For me, the motivation to stick with it was the knowledge that certain foods actually damage my health. I eventually came to think of these things as toxic to me, and thus developed an aversion to them. At this point, processed foods do not appeal to me at all, and I'm so used to avoiding sugar that it's second nature. At the dinner party I attended last night, I was the only one who didn't eat dessert (cherry pie). I love cherry pie. But I know if I eat it my blood sugar will spike (and then crash), my triglyceride levels will rise, and--probably worst of all--I'll trigger the cravings it took me so long to get rid of.

In recent months I've had to stop eating yogurt, my #1 favorite breakfast for a few years. I was eating plain, nonfat yogurt, but for some unknown reason it bothers my gut. So no more yogurt. Also no more chocolate or popcorn, for the same reason. I miss the yogurt every morning, but it's the knowledge of the consequences that keeps me away from it.

Iti sounds like the advice you got from your doctor was sound. The proof is how you felt without those things in your body. If you no longer feel so great now that you've added them back into your diet, think about why that happened . . . what are these foods doing to you? And do you want them to keep doing it?

That's my best advice, anyway. Good luck!

Susan

Thanks, Susan. I really appreciate your input. Some of my old symptoms are coming back, of course. My #1 weakness of the moment is ice cream. Otherwise I have no problem without sugar. There are so many excellent, healthy sweeteners out there now, but even still I don't each much sweets. Also, I absolutely don't eat gluten. I haven't cheated on that, at least!

Oh yes! I am allergic to a lot of foods, but the one I really have to avoid is GARLIC, which is in everything. If I am really strict with not eating the foods I am allergic to, almost everything that I eat and can be found in restaraunts, I can loose 10# a month. Problem is every time I follow it I get pregnant. Ain't happening!!! Seriously, tho, the only thing that triggers an allergic reaction for me is garlic. Everything else is weight gain for a reaction. I had blood tests done 22 years ago. At that time we at out a lot. It was very difficult. And then add to it, at home no one would eat what I had to, so I was cooking two meals every time I cooked.

I wish you luck.

Tami

I agree with Susan. You have to key in on how you feel when those things are avoided! I know it's difficult and sometimes seems harder then to swing through the drive up...
But planning and preparing your meals the night or evening before gets you out the door much quicker and with healthy snacking choices.
There are many great blogs on the web that address many of the same dietary restrictions you are "supposed" to be keeping. Open up google, type blog, then whatever things you want to use as "tags" to pop the search in your direction. I'd start with gluten free, there are TONS of great bloggers that live gluten free and eat wonderful tasty foods. Often those that have Celiacs also have developed trouble eating dairy, so their recipes are created with that in mind too..

Glutenfreegirl and
glutenfreegoddess are two of my top favorites. GFGoddess has the most food restrictions and has changed many of her recipes as her bodies reacted to things.

Another little goodie that I love..
Rice or Tapioca flour wrappers (found in Asian food sections) you soak for a bit then wrap veggies and meat(or not) in them..roll up like an egg roll and eat out of hand.

Get yourself a little soft sidded 6 or 12 pack cooler and a few freezer packs.
Look into brown rice pasta, Trader Joes has really good pasta and it's the best price. Lundberg Farms is a great "rice" based foods company.

Are you supposed to stay away from white or refined sugars? Can you use natural sweeteners? Like Agave, honey, maple?
Since your Nat. says no artificials, that leaves out chemical sugar subs.

I was avoiding corn, soy, wheat, and artificials. I found that when I do use corn products they need to be organic, and they don't bother me. I can also tolerate wheat in moderation when organic. I avoid soy as much as possible. It's so genetically modified, it's really hard to find "safe" soy in foods.
Ask your Nat. about his/her views on Virgin Coconut oil.

Here is a link that might be useful: GF Goddess

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease while having an endoscopic procedure. The biopsy showed quite a bit of damage to my small intestine. I'm 51 and apparently have been living with this all these years and thinking it was IBS.

Gluten is in tons of things including ice cream, ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, you name it, etc... The internet has been a god send in helping me adapt to my new lifestyle. Whole Foods has a ton of gluten free foods, flours, mixes, bakery items, frozen foods. Lots of great internet sites out there too.

Having been on this now for a month, I feel sooooo much better. IBS is gone and I have my energy back. Sure wish my doctors would have taken the time to figure this out years ago.

Celiacs is very UNDER diagnosed! It's symptoms mimic many other common ailments.
I've become a label reader to the max.
We don't have gluten intolerances in this house, but I nourish my family different now then I did 18 months ago.
This morning was Gluten Free waffles. I like to vary grains. We eat a much larger variety now then we ever did before I started making healthier changes.

Here's the recipe I use

Buttermilk Gluten Free Waffles
1c brown rice flour
1/2 c potato starch flour
1/4 c tapioca starch
1 T sugar (I use rapadura.)
2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 c canola oil (I use non GMO canola, EVOO, or Virgin Coconut Oil.)
1 1/2c Buttermilk (use almond, rice or hemp and a squirt of lemon juice)~omit the sugar if you are using these
2 eggs

Batter will be very thin..but puffs and crisps up in the waffle iron..I love these waffles texture better than "wheat based" ones.

Hi Everyone:

I am happy to say that after waiting almost 1 year, my appointment with the dermatologist is on Tues. Oct. 28/08.

Terri knows all about my symptoms and has been a godsend in providing me with different websites and recipes for Gluten Free cooking and info. with regard to Celiac Disease.

I have the rash associated with Celiac. It is called Dermatitis Herpetiformis. It is an itch that is indescribable. And a rash that is every bit as ugly! At the present time, I've had to go off the medication prescribed. It is called Dapsone and was once prescribed to patients with leprosy. It works wonders, however it is a killer on the overall body. I am so severely anemic (I'm on iron pills). My bones and joints ache. I feel like I'm 100! I'm 49!

A biopsy of the rash (over 1yr ago) said I had folliculitis. This is inflammation of the hair follicles.

I'm happy to be seeing a second dermatologist. Hopefully, I can get some answers and take it from there.

Sue

Sue, I'm so sorry you are going through this still. It still amazes me that with all your other symptoms they've not completely ruled out what's going in your body is causing what's going ON ON your body.
Email me..I lost all my email addy's on Wed..when my OLD computer crashed HARD. My back up is on a floptical, which has to be installed on this new computer when hubby gets around to it......Don't hold your breath! lol

Sue - severe anemia was something I had been battling for years and now know it was due to the Celiac all along. The endoscopic biopsy is the gold standard in diagnosing Celiac, but my doctor also sent me for a blood test called HLA DQ2 and DQ8, this is the genetic marker test for Celiac. There is another Celiac blood test, but is not as reliable. Now that I am off all gluten, my joints don't ache and I don't feel like I am 110 years old. I finally have my life back.

One other thing, I had been taking slow fe Iron for quite some time with little to no results and finally my new doctor put me on Chelated Iron. The body absorbs all of the chelated becasue it is bound with amino acids. Slow fe and other non chelated have a very minimal absorbtion rate.
Along with the anemia, a blood test also showed I have very little Vitamin D levels, which causes issues with muscle and joints.

Good luck at the doctor, please let me know how it goes.

Terri - I love waffles, thanks for adding that recipe. I also frequent the Glutenfreegirl site as well...very helpful :)

Allergies and diet here. I learned to love tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad for lunch by using it as a dip for cucumber chips or other sliced fresh veggies.

We also like to use spaghetti squash as the "pasta" in spaghetti. I cut it in half with a large knife, take out the seeds, and then cut it in half again and simmer it in salted water. When done, scrape the strands of the squash out of the shells with a fork. It has an el dente texture, and if you make your own sauce, you will have a yummy dinner.

I knew I could count on the KT crew to pull me out of my food funk! Thanks for all of your helpful tips, recipes, etc.

Terri, what is Rapadura?

Sue, your journey to health sounds like a rough one. I have rosacea which is completely gone when I eat right. Add another reason to my list!

One thing I did this week was to go to the bookstore and buy three cookbooks with really healthy recipes. One that is particularly intriguing is "Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet" by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass. They talk about the evolution of the diet for celiacs and their recipes are gluten-free, refined sugar-free and low lactose. My goal for tomorrow is to come up with about two weeks worth of menus, then go shopping and start preparing healthy meals. I think it's going to take some time at first, preparing my meals from recipes, but I used to love cooking so much I think it will be worth it to re-learn better ways of cooking.

Also, has anyone ever cooked with 100% vegetable glycerine as a sweetener? One book recommends that and I have seen it on the internet from herb shops, etc.

A pic of the cover of the book...

Matti5 - so glad to hear you were finally diagnosed and feeling so much better.

I live in Canada - I had the blood test you speak of. In Ontario, if you have the test at the hospital - it's free of charge. If you have the test at the Dr's office it costs $130.00. I had it at the hospital and the results came back negative for Celiac.

I've had 2 endoscopies and 1 colonoscopy and all is well.
In fact, after the second endoscopy and biopsies, the Internist called me on a Saturday morning to tell me everything was perfect.

Two years ago I had a total hysterectomy - the doctor had to leave my cervix as it has adhered to my abdominal wall.
I tell you - I give up! This is sooo frustrating.

bigbaby - I also fear that I will get tired of my own cooking. I am definitely going to look into the cookbook "Everyday Grain Free Gourmet".

My 20 yr old son has a red meat allergy, so we eat a lot of chicken, turkey and a bit of fish. When he was little, and I'd make a hamburger patty for him, he'd push it away. He would do the same with roast beef and pork.
I was concerned and took him for allergy testing. The doctor confirmed he was allergic to beef, pork, veal, lamb.
He can eat free range beef (but having gone without it most of his life, he doesn't like the texture).

Will definitely post on Tuesday after my Dr's appt.
Can't wait.

Sue

BB, it's sugar I use when I can. I still use C&H for most baking and such. But I like the rapadura and agave, when I can get away with it. :o)
It's sugar, but unrefined and organic/fair trade.

I use Agave in the boys breakfast smoothies, they are none the wiser. LOL I use the rapadura in my coffee or raw sugar. I like Agave on oatmeal or real maple syrup.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rapunzel Rapadura

Any food with calories causes me to gain weight and raises my blood sugar to unhealthy levels. However, eating cardboard or tree bark is unappealing to me. (grin)

I love popcorn but I found (by blood glucose measurement) that it spikes my glucose level to surprisingly high levels, more so than some other foods.

Jem, have you looked into the Glycemic index diet?

It may help you a bit if you haven't looked at one of these charts. SharonCB who posts at the Cooking Forum has had great sucess with following these guidelines.

Here is a link that might be useful: GI Diet