5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Went Gluten-Free

If you’re new to the gluten-free lifestyle — or you remember those early days of feeling overwhelmed — today’s episode is for you. 

When I first went gluten-free, I had no idea how much my life was about to change… for the better AND the harder. I made mistakes, I was frustrated in grocery aisles, and I learned so many things the hard way. Today, I’m sharing the 5 things I wish I knew when I first went gluten-free, so your journey can be smoother than mine. 

And stick around until the end, because I’ll share the ONE thing that would’ve saved me months of stress.

Come join us in our free Facebook Community, The Gluten Free Engineer. 

It’s a space where you can connect with others living gluten-free, ask questions, swap tips and recipes, and get support from people who truly get it. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or a seasoned gluten-free pro, you’ll feel right at home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening And Purpose
• 0:38 Kiri’s Diagnosis And Mission
• 1:17 Tiny Amounts Really Matter
• 3:15 Hidden Gluten In Everyday Products
• 6:41 Learning Curve And Label Mastery
• 8:21 Healing Takes Time
• 10:24 Feeling Left Out And Finding Joy
• 12:15 Advocate Without Guilt

Transcript

Carrie Saunders: 0:00

Quick reminder before we get started on this episode. This podcast is based on my personal experiences and isn't medical advice. If you're new to the gluten-free lifestyle or you remember those early days of feeling overwhelmed, today's episode is for you. And when I first went gluten-free, I had no idea how much my life was about to change for the better and the harder. I made mistakes, I was frustrated in grocery aisles, and I learned so many things the hard way. Today I'm sharing the five things I wish I knew when I first went gluten-free so your journey can be smoother than mine. And stick around to the end because I'll share the one thing that would have saved me months of stress. Let's dive in. Welcome to the Gluten Free Engineer Podcast. I'm your host, Carrie Saunders. In 2011, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, a moment that changed everything. But I was determined not to let it hold me back. With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer the gluten-free lifestyle, breaking down recipes, safety tips, travel hacks, and everything in between to rebuild a life I love. Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or simply choose to live gluten-free, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we simplify the gluten-free lifestyle, make it fun, and prove that you don't have to miss out on anything. Welcome back to the show. Today we're talking about the five things I wish I knew when I first went gluten-free. And one of the first things I wish I knew is that tiny amounts of gluten really do matter. And especially the more you heal, the more those tiny amounts really matter when you're celiac. And it's not just about a bite, that cross contact can really throw you for a loop. I actually realized when I first went gluten-free, um, and real when I realized I had celiac that I was better off getting a lot of gluten than just a tiny bit, because a lot of gluten, uh my body would just get rid of it quickly. Well just say that. But a tiny bit of gluten would linger on for days. And I found, you know, in both situations, though, I would usually have debilitating migraines and complete brain fog, and it just wasn't like a good thing. And so knowing that how sensitive I was and how I needed to be really careful was really important for me to learn. And this is something you may not know at first, and that's all right, and that's why I'm here to tell you this that the tiny amounts can matter. Now you could be an asymptomatic celiac, or you know, you might be gluten intolerant and you might be able to tolerate a little bit. But if you're celiac, know that it's still doing damage to your body, even if you don't feel symptoms. And many people learn this the hard way of not being super careful when they're celiac and still having damage, still having that long-term issues of vitamin deficiencies and all the other things that wreaks havoc on us. Um, and we need to make sure that tiny amounts are not getting to our system as much as possible. So work on, you know, getting that cross-contamination um minimal to nothing at all when you are, you know, either eating in your house or going out to eat. It's just really important when we're celiac and then when we are gluten intolerant or otherwise. Um, it's just going to probably depend upon your level of symptoms there. And then another thing I had to learn that gluten hides everywhere. It's not just in bread and pasta, it's not in the typical things. It is in soy sauce, it's in other sauces, it can be in broths, it can be in seasonings, it can be in candy and gums, um, it can be in medication that is one of the more frustrating things for me because you have to, you don't even can't even look at the inactive ingredients half the time, especially prescription medications, and you have to work with your pharmacist there. It can be in cosmetics, toothpaste, shampoo, like just about anything out there, it can be in there. And why that is, is because it's a very inexpensive binder, it's a really inexpensive thickening agent, too. So many times flour is used in these things, or wheat is used, or some form of wheat that creates this binding agency. That's one of the reasons why it can be a medication is to hold the pills together. And so we need to be really careful about you know looking at every single thing. And one of the things I like to, you know, think about too is like lotions and anything that you put on your body or in your in your body, both, are really important to double check that there isn't gluten in it. Even in our house, our um animals are gluten-free as well. Because we, you know, with all of us being celiac, we don't want the dog or the cat food to make us sick. Um, whether we're handling it or whether we fet that animal or something, we don't want to make it make it make us sick. It's also something that cats aren't supposed to be eating. They're supposed to be eating, you know, they're carnivores, they're just supposed to be eating carnivores. So really getting them off that's much healthier for them too. And, you know, there's really no animal out there that will eat straight up wheat, barley, or rye uh without getting a stomach ache unless we have processed it for them and put it in their food. So I tend to lean towards the fact that one, it helps us as celiacs and those who are very sensitive to gluten, um, and it's a bit better on our animals uh to be careful what we're feeding them. Obviously, talk to your vet. I'm double not saying that I'm a vet here, but this is just my opinion on um what I think we've done to our mainstream food for our animals as well. And learning is many times a steep learning curve whenever we're first going gluten-free and trying to find all the gluten ingredients. There are really um odd names for some of the ingredients that actually are gluten ingredients. So I would do a search to find out what those names are. I there are I don't want to say them on the podcast because I know I would mispronounce some of them. They're really kind of crazy, um long, weird words, especially when they come to being put into cosmetics and medicine and shampoos and stuff like that. So do be careful and look up that current list for that. And it does get easier and becomes very automatic over time. It's I can glance at a label now, and it's no problem for me to find whether there's gluten in it or not. So don't feel like this is super overwhelming. Take it one step at a time. You know, figure out you know, those first favorite things that you use all the time. Start with what you use all the time, and that will make it easier and make sure they're gluten-free. And then, you know, when you want to add something new to your life, whether it's um a topical thing, a cosmetic of some sort or toothpaste or something, or something you want to eat, double check those new things. And then number three, if you are celiac or highly gluten intolerant, healing can take longer than most people tell you. It's not instant. Um, some take symptoms take weeks, some symptoms take months, some symptoms take years to get through. And it's normal to feel frustrated and or discouraged on those early days, especially when you've removed it and you still don't feel great yet. You hear that, oh, you're gonna feel really good once you go off gluten. Well, every every body is different, every person's body, you know, is different in this healing process. So you may feel a difference within a day or two. Um, but you know, maybe somebody else, you know, it's gonna take them weeks or a month to really feel better. It just really depends on how much damage and how much your body reacts to gluten. So feel, you know, know that that's normal, just to be really patient. Your body is rebuilding. So give it some time and give yourself grace. Very likely you've been eating gluten all your life and didn't know it was bothering you. And so it's been slowly, you know, potentially damaging you or causing you um, you know, health issues, health symptoms over all these years, and they probably gradually grew upon you. So know that that's kind of the same reverse process. It's like, you know, when we gain weight over the years and then we try to lose it, it's not an instant loss of weight. You know, we need to work and slowly bring that weight off just like it's slowly added on. Uh similar for you know, healing with celiac and uh gluten-intolerant symptoms. And then number four, feeling left out is real. Oh my goodness, so real, and it's so normal. Social gatherings can be very hard, family events both can be very hard and emotional. You just got to take each one at a time and look at how to make each one uh find a way to make it happy, find a way to find joy and it find a way to appreciate the people you're with and try to take the focus off the food. That is what's going to really help you at first. And I know that food is tied tradition to tradition, belonging, and connection, but let's work on the the social aspect of it and the relationships, you know, while you're in this healing and learning process that will make those type of events uh less stressful and more focused on happiness. And with time, you will learn new traditions, you will learn food swaps, you will learn confidence. Um, you'll become like me, where I just love bringing my gluten-free stuff and I know people are going to enjoy it and not even realize it's gluten-free. You'll get to that point over time with practice. It took me a while to get to that point. I had so many failures in the beginning. Um, it's completely, completely normal. You just, you know, try, try again. And then number five, you are allowed to advocate for yourself without guilt. This was something very hard for me. I felt like I was being too needy or being too dramatic and or annoying or like the extra special person. I just felt like all the eyes were on me and that I was just trying to be, you know, draw all the attention to me. And I really wasn't, but that's how I perceived other people, you know, seeing me. And just remember, you're protecting your health. You're not being dramatic, you're not being annoying, you're not trying to be that person that wants all the attention. And saying, I can't eat this isn't rude. It's responsible. Or you can simply say no, thank you. You know, people decline food all the time. Don't feel like it's weird if you say no, thank you. I'm not interested in that item. You don't have to say I can't eat it because it's not gluten-free. You can just say no, thank you too. That can be much easier to do around those who um are a bit more, you know, feel like maybe you're making a big deal out of something that you shouldn't be, even though you really should be. So give yourself grace and permission to say no thank you, or if needed, I can't eat that food if they're really insisting upon it. And your future self will thank you every time. You will feel so much better once you get through this awkward phase, it'll just become second nature and family and friends will start to just realize okay, she or he's not going to eat those foods because she can't anymore. Um, so just you know, take it one step at a time, take a deep breath, and you know, enjoy yourself and just say no, thank you when needed. And if you're early on your gluten-free journey or you just need encouragement along the way, or love new recipes, my newsletter is full of simple recipes, tips, and support. You can go on over to theglutenfreeengineer.com and click on the newsletter link to sign right up. I'd love to help you feel confident and safe on this journey. And then here's the thing I wish someone had told me from day one. You don't have to get it perfect to make progress. Every mistake teaches you something, every win builds confidence, and over time it stops feeling overwhelming. You're learning a whole new way of life, very likely, and you're doing better than you think. So just keep going and you know, draw upon your wins, learn from your mistakes, and you have got this. You will be able to make great progress, feel great, and get your life back again. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Gluten Free Engineer. If you found value in this story, please share it with someone who might need encouragement on their own gluten-free journey. For more tips, recipes, resources, and even links to my YouTube channel, head on over to theglutenfreeengineer.com. It's your one-stop hub to make gluten-free living simple, fun, and full of flavor. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss out on an episode. And we will see you next week. The Gluten Free Engineer Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I share my personal experiences and stories about living with celiac disease and navigating a gluten free lifestyle. This podcast does not provide medical advice. Always consult with a qualified health care professional for medical questions, concerns, or advice specific to your health.