Cheesy Problems

Does anyone else have a problem with cheese? I mean, I love cheese! So much so, that I snack on it between meals. It's becoming a problem because my weight is increasing. The osteoarthritis in my knees is becoming an issue in that my mobility isn't as good as it could be due to stiffness and swelling; and I feel constantly weary and need to rest often. How are you lovely people coping? Are there any ex-cheese snackers out there who could give me advice, or point me in the right direction? I'm also a coeliac, which means no gluten.

Comments

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 17. Sep 2020, 08:22

    Hi @Twinkletoes25

    Oh cheese.......cheeeeeese!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Nothing like that addictive mouthful of heaven is there?

    I have solved it yes - went vegan!

    But that is a bit drastic for most people.

    Seriously though I replaced my snacks with some crackers - I needed savoury and a bit salty. You are right to worry about weight gain our knees don't like it do they 😔

  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992

    If someone says that you are eating too much cheese just stop talking to them, nobody needs that kind of negativity! 😁

  • Thank you @frogmorton, for your comments. Going vegan is a little too drastic for me and gluten free crackers aren't the nicest alternative BUT maybe an oat-filled snack might tempt me away from cheese. Janet x

  • @Mike1 - I love it! Cheese is definitely happiness you can melt and having seen your picture, I'm glad I'm long way from the fridge right now! No way am I giving it up completely, I just eat too much! 😉

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332

    Well you can only try.....are there any half-decent gluten free crisp type snacks you can try?

    For me it HAS to be savoury.

    Best of luck

  • Schar do fantastic 'Curvie' crisps (Pringles in disguise but without the gluten). The only problem is that they're very salty, so it's only a few at a time but they are very 'morish'! Janet x

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697

    It's not easy to give up / cut back on a favourite food but, when it's making life harder for you (and life can be hard enough for us without additional extras) sometimes it has to be done.

    Years ago, I decided to cut right back on chocolate biscuits. I always had one after lunch and occasionally at other times too. I simply kept them in a hard-to-open tin in the hard-to-reach bottom of a cupboard and I didn't bring one in with my lunch. I just told myself I could have one but I'd have to make the painful trip back to get it. It worked. I never have anything sweet after lunch now though I sometimes have a chocolate biscuit with my mid-afternoon cuppa.

    I more or less use that method for everything. I work on the principle that, if I don't have it in the house I can't eat it. Sometimes 'it' is crisps. Almost always blue stilton. I can only allow myself that about three times a year as I love it but find my stomach can't take much fat anyway.

    I don't know if this is true but my son tells me that many people think they're hungry when really they're thirsty. Maybe you could try brewing up when you fancy cheese and see if that does the trick / makes you forget you wanted cheese, If necessary, have a bit of fruit or raw veg. I find frozen broad beans, straight from the freezer, are really refreshing in hot weather. You could google 'foods to keep your energy levels up'. Be inventive! Good luck.

    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
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  • Well, I just got off the phone with my friend who also LOVES Cheese and has been eating too too much...going thru boxes of tissues for her nose and then her hip joint mess. So she tells me just now, she STOPPED all cheese and no nose blowing and her joints feel improved. People love cheese but it does NOT love us....and this is probably so as we age more...our bodies change.

    I buy only gluten free crackers and NO breads of any kind. None. I usually have some cream cheese in the refrig but thinking maybe I need to stop that. Good old butter is probably best...crackers and butter.

    Dairy is major allergy causing food...cheese big time.,

  • wazz42
    wazz42 Member Posts: 233

    Hi

    You do know butter is dairy? It might have to be margarine

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 17. Sep 2020, 12:38

    Small quantities of Curvie crisps then Janet?🧀will miss your cheese though. Can you have freefrom cheese spread?

    Jaminhealth I have benefitted a good bit from avoiding dairy - I have a lung condition which caused a lot of coughing - much better though not cured now 🙂 I use Naturali vegan 'butter' now it tastes almost as good wazz. Yum!

    Stickywicket I think your son is right - I have increased my fluid intake by about 30% not only do i cough less, but crave less snacks too. Except in the evening....can't solve that🤔😁

  • @stickywicket yes, I’ve heard that hunger pangs can be because of thirst. I love my cups of tea but there’s a snag! The milk is in the fridge with the cheese!! 🧀🥛🤣🤣 I’ll need to strengthen my self will!

  • @jaminhealth I'm not keen on gluten-free crackers and quite often make my own GF bread, which doesn’t contain rice flour. The only two shop bought breads I’ll eat are Schar white and M&S seeded loaf.

  • If one NEEDS a cheese fix, probably the least offensive kind is Goat Cheese or a HARD type cheese....not eating lbs....

    We have a MD on the radio here who swears by butter......I eat good quality but not loads.

    Vegan is way too drastic for me, my grandgirl became one in her college world and she's probably gained 10 lbs...she would do well to drop that extra weight, but it's her life.

  • I stopped bringing breads in my house a good 10 yrs ago, found ways to control weight and I have found some very very tasty rice crackers (gluten free), almost too tasty, have to stop at eating 2 most of the time.

  • Hello - fellow coeliac here! It’s a bit of trickery, but I limit myself to certain foods by just applying the principle thought of “I can’t eat that, it creates a problem” the same way I do with wheat. I love a glass of wine but notice that I get sinus pain if I have one too many (steady!) which I assume is some sort of autoimmune response that my busy doesn’t love it, so in my head I treat that like a ‘safer’ version of wheat and limit it. I suppose my point is that you already know how to steer away from food (and probably food you love) and have a lot of mental strength around that already...

    Also, have you tried Nairn’s GF cheese oatcakes? Lovely cheesy hit and they’re pretty healthy - I grab one of those sometimes if I’m craving cheese.

  • Hello @AgentCooper ! I knew there’d be fellow coeliacs here. I’ve tried a few Nairn GF products but not noticed the cheese oatcakes. I’ll watch out for them the next time I’m in a Free From aisle! In the meantime, I’ve made some GF flapjack - yum! 😊