Thread: Gluten-free, sugar-free diet?

So I'm really bummed today - I just came from my doctor, who has suggested that I try a gluten-free diet with as little sugar and yeast as possible. She feels that this diet might help treat some medical issues I've been dealing with for years.

I'm at a loss as to what to eat - any advice? Support? Fellow restricted dieters? And being a librarian, I'm looking for some good book suggestions.

I'm also just trying to figure out what to eat today! Help!

Just offering support. I eat no sugar, wheat, flour or processed food of any kind. It was a difficult transition - I went through withdrawals for several weeks, but now I look and feel better than I have in my life!

Trust me, your tastebuds will change and whole, natural foods will begin to taste more delicious than you ever imagined.

I don't know about gluten-free, but I do know that for sugar-free and wheat-free I have to read labels very carefully. Even organic canned beans can have sugar as one of the ingredients, which sucks.

I'm sure there are others on Bhuz who are gluten-free and they will chime in. Just wanted you to know there is a world of delicious food out there for you to discover.

You can still eat hummus and raw veggies, caesar salad with grilled chicken, fruit and yogurt, baked potatoes, beans, eggs and hash browns, etc. etc.

So hang in there! Did you doctor give you a food plan to follow or suggestions on where to find one? I've found it very helpful to have a plan and guidelines to follow.

This is a good place to start for recipies:

Just Saying No!!!

These sites are also good:
WholeApproach.com - Natural Candida Treatment - Systemic Yeast Infection and Candida Diet Recipes, Forums and Products
Candida Cure Naturally. Recipes, Herbs, and Advice To Help Cure Candida

Books:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Fatigued-Fantastic-Jacob-Teitelbaum/dp/1583332898/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I397I70ZKECE9Y&colid =2JU84F0KZ0OQK]Amazon.com: From Fatigued to Fantastic (9781583332894): Jacob Teitelbaum: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Beat-Sugar-Addiction-Now-Cutting-Edge/dp/1592334156/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2IACWYU3S9NS7&colid =2JU84F0KZ0OQK]Amazon.com: Beat Sugar Addiction Now!: The Cutting-Edge Program That Cures Your Type of Sugar Addiction and Puts You on the Road to Feeling Great - and Losing Weight! (9781592334155): Jacob Teitelbaum M.D., Chrystle Fiedler: Books[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Food-Addiction-Knows-Revised-Expanded/dp/155874276X/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276617049&sr=1-14]Amazon.com: Food Addiction: The Body Knows: Revised & Expanded Edition…[/ame]

I just went off of refined and added sugars...I'm still eating natural sugars (ie fruit) and stevia. So far I feel the same, but have lost some weight. I will eventually ween myself off of gluten, but I am taking it one day at a time.

Hope you feel better!

I can't really offer assistance re: sugar~ I do stick to agave when I need a sweetener but for the most part my downfall is salty yums. ,r:;

What sorts of gluten did your doctor suggest be removed? Some remove only wheat (Dunya) while others remove any wheat related grain (me) which include spelt, kamut, barley. Some cannot process oats or rice and some are fine.

Gluten Free Girl is an awesome book~ I read it before removing gluten from my diet a year and half ago. Particularly helpful is Shauna's focus on excitement for all the foods she *can* eat rather than sadness for all she cannot. (Not that she doesn't mourn the losses, but she focuses on the positives.) She also has a blog; actually, there are many gluten-free blogs!

Fatima Call me, i have been doing a cane sugar, and wheat(mostly) free diet. I can give u some tips

As maranajla mentioned, I do eat stuff that is sweetened with Agave Nectar, Date sugar, fruit etc. I don't use any white nor brown cane sugar. It can be challenging with the sweets but i agree that it can make it exciting finding stuff you can eat and it ends up being like winning a victory. I do eat spelt grain... i don't have an allergy im just doing it for health. But once you get your tastebuds off of the sugars everything else comes much easier.

Thank you guys so much! I feel a lot better.

Dunyah - my doc only gave me a 2 page plan, and it makes no sense. Do you have any you'd recommend?

Andalee - thank you for the recommendations! I'm off to check them out. (Literally, from my library.)

Maranajla - all wheat related grain, and can't wait to check out GFG

Khuzama - my mama, off to message you!

I don't have a lot of advice to offer, but I can take you out for really excellent gluten-free pizza next time you're here. Make it soon, yes?

Originally Posted by dunyah

You can still eat hummus and raw veggies, caesar salad with grilled chicken, fruit and yogurt, baked potatoes, beans, eggs and hash browns, etc. etc.

So hang in there! Did you doctor give you a food plan to follow or suggestions on where to find one? I've found it very helpful to have a plan and guidelines to follow.

Dunyah: I sent you a PM about this, and would appreciate any info you may choose to share.

Originally Posted by Hechicera

Dunyah: I sent you a PM about this, and would appreciate any info you may choose to share.

I use the food plan in the book mentioned above: Food Addiction: The Body Knows by Kay Shepard.

I am happy to respond to your PM, though!,r:;

Forgot to mention that if you eat the caesar salad, be sure to request that they hold the croutons, or pick them off.

Gluten free for almost 6 months, can't break sugar though!

I've been on a gluten free diet for nigh on 13 years now, but I find I have way less willpower when it comes to snack food that is gluten free. I can't help you with tips to stay off the sugar I'm afraid!

Sample foods I eat. I'm also artificial sweetener free.
Breakfasts:
Eggwhites with turkey, swiss cheese and tomato
Rice cakes (not the flavored kind, I try to buy the brown rice ones) with natural sugar free peanut butter and sugar free (fruit juice sweetened) preserves.
Millet bread with melted cheese
Fakin egg and cheese, which is rice bread with a fried egg, turkey bacon and american cheese.

Lunch:
Salads (avoid mandarin oranges because they are often packed in sweetened syrup.) I use plain old oil and vinegar as a dressing because many commercial dressings have sugar
I will order hamburgers and other sandwhiches and canibalize them by removing the bread.
French fries are a total indulgence
Brown rice sushi
Any asian rice noodles (think pad thai, though there may be sugar in it, drunken noodles, chow fun etc)
Try to avoid soy sauce because there is wheat in it but it is minimal and I find it doesn't hurt.

Dinners
Any sort of meat with starch like rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fake pasta (they've actually made it less gross then it used to be.)
I make my own marinara sauce because the canned stuff has sugar.

Most restaurants use wheat in thick sauces and sugar as well. Keep this in mind when eating out. Indian food, thai food and japanese food is usually the best for finding menu options.

PM me if you have any questions. I'm not gluten free just wheat free but I face some similar problems. I also have a great recipe for banana bread made with rice flour and agave sitting around somewhere. It's amazing with peanut butter or as a desert.

Also I tend to cheat a little bit with good quality dark chocolate at least 2 times a week, but I eat it in small quantities.

Any dancers here who follow this and are vegan or vegetarian? If so, I'd appreciate your advice/recommendations either here or in a pm to me. Thanks!

@ Tanya - I've never found brown rice sushi that is sugar-free, unfortunately.

@ Hechicera - If you can eat soy, like tofu, tempeh, edamame; beans; and SMALL quantities of nuts you can get your protein that way. Nuts are my downfall. I tried substituting nuts for meat in some of my meals because I would rather eat vegetarian, but I gained 12 pounds because I invariably ate too many nuts! The serving sizes are quite small and the fat content is very high. But maybe you can manage it better than I could. I still eat 1 oz. of raw unsalted almonds at a time, which is half a protein serving (almonds are the lowest in fat of all the nuts) but I try to eat non-fat or extremely low-fat foods at the next meal.

Originally Posted by dunyah

@ Tanya - I've never found brown rice sushi that is sugar-free, unfortunately.

There are a few places in NYC that cater to special dietary needs. I guess I forget that living in a large city means that you have access to foods that others may not.

Originally Posted by Hechicera

Any dancers here who follow this and are vegan or vegetarian? If so, I'd appreciate your advice/recommendations either here or in a pm to me. Thanks!

Hi! I am a gluten-free-vegan (I don't pay much attention to sugar though) and so is bhuzzer Mintaka. Do you have specific questions?

Originally Posted by Hechicera

Any dancers here who follow this and are vegan or vegetarian? If so, I'd appreciate your advice/recommendations either here or in a pm to me. Thanks!

I am not purely gluten free, I do eat spelt... and i cheat very rarely since it is only a choice and not like a serious health thing for me. But I am vegan... want to go raw but not quite there. And I do the no sugar.. all natural fruit sugar and i go a step further and try to eat non hybrid food which is a fun challenge.

Its a lot of stuff i can talk about but its difficult to do in one forum. I spent a lot of time on google searching for replacements for stuff that i like Like i now use Almond milk if i want for my cereal... I dont do soy so i eat Coconut Milk Vanilla Ice Cream and it is Sweetened with Agave nectar instead of Sugar.... oh its grand. It also helps that there is a great raw food super duper restaurant that has great food and raw vegan desserts that i go to in philadelphia(she uses no sugars). With a lady who has been eating raw for like 30 years.

Oh and in the process i lost like 40lbs

Sort of related, if you want to read about how processed foods and restaurant fare are physically and psychologically addictive and are DESIGNED that way (which freaked me out to no end) try The End of Overeating, I believe authored by a former Surgeon General. Sugar, salt, and fat are combined in just the right way to make you want MORE MORE MORE!!! Since sugar is on your no list it may give you ideas of what to avoid.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by dunyah

Nuts are my downfall. I tried substituting nuts for meat in some of my meals because I would rather eat vegetarian, but I gained 12 pounds because I invariably ate too many nuts! .

THIS! I had to break up with dairy products because of late-developing allergies/intolerance and instead of losing weight--I substituted nuts instead. So I feel better, but am still overweight. I'll stick more to beans and tempeh. Thanks for the tip. I'm off to by the book you recommended earlier as it's not at the library.

Originally Posted by Khuzama

I am not purely gluten free, I do eat spelt... and i cheat very rarely since it is only a choice and not like a serious health thing for me. But I am vegan... want to go raw but not quite there.

Oh and in the process i lost like 40lbs

Wow, congratulations! Do you follow a particular plan/book or just do it yourself. I'm not ready to go raw yet either--it's all that dehydrating and the super expensive vita blender that I keep hearing about--seems more complicated than actual cooking.

I don't follow a particular book. I do have a list of foods that i eat and don't eat by this wholistic practitioner named dr sebi but I do not follow it to the T

Khuzama,

I highly recommend going out there and picking up a few books on the benefits of clean eating, eating sugar free, and eating gluten free.

As previously mentioned before, modern day food is designed to be physically addictive to the body to make us want more more more.

I do not discount natural sugars found in fruit, lactose..But refined white sugar/carbohydrates are completely out of my diet now.

My daily menu:

Breakfast
A 4 oz protein (2 eggs = 4 oz)
1/2 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon and agave nector or stevia
one piece of fruit or 6 oz.

Lunch:
4 oz of protein (chicken, fish, tempah, tofu, whatever..)
8 oz of salad greens with 1 tbs of olive oil/sugar free GF dressing
A cooked vegetable
Another serving of fruit/or 6 oz of fruit

Dinner:
Same as lunch, no fruit!

If I'm going to the gym, I usually eat sugar free yogurt before I go for the protein. Or I'll eat a cheese stick or something. This way I'm not starving when I'm done lifting weights. If I must have a snack, I'll eat a serving of almonds, have a whey protein shake (if I need sweet), or popcorn that's not full of butter/bad stuff.

This meal plan is designed for weight loss as much as it is for "cleaning up" the body. If you do not need to lose weight, you can obviously have things like peanut butter slathered on an apple as a snack (provided that it is natural and not full of sugar), rice crackers and hummus, more fatty servings of meats (marbled steaks, ground beef/pork meatballs), rice pastas (which are yummy!), and probably more fruit, and beans/legumes. You can also have things like corn chips and corn products in lieu of breads. Just make sure the ingredients are wholesome and not junk. Even if the junk is sugar free/gluten free, remember that it's still refined junk.

Welcome to feeling better. Trust me, it's better than cake.

Hi AllyisLuma,
I think that plans are great for most people... I know for myself I have like a very anti establishment rebellious mind so I don't do well with following plans. And sometimes i tell myself im not vegan i just happen to eat that way, in order to keep myself from rebelling against it. I generally just eat what i want to eat as the day goes as long as it falls in line of what i consider to be good food for example i don't eat soy(again sometimes i cheat but rarely) so i eat a lot of things with chick peas and i eat almonds. Instead of bread i often eat Nori(seaweed) I dont' eat carrots nor potatoes because they are both hybrids or i generally try not to. ... but sort of going with the wind makes me feel free. and is probably why i have stuck with it for a long time unlike many of the diet plans i used to do where i would do it for a month or so then go back.
But enough of me, Fatima has to stay away completely from all sugar and all gluten(for now).. which is a bit stricter than my diet but it can be done and i think fatima will feel much much better probably within weeks of getting off the stuff

Im excited for her... YEAH!!!

I was surprised to find out that Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have more gluten-free items than I would have imagined, and the staff are usually very familiar with helping people find them. You can even get gluten-free beer at BevMo. (I researched this for my husband last year, he tried the Bard's Beer and it passed the taste test.)

There are also online stores like glutenfree.com and glutenfreemall.com (and others). Products aren't cheap, but except for a few veggies, it seems pretty hard to eat well on the cheap (buying organic, for example). It's taken me a long time to realize that this is likely the most important investment we can make.

A bonus is that when you get used to this, you will likely find yourself seeking out healthier foods in general.

Another book is "The G-Free Diet" by "The View" co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck. I found this book encouraging since she seems in such great shape (wasn't she a winner on "Survivor?"), was the beginning of helping me realize how much more common avoiding gluten is than I thought.

-Devora

Originally Posted by Khuzama

But enough of me, Fatima has to stay away completely from all sugar and all gluten(for now).. which is a bit stricter than my diet but it can be done and i think fatima will feel much much better probably within weeks of getting off the stuff

Im excited for her... YEAH!!!

Thank you Khuzama, and thank you everyone! My diet is pretty strict right now - no yeast, no gluten, no sugar (or sugar substitutes), no dairy. I'm slowly incorporating these changes, it's too much at once. And I'm having a great time reading up on all this stuff (Dunyah, I just requested Food Addiction at my library, can't wait to read it.) Eventually, I'll be able to add back in natural sugar and dairy, hopefully, but not sure about gluten.

Right now, I'm really tired and having headaches - I really just feel rundown. I didn't realize how much processed food I eat, and I think I'm reacting to the lack of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. I hope I start feeling better!

In the meantime, I am shedding weight like it's my job. I'm a little concerned about that, and want to add in some more nuts to my diet.

Thank you all again! I feel so less lonely.

It's normal to feel sluggish and have flu-like symptoms for awhile as you are detoxing. Mine lasted almost 3 weeks! Try to ease up your schedule and take naps in the afternoon as often as you can. This, too, shall pass! Soon you will be feeling great.

Eating gluten free is a lot easier than you would imagine. There are so many gluten free products available in even regular supermarkets and many more at health food stores, whole food markets, and food coops. Be careful to read gluten free labels, however. Some gluten free products contain a lot of sugars and fat. If you cook, experiment with gluten free whole grains like brown rice and rice flours, corn meal, nut flours. Once you get the hang of it you will find it is easier and easier. Harder when eating out or at someone's home, you can still do it.

Originally Posted by Khuzama

Hi AllyisLuma,
I think that plans are great for most people... I know for myself I have like a very anti establishment rebellious mind so I don't do well with following plans. And sometimes i tell myself im not vegan i just happen to eat that way, in order to keep myself from rebelling against it. I generally just eat what i want to eat as the day goes as long as it falls in line of what i consider to be good food for example i don't eat soy(again sometimes i cheat but rarely) so i eat a lot of things with chick peas and i eat almonds. Instead of bread i often eat Nori(seaweed) I dont' eat carrots nor potatoes because they are both hybrids or i generally try not to. ... but sort of going with the wind makes me feel free. and is probably why i have stuck with it for a long time unlike many of the diet plans i used to do where i would do it for a month or so then go back.
But enough of me, Fatima has to stay away completely from all sugar and all gluten(for now).. which is a bit stricter than my diet but it can be done and i think fatima will feel much much better probably within weeks of getting off the stuff

Im excited for her... YEAH!!!

-Laughs-

I actually meant to address that to Fatima. LOL! Sorry...l;,