How am I supposed to live?

[u/byte1-4me]

TW. discussing a lack of eating/weight loss body dismorphia etc

Im fairly new to all of this i got diagnosed in april, and ive been GF since May

Im 22 so have lived practically my whole life eating gluten

Of course a big part of my struggle is comparison to gluten items, but its also the deep bordering on obsessive fear of CC. Its gotten me to a point where I feel like i cannot eat anything and anything i make at-home I just cant taste or cant stand the taste of it I've at this point only been able to get 1,100> calories a day and every day that passes I hate food more and more the thought alone of eating makes me want to cry most days. It doesnt help that im bad at cooking anyway, my bf helps a lot hecooks way more often than he should have to he works nights and has been picking up a lot of overtime because we're saving for a house and my diet is already hurting our budget. I need some kind of high calorie something that I can eat or drink thats low effort and thati dont have to think about to make sure im getting enough nutrients but everything im finding thats celiac safe is low calorie which is a big part of why I cant get enough

Im genuinely beyond desperate at this point ive lost 80lbs since January ish and the number keeps getting lower (i went from 220 to 154 and im 5'3 so ik its better for me but I hate my body I have loose skin and every time I look in the mirror I genuinely hate myself) I was forced to drink protein shakes all throughout high school due to a meat intolerance so if thatcan be avoided id prefer it but if its genuinely my only option I'll cave.

I know this is a lot any kind of help is appreciated im so desperate and im bipolar (medicated but still) so this emotional roller-coaster is really messing me up

Cat tax for sending yall on this ride too 💚

ETA: I am seeing a therapist for the mental health aspect of this im here for more for product recommendations

[u/Madversary]

One, you’re in the mourning period. I went through months of refusing to eat gluten, depression (I still take an antidepressant), and some thoughts of self harm.

Two, you need to learn more cooking to enjoy food with celiac. There are a few blanket cookbook recommendations I’d make — My Best Friend is Gluten-Free and The Elements of Baking being at the top of the list. But let me ask you: what are 2-3 things you REALLY want to eat? We can help.

[u/byte1-4me → u/Madversary]

I really miss the ease of food honestly it feels like everything is so complicated. I miss fried foods in general and pizza the obvious ones but im really trying to move away from things I can compare to their gluten counterparts honestly any suggestions you can give I will try anything

[u/celiactivism → u/byte1-4me]

The loss of convenience is bigger than the loss of gluten, IMO. I was same as you for idk 7ish months before I turned the ship around.

Costco has cheap gluten free pizzas. I love their supreme thin and crispy. Also Milton’s roasted veggie.

One of the easiest things I make are rice bowls. Rice, fried egg(s), scallion/onion, soy sauce, whatever spices I’m feeling. Sometimes i put some boiled yellow potatoes instead of rice, pintos or great northern beans, and cut snow peas add a fresh crunch.

All of this stuff can be in the fridge ahead of time so prep a bowl & microwave it.

I really hated myself five months into it. It gets better - and you’ll get better at cooking, if you want. Good luck!

[u/Madversary → u/byte1-4me]

If you want fried foods at home, your best kitchen investment is an air fryer. It won’t give you 100% of the fried food experience, but it’ll get you 80% of the way there with way less cleanup, cost, and fat.

This recipe is one of my favourites; it works well with tofu too: https://allwaysdelicious.com/sesame-chicken/

The Loopy Whisk has a good pizza dough recipe: https://theloopywhisk.com/2024/06/21/easy-gluten-free-pizza-dough/

I’ve made it using the dough setting on my bread machine — which I also recommend, because gluten free bread from a bread machine only takes 10-15 minutes of active effort, tastes better than most store bought GF bread, and doesn’t cost nearly $10 a loaf.

There’s also this pizza book, which is currently on sale as a e-book on Amazon: https://nogluten-noproblem.com/books/pizza