Gluten Free

[fidgiegirl]

Hi all,

Laura, sorry I didn't have any good ideas for you

I am back with a disappointment. I am gaining weight on this diet. It's been six weeks now, and I can feel my clothes are tighter. But off so many things, and not allowed to try veggies again yet (per doc) I am not sure what to do. I was reading that many GF sub foods like bread, etc. are higher in calories than their equivalent non-GF counterparts. I haven't been having TONS of that, but some . . . I also wonder if I was so inflamed in my gut before that I wasn't absorbing nutrients, and now I am starting to, and thus cannot eat the same AMOUNT of food I have been eating for a long time. I have always had trouble with losing weight, but never really gained - I always just stayed the same 165-170 lbs. At 5'4" I'd like to be at less than that. Boo.

Note with all our house stuff I've been doing ZERO exercise. I want to get back at it, but weather, and schedules, and STUFF . . . you know Hoping that next week after the move I'll be able to get some in.

Bah, thanks for letting me rant.

[Rosemary]

Take heart, Fidgiegirl! Good for you, for sticking with this for 6 weeks! This is a difficult time of year to lose weight even when one isn't completely changing foods. And a lot of that house renovation work you've been doing counts as exercise, so don't feel bad about that, either.

Are you feeling better on the GF diet? Has the doctor given you some kind of endpoint for determining whether GF is what you need?
When can you try veggies?
What foods can you eat?
If you want to share what you've been able to eat, maybe the readers here can suggest lower-calorie/higher nutrient-density options.

[fidgiegirl]

Well, after 2 months I'm supposed to try some again and see how I feel. But I anticipate that I will stay on it.

I can eat potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, eggs, yogurt, brown rice farina, of course GF sub items, fruit like berries, bananas.

My former problem foods, which the doc recommended I stay off until my inflammation subsides (not sure when that might be, since I feel better already . . . I did a round of antibiotics for the overgrowth of bacteria they found in my gut, and now on a supplement). I also feel like crap because I feel that my MIL inadvertently included gluten in a dish she made. She informed me after half of it was in my belly that it had cream of mushroom soup in it. So I could feel icky from that, or from the antibiotics themselves (just finished today) or from having a Frappucchino drink this morning. Coffee makes me icky, so what the heck?! Why did I have it?!

OMG, all that and I hadn't even gotten to the problem foods: lettuce (all kinds of leafy greens), broccoli, apples, oranges, some tomato sauces, basil, geez - feels like more . . .

I'll be ok, but I am having a wallow tonight . . . . .

[peggy]

What Rosemary says is true. We are here to help, and a dozen heads are better than one. I have found, even though it's kind of a silly trick, have a bowl of soup before you eat, especially if you are very hungry. Even if it's just a cup of broth. Just keep your moms voice in mind, "you'll spoil your appetite" when you have it. Uh..that's the point mom, thanks!
I think the thing with gf is, you don't need to have pasta or bread or carbs of that type at every meal, even if you have found good items that are gf in that category. Just relax, eat well, and have the gf products in normal quantities, i,e. a sandwich for lunch, complete with pickles and lettuce and tomato all the other low calorie goodies you put on sandwiches. It's just that with gf bread, you can actually have a sandwich, just like all the other kids at school.

[Rosemary]

potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, eggs, yogurt, brown rice farina, of course GF sub items, fruit like berries, bananas

A few ideas...
Asian: miso or egg-drop soup, zucchini stir-fry over rice - you could add carrots, sliced winter or summer squash, or some other orange veggie that you can eat to make it more colorful.
Italian: minestrone soup with whatever you can put into it (can you eat any legumes? zucchini, what else?) and winter squash risotto;
soup and frittata with potatoes and zucchini
German: lentil soup, if you can eat it; zwiebelkuchen (onion tart), use a rice flour tortilla in place of the yeast-based crust
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recip...lkuchen-recipe

Can you eat legumes? Nuts? Other dairy besides yogurt? How about green beans and peas (fresh legumes)?

[fidgiegirl]

Can you eat legumes? Nuts? Other dairy besides yogurt? How about green beans and peas (fresh legumes)?

Some legumes (lentils have been problematic in the past), all nuts. Lots of dairy, tho don't know if I should . . . I was reading something about the bacteria that has overgrown in my gut (proteus mirabilis) and it had something to do with dairy. But doc didn't say anything about going off it. Yes to green beans and peas. There is quite a bit I CAN eat, actually - or I'd be starvin'.

Love the minestrone idea. And the broth, peggy! Would never have thought of that!!!

[peggy]

* oops..skip the lettuce and tomatoes on the sandwich.

[Rosemary]

I think that lentils may have more fiber per ounce than other beans because they are so small. Are split peas better for your condition? - the skin is removed from those so I think they have somewhat less fiber. If those are better, then red lentils and the vast assortment of daal available in middle Eastern and Indian markets would probably be ok. How about the larger beans?

I realized after posting last night that you must be able to eat meats. That opens up a lot of variety. Roast chicken, chicken rice soup, chicken curry over rice, chicken sausages (I think TJ's has GF ones), turkey or fish (we use tilapia or pacific cod) tacos on corn tortillas, salmon teriyaki (make your own sauce), etc.

[fidgiegirl]

Yes, meat, I also realized I left out the whole meat family

Split peas, yes. We had a yummy split pea soup last week, in fact. Kidney beans and tougher, large beans, not so much. But cannelini and black have been ok.

[Rosemary]

You could try some bean & grain salads, adding the veggies and fruits you can eat.
Black bean soup, or black bean/winter squash chili, with or without meat.

How about chickpeas? They are very versatile. You can make GF crackers or bread with chickpea flour, which is lower carb than most other GF flours.

Nuts? Almond meal is another good add-in for GF baking, or to use for "breading" meats. TJ's has it at a reasonable price.
We eat a lot of nuts - fruit & nuts is a standard breakfast in our house - and I find I do not gain weight even with 3 servings of nuts/day, despite their apparent energy density. I've read studies that indicate not all the calories in nuts are absorbed.

When you choose rice - be mindful of the differences in short and long grain rice. Long grain rice has a lower glycemic index because it has a different primary starch molecule than short-grain rice. Also, converted rice has the lowest GI of all the rices, and TJ's now has a converted brown basmati rice (first spotted it 2 weeks ago).
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm