‘Going gluten-free wasn’t a choice I made.’ Meet the mind behind The Gluten-Free Guide to Charlotte
I’ve been living without gluten for over two years now, which has become a defining part of who I am. Going gluten-free wasn’t a choice I made. It was a health and lifestyle change I was forced to accept. Hi, I’m Victoria, and I’m gluten-intolerant.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, and is typically involved in the deliciousness of fried foods, breads and cakes. Its most common form is listed as “wheat flour.”
Before I knew of my gluten intolerance, I was working as a server in Uptown. It was the final day of CIAA week. I woke up and was unable to move. Since CIAA meant a week of working long hours and catering to more than 100,000 visitors in five days, I figured I was just exhausted — instead, I had hit a breaking point.
A trip to Urgent Care resulted in nothing other than a dehydration diagnosis; however, I had been feeling inexplicably horrible for months. I had gained 30 pounds in three months. I was always tired. Caffeine never woke me up.
I knew there had to be more to it.
I was being treated for the previous two years for hypothyroidism. A simple search showed me that hypothyroidism is, in most cases, a symptom of Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder, and that holistic methods were the best treatment. This included an elimination diet, starting with gluten.
I decided to give up gluten for a month to see if that would help me. I didn’t think it would make a difference, but I was desperate to feel better. At the time, I knew nothing about gluten. I had a long journey ahead of me.
After a month of eating a gluten-free diet, the first difference I noticed was in my body’s appearance. Previously, my body was swollen, and after going gluten-free, my size went down. I didn’t lose any weight at first, but I was less puffy. My digestion drastically changed for the better, as I wasn’t feeling nauseous all the time. I stopped getting severely bloated and my brain fog even started to clear.
At first, I avoided the obvious foods with gluten, like pizza, bread and pastries. Once my body was detoxed, I discovered (through getting sick) what else contains gluten, like soy sauce, crabstick (fake crab), and certain salad dressings. I had to leave work after eating gluten on several occasions, because I was in so much pain.
It took me a year to really adjust to being 100 percent gluten-free. If I do eat gluten, immediate symptoms are extreme bloating, stomach discomfort, pain and vomiting. Symptoms that last a week or more are crippling brain fog, lethargy, and an inability to carry on with my daily routine.
In the past two years, I have become more sensitive. Early in my journey, I would be able to eat as much as a bite of my fiancé’s pizza. I can no longer do that. I also can’t eat foods that are cross-contaminated, like fries that share a frier with other foods. Not being able to eat fries in most places is the biggest struggle for me.
My typical diet at home is simple. I’ve never liked cooking. I typically eat a protein, like grilled chicken or a pork chop, and a vegetable, like squash or cauliflower. Overall, it’s a paleo-esque diet. Thankfully, most recipes can be modified to a gluten-free diet. My current favorite cheat meal is homemade meatballs made with gluten-free, panko bread crumbs and gluten-free penne pasta.
Thanks to the paleo and keto diets and more wide-spread knowledge of celiac disease, there are increasingly more gluten-free options available at grocery stores, and there are a plethora of recipes online.
Eating at restaurants is a different adventure, but one that I can manage. Trusting other people (i.e. strangers) to handle your food is always a risk. Before going to a restaurant, I always look at the menu online. I decide what is “safe” to eat, usually salads. Then I look if there are items I can modify. Choosing menu items that need modifications is relying on the kitchen staff and your server to take your gluten intolerance seriously. Sometimes, it’s just easier to eat before, or stash a protein bar in my purse if I don’t think the server is taking me seriously.
Unfortunately, many kitchens and servers aren’t well-versed in gluten allergies and sensitivities. I’ve found that if they’ve heard of gluten-free eating, they assume it’s a fad diet and it won’t hurt me if I eat gluten. I’ve had this happen to me before, and it’s a huge health risk. If someone is allergic to tree nuts, you wouldn’t think twice about making sure there’s no cross-contamination. Because so many people are gluten-free as a lifestyle choice and not an allergy, it threatens the seriousness of gluten intolerance, wheat allergies and celiac disease.
When I do order from a restaurant, my friends and my fiancé have to sit through the process of me asking twenty questions about ingredients, marinades and kitchen procedures. I couldn’t imagine if I had to go on a first date and appear as if I’m picky or needy. It’s a health concern, I promise!
Paleo and Whole 30 Diets
Paleo, Whole 30 and keto diets are interesting to me. I know a lot of people who have gone gluten-free for a variety of different reasons that aren’t related to celiac disease or Hashimoto’s disease, and it helped with their health problems. On the other hand, take people like Kourtney Kardashian, who obsess over being gluten-free, when there’s no real evidence that gluten is bad for people without intolerance. When making an actual allergy, like gluten, a fad, it hurts the people who suffer from it. If you don’t have a peanut allergy, why would you avoid it? It doesn’t make sense.
As far as the paleo diet goes, I always joke that just because cavemen weren’t smart enough to figure out farming, doesn’t mean 2018 humans should be eating the same way our biological ancestors did! All this aside, in the end, I support anyone who is eating things that make them feel good. If a paleo, vegan or keto diet improve your life, then more power to you.
If I could eat gluten
If I could scream “YOLO” and indulge in gluten again, I’m going straight for quesadillas, a chicken parmesan sub and a pint of Victory’s Golden Monkey.
More than anything, I’d rather have the freedom of not making a 12-step plan every time I want to eat. I miss the freedom of not scrutinizing every single ingredient.
Thankfully, most things can be made gluten-free. They’re not as good, necessarily, but if I’m able to eat a gluten-free pizza, I’m just happy to be eating pizza at all.
My story behind CLT Gluten-Free
I created The Gluten-Free Guide to Charlotte because of two of my passions: eating at restaurants and working in social media. I realized that there was no legitimate source for eating and drinking gluten-free in Charlotte on Instagram, where many people search for information. Thus, @cltglutenfree was born in September 2017.
Tacos: they need no introduction.
A post shared by Charlotte Gluten-Free (@cltglutenfree) on May 15, 2018 at 4:29pm PDT
What started as a passion project for me became two things: a community for people in Charlotte who can’t eat gluten and a resource for people who are new to eating gluten-free, don’t know where to start with their new diet and don’t know their options when eating out. The goal now is to be a go-to place for people who have gluten intolerance and allergies in order to provide transparency for the restaurant scene. If I visit a restaurant and get “glutened,” I won’t post the content I made, and I’ll share my non-gluten-friendly experience in my Facebook group.
My number one priority is to be as honest as possible. I only partner with brands I love and trust. I only post restaurants that I feel are safe to eat at it. I always encourage open discussion in the comments from other people with experience at the places I post. CLT Gluten-Free isn’t just my personal account anymore. It’s a place for everyone in the gluten-free community to connect and communicate. I’m excited to watch it grow.
Photos by: Victoria Wright
This story was originally published July 8, 2018 at 11:55 PM with the headline "‘Going gluten-free wasn’t a choice I made.’ Meet the mind behind The Gluten-Free Guide to Charlotte."