Wheat and Dairy Free

Blue_Monkey

I'm fed up with being sluggish and grouchy and chunky :cool:. I don't think I've necessarily got an allergy to wheat or dairy, but I'm interested in seeing how I feel if I cut-out, or at least, reduce these items. I could also do with losing about a stone.

Does anyone have any tips? I don't really know where to start! I rely quite heavily on cereals and breads for breakfasts and lunches, so I think that is where I'll struggle. Dinner isn't sooooo much of an issue I don't think.

Recipes, websites, ideas all welcome! Thanks in advance!

sassyblue

Do you know what, l've done exactly that this week and feel much better! I need to lose a few pounds off my tummy which has never gone flat since my son was born, l llways have a banana for breakfast, lunch was a sandwich but is now a handful of salad leaves (watercress is especially good) with olive oil and a dollop of some salad pots of beetroot salad or fruit, nut and celery (from Tescos). Yoghurt for afters and l can honestly say l haven't been hungry during the afternoon.

Tea has been normal, meat and veg. I don't know if l've lost anything yet because l don't weigh myself just go by how my clothes fit but my stomach has shrunk and l feel better with loads more energy.

Good luck, l'll be interested in this thread... x

Blue_Monkey

Thanks Sassyblue - have you been eating soy yogurts then? I'm not a massive soy fan I have to say...

sassyblue

Blue_Monkey wrote: »

Thanks Sassyblue - have you been eating soy yogurts then? I'm not a massive soy fan I have to say...

No, normal yoghurts?? Not sure why you mentioned soy?

Blue_Monkey

Because I'd like to cut out wheat and dairy. You said you'd done the same this week, so I thought you'd cut them both out!

Apricot

I tried this for a while and found that there is definitely no decent wheat free subsitute for bread - it tends to have the consistency of a brick tbh. Rice cakes spread with something (dairy free) are nice for breakfast though.
I quite liked soy youghurt (plain one) and I used to stir in a spoonful of honey.

Gluten free pasta is good - slightly different taste to normal but not majorly so pasta salad could work as a cold work lunch?

If you want to do it properly though you need to read the ingredients on absolutely everything - I was amazed at how many things contained wheat/dairy that I wouldn't have thought about. I followed this for about 6 months pretty religiously but tbh I didn't find it made a huge amount of difference to how I felt - I did lose weight but I think that was due to making more consious decisions about what I ate in general rather than just the abscence of wheat and dairy in my diet.

murphydog999

It's the gluten in wheat that a lot of people have a problem with, and there are plenty of gluten-free products out there. There are wheat products in so many other products that to do eliminating properly you need to check labels carefully. I would suggest fruit salad (make enough to last a few days) and yogurt (yogurt is another minefield - check labels carefully, low-fat options have 'with added sugar and sweetener' and you def don't need that; Sainsbury's 'be good to yourself' range have a naturally low-fat greek-style yogurt that is really nice), grilled bacon and scrambled egg, bacon and beans, porridge; I'm sure you can get wheat-free muesli aswell.

Lunches could be a good hearty soup (you could add some shredded chicken/turkey to bulk it up), meat (hot or cold) or low-fat cheese with a veg salad/coleslaw/salad. A jacket potato + filling, if you are at home.

Limit soy products as they have certain flavonoids that are said to promote fat around your middle.

But feeling sluggish and grouchy could mean a vitamin deficiency of some kind, it could also be the time of year (it's a real struggle for me to get out of bed in the winter), but the upside of doing elimination is that it makes you think about what you are eating, and that's a good thing.

If you 'do' dairy, make sure you are having lots of green veg, beans, almonds, to compensate you for the lack of calcium.

Hope that helps.

pinkteapot

Juvela make decent gluten free bread:

http://www.juvela.co.uk/gluten-free-foods/bread/fresh/fresh-white-sliced-loaf

We also use their gluten-free mix to make freshly baked bread - you just mix it with a bit of veg oil and warm water and bung it in the oven!

http://www.juvela.co.uk/gluten-free-foods/flour-mixes/gluten-free-white-mix

The mix also makes lovely GF pastry, but for that you add margerine so it wouldn't be dairy free.

Both of the above are much better than supermarket GF bread which is indeed brick-like.

Hubby has coeliac disease so gets the above on prescription but I'm sure you'll be able to buy them online.

I still eat regular bread as they're not quite the same, but they're better than nothing he finds.

rachbc

rice crackers and oat cakes as subs for bread, rice or potato salads maybe for lunch?

Fruit, seeds and nuts with soy yog for brekkie? Porridge?

sassyblue

Blue_Monkey wrote: »

Because I'd like to cut out wheat and dairy. You said you'd done the same this week, so I thought you'd cut them both out!

Oh sorry l'm a numpty l didn't read the dairy bit no l haven't cut that out.

murphydog999

Apricots post just got in before mine and she has corroborated what I said about making more conscious decisions. However, the only thing about rice products is white rice has one of the highest scores on the G.I. index. So, again whilst they are low in fat they are so quickly digested they will give you a big insulin peak and you will find that you could probably eat the whole packet and not feel full! They also tend to be high in salt. You also need to put something on them, generally sugary - which is not in your interest - to make them taste of anything.

If weight won't budge, it's worth checking out the list of high GI foods and staying well clear, as these give you the insulin highs and lows that make us gain weight quickly - and promote diabetes - and make us hungry again more quickly, which makes us crave more, etc etc. That said, white pasta - which is high GI - if combined with a protein like chicken and veg, can make a medium GI meal, which is fine. So, it can be a bit confusing!