I feel I may be gluten sensitive and am ready to do the 3-4 week self test (but have questions)

Hello all,

First I just want to start off with a little background as to why I am wanting to do this test and am serious about it. I am a 25 year old male and weigh 165 lbs 6'0. Mainly, I have been dealing with fatigue and bouts of tiredness throughout the day for as long as I can remember. But I would say in the last couple of years it has become more apparent. People will say "Well you are just getting older and you don't have as much energy as you do when you are a teenager". But even as a teenager I felt very under-energized. And then again I don't know if those people really know what I mean when I say I don't have energy. It affects my work and my social life...because when I'm tired, it affects my personality.

I have tried many different things to come to this point. I have quit smoking (it's been one year now), and though I admit I can tell the difference and it is better....I still feel the same fatigue I always have. Also I have tried changing my eating habits, such as eating a healthier breakfast and not eating before I go to bed. I have drastically increased my water intake. I have also consistently exercised 6 days per week for about a year now. I have even tried changing my sleeping habits. Such as going to bed the same time every night, waking up early, sleeping 8 hours every night. Then I tried just sleeping 7 hours every night because I thought maybe I was sleeping too much. Still, nothing seemed to have changed. Last month I went to my primary doctor and had a blood test to check my thyroid levels, and everything was normal.

I just need to find the answer to this because this problem really is affecting me living my life to it's full potential, and am afraid this is only going to get worse as time goes on. So when I heard about these stories of gluten intolerance, I thought I would give this a chance. I was told that I would need to cut off gluten 100% for 3-4 weeks, and then reintroduce it to see how I feel.

I want to start this in the next couple days (despite it being my birthday next week lol). So I have been planning ahead and thinking about what I would need to buy, but I have a lot of questions. I would greatly appreciate if anyone could answer these:

As a general rule of thumb, it is safe to say that as long as I stayed away from wheat I would be avoiding gluten? I have heard that there are small trace amounts in bubble gum and such, but is it really enough to make a difference? And when I go out to eat, would it be safe to say I could order as if I was on the Atkin's Diet?

For breakfast, what are some options that I could get from a regular grocery store? I have thought of eggs and bacon? Should I also add something else to this?

A potential problem I saw was what would I bring for lunch at work? I usually am used to eating frozen TV dinners and never cook, but am willing to. What do you guys bring to work?

I figured for snacks I could eat fruits or vegetables like celery and peanut butter...do you have any other suggestions?

For dinner I have come up with maybe some chunky soup (GF of course) over a bed of white rice. Or another idea would be some rice and pinto beans with a side of vegetables (frozen). Any simple/easy to make suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am also trying to keep this as inexpensive and non time-consuming as possible.

Another concern I have is that with the absence of bread in my diet, I assume my consumption of carbohydrates will be greatly reduced. Because of this, should I expect to feel a lack of energy for the first few week or so? And what is the best source of carbs for someone who is on a GF diet?

Thank you for reading this lengthy post and thanks to anyone who can answer even just one of these questions.

Oh, and has anyone tested your vitamin D levels? Low vitamin D is very common among Americans and can make you very tired.

No, you cannot eat at a restaurant by just avoiding bread and noodles. Wheat flour is used quite commonly as a thickener and as a coating for all kinds of cooking. You really do need to ask for a gluten free menu. Most higher end restaurants can accomodate you now.

A big surprise for me was that soy sauce (and a lot of umami flavorings) have wheat in them. You can get the same from tamari, but most asian restaurants will not have this. I haven't eaten chinese food out in a long time.

Hi...I am gluten free for one year now...and have seen many benefits, however when I eat any kind of read meat, I get bloated, gas, and pain in stomach. I seem to only feel well when eating, chicken, fish or turkey...I wonder why my body reacts to the red meat this way, when I was younger I did not have this problem. I age a factor? I am in my fifties.

Yes, I think there is some correlation between age and red meat but it could also be the damage done to your intestines after ?yrs of gluten/wheat and what applevenus said too about the grain fed cattle. I would just do like you did with the gluten/wheat diet, start eliminating things until you are off All the meats, fish etc., then add them back in 1 at a time starting with the red meat and see what happens, hope this helps and keep us in the loop.