What Next?

[mercy589]

Ok, help me work through this.  I'm overwhelmed!  We've been working on our diet for several years now, pretty hardcore, trying new recipes, switching to brown rice, whole grains, etc.  Now I'm wondering if we should go gluten free?  Try the GAPS diet?  Is dairy a no as well?  Just trying to decide which step to take on the journey of healthy eating.  On top of all this, I'm feeling stressed out and overwhelmed and don't want to take on more food challenges, just because, kwim!

Here's the deal - DH and I are both not at optimal health, but overall not sickly either, we're tired by the end of the day and crabby.  I've always had acne on my face and some skin bumps on my legs and arms, oh and the chiro mentioned the dark circles under my eyes could be a wheat thing.  DH has a weak immune system, but its gotten a bit better as our eating has improved.  My three girls 5, 3, and 1 are relatively healthy but small for their age.  DD5 has thin hair, has only had one haircut in her life ever, she also says her tummy hurts often.  DD3 has some blood sugar issues with freaking out if she doesn't eat super regularly, but she's also super picky about what she eats so I'm thinking its going to be near impossible to go GF with her?  They were all breastfed to age 2, DD1 still is.  I'm super picky about what I feed them and we do eat really healthy now, but I'm just wondering if we're at optimal health.  Make sense?

I don't know, I just want to know what step to take next and I can't figure it out.  Should I start soaking grains or go GF?  I don't even know much about GF or what foods to avoid....  Can I try GF for a week and see results that way or does it take longer?  What do you think?  Am I overthinking things?  Thanks for any input!

Oh, and I guess this adds to things a bit, I can't have pecans or walnuts, DH says eggs close his throat up, and DD5 doesn't do well with too much dairy (none of us do really), and DD3 has a super limited diet because of what she'll eat and what she refuses.  That's a whole nother story.  Anyway, should I just stick with super healthy whole grains and foods, and maybe start soaking grains sometimes?  Ok, stopping now... thanks.

[missi66]

Oh to start out with BIG HUGS !!! It is hard to be overwhelmed and worried and thinking that you have to add even more to the whole food issues problem.  It does sound like gluten is maybe a problem.  Instead of worrying about a new lifestyle  don't think about it as permanent. Just give up gluten for a month and see how you feel.Heck give it up for a few days and see how you guys feel. Also taking more vitamin c can help with the low energy. 

[mercy589]

Hm, ok, a day... that sounds doable.  ;)  Any good resources on GF?  I don't even know what foods have gluten in them?  

and thank you for the hugs, lol, I need them right now!

[cristeen]

Hate to point this out, but you wont notice a difference in a day. I belueve gluten takes 2 weeks to detox, as do many things. That would be 2 weeks for you and another 2 weeks after that for your BF child.

And the first week can be very difficult. You might want to read through the Paleo thread in the TF forum. While paleo is grain free, a dair bit of the info is the same, and we've been discussing how to menu plan without grains.

[mercy589]

Thanks, I wondered about that.  I guess my thought was that if I can get through a day GF, I can do more.  Right now even a day without gluten seems hard!  What do you mean the first week is hard?  Symptoms get worse or toxin die off or its hard to figure out what to eat?  I'll take a look at that thread when I get a chance.  :)

[cristeen]

Both.  It's tough for most people to wrap their minds around it until they've been doing it a while.  And the detox can be very difficult for some people.  What I generally recommend when you're doing this type of diet is that for the first 3 weeks you remove those items completely from your life.  Those items and anything that resembles them.  So you want to remove gluten.  I'd also recommend removing even GF breads, cookies, baked goods, etc.  Anything with the appearance of a wheat-containing product.  This is to help you avoid the mental cravings.  Once you've been doing it for 3 weeks, you've learned how, you've detoxxed, and you've formed a habit.  That habit can really serve you well.  Then you can re-evaluate whether you really need that GF bread for lunch every day, or if you can save it for special occasions (it's usually expensive), and you can make that decision with a clear mind. 

I know it's difficult to contemplate doing without it, but it's not as difficult to do as you think.  Probably the best thing you can do right now is write up a list of your favorite dishes/meals that are naturally gluten free (like pot roast with veggies and mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs with hashbrowns and bacon, whatever you like).  Then make a list of all the foods that you can eat (potatoes, broccoli, pork, etc.).  Use those 2 lists to make your menu plan, and you really should have a menu plan for the first 3 weeks.  You can do a week at a time, but be sure to include snacks. 

HTH