So I'm 8 days wheat free.

Talk to me about your wheat experiences. I've tried to cut it out in the past to varying degrees of success. I'm hoping to make it "stick" this time.

I know I breathe better wheat free.

I know I have less cravings if I avoid it.

I know wheat can provoke insulin resistance responses, and a large slice of PCOS patients are IR like me.

A.

I'm awaiting a final pros diagnosis, but I've been wheat free since aug 1 and its the best thing I ever did. I have never been able to lose weight, even on severely restricted low cal diets. Since quitting wheat, starting exercise and calorie counting, I've lost 70 lbs. my moods have stabilized, I no longer need to sleep 10 hours and I never have sugar crashes.

That's great, RadioJane! Sounds like it really gave you some solid health benefits!

I'm still in this "withdrawal" mode -- with some headaches. Not terrible, but there. I experienced some craving but I could step away from it today.

I'm trying to take it one day at a time and keep a good food log so I can track symptoms against diet.

A.

Oh I just replied in the support thread.

But this my experience:

I am also wheat "free" except that once or twice a month, I'll eat something with wheat in it, like a pancake or a cookie.

I also said in my response on the other thread that I've discovered a connection between eating wheat and feeling inflammation/puffiness in my hands and other joints in my body. I worry about this because I know Rheumatoid Arthritis has been linked with wheat/gluten and it runs in my family and if this is the case, then this is the bigger case to avoid all kinds of wheat and gluten in my diet. I don't want to feed into any potential RA genes that may be swimming around in my DNA!

I think too, it's helped with overeating. When I was eating breads and pastas and so on, I would overeat so easily. It never, ever, filled me up. And to be honest, it's not that tasty. That's why I limit my intake now to very few times when it's really worth it.

But I do see myself moving forward and finding even wheat-free/gluten-free alternatives to those indulgences only because of my fears of RA.

Of course, since it is eliminating a crappy carb from my diet, my IR/PCOS stuff is much better. I don't get the same blood spikes from potatoes, for example, than I do from eating a hamburger bun!

I've noticed changes in joint pain too but too soon to tell.

Thanks, Rana!

A.

I am wheat free as well. It makes me crazy about food. Like uncontrollable cravings and constantly thinking about it. I also get brain fog from it.

I had a good two weeks of detox/withdrawal symptoms. The brain fog was insane and I was exhausted. When it cleared I felt amazing.

Now when I cheat (I was off plan at Christmas), my joints hurt and it effects my sleep.

I do great being wheat-free. So good that I will begin to think that maybe I can have some and then I start eating it again and all my problems come back. I don't know why I keep going back to it. I'm resolving this year to quit for good.

My joints feel amazing when I'm wheat free. (I'm also bean free and do low sugar and very little dairy) My movements feel so fluid. The plantars fasciitis went away in my feet. My stomach issues got better. My skin looks clearer and less red. I'm less tired. I have less cravings. My mood seems more even. My husband's allergies went away.

It gets easier once you get used to it. It totally becomes habit.

I have been hardcore wheat free since the beg of November. Actually I am diagnosed allergic to it. Ugh, it was so hard, but not so much anymore. The fact that I feel like crap if it sneaks in my diet, keeps me in line.

Day 11.

At the end of today will be a week, but I weighed this morning at 263.9. I started new year at 269.5. So about a week and down 5.6 lb.

This is strange to me. I don't loose that much unless it's TOM and it's all pms bloat.

That low grade headache is still there and comes and goes. Noticed my stomach feels weirdly soft. Reminds me of my weirdly soft stomach right after giving birth.

Experiment continues...

A.

I'm actually trying to go grains free (Per GAPS/SCD protocol). I too find that my knees hurt much less when I'm off gluten (bone broth helps too). The weight also seems to come off pretty effortlessly.

The thing that I'm really interested in is how it effects my hidradenitis suppurativa, which is a delightfully awful skin condition.

Many people lose a lot quicker in general when eating wheat free, but the whoosh in the first little bit is water you didn't even know you were retaining. The carbohydrate content in bread products causes your body to hold more water.

I was trying the Paleo diet around August last year and it cuts out grains totally. I was feeling better without bread in my diet. I had less stomach pains, was less bloated and felt lighter.

Paleo didn't work out for me though because it was a bit too meat-heavy. I'd try it again but I would reintroduce brown rice and more veggies into my diet.

Being, I'm a pro organic person, I would like to know if you were eating organic wheat products or not.

For that matter are you also yes/no eating other organic fruit, grains and meats and how has that choice, if you have done it or not affected your lifestyle and how you feel in general

While I am pro organic, I will not disrespect any plan that works for long term success.

I am a successful Lifetime member of Weight Watchers, and after many long years, have figured out what works for me.

Just wondering.

I was eating organic wheat products and also organic veggies/fruit. I buy organic as much as possible, mostly because I am one of those people that thinks it does taste better.

Wheat doesn't work for me.

I like WW and in fact, my gyno said it's the only plan that really works. I think it's the only plan that works because you are watching portions and trying to eat balanced and I think that's the way to do it. I like Paleo because of the types of food you eat, but even in the Paleo community, there is agreement that at some point, you have to watch your calories too (I just posted an article on this recently in the Low Carb forum).

I think whatever plan works and if you have food sensitivities, you have to watch for those too. I love broccoli, but I can't eat it...