gluten free diet « A Guy With Crohn's

It has been seven months now since I have gone gluten-free in hopes of calming my colon to help get me in remission. I figured I would update you to show just how important diet is to treating your IBD.

Back in January I weighed around 240 lbs. I was going to the bathroom 30 times a day with a lot of cramping and having a lot of intestinal pain. I knew I had to change my way of life. So I decided to go on Weight Watchers and go gluten-free. This would be a big change for me as I love my gluten 🙂

Here it is 7 months later. I am happy to say, it is working beautifully. I am down 25 lbs. Best of all, my Crohn’s is just about in remission. I am only going to the bathroom 3-4 times a day. Still more than normal, but I can live with that. My blood sugar and cholesterol have also come down but still not to acceptable levels. Overall, I have made a real impact on my health for the better.

So what have I learned from this experience. Well, you can definitely live a gluten-free life. There are some hurdles every now and then but nothing that I can’t handle. The biggest challenge so far was travelling to another country to an all-inclusive resort. The food choices were a challenge, and I didn’t eat too much..but I was able to stick to my gluten-free diet.

Now for anyone thinking about going gluten-free but is worried about taste…don’t be. There are a lot of tasty GF products out there. Depending on where you live, your selection might be different from mine but I am sure that you will find some tasty treats. Here are some of the brands I use.

Bread – I have tried a number of GF breads and have found Udi’s Whole Grain to be my favorite. Glutino also a good whole grain but their white bread isn’t as good. Schar’s Deli Style bread reminds me of a Jewish Rye which makes a real good sandwich.

Cereal – I have been sticking with Chex for now as they have a number of different flavors to choose from. Nature’s Path also makes some really good cereal’s but is a little harder to find.

Pasta – I have been sticking to Schar brand pasta but they are limited in their variety. Tinkyada makes a good brown rice pasta also. I recently made a lasagna with their noodles and you couldn’t tell it was gluten-free.

Snacks – This one is going to vary depending on what you are looking for in sweets. I have been sticking to Schar’s Vanilla or Chocolate Wafers. Glutino also makes good wafers but you get more per serving size with Schar. For crunchy snacks, I find myself ignoring potato chips which are usually greasy and have been eating Pirate Booty. They have a number of different flavors and styles. I also have been eating more popcorn. Not only is popcorn GF but it is a whole grain and has recently be found to have more antioxidants than some fruits and vegetables. For my desert’s, I have been eating ZenSoy chocolate puddings. They are dairy free and more delicious than Jell-O brand.

Frozen meals – Now of course home-made is healthier than frozen but sometimes you just have to do it. I have found Amy’s brand has some really good meals. I especially like their Spinach Lasagna. Another pasta I like which is frozen is Caesar’s brand gnocchi. I used to love gnocchi and this is one item I can still eat. For pizza, I have been eating Glutino’s Pepperoni pizza. Amy’s makes a good vegetable one that has no cheese. My selection to frozen meals is limited as I can only find GF ones in Whole Foods.

As for meals, most natural foods are gluten-free. Chicken, beef, vegetables, etc. All you have to do is find some good recipes and use your imagination. A simple meal like grilling a beef tenderloin, baked potato and some steamed broccoli is delicious, wholesome, and gluten-free.

So, my journey continues. I am down 25 lbs with another 50 to go. I have a long road ahead and my current medicine is making the journey a little harder but it is still a great learning experience. I think as I come across them, I will post some recipes for anyone looking for some. I recently found a great eggplant recipe that is GF and Dairy free. I will post that real soon. And if anyone has some they would like to share, let me know.

Today I am stepping out of my norm…and I won’t really be talking about IBD. Today, the thing on my mind is my weight loss and a revelation that I had.

I have mentioned it in some other posts and I don’t hide the fact that I am one of those overweight people with IBD. When you hear statistics about obesity in America…I am in those statistics. I never saw myself as obese..but my weight told a different tale. I am 5 Foot 8 inches and before my weight loss journey I weighed around 240 lbs. Now I knew I was overweight and had some issues because of it. My blood sugar was high and my cholesterol was high. My Crohn’s Disease was out of control and I was in a flare I just couldn’t control. I knew I had to do something.

One day everything seemed to snap into place. I was starting to get a new outlook on life with my Crohn’s so I decided to take it another step and control my weight. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. I have been overweight all my life except when I first got sick with IBD. I knew I had to get my weight down to the 160’s so I had a long road ahead of me. The trick to this was finding what would work for me. I have tried eating healthy before (high fiber, whole grains) but that would just anger my CD. The things my tummy liked were white bleached products like white rice and white bread…the unhealthy stuff. So this time around I did some research.

At the end of January of 2012, I went Gluten Free. This was one of the best things I have done in my life for both my health and my Crohn’s. Besides this, I also joined Weight Watchers..for the 3rd time in my life. I swore to myself this would be the last time.

Here it is August 2012 and I have done pretty good. So far I have lost 25 lbs and that is now where the trouble is starting. The gluten-free diet has been trying some days but I have managed to stay on it. The Weight Watchers is another story. One thing they teach you and say you should do every day is track your food. This helps in keeping tack of your daily points for the day. Overall I have enough points right now to keep my satisfied. But lately, I find myself on the weekend skipping the tracking. Needless to say for the past 2 weeks I have gained some weight back.

Now one of the things they asked us is in a meeting was what keeps you motivated. WW has this idea of anchors. You should find something that when you look at it or touch it..it keeps you grounded and remind you why you are doing this. I felt I never needed an anchor. My biggest reason for losing weight was not only my bloodwork..but it was to keep my Crohn’s in check. That is my biggest reason and my main reason to never be overweight again. However, these past two weeks I have pushed that out of my head and ignored my body.

Last night as I travelled home, I reflected on the past couple of weeks. I was trying to figure out why I am self sabotaging myself. I have been doing so well with my journey. And then it hit me. All my life I have been overweight. When I look in the mirror I see a slimmed down version (although still overweight) of myself and I am starting not to recognize him. All I know is being overweight. Since I refuse to be that anymore…what is my life going to be like? How will I survive? Will I be able to maintain that life?

Some of my thoughts were a little irrational but I know they are in my head so I have acknowledged them. Whether the thoughts are rational or not, they are there and affecting me. So I looked into my fear in the eyes. I stared him down. I have been sick for too long and I swore I would get better. So here is this monster with chains in his hands telling me to come with him. Well…not today. You can take those chains and find someone else, because you won’t get me anymore.

I want to be healthy. I want to be in remission. I want to look in a mirror and say “Damn…who is that sexy guy?” For years I have wanted to feel like a skinny person. Well, I am going to get that chance..one day. I know my fears will come back and haunt me probably for the rest of my life. But I am done being overweight. I want to live. I want to enjoy life. I want to be around for a long time.

So, my journey continues. I have hit a fork in the road and a chose a path. So far, it is a clear path. I remember where I am heading and I am back on the yellow bricks again. My companions are by my side to guide me along.

My courage helped me face those dark fears. My brains helped me see those fears for what they were. My heart helped in clearing a path so I can step around the fears. And my little dog was there to lick my face and show me that everything is alright and I can continue on my way home. So I take those first steps again on the long road home. I will get there. It won’t be a short trip and there will be other obstacle. And if any of those obstacles are flying monkies..I am running.