Wheat/grain free eating

[RustyCrayon]

I have been hearing a lot about the negative effects of wheat and grains on the body. From inflammation and bowel issues, to weight gain, as well as the link to diabetes, dementia and other illnesses etc... I just picked up the Wheat Belly book and am going to give wheat free eating it a try. I LOVE bread and pasta, but always feel tired and bloated after eating them...never mind the other digestive problems that come later

Has anyone else here switched to a wheat free/grain free lifestyle?
Any advice?

[GordonH]

I have been hearing a lot about the negative effects of wheat and grains on the body. From inflammation and bowel issues, to weight gain, as well as the link to diabetes, dementia and other illnesses etc... I just picked up the Wheat Belly book and am going to give wheat free eating it a try. I LOVE bread and pasta, but always feel tired and bloated after eating them...never mind the other digestive problems that come later

Has anyone else here switched to a wheat free/grain free lifestyle?
Any advice?

Of all the grains Barley (hulled) is lowest on Glycemic Index with high fibre 17g of fibre per 100g of Hulled Barley
But if one has issues with gluten, then stay away from Barley.

[RustyCrayon]

I have been hearing a lot about the negative effects of wheat and grains on the body. From inflammation and bowel issues, to weight gain, as well as the link to diabetes, dementia and other illnesses etc... I just picked up the Wheat Belly book and am going to give wheat free eating it a try. I LOVE bread and pasta, but always feel tired and bloated after eating them...never mind the other digestive problems that come later

Has anyone else here switched to a wheat free/grain free lifestyle?
Any advice?

Of all the grains Barley (hulled) is lowest on Glycemic Index with high fibre 17g of fibre per 100g of Hulled Barley
But if one has issues with gluten, then stay away from Barley.

Thank you GordonH!
I don't know if gluten is an issue for me. I suspect it might based on my symptoms. I'm going to try to eliminate all grains to start, and see what that does.

I have a friend who eliminated all grain from their diet last year and lost over 40lbs. I'm not doing this for the weight loss...but if that's an added bonus, then I would be happy with that too

[GordonH]

^^^ wish you much success (find a good replacement for lost fibre though).

[Bsuds]

My Grandson has Celiac and my Daughter eats mostly gluten free as well. She claims to feel better eating less gluten.

[GordonH]

My Grandson has Celiac and my Daughter eats mostly gluten free as well. She claims to feel better eating less gluten.

There are grains with good to high fibre with no gluten i.e Buckwheat, pure Oats (unfortunately in processing can be contaminated), Quinoa & Rye etc...etc

[coffeeFreak]

I actually did the wheat belly diet for over two years, and really liked it. It took time to shift out of adding wheat and grains to everything, and to not consume sugar, but I will tell you, the crazy carb and sugar cravings I struggled with were gone. I lost about 50lbs and never felt better. I hit my goal weight and was maintaining nicely, but had to go on a medication that created strong feelings of hunger and carb cravings. And about that time, I visited my niece who can make some amazing bannock, and I couldn't resist...that small compromise triggered the carb monster within, and within 3 or 4 months, I had gained that weight back. I've just purchased the 10 day Wheat Detox book and am planning to get back into it.

It is all about optimum health. You learn to read labels, and what is horrifying is to find how much toxic crap is in much of our food today. Simple things you take for granted, such as sour cream and find out it has additional thickening agents such as gelatin, rennet, guar gum and carrageenan, as well as acids to artificially sour the product. Just research carrageenan and see how terrible this additive is. There must be a mind shift with Wheat Belly eating, as there is more fat consumed than what people are used to. It does operate on 15gr of carbs per meal, with protein.

Anyhow, I am getting there, just have to purchase a couple more supplements and do a major grocery shop. They also have a Facebook group, called Official Wheat Belly 10 Day Grain Detox Book, (Private Group).

[RustyCrayon]

I actually did the wheat belly diet for over two years, and really liked it. It took time to shift out of adding wheat and grains to everything, and to not consume sugar, but I will tell you, the crazy carb and sugar cravings I struggled with were gone. I lost about 50lbs and never felt better. I hit my goal weight and was maintaining nicely, but had to go on a medication that created strong feelings of hunger and carb cravings. And about that time, I visited my niece who can make some amazing bannock, and I couldn't resist...that small compromise triggered the carb monster within, and within 3 or 4 months, I had gained that weight back. I've just purchased the 10 day Wheat Detox book and am planning to get back into it.

It is all about optimum health. You learn to read labels, and what is horrifying is to find how much toxic crap is in much of our food today. Simple things you take for granted, such as sour cream and find out it has additional thickening agents such as gelatin, rennet, guar gum and carrageenan, as well as acids to artificially sour the product. Just research carrageenan and see how terrible this additive is. There must be a mind shift with Wheat Belly eating, as there is more fat consumed than what people are used to. It does operate on 15gr of carbs per meal, with protein.

Anyhow, I am getting there, just have to purchase a couple more supplements and do a major grocery shop. They also have a Facebook group, called Official Wheat Belly 10 Day Grain Detox Book, (Private Group).

Bannock!!! Mmmmmm... I love bannock

Yep. This might be harder than I thought. But I really need to do this.
I'm so tired of feeling lousy, bloated and lethargic.

Also, I didn't know about carrageenan! I'll have to look that up...

[RustyCrayon]

Update:
It has been almost a week of grain and wheat free eating for me. I'm also trying to cut out sugar as much as possible.
The first few days were difficult. Felt lousy, almost like I was coming down with something. But now I'm feeling a lot better. I have way more energy. Mood is more even. No more crazy highs and lows. I'm no longer bloated.

And I lost 5 pounds!
...which I'm guessing was mostly water.

The most important part is that I feel a lot better though. So I'll keep at it.

[michewhyte]

I've experimented with cutting wheat out of my diet before. It definitely did help me to lose a few pounds. I try not to consume too much wheat based products these days but I do have a piece of bread every morning that has it in. Perhaps just cutting down on the amount you consume is a good idea.

[two_shoes1mit]

I am planning on starting the 10 day Wheat Belly detox. Have been spending the past week shopping and re-organizing my pantry. I have learned how to read labels more closely and am appalled at the junk in the food I was eating. I would like to loose some weight, but primarily doing it for the health factor. Nice to hear of others doing the detox. Perhaps we can swap tips on where to buy what. Good health to us all.

[RustyCrayon]

I am planning on starting the 10 day Wheat Belly detox. Have been spending the past week shopping and re-organizing my pantry. I have learned how to read labels more closely and am appalled at the junk in the food I was eating. I would like to loose some weight, but primarily doing it for the health factor. Nice to hear of others doing the detox. Perhaps we can swap tips on where to buy what. Good health to us all.

I picked up the Wheat Belly, as well as the Wheat Belly in 30 minute or Less cookbooks. There are some good recipes in there.
The mini lemon cheesecakes and carrot muffins went over well, even for those who aren't avoiding wheat & grain.

Just a heads up, you will probably feel pretty lousy during the first week. Your body will be going through withdrawals the same way a drug addict does. I thought I had the flu :(

[Silverstarqueen]

I discovered that it was not just wheat, but all grains which were causing bloated, fatigued, feeling and excess pounds. Just cutting out wheat products did not help, because i was still getting all other carbs (oatmeal seemed healthy, but the carbs were killing me). So yes, the first week I felt pretty grungy, but then things improved, a lot. And I lost 20 pounds in the first month, another 10 pounds more slowly after that. I stopped falling asleep several times a day (and waking up still feeling tired). Out of curiosity I added back just gluten (without the carb fraction of wheat), did not make me feel worse. So it was the carbs, all carbs. The weight stayed off for over a year, and how much carbs I eat directly affects whether I gain three pounds, or ten( and feel immediately physically bad when I eat them). So I try to keep the carbs down to whatever weight level I want to be at.

If you are going to go low carb, but intend to eventually go right back to eating a bunch of carbs, there is no point in that, you will gain back the weight and feel just as bad eventually. so low carb eating is forever. You might be able to occassionally eat small amount of carbs, but not daily. There is no set amount of carbs a person must have(some people mistakenly believe we cannot live without carbs), but they do need protein, and they do need some fat (not in excess, but something like an olive oil and vinegar salad works pretty well).

[Queen K]

Update:
It has been almost a week of grain and wheat free eating for me. I'm also trying to cut out sugar as much as possible.
The first few days were difficult. Felt lousy, almost like I was coming down with something. But now I'm feeling a lot better. I have way more energy. Mood is more even. No more crazy highs and lows. I'm no longer bloated.

And I lost 5 pounds!
...which I'm guessing was mostly water.

The most important part is that I feel a lot better though. So I'll keep at it.

Is there another up date for us Rusty Crayon? I'm feeling low and wish to explore cutting carbs too.

[Jflem1983]

Tried it . Liked it. Really started to feel better.
When i fell off the wagon with it . I never went back to eating like that . Should have stayed with it. My guts always ache. When i was eating grain free i felt better