It's Easier To Just Not Eat

[realmaverick]

This elimination diet is too hard. It's so limited I just don't want to eat. Today I've eaten a Banana, slice of ham and a gluten free chocolate bar (bad I know). Watching the family tuck in to Pepperoni pizza was fun. Luckily my family and friends are great, they weren't going to eat pizza as I couldn't, but I don't want everybody to do without nice food, just because I can't have it.

Anyway, I'm literally out of ideas for what to eat. How much can you do with meat, veg and fruit? I don't enjoy veg without gravy and can't really even have gluten free gravy on the elimination diet. Meat is now often making me gag, I just don't want to eat anymore of it.

I concluded today, that I need just eat the bare minimum and hope that I can successfully reintroduce at least some foods I'll enjoy in the near future. Otherwise this is it, eating the minimal amount of survive OR be ill from eating the stuff I enjoy. Great choices.

I am an extremely fussy eater anyway. I liked what I liked and that was that. So trying stuff like hemp milk would make me gag, no matter what it tastes like. Odd I know, but if it's foreign to me, I won't enjoy it.

Oh boy, not a happy bunny today.

[WheatChef]

Think quality instead of quantity. A slice of ham makes me think you're eating deli meats, which are pretty close to bottom rung of meat quality. Try roasting whole poultry such as free range turkeys, chickens, squab etc. Braise up some veal shank (osso bucco), a pork shoulder or whole lamb shank. Make a pot roast! Most of these are simply just meat cooked with some vegetables but ends up delivering a heavy dose of flavor. Learn the sheer beauty that is grass fed beef (you'll never want to eat grain fed again), not only is it light years ahead of the "regular" stuff in flavor but also is much healthier for you. Assuming you're still taking the fish oil mentioned in your sig, try seeking out your towns best purveyor of wild fish, in comparison it shouldn't be legal to label the farm raised stuff as fish!

There are so many different types of meats available for human consumption along with multitudes of different cuts from those animals yet most people only settle for the most basic cuts from the most poorly fed animals. Make it an activity of yours to search out and evaluate the different sources available to you in your town. Cows raised in pastures on opposite sides of the street can have noticeably different flavors and textures, and seafood tastes different depending on the time of year it was caught!

Edit: sorry one major thing that you'll have to get over is this whole "if it's foreign to me, I won't enjoy it" attitude. Tastes are shaped by exposure. If you go in to eating with the attitude that you'll only ever enjoy the stuff you already enjoy then no wonder you're starting to grow bored with eating! The more you expose yourself to foods, the more your perception of the foods change. This is a neurological and physiological adaptation as your body gets used to acquiring nutrients from a new food source. Eating is one of the most rewarding activities that we humans participate in but if you're stale in your outlook towards it then you're severely diminishing the amount of joy you can have in life. Even on the most restrictive of diets it's still possible to have an adventuresome outlook on food and flavors. All that being said, you should probably continue avoiding stuff like hemp "milk".

[T.H.]

Oh woo hoo - my diet of 'nothing good at all to eat' may actually help someone else.

My diet for the last year has been bison meat with just a few veggies (and almost no fruit - with quinoa as well, but not every meal obviously).

Let's see what can you do...

Ham is actually a great one to use with fruit, although ham also tends to have a lot of extra ingredients added, so depending on what you're trying to avoid, plain pork might be better. But anyway, you can get lots of fruit, especially this time of year, and make a sauce, glaze, or fruit salsa out of it (chopped mango, chopped cilantro, chopped cucumber with the seeds taken out, and a little squeezed lime juice is one I've seen. Maybe some green or red onion added, too). It's gonna lack the sugar, but you can still chop the fruit up, or mash it a bit, and boil it with just a little water for a short period of time. Cranberries do great with the pork, even better with a little orange added - you could juice your own oranges, boil down the juice, and added the homemade 'concentrate' to the cranberries to make them sweeter when making the cranberry sauce.

Actually, that's true for most fruit - you can juice 'em then boil down the juice a bit to concentrate it for something sweeter to add to things.

You can use mashed and cooked fruit and water to make a glaze for grilled meat - just baste it very frequently.

If you have ground or whole meat, put it in a pot, add some chopped veggies - salt and pepper if you can have it, but it's okay if you can't - and water and cook it. Simmer on a lower temp, for 30-90 minutes, and you've got yourself some soup. The less flavorful things you can add, the longer you cook it, to try and get the most flavor out possible. Tomatoes are often good for this, so are potatoes and chile. And fresh herbs do great, too. For things like parsley and cilantro, you can chop the stems into bite sized pieces to put in during the long cooking, and then add the chopped leaves about 5 minutes before you turn off the heat. Also, adding a little fresh squeezed lemon just at the end, after you turned off the heat, adds a nice taste to it, often. You could do this with the meat in small pieces, just a little of it, if the meat flavor is putting you off. I've done this with bison, beef, and wild caught chunks of salmon, too - although I put the salmon in about half way through the cooking, as I wasn't sure it would do okay with longer. And if you just did it with veggies, that works fine too.

For salads, since I can't do salad dressing (or oil or vinegar) they have turned out much better when I added fruit. Spinach and chopped strawberries (and chopped peanuts, if you can do it), or spinach and chopped oranges. Lettuce and pomagranate seeds has been nice, too. Drizzling a little fresh squeezed juice, especially citrus, has often made up for the lack of vinegar or oil. Also - you can still taste the veggies. I say this because honestly, I do not LIKE the taste of veggies, but the longer I've been on the diet, the more I want to eat them, even when I don't like the taste. Guess I need 'em!

cooked carrots - after they are cooked, cook in fresh squeezed orange juice to make a bit of a glaze.

Grate various root veggies and make them into hash brown type of things, with fresh green onions, chopped garlic, chile, etc... We've done this with potato and sweet potato, but I've seen it done with zucchini as well. Bet it might work with carrot, too. You could add ginger to that one, I'd imagine. If you squeeze out the liquid from the grated veggies, by pressing in paper towels after grating, they tend to crisp up better. We cooked ours on an iron skillet until each side browned, then put the iron skillet in the oven to finish it by baking. Got the idea from the glutenfreegirl website (her potato pancakes).

Fruit salads - just mixes of fruit - can help the monotony too.

You can try homemade jerky, fruit leather, and banana chips if you have a dehydrator, or an oven that will go low enough. There are lots of recipes on the web that you can adapt.

If you can have an oil, Get a big bunch of Kale, cut it into big pieces, rub maybe 1 Tb oil on one bunch, and spread it out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and bake. This makes very thin, crispy chips. I can't have the oil, so I'm planning to experiment to see if it's possible to do it somehow without that, but they have a good crunch. I'd plan on a LOT of salt, if you can eat that, to make up for the taste of kale. It's very strong, if you haven't had it before.

Oh, another lettuce thing! You can use any kind of leafy green to make a wrap meal. Like, put a little water in a pan and bring to a boil, all the while adding chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro stems, ground meat, and salt or chile if you can have it. When it's all cooked, and the water is gone, turn off the heat and add the chopped cilantro leaves from the stems. Roll this mixture into small 'burritos' using the leaves instead of tortillas.

There's lots of variations for that type of thing, like cucumber (the crunchy part, not the seedy part), carrot, beansprouts, and chicken.

Oh, or don't forget meatloaf. Just make your own version of a ketchup, or just puree a bunch of cooked veggies and use that as the sauce to mix with ground meat. I've done it with pink fleshed sweet potato that I cooked and added to ground meat, put in a loaf pan, and baked.

The thing that seems to work best is to add MORE of everything if you are looking for flavor - a lot of fresh herbs (I've started growing my own, as a result), a lot of strong tasting veggies like chile, because the heat can hide a lot of 'blech' tastes, LOL. Just rubbing some chopped chile over a steak can make it pretty good.

Oh, and mashed potatoes! Okay, you can do it, but it takes some work. Probably a day to prep for it. Get a whole chicken (or another meat, if you want a different flavor). Put it in a pot with lots of water and a few veggies, usually onion, garlic, maybe carrots and celery. Boil that sucker 'til it's done, then boil some more. You might need to add a little water part way through. Take out the chicken and save it for later, and then strain out the broth to save. You can eat the veggies or not, depending on how they look after the long cooking. if the broth isn't strong enough, you can boil it down some more. Then, you can use this broth in place of milk for making mashed potatoes.

Heh - yeah, can you tell I've had to think about this for a while?

Anyway, hope that helps a little! Much sympathy from my corner of the world for your getting through the diet. It really is SO hard at first, when it feels like there's just nothing to eat but one ingredient foods, but it does get better. If you are looking for some ideas for fruit and meat, by the way, polynesian and phillipino dishes. They often have bananas and mangos with meat, and have some great plantain dishes. You'll have to improvise, obviously, but it's a place to start, anyway!

Oh, and re: hemp milk - I have heard SO many people have reactions to a number of the dairy free milks that it's probably better to avoid 'em anyway on your diet of doom here, at least at first.

[gf-soph]

Boy do I know where you are coming from. I am almost 5 months into an elimination diet, and currently am eating a very very limited diet. BUT it is working. Using the diet I have worked out serious reactions to eggs, rice (posibly brown only but have to test out), fructose, inulin, salicylates, possibly amines, and a major reaction to sugars. I never would have worked all of this out without the diet. I also feel better right now that I have since I got sick in 2007. So, those days make it all worth it.

I know how boring it is, and I know how bad the cravings are. I'm wondering how far into the diet you are? If it's less than 4-6 weeks you might be having a particularly hard time due to withdrawals from problem chemicals in your diet. The fact that you are a bit of a picky eater does make it harder I'm sure, but if you are eating all fruits and veggies you actually have a lot of options compared to some diets. The post above has some great ideas, i'm sure you can find something more palatable if you try out a few options. Try making meals close to ones you enjoy before, it might help if it doesn't feel too foreign.

I think the best thing to do is to sit back have reflect on why you are doing the diet. Make sure you are tracking your diet and symptoms every day, it can be invaluable in working out reactions to food, and can help to spot improvements on the diet.

It is hard work, there is no way around that. But you do need to make sure you are meeting your daily food requirements, if you are going hungry then you could end up feeling worse due to a lack of nutrition. I hope you get some useful results from the diet.

[mushroom]

I didn't have the option of not eating because all my symptoms got so much worse if I didn't eat - like my stomach would 'digest' itself if there were no food there - that I had to learn what to give it right quick

[realmaverick]

I'm going to reply properly tomorrow, it's 2am here in the UK.

But I do want to say, you're all freaking awesome, I feel a billion times better after reading all of your posts. And I'm so grateful that you've all taken such time and thought to reply. <3

[cassP]

i totally love hemp milk- you're really going to have to go out on a limb and try things you've never tried- because you're gonna have to eat- and you have to get nutrients and feel better & satisfied.

look- i can be very picky too- i have YET to find a nondairy ice cream i like- and the coconut ice cream just aint cutting it for me-

a dairy substitute for coffee is difficult as well

BUT- gluten-free cereal is an easy one- you must try!!! i can do almond milk- but i prefer Hemp milk!! and its so weird- cause the first day i opened it- i thought- EWW it smells fishy or like flax oil... but by day 2- it was DELISH

and i hope u find what works for you- but i know the Elimination Diet would not work for me... i just googled it.. pears is part of the 1st stage??? thats a hard food with a lot of Fructose- i would be doubled over in pain. and looking at your day- a banana BY ITSELF- would seriously possibly have me throwing up within the hour.

i always eat something with my banana.

also- potatoes are part of the 1st stage??? what if you're nightshade intolerant or sensitive??

good luck maverick- i really hope u get into a groove soon- you need more nutrition

[Noni]

I can hear where you coming from about "I'd rather not eat" but......be thankful you're not in my situation. I've written in several times for advice on what to eat & received some good ideas. As you said, I've ran out of ideas on what to eat. The choices really are limited unless you have alot of money to spend. Even the natural whole cooking costs money. Face it!

Therein comes my circumstances. I've just went through a divorce, live alone on a fixed income. I can't afford the food everyone has recommended. As things are, (very difficult), it takes all my money to pay my basic bills. I'm only receiving $36 a month for food! They say I make too much! Didn't know $800 was so much.

So.....with $36.....I won't buy the usual cheap food, its all gluten. I get free food from churches but it's usually gluten.

So I'd rather not eat! If I do, I will be in misery from the crohn's or the celiac disease. Right? Right!

There is a good part! Just had my antibody done. For the first time since 1994.....I'm gluten-free!!!!!!

I'm happy!

Have lost 60lbs, that's ok with me. Just wish I could keep my blood sugar up.

So, be thankful that you can buy food. Don't be so picky.

I would eat anything gluten-free......if I could afford to buy it.

Have a good one!

[sandsurfgirl]

Remember an elimination diet is just a tool. It's not forever! Hang in there. You can do it! Not sure how long you have been on it, but as soon as you start to feel better, which is generally by 3 weeks or so, then start adding in foods you love to make life easier. If you aren't feeling better after 3 weeks, then maybe look at other options?

With the fatigue have they checked your thyroid? I read that in the UK they made the thyroid levels horribly out of whack before they will treat. It was like TSH of 10 or something where I would not even be able to function at all. There was all sorts of drama about it on a thyroid group I belong to but I'm not sure of the outcome. You might want to do some reading about this.

Hope you feel better soon!

[Sarah B]

I did what you did at first too, I mean I knew that Lays potato chips (most of them) are gluten free and so are m&ms and a lot of other candy. One of my friends would get so mad at me when I would tell her what I ate for lunch or dinner.

I've found some pretty good gluten free cerals since I can no long eat my favorite, Mini-wheats :-(, but not I go inbetween this Organic Crunchy Mapple Sunrise ceral and the Crispy Brown Rice and also envirokids stuff in pretty good in general. Also I don't know if they have Bisquick in the UK but I just had dinner made with Gluten Bisquick and it was delicious!

I've been survining on Nature Valleys Almond Crunch bars and gluten free pretzels. Trust me theres a lot of stuff out there that you can buy that is gluten free...you just have to find it and be willing to foot the bill for it. :-/

[Loey]

This elimination diet is too hard. It's so limited I just don't want to eat. Today I've eaten a Banana, slice of ham and a gluten free chocolate bar (bad I know). Watching the family tuck in to Pepperoni pizza was fun. Luckily my family and friends are great, they weren't going to eat pizza as I couldn't, but I don't want everybody to do without nice food, just because I can't have it.

Anyway, I'm literally out of ideas for what to eat. How much can you do with meat, veg and fruit? I don't enjoy veg without gravy and can't really even have gluten free gravy on the elimination diet. Meat is now often making me gag, I just don't want to eat anymore of it.

I concluded today, that I need just eat the bare minimum and hope that I can successfully reintroduce at least some foods I'll enjoy in the near future. Otherwise this is it, eating the minimal amount of survive OR be ill from eating the stuff I enjoy. Great choices.

I am an extremely fussy eater anyway. I liked what I liked and that was that. So trying stuff like hemp milk would make me gag, no matter what it tastes like. Odd I know, but if it's foreign to me, I won't enjoy it.

Oh boy, not a happy bunny today.

Hang in there my friend. I'm still sticking to my version of the elimination diet (rice, veggies, and eggs). I can't seem to tolerate meat right now (latent vegetarian?). It's really hard to eat like this but hopefully you'll start to feel better. Just know I'm here for you if you need to vent. You've been here for me with excellent information and support so feel free to PM me or post it here. We're all allowed to be frustrated. This illness sucks! Luckily we have this wonderful forum to get us through the worst of times!

Loey

[Loey]

I can hear where you coming from about "I'd rather not eat" but......be thankful you're not in my situation. I've written in several times for advice on what to eat & received some good ideas. As you said, I've ran out of ideas on what to eat. The choices really are limited unless you have alot of money to spend. Even the natural whole cooking costs money. Face it!

Therein comes my circumstances. I've just went through a divorce, live alone on a fixed income. I can't afford the food everyone has recommended. As things are, (very difficult), it takes all my money to pay my basic bills. I'm only receiving $36 a month for food! They say I make too much! Didn't know $800 was so much.

So.....with $36.....I won't buy the usual cheap food, its all gluten. I get free food from churches but it's usually gluten.

So I'd rather not eat! If I do, I will be in misery from the crohn's or the celiac disease. Right? Right!

There is a good part! Just had my antibody done. For the first time since 1994.....I'm gluten-free!!!!!!

I'm happy!

Have lost 60lbs, that's ok with me. Just wish I could keep my blood sugar up.

So, be thankful that you can buy food. Don't be so picky.

I would eat anything gluten-free......if I could afford to buy it.

Have a good one!

Hang in there Noni,

I know how bleak it must seem with how expensive it is to follow a gluten-free diet. Maybe we can get together a collection for you from the forum. I'm unemployed but feel very blessed that my husband currently has a good job. If there's anyone out here who wants to lend a hand I'd be happy to organize it.

Loey

[Loey]

I'm going to reply properly tomorrow, it's 2am here in the UK.

But I do want to say, you're all freaking awesome, I feel a billion times better after reading all of your posts. And I'm so grateful that you've all taken such time and thought to reply. <3

It's the very least you deserve. You are always here for so many of us!!! We're all going to get through this together. I consider this forum my second family.

Hope you get some sleep.

Loey

[Marz]

Hang in there with the elimination diet, it's so worth it to figure out what foods are still troubling you, and what is safe. I did it the long way round - keeping a food journal and figuring out what upsets my stomach as I see a pattern. Would have been quicker with a diet...

I also really dislike the taste of steak, but I looooove mince meat! Probably some chance of cc there, but it doesn't seem to trouble me at least.

Minced meat (beef) fried up with some butter and chopped onion, add sliced mushrooms and peppers if you can handle them. Add some sort of basic gluten-free gravy, we get a basic one here that's just vegetable protein and thickener. Simmer until everything is nice and soft. Throw the cooked mince on top of rice or a baked potato. It has great flavour without being too "steaky".

I also love lamb chops, fry them till they're nice and crispy. You might want to skip the fatty bits since your stomach might not be able to handle it. More expensive than beef steak, but so worth it to skip the steaky steak for a day or two.

Have you tried tuna? You can use tuna in a salad, or on rice crackers, for a quick meal. Add chopped onion, cucumber, cheese and shredded lettuce for the salad.

Hope the elimination diet goes well for you!

[Loey]

Hang in there with the elimination diet, it's so worth it to figure out what foods are still troubling you, and what is safe. I did it the long way round - keeping a food journal and figuring out what upsets my stomach as I see a pattern. Would have been quicker with a diet...

I also really dislike the taste of steak, but I looooove mince meat! Probably some chance of cc there, but it doesn't seem to trouble me at least.

Minced meat (beef) fried up with some butter and chopped onion, add sliced mushrooms and peppers if you can handle them. Add some sort of basic gluten-free gravy, we get a basic one here that's just vegetable protein and thickener. Simmer until everything is nice and soft. Throw the cooked mince on top of rice or a baked potato. It has great flavour without being too "steaky".

I also love lamb chops, fry them till they're nice and crispy. You might want to skip the fatty bits since your stomach might not be able to handle it. More expensive than beef steak, but so worth it to skip the steaky steak for a day or two.

Have you tried tuna? You can use tuna in a salad, or on rice crackers, for a quick meal. Add chopped onion, cucumber, cheese and shredded lettuce for the salad.

Hope the elimination diet goes well for you!

Now I'm finding I can't stomach the smell or taste of meat right now. I live on veggies, rice, and eggs. Adding hemp seeds in for protein as well. I still cook with meat for my hubby (gluten-free of course) but wonder if I'm becoming a vegetarian. I just want to eat the foods that will help me heal. I do crave salads all the time.

Loey

[realmaverick]

Hey guys, thanks once again.

Sorry I've not replied properly, my brain fog is currently horrific.

I spent several days avoiding nightshades and dairy, as they were two possible reasons why I might still be feeling so tired.

Yesterday I woke up feeling my normal, tired self. Nothing out of the ordinary. I eat chicken and nothing else but foods very high in sugar. Chocolate, Haribo, Fruit gums, cake... (all gluten free).

Second half of the day I become exhausted. I ended up going to bed early (for me) and ended up spending 12 hours asleep in bed. I woke up and still felt exhausted but I had to get up as I was meeting a friend for coffee. I got back and slept another 2 and a half hours and I'm still exhausted. I feel as though I've been drugged.

I often get Hypoglycemic type symptoms, where I'll get light headed, trembles, extremely weak and NEED sugar otherwise I feel I'll faint. I'm wondering whether I've maybe got a sugar sensitivity or perhaps fructose malabsorbsion?

I noticed this happens often if I eat only meat and potatoes. I also noticed that on the Atkins diet, I cannot seem to produce energy from it and feel extra weak. Which goes against the sensitivity to sugar? Hmmm

I'm so darned confused and frustrated.

Thanks again for all the awesome support and advice.

[Loey]

Hey guys, thanks once again.

Sorry I've not replied properly, my brain fog is currently horrific.

I spent several days avoiding nightshades and dairy, as they were two possible reasons why I might still be feeling so tired.

Yesterday I woke up feeling my normal, tired self. Nothing out of the ordinary. I eat chicken and nothing else but foods very high in sugar. Chocolate, Haribo, Fruit gums, cake... (all gluten free).

Second half of the day I become exhausted. I ended up going to bed early (for me) and ended up spending 12 hours asleep in bed. I woke up and still felt exhausted but I had to get up as I was meeting a friend for coffee. I got back and slept another 2 and a half hours and I'm still exhausted. I feel as though I've been drugged.

I often get Hypoglycemic type symptoms, where I'll get light headed, trembles, extremely weak and NEED sugar otherwise I feel I'll faint. I'm wondering whether I've maybe got a sugar sensitivity or perhaps fructose malabsorbsion?

I noticed this happens often if I eat only meat and potatoes. I also noticed that on the Atkins diet, I cannot seem to produce energy from it and feel extra weak. Which goes against the sensitivity to sugar? Hmmm

I'm so darned confused and frustrated.

Thanks again for all the awesome support and advice.

I was on the Atkins Diet many years ago and it just wasn't healthy. Are you eating any vegetables? I find I have more energy now that I've added more veggies into my diet. I actually crave salad every day. Nightshades definitely do me in (which is a shame because I love them). I was hypoglycemic years go and wonder if that was part of the Celiac. My old GI thinks I had it for decades and it's the cause of many of my problems.

Just take baby steps and rest when you can. Your body is trying to tell you something. Also, have you looked into vitamin deficiencies yet?

Hang in there and remember we're here for you. And when you have brain fog we'll remind you what you said.

Loey

[realmaverick]

Thanks Loey,

I'm eating veggies. I'm also back on dairy. I don't think I have a problem with it. I just had a piece of cheese on toast, using gluten free bread called Genius. With the cheese on, it was really quite nice.

I had some fries earlier, for the first time in 5 days and I felt sick half way through eating them. So perhaps potatoes are a problem. I guess trial and error.

I;ve not been tested for vitamins, other than iron which was low. I'm taking tons of vitamins, but I guess if my body isn't absorbing them it's an issue.

Gotta get to the bottom of this fatigue.

[mushroom]

The important vitamins to be tested for are D, B12 and folate (also A, E, K) and also check potassium, zinc, calcium. A lot of tablet vitamins are not easily absorbed by celiacs. Sublingual B12's (use methylcobalamine) are good as they don't go through the digestive tract, or you can get injections, high-dose D gelcaps of cholecalciferol (D3) are good. But do get tested. You are at risk of osteoporosis if your D is low, and if you are low in B12 and folic acid that can really sap your energy (pernicious anemia). And even if your levels are in the low normal range you should still supplement because the normal range is too low and not all that circulates in the bloodstream is available at the cellular level.

[realmaverick]

Hi Mushroom. My Dr said my Iron levels are at the bottom end of acceptable. 20 something or another rings a bell. But he said my blood count was good.

He didn't test for anything else. He felt there was "no point". Grrr I feel really pissed off with him atm.

I actually did a home test for celiacs, as again, he didn't believe I could have celiacs. I did two home tests, both were positive. I made my house mate do one, just to double check. His were negative. I've not had a biopsy, because my Dr will force me to eat gluten and do the blood tests again. I just don't want to start over again.

This has to be the worst, most frustrating thing I've ever dealt with. Even if I had a life threatening condition, at least I'd be getting treatment and know where I stood. Right now I am lost, confused and frustrated. I need to feel alive. I cannot live this way anymore.

I'll book another appt and have all my levels checked. Thanks a lot.

Paul

[realmaverick]

Just to add, since eating the cheese on toast, shortly after I feel completely and utterly wiped out. Writing this, I'm sweating and feeling like I'm gonna fall asleep. Brain fog is immense. *sigh*

[realmaverick]

Another update. The bread I eat, had potato starch as one of the main ingredients. Which got me thinking, to the cakes I eat yesterday, also contain potato starch.

Each time I eat potatoes I get hypoglycaemic type reactions. Maybe they are an issue with me. Gosh.

[mouse1996]

Hi there, I just saw your post and it got my attention because I feel the same way. I have been gluten-free since Oct. 5th of this year, and while it's a tiny bit better it's still hard. I don't have the money to spend on a lot of gluten-free stuff and some stuff is just disgusting to me. Like I can't stand pancakes made with gluten-free Bisquick. It just tasted horrible to me. But I want to try making biscuits with it before I make my final say.

I am living off of chicken, eggs, cheese, almond milk, rice milk, sugary treats, salty treats, gluten-free pasta, and frozen yogurt by Kemps. I was losing weight but gained it back due to all the sugar and salt I've been taking in. But have to give up the salt which I was getting from Cheetos. It's made me sick and I don't know if it was due to CC or if it was due to having a slight intolerance to corn.

This is a learning experience for us all, but don't give up. I feel a little better since giving it up and I was told it can take some time before you feel better or before you find what works for you. Now I will say that I read when you just start gluten-free you get really tired because you are going through withdrawal in a way. I was so exhausted for about two weeks when I started. But then it passed and I was fine unless I had a CC issue. So give it a little more time if you just started.

Oh also, I noticed you were upset about not having gravy for your food. I have been researching for gluten-free options for Thanksgiving food and found a recipe on a gluten-free blog for gravy. Blogs will be very helpful for you as well. A lot of people giving tons of free info out there. Here's the link I found for the gravy. Open Original Shared Link

I just wanted to say I have not been officially diagnosed as having gluten intolerance of celiac disease, but I was very ill before I gave up gluten and since giving it up I can function a lot better. I mean I was at the point where I didn't want to leave the house because of anxiety, pain, breathing issues, weak tingling legs, etc. Now a lot of that is gone and just by giving up gluten. So stick with it. I know I'm still just starting, but I would never go back to gluten-full food even with all I am going through and the frustration of not knowing what to eat. Try reading blogs. Do more research. This forum alone has given me so much information. If you are on Facebook, they have groups on there for celiac disease/gluten-free people. Google is your friend also. Just keep going, and also try new things. I decided to give up dairy milk because it always made me sick. I have tried two kinds of almond milk and find I like Blue Diamonds better than Silk. Silk tastes to watered down. And I've tried rice milk by Dream I believe and find I don't like the taste of it but it's awesome for baking. Speaking of baking, General Mills has a ton of mixes you can bake along with tons of gluten-free pre-packaged foods you can make too. Not sure how much you have of this in the UK, but you might be able to order some stuff if you don't have it there. Ok, this got long, but I just wanted to pop in and give some advice and give you the gravy link. I hope I could help you some. And I hope your tests will reveal something that will help you figure out what's wrong with you. Sending healing hugs your way.

Chelle

[mushroom]

Potatoes were a big issue with me and potato starch is in so much!! It's a pain in more ways than one.

[Juliebove]

You might try going to an Endocrinologist. You could have hypoglycemia, diabetes or a thyroid problem. A thyroid problem can also affect your blood sugar. I was hyperthyroid for a while and I had a hard time getting my blood sugar up to normal range.

As for the diet, I have never tried an elimination diet. I do have several food allergies that were found via a blood test. I think the elimination diet works best if you just have one food allergy. But I do know what you mean about the meat. I don't like eating meat. Hamburger doesn't bother me and I can eat canned chicken if it is minced up fine and mixed in something like rice. Sometimes all I want to eat is plain white rice.