5 Tips For Giving Up Dairy & Gluten!

Hi Beauty!

How are you? I hope your week is off to a positive start!! Every few weeks, I’ll take a peek at my google analytics when I want to know which posts you guys are interested in over others. A few weeks ago, I blogged about my history with food intolerance symptoms and being dairy and gluten free and my analytics showed that you loved it! It’s been one of my most read (and re-read) posts to date, which was really REALLY cool to see as it’s something I’m super passionate about.

If you missed that post, you can check it out here!

This being said, I thought that it would be only natural to now talk about some of my top tips for giving up dairy and gluten.

Whenever friends, loved ones, and family members come to me to discuss health concerns or things that are going on it their bodies (because they all know there are few things I love more than talking about wellness), we often end up talking about the kinds of foods they’re eating. Throughout my journey of learning about health and wellness, it’s become really clear to me that I see a HUGE correlation between the way I feel, the “symptoms” my body shows me, and what I’m putting into my body. I really believe in that old saying “we are what we eat.” Because literally, it couldn’t be any more true! Again, if you missed my post on food allergy symptoms, you can check it out here.

While I am not a wholistic doctor or registered wellness coach (yet ;-)??), I do feel that I’ve learned a lot in my lifetime about health and wellness, especially over the last few years of learning to deal with food allergies!

My number one tip for people who are looking to feel better, be more energetic, less inflamed, have healthier skin, loose weight and be less bloated, etc. is to CUT DAIRY AND GLUTEN! It’s also my number one tip for friends or readers who message me and say that they’re having hormonal issues, skin issues, stomach issues like bloating or gas, and many more! It’s incredible how many health related problems and symptoms can get better once you eliminate dairy and gluten. This isn’t to say that I think everyone needs to completely cut dairy and gluten. However, I do 100% recommend it if you’re having a symptom you want to get under control or if you just want to feel better. I always say it doesn’t hurt to give it a try!

I could literally talk about why I am all for going dairy and gluten free, so if you want to talk about it with me feel free to message me!! You can email me at taylor@loveinsideandout.com or send me a DM over on Instagram. BUT, for today, I wanted to give you some of my top tips for cutting dairy and gluten from your diet. I learned from my wholistic practitioner that it takes about 8 weeks to fully eliminate a food from your body that you’re trying to get rid of. This means that if you cut dairy and gluten out, it will take 8 weeks to fully “filter out.” That being said, when I first cut them out I felt better in just a few days!! It’s AMAZING!

SO, let’s get into my top 5 tips for cutting dairy and gluten–

1. GO COLD TURKEY! AKA cut the stuff out

I know you might not be wanting to hear this.. Before you close out this post, let me tell you WHY I’m a fan of going cold turkey. If you so happen to have an intolerance to gluten and dairy OR if they are causing inflammation in your body, it doesn’t necessarily matter if you are only having “a little bit.” This is one of the most common questions I’ve been asked, specifically about dairy. “I only have a little bit of cheese and dairy.” Unfortunately, that “little bit” can cause some uncomfortable symptoms, even thought it’s just a “little bit.” Another note, which I’ll talk about below is that SO MANY foods have dairy and gluten in them so that “little bit” could actually be a lot more than you think…
Keep a food journal

I say food journal, but you can literally do this by keeping a note in your iPhone! Basically, I suggest starting to keep track of how you feel via a food journal or notes section because it’s a daily way that you can check in with how you’re feeling. For me, I noticed that within 3 days of going dairy and gluten free, my eczema rash had cleared up and I no longer had stomach aches after eating. It’s amazing the information your body will give you if you tune in and listen!
Become an ingredient reader

This is one of the most important tips I can give you!! Maybe you already are an ingredient reader, or maybe you haven’t gotten into it yet. If you haven’t, let me tell you that this is one of the biggest steps you can make in changing what goes into your body and in turn changing the way you feel. When I first went dairy & gluten free, I was AMAZED at how many products have the stuff in it! Things I thought were already dairy & gluten free were often times not. Although it takes a bit of getting used to, it’s one of the easiest ways you can change your diet over time. It also starts to become pretty gratifying when you learn about different ingredients and know exactly what you’re putting into your bod! Last thing to say about this one, if by chance you slip and buy or eat something with milk in it on accident (I’ve been there, trust me) don’t beat yourself up. All that this means is that you’re human and that present day foods have way too many things “hiding in them.” It by no means says anything about you as a person or that “you suck” or that “you failed.” Give yourself some extra grace and love here. <3 I also recommend taking your daily probiotic, possibly a digestive enzyme, and vital proteins, three things that can really help with digesting foods.
Don’t apologize for the dietary choices you choose to make in order to feel your best

When going “against the norm” there’s always a chance that people might not understand or that you might get a funny look or two (or more ha). To this I say a big WHO CARES! What matters most is how you feel and I strongly believe that your true friends and loved ones will genuinely support you. People might not understand certain dietary choices, and I’ve learned that this is truly okay! If we were all the same, things might get a little too boring. (; In all seriousness, don’t let a fear of people thinking “you’re weird” stop you from making a dietary choice that could change your life and health.
Invest in long term health

At first it can seem expensive to go dairy and gluten free. However, I really only think that the first one or two times grocery shopping is what’s expensive. Once you have the kitchen fully stocked with all the dairy and gluten free goods, it becomes pretty simple to make all your favorite meals! Some of the “staples” I like to keep around at all times are nutritional yeast (an amazing HEALTHY cheese alternative that’s filled with b vitamins), organic hummus from trader joes, avocado and olive oil, tons of spices, nuts and seeds, etc. I’m working on a full healthy trader joes grocery list that’s going to be available to download on my website soon! The best part? The price point is just around $100!! I want to show people that eating healthy doesn’t always have to break the bank.