While this post has some great humour (see #5), in all seriousness, these are some real errors that it’s easy to make when going gluten free. Hopefully by reading these, you can avoid making them too. 🙂

1) You replace it with ‘gluten free’ packaged foods

Unfortunately, tons of the gluten free foods that are packaged contain loads of starch. The issue with this is that starch is very quickly digested in the body and broken down into sugars. Unless you’re eating it with lots of protein and fiber, it could send you on a blood sugar roller coaster (think afternoon slump and excess belly flab). If you’re replacing the gluten foods with fresh veggies, protein and complex carbs like sweet potato, then you’re on the right track.

2) You miss the hidden sources

I was sooooo guilty of this when I first became Celiac. For starters, I was blown away how many weird foods had gluten – for example imitation crab that is in most California rolls, teriyaki sauce (usually because of the soy sauce) and even sausages! You can find a really good list of all the gluten containing foods here.

3) You think life is going to be miserable

It’s true that food is a source of happiness, but it’s not true that you will be miserable. I promise. In fact, I think if anything you will feel happier because you’ve removed a food that is bothering your gut. These days, more and more restaurants understand gluten free, particularly if you’re not Celiac and are just intolerant (aka – a bit of cross contamination is ok). As I’ve mentioned in the past, if you are the gluten free one, take the initiative to recommend the restaurant if you’re eating out, or invite people to your place for dinner. Often times, you are the one that feels the most self conscious about it – nobody else really cares!

4) You don’t do the digestive ‘healing’ part

This one is a biggie. If you are taking steps to remove gluten from your diet, it’s likely because you have digestive problems (or other symptoms like migraines, aches and pains, related to gut problems). For some, cutting out gluten is enough, but for others it isn’t because you aren’t actually healing the damage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still great to remove the root cause, but there’s just a bit more work required. We’ll be chatting through the digestive healing process in week 1 of the 30 Day Wellness Challenge – you can get 20% off only for 4 more days.

Bonus Reason – Cause this is hilarious!

I met with a client yesterday who is contemplating cutting out gluten to improve her digestion. Her hesitancy stems from the stigma of those going ‘gluten free’ if they’re not fully Celiac, and are just doing it to jump on the bandwagon. She is a server, and I can totally understand when she deals with people and situations like this, and for the record this is exactly how NOT to go GF:

Girl: I’ll have the burger and fries on a gluten free bun please.

Server: Ok, but you know that the fries are in the same fryer as gluten, so if it’s a severe allergy, you wouldn’t be able to have that.

Girl: Oh, that’s ok. I’m actually just going gluten free to cut carbs and lose weight.

Server (in her head): Ok, you’re CRAZY because a gluten free bun AND fries are pure carbs.

Haha. This really happens folks. 🙂