles. So I've been to the doctors a lot, had many procedures done, but have never gotten many answers. So after reading The G-Free Diet by Elizabeth Hasselbeck, I decided "Oh what the hell. Let's try an elimination diet".
My symptoms vanished within 2 days.
Therefore, I decided that yes, wheat was causing a problem. It may not be the only problem with my digestive system (I still have bad days, regardless of what I eat) but I did dramatically reduce my tummy woes (which I won't go into too much detail, but involved a lot of bathroom time, bloating, and fatigue).
Comment 1: "What's that?"
Gluten-free basically means no wheat. You heard me: No pasta, pizza, bread, cake, brownies, anything breaded, and beer, to name a few. I am only gluten-intolerant; if I have a lil' something every now and again, no harm done. Celiac Disease is the dangerous allergy- this is the serious stuff. If those with Celiac Disease have gluten they have it a lot worse than I do. People who suffer from CD have the lining of their small intestine damaged, which makes it hard for them to absorb nutrients to stay healthy. Like any allergy, some have it wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more severe than others.
Comment 2: "How do you live without [fill-in-the-blank??]
Honestly the hardest part was coming to terms with my newly-found gluten-freeness. Before I went g-free, my diet consisted of a lot of pasta, bread, pizza, cake, brownie, chicken mcnuggets, etc. I was gluten-tastic. So it was a huge shock when I realized eating all my favorite foods was just not an option anymore. There were days when I would just eat them anyway, and have a horrible stomachache lasting until days later. It also annoyed me that people would still ask me if I wanted bread or cake because they would forget, and I'd usually just take them up on the offer. Slowly but surely, I realized I couldn't handle that shit anymore. So I just gradually stopped eating (much to my abused digestive tract's relief). I still crave (regular) pizza, pasta, bread, and mcnuggs on occassion. But I crave how I feel without them even more. Plus, when I first went g-free, it was about 5-6 months before g-free became a thing in the food world. There were lots of nasty ass tasting shit that I just couldn't eat which made me even more miserable. But now, there's tons of great tasting alternatives for the g-free people of the world. Restaurants like P.F. Chang's and Red Robin all have g-free menus to make going out to eat easier too (LOVEEEEEEEEEE me some P.F. Chang's man).
Comment 3: "Cutting out an entire food group isn't healthy you know."
This one gets me every time. Wheat is not the only grain out there people!! There are tons of different types of grain that are g-free friendly and allow me to get my carb on. Most notably, quinoa and rice. I'm not cutting out an entire food group I'm cutting out part of a food group. Difference, duh.
Comment 4: "Weight Loss?"
Yes, a g-free diet did allow me to lose about 7 pounds in a very short amount of time, but it also stopped me from being sick, all the time. But believe me, while it can aid your weight loss and give you more energy, you still gotta put in the effort yourself. Ya know, still eat good things (not all gfree stuff is healthy you know!) and exercise. I will say that I had a significant increase in energy after stopping the gluten-fest but using it to lose a lot of weight is probs not that great. Plus if you add wheat back in your diet after dropping x amount of pounds, you'll probably put it back on.
Comment 5: "You mean no bread or pasta or pizza? EVER??!!?!"
(Note: Does not apply to Celiac sufferers). I still eat the occasional pizza or pasta dish. However, those days are few and far between. I'd say I'm g-free about 99% of the time, just because I don't want to deal with feeling horribles and having bad tummy issues. When I do eat the very rare gluten-y thing, I pop one of these babies. Glutenease is basically a pill of digestive enzymes that helps those with sensitivities to wheat and gluten digest things. I've read reviews of Celiac sufferers poppin one or two before eating at a restaurant to avoid cross-contamination, but I've never read a review of a CD sufferer saying "oh yah totes just ate a whole piece of cake and feel great!!!" Since I don't have Celiac, these pills allow me to have the occasional piece of cake or pizza without feeling like my stomach is trying to strangle itself (sometimes, depending on how much I eat, I will bloat regardless of the pills). At this point, I'm so used to being g-free that it doesn't really bother me when I see everyone eating something that I can't have. These are strictly for "mama needs a panera bread bowl stat" sort of days or special occasions (you wouldn't believe my boyfriend's face when I say...let's go get [real] pizza!)
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| My savior during my "comfort food" days |
Best Part of Being G-Free: Expanding my food horizon. Pre-g-free, I was a pretty picky unimaginative eater. I hated a lot of veggies, and wouldn't branch very far out of the white refined sugar, pasta, and bread lane of life. After-g-free, I had to expand or I would have basically starved. Now I eat a ton of healthy (and some not-so-healthy) things and I'll pretty much try anything given the fact that it's gluten-free. For example, I used to hate tomatoes (I know, right?!?). Now I love them. Same goes for beans. I probably never would have branched out without going g-free.
Worst Part of Being G-Free: Expensive! If you go g-free and really stick to it, expect to spend some serious dough on your shit. Because processed g-free food has to be (for the most part) produced in a special plant to avoid cross-contamination, it's more expensive. (Please note: does not apply to naturally g-free foods like fruit, veggies, and unbreaded meats. I'm talkin strictly g-free flours, cookies/cakes, and bars). For example, you can drop anywhere from 5-10 bucks on g-free pasta, and still get less than the $1.99 whole wheat kind. I recommend keeping your eye out for sales and coupons (glutino usually has some sort of coupon deal happening) and don't be surprised when your grocery total is redonk. Also, it's annoying when you're the only one of your friends who's g-free because they constantly forget and you usually have to provide your own party snacks. Boo on that.
Are any of you g-free? Do you have any more questions for me? I'm certainly no expert, but I've been g-free for going on maybe 2.5-3 years now, so I know some things, ya know? Lemme know if you want some of my favorite g-free recipes, or pointers on becoming g-free for beginners below! Also, share your tips and tricks for being g-free in a very glutenous world!
Stay classy (and gluten free!)
~K
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