I am really having trouble knowing what attitives are o.k. and what to avoid.How bad can this get? I have known now for 3 wks and this is by far the hardest diet to get into. I feel so overwhelmed and need help in starting out and sticking to this.

Have to go, but here's a link to a forbidden ingredient list:

http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodi...-04105054889.fc

Welcome!

-Coulter

That list is priceless at first when you are learning everything.
Also you need to check for things you would never think of such as lipsticks and cosmetics, shampoos, things you use for your hands, face, and head that can easily get into your mouth.

This list below is a list of brands that will not hide anything. They will say wheat, rye, barley, oats right on the label so if you do not see those ingredients on following labels then they are safe. These labels are great because they save you time especially at first when you are looking at the label then looking at the list. When you learn the ropes you will know what to look for and it will be really easy.

Aunt Nelly's
Balance
Baskin Robbins
Ben & Jerry
Betty Crocker
Blue Bunny
Breyers
Campbells
Cascadian Farms
Celestial Seasonings
Country Crock
Edy's
General Mills
Good Humor
Green Giant
Haagen Daz
Hellman's
Hershey
Hormel
Hungry Jack
Jiffy
Knorr
Kozy Shack
Kraft
Libby's
Lipton
Martha White
McCormick
Nabisco
Nestle
Old El Paso
Ortega
Pillsbury
Popsicle
Post
Progresso
Russell Stover
Seneca Foods
Smucker
Stokely's
Sunny Delight
T Marzetti
Tyson
Unilever
Wishbone
Yoplait
Zatarain's

For me I just stay away from processed foods. I prefer to eat simply prepared meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, cheese and yogurt. This lifestyle seems overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it you won't think much about it.

Those first few weeks are tough. It gets so much better with time. You figure out which brands you can buy safely and you get the hang of checking labels. You do like I do and keep the dieticians for the local grocery chain on your cell phone's speed dial. After a few months of this, it becomes similar to the way you used to buy groceries...i.e. you have a list and you go through the store and pick up a brand you buy regularly.

Hang in there. It is worth the time you spend researching and reading those labels. And it definitely does get easier over time.