i'm highly allergic to gluten and am trying to make this diet work for me! i'm brand new (day two) and have been light headed and dizzy since starting. i'm very concerned i won't be able to get enough calories/carbs to be alert and energetic, which is essential because i work four jobs! i'm not able to have any of the restricted foods, which seem to be the rejuvenating "i'm starving and am feeling dizzy" fixes.

any advice?? is there a good way to combat this?? extra lettuce?? water?? supplements??

thank you!! i'm brand new to this community and you all are so inspiring and wonderful. i'm so happy to be here!!

The first week can be like that. It's carb and sugar withdrawal. Keep your salt intake up and drink your water.

You could consider some alternatives to add on. The simply bar is gluten free.

I was going to suggest you add a couple of alternative bars in to your food intake as well. I second Mom's recommendation re The Simply Bar. Also The Quest line of protein bars is gluten free and very healthy.

Are you working with an IP coach? If so, he/she should be able to advise you re which IP food items are gluten free. I know there are some posters here who use only the gluten free IP products, and hope one of them comments.

The first week is tough though, even on those of us who don't have gluten intolerances. It's fairly common to have periods of time where you just feel really tired out and sort of dizzy and ill for the first few days. It's likely that you'll feel much better once your body adapts to the low carb intake and switches into ketosis. Again, I second Mom's advice to keep your salt intake up and drink lots of water.

i am working with a coach but he's pretty new to the program and doesn't know anything about how to make it successfully gluten free! everything is clearly marked, i'm just concerned about the low cals. i'll definitely ask about alternative bars-- i think that's an excellent solution.

thank you!!

Here are links to the two gluten-free protein bars we've been recommending. You can size up the ingredients, etc., for yourself.

You can read about The Quest bars here:
http://www.thelowcarbgrocery.com/cat...ath=132_23_490

You can read about The Simply Bar here:
http://www.thesimplybar.com/?utm_expid=44095252-6

I'm GF! I mainly stick to the drinks (except the ready made ones - they all have gluten). Myself and my coach did a lot of research on the nutritional information on each product and the allergy info on each product. We came up with the following list of GF foods (I put and M next to the ones with milk just FYI if you're allergic too). Also, my energy has been great. I agree with above posters to make sure you get your salt and water intake. Maybe stick to eating all 8oz of protein also. (Disclaimer: since I am not highly allergic this could be different for you, please make sure you do further research about the specific ingredients (googling ideal protein ingredients and allergy info) as I don't want to be responsible for sending you to the hospital )

Drinks
Blueberry, Cranberry, & Pomegranate
Pineapple & Banana
Chocolate Drink
Cappuccino (M)
Pink Lemonade
Peach & Mango
Wildberry Yogurt (M)
Pina Colada
Orange
Vanilla (M)

Meals
Omelet Mix
Fine Herb & Cheese Omelet (M)
Mushroom Soup (M)
Chicken Soup
Leek Soup
Vegetable Chili Mix
Broccoli & Cheese Soup (M)
Potato Puree

Snacks
All puddings (all puddings have milk in them)
Raspberry Jelly (Jello)
Soy Nuts - both Garlic & Onion and BBQ

Bars
Raspberry Crunch (M)
Lemon Poppyseed (M)
Cookies N Cream (M)
White Choco Cinnamon (M)
Carmel Crunch (M)

Good Luck! You'll do great!! Honestly I like the drinks better because I don't have to worry if I'm eating too many restricted items, etc. and the jello (jelly) is awesome! So that's always a fun additive.

oh my goodness, thank you SO much!!! this is unbelievably helpful!!

The restricted items only add about 50 calories to the day. In fact, depending on which unrestricted you use you could have a higher carb count just using unrestricteds.

It is amazing how fast the body adapts to the lower calorie intake!

When I started on a GF diet I thought I would die! All I could see was food I could NOT eat! Then I realized there’s a whole list of foods I could eat and began to stock up the fridge with those. It’s a little psychosomatic – you need to have a stock of food you know you can eat close by, within handy reach. I would also suggest searching online for gluten-free foods! Some of them are terrific and really delicious. I’ve tried cakes, pizzas, cookies, crackers, pretzels – now I’m so used to being GF and don’t miss eating anything.

I am gluten free as well.

I think a couple of the restricted items that you have listed Monica have wheat in them. I can't remember off the top of my head. I will see if I kept the box label.

It can stink at times, but remember that one serving of a food alleged its, will cause an inflammation reaction in your body for two months.

Hi all...GF here as well. We have celiac in our family and some of us are gluten/wheat sensitive with out the official diagnosis. I'm also hypothyroid which is an auto immune response as well. Before I started the program I found a list somewhere...of GF foods IP has. It was also given to me by my coach so I know it came from the manufacturer. What I know about the food industry is you have to stay on top of the ingredients. Often food starch, which is probably not used a lot in IP foods but is probably in some things, is bought in bulk ...and the content could be derived from a variety of sources. The US food manufactures are pretty much labeling things with the main allergens now ...and say "contains...milk or soy or wheat". It would be nice if IP started to do that.

I've gone gluten-free and now SOY free since I've been dx hypothyroid (due to info that soy can be hard on thyroid, I almost didn't do IP at all & I my TSH skyrocketed 5 mo after starting IP AND I just read that people who have hypo should also be gluten-free)

IP has the "contains milk, soy, wheat" on the box. US FDA regulations say that only fully labeled boxes are supposed to be sold but individual coaches work with patients for flexibility by providing individual packets. They should STILL be providing nutritional info (copies) if they are not selling whole boxes (thank goodness for these coaches providing flexibility!)

Labels are available for viewing here http://www.plainprotein.com/

Thanks for that info...!! My coach was checking individual boxes as well as consulting the list when she was helping me put my meals together....now that you mention it! I have not purchased entire boxes of anything. Thank heavens my location appears to be flexible and customer service oriented. I will make sure my Dr. is aware there is more soy on this diet I'm on than I have been consuming previously...and hope that after a few months I can back off and begin some integrating of other food in the next phases.

Hi there,
I just bought two alternative products today that are gluten free according to the labels. I am in Canada, and found them at Shoppers Drugmart, but maybe they are also available in the US.

The first is bodylogix. I bought the RTD shakes but they also have powdered as well. They are 170 calories, 6g carbs (Fibre 3g, Sugars 2g.. so maybe just 1g crabs..still a newbie here), 25 g protien and sweetened with sucralose not aspartame.

The second is IsoFemme Protien powder and it is 115 calories, 2g carbs, 25 g protien, 1g sugar.. also sweetened with sucralose.

I havent been officially diagnosed with celiac or a gluten sensitivity but my 4 year old has it and its apparently inherited from either my hubby or I .. and I am the one with all the symptoms and IBS Im jsut too chicken to get the bloodwork done and the subsequent testing that follows if the bloodwork is positive!

Anyway... wanted to share that there are a few options out there alternatively

Congrats to everyone on their successes.. I cant wait to be able to share some too (Starting on Monday)

Hi DannaA-
Sounds as though like me...you may be sensitive to wheat/gluten. I am and also have 2 kids with celiac. Medical community is rethinking the degrees one can be affected with this...and the New York Times has run a number of articles in the last six months as I'm sure other major news papers have done giving this a lot of space in their health news.

As for the RTD shakes...watch out for the higher carbs and calories on the commercial varieties. They are often formulated for weightlifters (men in particular) and 170 calories is a lot for a replacement shake.

The Vitamin shop has a brand that is a powder and comes in choc and vanilla --very close to IP specifications and the EAS shakes which are more easily found here in the states have one formulation that is a RTD type with 17 g protein. The choc is 110 calories and the vanilla is 100. The carbs are fairly low (3.0 & 2.5) in this brand too. I actually prefer the EAS to the IP packets because they are a full 10 oz. in the carton. In the morning I heat them (EAS also heat better in the microwave) ...add 2 Tsp instant coffee and about another 2-3 oz of water. This fills up my travel mug for a nice hot "flavored" coffee and is nice when I am on the run. I find them too sweet on their "own" so the coffee and extra water cut that sweetness. Walmart has the best price on these here in the US. They come in a 4 pk for about $5.

Just be careful with substituting because a lot of them are higher in the things IP has done a good job of reducing....the extra calories will slow you down. I've not had any slowdown with the EAS...but I do add another 16 oz of water to my daily quota to make up for the instant coffee I add to my morning drink. I've been on this for 7+ weeks and have lost about 22.5 lbs. Good luck to you!!