Staying Gluten Free While Sticking to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Staying gluten free while sticking to your new year’s resolutions may be easier than you think. As a bonus, it may also help you keep similar health and money related resolutions well. While it is true that eating gluten free can be a significant change from a diet without restrictions, it can also offer benefits to make it all worthwhile and then some, and that is something to smile about!

How Eating Gluten-Free Can Help You Stay on Top of Your New Year’s Resolutions

When first adopting a strictly gluten-free lifestyle due to a diagnosis of gluten intolerance or celiac disease, it can be a challenge. However, if this is you, there is a silver lining in that your gluten-free goals may help give you a leg up in keeping your other new year’s resolutions.

Three of the top ways people starting the new year off with gluten-free goals may find their lifestyle aligns with other popular personal goals, including:

1. Eating healthier. Gluten has multiple names it is listed by in ingredient labels. Rather than consistently highlighting the word gluten as an ingredient, labels instead typically include the specific source of gluten such as barley, malt, wheat flour, durum, rye, semolina, spelt, and wheat. Because gluten can be listed by multiple sources, it yields the potential for confusion, which has many people choosing instead to err on the side of caution and opt for whole foods like fruits and vegetables. Doing so can be helpful in more easily identifying gluten-free foods as well as aiding a person in eating healthier and increasing their intake of critical vitamins and nutrients the body needs. For baked goods and pastries that are certified gluten free, order those items from a trusted supplier.
2. Cooking more. Eating whole foods like an apple or a bell pepper by itself can undoubtedly get boring after a while. This is why those who have perfected gluten-free meal prep understand that combining multiple whole foods, seasonings, and spices is what makes gluten-free food healthy and delicious. In addition, cooking at home gives the chef more autonomy over the preparation of food, while also allowing for creativity in the kitchen and avoiding cross contamination.
3. Saving money. Eating gluten-free notoriously gets a bad rap for being expensive. However, cooking with whole foods at home can be affordable and reasonable, allowing you to buy gluten free items to go along with the whole foods.

Common Challenges for New Year Resolutions That Being Gluten-Free Can Help With

Research shows that many Americans largely abandon their new year’s resolutions by mid-January, with that likelihood continuing to rise significantly every day after January 15^th. Several of the most likely reasons people abandon these resolutions they strived for include:

• It is too hard to create and stick to a new habit. Many experts agree that it takes at least a minimum of 21 days of continuous commitment to repeating a new action to ensure it becomes an established habit. With many Americans giving up on their resolutions after only fifteen days, they fall well short of the timeline experts recommend for adopting a new habit. People who must eat a strictly gluten-free diet due to medical reasons or diagnoses must commit to this lifestyle and do not have the choice to abandon it, or it could result in serious consequences for their health. Why is this important? Some research shows that a person who can establish and maintain a new habit is more likely to have success when trying to build new habits in the future. In other words, successfully committing to a gluten-free lifestyle could be the first step in adopting future healthy habits.
• A person is trying to make too many changes at one time. One of the fastest ways to experience new year’s resolution burnout is to take on more than one change simultaneously. It takes great intentionality and commitment to establish one new habit. When that intentionality and commitment is divided amongst attempts at multiple habits, its effectiveness can be compromised. Fortunately, a gluten-free diet can yield additional organic changes such as eating healthier and at home without any additional effort.
• It is an added expense. Resolutions like going to the gym, organizing your home, or dressing nicer can significantly impact a person’s budget. However, by eating gluten-free and purchasing simple, whole foods, it just may be a resolution that helps your budget rather than working against it.

How to Make Enjoying Gluten-Free Snacks and Staples Easier

For those who do not eat gluten, the hardest place to start can be the beginning. Fortunately, companies like Gluten Free Nation can help with some of the staples like muffins and hotdog buns that can be tricky to bake compared to their gluten-filled counterparts. We also provide popular gluten-free snacks like cookies and pound cake for those who have a sweet tooth.

There is valuable peace of mind with purchasing gluten-free goodies from a company like ours as all of our products are gluten free and can be obtained online from our website and also have product placement in some local food stores.

Let us help you make your gluten-free meals and snacks something really special!

The bottom line is that eating gluten-free may eliminate some of the typical challenges associated with new year’s resolutions while also offering additional potential health benefits. Maybe this can be an easy new year’s resolution that you beat the odds to keep!