DISCLAIMER: Neither Her Campus or myself as the author are providing advice, medical or otherwise, nor do I condone drastic diet changes without first consulting a medical professional.
Deciding to remove gluten from my diet was one of the scariest decisions of my life. Even an entire week trial was terrifying. No pizza, mac and cheese, sandwiches, donuts, or pasta! How could I handle it?
First, let me tell you why I chose to go gluten-free. I’ve always been fairly healthy, as long as I can remember. A few months ago, I had indigestion for the first time. I didn’t think anything of it, except that whatever I ate at the time (I can’t remember what it was) was very cheap and unhealthy, and my body didn’t appreciate it. But it started happening more often, and with it came terrible stomach cramps, nausea, dizziness, extreme fatigue, constipation, or diarrhea. At first I didn’t understand what was causing it; I was sick a lot on and off for a couple months, and extremely tired constantly no matter how much sleep I got. At one point I was afraid to eat anything, because I noticed it was the worst after I ate, but lasted days. It occurred to me that gluten is in pretty much everything, and after looking up the symptoms of various gluten intolerances, I knew I had to at least try going without. As an independent college student working full time with no health insurance, I can’t afford to go to see a doctor for excessive testing (even though I know I should) so I wanted to figure out my health issues on my own, at least for now. So here is how I survived my week of no gluten.
Day 1: I have no idea what to eat, and I haven’t been shopping for gluten-free food yet so I skip breakfast and instead drink lots of juice and water. I eat fruit and yogurt throughout the day. I’m still feeling sick to my stomach, which has become fairly constant in the last couple months. I wonder how long it will last, or if eliminating gluten will even fix it at all.
Day 2: My nausea is still just as bad as usual. I would love to give up now and eat some pasta, but I committed to this thing and I can’t jump to conclusions just yet. At work I stick with fruit and yogurt because I can’t figure out what else I can eat. For dinner, I decide I want pizza. I pick up an Udi’s gluten-free pepperoni pizza, which is smaller but more expensive than normal frozen pizzas. It’s surprisingly delicious, but the crust is a little weaker than other pizzas; I was afraid it would fall apart when I was trying to eat it. I would buy it in the future though (especially since gluten-free frozen pizzas are near impossible to find).
Day 3: I think I’m feeling better. Not completely better but my stomach pain is more bearable and I have a little more energy than usual. Finally found some time to go shopping! I end up at a few stores to see what they carry and check out prices. I end up with some Japanese soba buckwheat noodles (Fun fact: Buckwheat actually comes from a fruit so it is not wheat at all, and gluten-free!), and I make spaghetti for dinner. The noodles cooked twice as fast as normal spaghetti, so I figured the texture would be very different. However, I was relieved to find the texture and taste were pretty much the same as pasta I’ve had previously. For dessert, I had picked up a box of brownie mix for $5 and was excited to try it. The brownies are awesome! I’m feeling pretty good about gluten-free options, but not thrilled about the prices.
Day 4: I try some cereal I bought at a health food store yesterday, it’s Perky’s Crunchy Flax cereal with Chia. The brand that makes it, Enjoy Life, makes all of their food free of the 8 common food allergies. It is high in fiber, omega-3’s, and protein, but it looks like cat food and I’m not excited to taste it. I’m used to Cap’n Crunch and Cookie Crisp. This cereal is a healthy change. It doesn’t have too much flavor but I may start eating it regularly to make up for those nutrients I’m missing by not eating gluten. I’m feeling 100% better, have more energy, and also lost a couple pounds since I cut out gluten! The weight loss was not necessarily what I was going for, but it’s a nice change from feeling bloated all the time. I’m surprised at all the delicious gluten-free food out there, especially since I’ve heard the transition to cut out gluten is awful, and nothing tastes quite right. Not the case at all with me.
Day 5: Cereal is tricky. If you go gluten-free and don’t want to buy Crunchy Flax cereal from a health food store, your supermarket options are extremely limited. First, you have any flavor of Chex (they changed all their recipes to be gluten-free), and if you want sugary, junk food cereal, you have Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles. That’s pretty much all they have. I’m dying to make my own food from scratch, but it is extremely intimidating. There are so many kinds of flour with no gluten, but many recipes mix different kinds of flour to get a better taste, and having several different kinds of gluten-free flour is extremely pricey. If I turn out to be gluten intolerant (and I’m 97% sure I am already) I will start buying all the necessary items for gluten-free cooking. And it will probably cost my whole tax refund to do so.
Day 6: I’m still feeling wonderful! No cramps, no exhaustion, no lightheadedness. I’m loving this! My boyfriend and I decided tomorrow, on day 7, to reintroduce gluten into my diet. I don’t want all those symptoms back but I need solid proof of my intolerance, especially since I won’t see a doctor for this without health insurance. In my extensive research online, I heard from various sources that while they tell you gluten intolerances can damage your stomach lining and intestines, to get the proper testing done accurately you must eat gluten every day for 4 weeks! If that means one month of me being sick and nauseous and bloated and cranky, I’ll have to pass. If I know my body well enough to know what’s wrong with it, I will gladly diagnose myself.
Day 7: I venture into the frozen section of the store today and find Amy’s Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese. It’s made with rice noodles and tastes different from the stuff I’m used to. I don’t like it as much but I love mac and cheese enough that I can’t bear to have it out of my life for good! I will gladly settle for this.
It’s dinner time and we ordered a pizza. Now is the time to see how the gluten will affect me. It’s delicious! I have a couple slices. My boyfriend (whose mother has Celiac Disease) says I’ll know about 20 minutes after eating it. Sure enough, after about 20 minutes, I feel extremely sick to my stomach. When I stand up, I get really dizzy, and I need to lie down. After feeling so great the past few days, the side effects to this pizza last another 3 or 4 days. That said, I will be refraining from gluten from now on. My week without gluten helped me realize the severity of it on my body. It is a huge life change, but knowing there is wonderful gluten-free food out there will help me get by.
Photo Sources: