So you are going to give this gluten free lifestyle thing a shot? Good for you! I promise you will be feeling better soon.
I have a few helpful hints below for how to make sure you don’t gain weight with your new way of eating! You may be thinking “hey I am giving up all the bready treats that I enjoy, I should waste away eating gluten free”….maybe, maybe not. I am going to be honest, when I started eating exclusively gluten free I packed on 6 lbs! That’s right, 6 big ones. Why? Because I made a few g-free rookie mistakes, that I will share with you so you don’t have to deal reversing a widened waistline.
1. Try to stick to foods that are naturally gluten free such as: fruits, vegetables, whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc), legumes, dairy (keep it low fat), lean meats, fish, eggs, etc. There are SO many delicious foods that you CAN eat, you really shouldn’t get bored. Obviously, you don’t want to feel deprived or feel like you will never eat a cinnamon bun again (and we will get to that) but if you make the bulk of your diet out of the foods listed above you will stay nice and lean.
tasty naturally g-free foods!
2. Keep the “curiousity calories” to a reasonable level. Now, the cinnamon bun (or cookie, or brownie) cravings. You will want a sweet roll or a friggin’ bagel eventually, I get it. No matter how psyched you are about your new lifestyle you will eventually get a craving for something bready and sweet. That’s okay, but keep “curiosity calories” to a reasonable level. “Curiousity calories” are calories you ingest just because you wanted to see what something tastes like. It’s the novelty of trying something new. And curiosity cals are what really packed the lb’s on me. I went on a ‘It’s G-free, I’ve got to try it” kick. Bad news bears. I would buy things that wouldn’t ordinarily go near my shopping cart because they were labeled gluten free. Gluten free oreos, gluten free chocolate muffins, gluten free cereal, etc. You get the point, advertising dollars weren’t wasted on me. Then, because those tempting foods were in the house (they normally wouldn’t be), I chowed down.
There is nothing wrong with trying out these new gluten free foods and substitutions for your old favorites, but gluten free products are growing in popularity so don’t worry they aren’t going anywhere, and you have plenty of time to try these new foods. You don’t have to try them all at once!
A good rule of thumb is to try one new product a week (that’s 52 a year, seriously that’s plenty), and try not to exceed 250 calories per day of ‘fun foods’ (i.e. empty calories like cookies, ice cream, etc). Just keep it all in check, and you will be fine.
Don’t give yourself a gluten free muffin top! *But don't you just love how the muffin is wearing 'mom jeans'?
3. Read labels! Because gluten free versions of foods are sometimes made with different ingredients than their old wheat laden standby’s the calorie count on gluten free items can be much different than what you might expect. For example, I was jonesing for a bagel with some cream cheese and lox with a slice of tomato, and I found g-free bagels at my local health food store. I was so excited I tore right in, toasted one up, and bit right in. It was only a few days later that I noticed the small bagels I had been eating had about 280 calories and 10 g of fat a piece (approximately). They were so small, I thought they were about 140 calories a piece. Epic Fail. I have since found that Udi’s makes gluten free bagels that are comparable in size, fat, and calories to normal bagels (although I have not yet tried them). I will let you know when I do. But for now, just read the labels so you don’t get a nasty surprise on the scale in the morning.
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