I Gave Up Gluten, Meat, Dairy, Sugar And Packaged Food For 4 Months

Here Is What Happened

You might be wondering if what I did was easy. No, it wasn’t easy. But it did get easy with time. I had earlier given up sugar and packaged food but I could never imagine giving up dairy and gluten. An Indian giving up dairy is something very rare- trust me on this. But when I did give up dairy, gluten, , meat, sugar and packaged food, it ended up eliminating at least 90% of food items off my diet. And the remaining 10% choices I was left with- were the healthiest ones!

What Did I Eat?

Millet Flour- (As A Replacement To Regular Flour)

Millets used to be an integral part of Indian diet. They are the superfoods that are rich in a lot of nutrients. I use millets in form of flours to bake all kinds of breads. It takes a little “getting used to” when it comes to baking gluten free but it is totally worth it once you get the hang of it. I use Finger Millet, Pearl Millet and Sorghum. There are a lot of other millets that you should explore. I started off with these three millets because just because these are more popular in India and hence readily available.

Vegan Smoothies & Oatmeal (For Breakfast)

Smoothies are a way for me to incorporate so many nutritious things together in just one drink. I make fruit smoothies and instead of regular milk, I use almond milk. I further add the following things to my smoothies to take them to the next level-

Amla (Indian gooseberry): It is rich in Vitamin C. I consumed it daily for 2 years and my it helped me with my asthma. I used to take 2–3 puffs of inhaler daily but since I started eating Amla, I no longer needed my inhaler daily.

Spinach: It is rich in iron and I put it in my smoothie so as to start my day with at least one raw vegetable.

Chia Seeds and Flex Seeds: Both of these seeds are high in fiber, omega-3s and, proteins.

Dry Fruits (For Evening Munchings)

I ate healthy most of the time even before this experiment but evenings used to be the time of the day when I would just snap out of healthy eating and would indulge in all sorts of junk food. But with blanket restriction on so many food items, I could no longer munch on anything and everything. I ate dry fruits and even fresh fruits to satisfy my evening hunger.

Vegetables (For Lunch And Dinner)

For lunch, I started eating at least 3 vegetables in raw form (mostly carrot, beetroot and, cucumber) aside from one cooked vegetable, lentil and, millet chapati (Indian bread). For dinner, it used to be assorted vegetables like broccoli, red pepper, yellow pepper, capsicum, boiled corn, mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with rice and cooked beans/lentils/chickpeas.

Fresh Fruits (To Satisfy My Sugar Cravings)

Sugar craving has always been the hardest thing for me to control. I still craved for sugar in the beginning and decided to go for a fruit whenever my sugar cravings kicked in.

Salads(On Outing With Friends)

This is the worst part. There are very less restaurants in India that also serve vegan, gluten free food. When you go out with friends, you have to settle for salad most of the time. You might be able to find something that is vegan and gluten free, every once in a while, but don’t count on it, especially if you live in India.

How It Changed My Life

I Had More Energy

In just a week’s time, I found myself having more energy as it I had aged backwards. I experienced the energy levels I used to have when I was a kid. It felt as if I required very less effort to accomplish my regular tasks.

My Cravings For Sugar And Oily Food Went Away

I craved for sugar initially but it went away after some time. I also started not craving anything oily. In fact, my taste buds got accustomed to simple and raw food items.

My Menstrual Cramps Got Less Intense

I used to take 1 day leave every month during my periods because of cramps. After restricting my diet, my periods got lighter and less painful.

I Stopped Gaining Weight Abruptly

Earlier, I used to put on weight abruptly without any changes in my diet. I hated every time that happened. I lost 3.5 kgs and the abrupt weight gain stopped.

I Slept Better

I don’t need to tell you how much important is a good night’s sleep. With the changes I did to my die, I could breathe better and I could sleep better. I also found it easy to wake up extremely early.

Parting Note

This experiment made me realise that most of us are eating food items with a lot gluten, dairy, meat and sugar. These items are hardly dense in nutrients. When you eliminate these from your diet, you are left with superfoods like millets, green vegetables, fruits, healthy nuts and more. With such superfoods to choose from, if even you are binge eating, you are eating something healthy. I think this is what made all the difference to my health.

Note: It has been 6 months that my experiment ended. Right now, my eating habits are more or less the same. I just have a cheat sheet now. For instance, I let myself eat sugar once every week. I eat chicken once every 15 days. There are 2 of my favourite dishes with dairy ingredients in them. I cook them every month. However, be it dairy, meat, or anything I eat, I ensure I am procuring it from ethical vendors. For instance, your vegetables shouldn’t be grown using chemical fertilisers. Your milk and meat shouldn’t come from the vendors who use growth injections on their animals. More on this later. I hope you enjoyed reading my article.

Edit: I restarted dairy and gluten since I am pregnant. :) I do get craving for sugar, so I have also allowed myself to eat homemade ice-creams.