The First Month of your Gluten Free Diet

The first two weeks to a month of your new gluten free diet are critical. This is the time when your body is just starting to heal and you are just starting to drop your addiction to gluten and gluten containing products.  It is also the time where a lot of people screw up.  You may not know that you are still eating gluten.  Check this post to find out what can sneak gluten in Sneaky gluten containing foods.
 

The best way for you to start your diet is by doing gluten cleanse.  I am not talking in your body I am talking in your house.  Get rid of anything that contains gluten (yes including the wooden spoons, toaster, and cast iron pots and pans.) Give away everything you can that contains gluten of any sort.  Then scrub your kitchen down.  It also doesn't hurt to go through your daily grooming products (shampoo, makeup, lotion, ECT.)  See this post to find what words mean that you need to throw a product out Gluten in my Beauty products. 

Once you have cleaned your home of gluten containing products you can focus on healing.  For the first two weeks I would not eat out.  I would also not get into the gluten free products.  At this time it is best to eat simple meals that contain high amounts of fruits, vegetables, meats (if you want), hard cheeses, and eggs.  In fact I would avoid anything processed at all.  If you are going somewhere, pack a meal or a snack.  Try not to eat anything you did not personally prepare. This is a detox phase and where most people will start to lose or gain weight depending.  After the first two weeks you can start adding small amounts of processed foods into your diet.  Try picking up gluten free bread.  I recommend that you stick to livewell, Udi's, or Schar since they have the best texture in my opinion.  See how well each product is tolerated as you add them in.  Don't add more than one new product a day. The next step would be to try corn noodles (some people cannot tolerate corn) and see how you do.  Note each step and see what you personally react too.  If you have a reaction, remove that item from your diet.  The last item you are going to try is Maltodexteren (if you are even interested) I can eat this, but many others cannot.  After about a month of being gluten free and learning what you can and cannot handle you should be ready to eat out.  I will be doing a post shortly on how to safely eat out.