[lauderdalehawk44]

Hi I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease i never really lost large amounts of weight but I would eat and eat and just wouldnt gain any weight just kind of loose a few pounds. I have been on the gluten-free diet for about two weeks and I want to know if their is any way I can gain weight on this diet?

[micky]

Hi there, I noticed no one answered your question yet, for some reason this doesn't seem to be as much as a problem for people than wanting to lose weight.

I am in the same boat as you and struggling desperately to gain weight. I myself weigh 78 pounds now and losing almost 1 pound a day I can't do anything for lack of energy and being light headed.

People have suggested to me to eat spoonfulls of peanut butter a day, so far it hasn't worked. I can't gain weight no matter what I eat it seems.

I will be calling my doctor on monday to let him now that I am still losing, I'll post what he suggests, though I'm considering going to another doctor after reading the information on these boards.

In the meantime hang in there, you aren't alone in your troubles.

--micky--

[aldociao]

Micky and Laudedale,
Have you tried digestive enzymes and eating smaller and more frequent meals? Both have helped me. I have added 2 lbs in each of the last two weeks, after not being able to put on weight and losing weight for so long I can't remember when I wasn't losing lbs. I now do five meals a day and find, surprisingly, that I have more appetite than before with just the three meals. The timing is, roughly, 6-9-1-4-7, saving the most concentrated protein meal for the 1 o'clock hour, that is, the egg, cheese, tofu, sardines or canned red salmon. (Of course, the healing of the intestines probably has helped with the weight gain, but even so, my body is telling me that it prefers the 5 meal plan over the 3.)

I also do, roughly again, a four day rotation with the foods. I think this is especially important when doing a 5, or as some do, a 4 or 6 meal plan. You don't want to create intolerances to any food that you are having too many times during the week. This is, I believe, a tendency we may have that others may not have to be concerned about so much. --Aldo

[aldociao]

Just a brief postscript to the above.

Whatever is your preferred protein of the day, I think it's important to have it around noon time and not at night, when digestive power is weaker. Protein metabolism being, we are told, the most problematic for most of us, possibly setting up a condition where undigested protein gets into our blood and creating allergic reactions, it does make sense that we eat concentrated protein when our digestion is best. The 4 o'clock meal is my shutoff time for protein, but most often I do it at the noon meal. Even those who have less difficulty with digesting protein must deal with its waste by-products. We are told it does not "burn clean," as carbs and fats do. If there is merit to this thinking, and I have seen nothing to contradict it, then we need to help the body deal with it, with smaller portions and at the right times. Or so it seems to me. --Aldo

[lauderdalehawk44]

aldociao, on Feb 22 2004, 07:00 AM, said:

Micky and Laudedale,
Have you tried digestive enzymes and eating smaller and more frequent meals? Both have helped me. I have added 2 lbs in each of the last two weeks, after not being able to put on weight and losing weight for so long I can't remember when I wasn't losing lbs. I now do five meals a day and find, surprisingly, that I have more appetite than before with just the three meals. The timing is, roughly, 6-9-1-4-7, saving the most concentrated protein meal for the 1 o'clock hour, that is, the egg, cheese, tofu, sardines or canned red salmon. (Of course, the healing of the intestines probably has helped with the weight gain, but even so, my body is telling me that it prefers the 5 meal plan over the 3.)

I also do, roughly again, a four day rotation with the foods. I think this is especially important when doing a 5, or as some do, a 4 or 6 meal plan. You don't want to create intolerances to any food that you are having too many times during the week. This is, I believe, a tendency we may have that others may not have to be concerned about so much. --Aldo

Hey thanks for the response , yeah I thought I was the only one that was having a problem gaining weight all I have seen so far is things about loosing it. I have a question what are digestive enzyme foods ? As far as eatting more meals I bascily do that already I eat and snack non stop all the time lol it just doesnt seam to be going anyplace I have only been on the gluten-free for about 3 weeks but I thought I would have put on more weight than I already have. Do you know of any performance weight gainers that are gluten-free ( like what athletes and bodybuilders use) Thanks again for the response good luck to all!!!

[r3tr0x]

I am also having problems gaining weight. I am currently 22 and have been diagnosed with celiac disease since I was a few months old. I have always been thin/lean as I spent most of my school days playing sport. However as I have got older I hevent gained much weight at all depite the fact that I eat like a horse. About 3 years ago I was also diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which was a bit of a shock - I was extremely ill for over a year and am currently taking asacol tablets to keep the condition under control. I was also on steroids for a while to counter-act the negative effects of the laxatives etc I had to take (I have had 3 colonoscopies since I was diagnosed). As bizarre as it may seem however, I still didnt gain any significant weight when taking steroids, I just found I was eating more often.
I wouldn't say I was severely under weight, Im just a little puzzled at how I can eat so much and yet my weight doesn't seem to change. Sometimes the effects are noticable (looking in the mirror etc), other times its simple things like my watch almost falling off my wrist as the amount of flesh on the bone has decreased.
I'd like to do something to gain weight, even if only a few pounds.
I have read the replies above and may try some of the food changes proposed, any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Would someone such as my GP be able to offer any advice?

[LisaP]

I am newly diagnosed myself and have enjoyed the fact that if I eat gluten-free, I can eat just about anything else. That amazes me. So, I have let my sweet tooth have a ball as well as my love of carbohydrates and I buy the whole milk, real cream, etc. I am sure it is not the best solution, but it is slowly starting to work after about 2 months. I am with you that the intestine has to heal before, you can start to gain.

My doctor suggested I try BOOST nutrition drinks. I did see them on one of the gluten-free lists as long as it did not have malt in it, I believe. As usual, double check the label. My doctor said that in addition to calories, I would also be getting added nutrition. I have not gone to the store to get them yet, but maybe this could help you too.

[debmidge]

My husband is the celiac, I am the caretaker. He started Boost this week but can't digest a whole can so only drinks half a can a day. He's 130 lbs. at 5"10" - when he was healthy when I met him he was about 180 lbs. and muscular. I am overweight and I'd love to give him my excess! I told him to add gluten-free ice cream to the Boost in the Blender.

[jen-schall]

I have finally been able to start gaining a tiny bit by doing the following things:

-eating small amounts frequently. sometimes I feel like I'm eating all the time. this also prevents me from feeling sick/nauseous, too, which happens usually 2-3 hours after I eat... it's as if I've completely emptied by that point!

-having good snack foods on hand all the time. things I like! like gluten-free cookies (glutano makes some REALLY good ones) and crackers and chips and things like that. my primary health concern is gluten/dairy, so I don't worry about fat/calories, and doctors have all supported/suggested this.

-do as little physical exercise as possible. it might sound odd or lazy but my doctors told me this. while you don't absorb nutrients because of gluten, you don't get any energy... and even after you're gluten-free, you still need extra energy for tissue growth and recovery! so get more rest than the robustly healthy!

-eggs, if you eat them. studies show you can eat 1-2 a day and have only good results (as far as cholesterol goes.) look it up online for confirmation if you'd like. I started eating a hard-boiled egg every day and every week I've done that, I've gained.

it's really hard, and can be frustrating. I get people telling me, you look anorexic! and I get people telling me, you look GREAT! the funky culture in this country doesn't help, see? so do what is healthy and good for yourself. take good care!

[Coulter]

Quote

-do as little physical exercise as possible. it might sound odd or lazy but my doctors told me this. while you don't absorb nutrients because of gluten, you don't get any energy... and even after you're gluten-free, you still need extra energy for tissue growth and recovery! so get more rest than the robustly healthy!

I, too, am trying to put on a few pounds. I'm not severely underweight, and I have actually been quite successful since starting...I used to be straddling the 70 pound mark, dropping to 68 if I'd get sick, and now I'm nearly 80...much better, although it couldn't hurt to add another ten pounds. When I started, my mother went to a nutritionist while I was in school. I had had the same idea about exercise that you mentioned: I like to run, but I stayed off the track team, didn't join the soccer team, and only played hockey. However, the nutritionist said that I shouldn't try to change my physical activities, but rather, just gain weight from the diet change. That kinda conflicts with what Jen-schall said above...maybe the nutritionist was just trying to make the transition a diet change, rather than a life change...I don't know.

[Coulter]

And I thought I was doing soooo well.........nope. I've gained....about 8-9 pounds, which is good......but:

However, I'm 13, so this is around the age when boys are having big growth spurts -- my weight gain puts me at the same percentile in the growth curve--sure, I've gained, but I've gained enough to keep me gaining at the same sort of rate I was before......an interesting and true tidbit I got from the new doc.

He said I should try to eat more--and I did--I never had a huge appetite--both the doc. and I think that it's an aversion I've developed to food since it made me sick. I am by no means anorexic or anything; just not really hungry. Anyway, the last two days I went on a rampage--I probably tripled what I used to eat--and then I got sick (no vomiting, but abdominal pains all night).

Well, maybe I increased my appetite by too much, but now I'm scared to eat more than I had--I'll continue to eat a little more, but my digestive system just can't take all that food. Therefore, my doc. wants me to keep a journal of what I eat; he'll look it over with the nutritionist I went to and they'll probably give me some gluten-free supplement that's easy to digest so that I can gain weight....that's really nice of him--at this point, I'd love to gain 12 pounds (I'm 78 pounds and about 5'1"; I'd be happy with a solid 85, but 90 would be terrific ).

I'll let you know if I take a supplement--if so, what kind--and if I gain weight with it and don't get symptoms while using it. Maybe I'll try that egg thing--I eat eggs maybe once a week, anyway...maybe once every week and a half......but I like them--I'd eat them twice a week and they don't give me problems.

-Coulter

[randbrod14]

I find that I have lost weight and muscle mass sine starting a gluten free diet. I agree with eating less more frequently. It seems like I have a problem with not only the types of foods, but also eating too much at one time.

I might also suggest vitamin supplements. I use GNC since the vitamins I take are gluten free. I also plan on using protein supplements to help with the muscle mass.

[catfish]

I have also been losing weight rapidly since starting the gluten-free diet, and I didn't have a lot of weight to spare starting out. I don't know how well it's working yet but I've been going on a "anti-Atkins" diet. I snack on carbs all day long. I make gluten-free snickerdoodles, rice pudding, eat Pamela's chocolate chunk cookies and spend hours each week making fresh gluten-free pasta to keep my body fueled. Most of my waking day is spent trying to get more calories into my body, and at night I dream about cooking and eating. Food has become my entire life- I'm always in the kitchen these days! On the plus side, I am getting more familiar with the gluten-free ingredients and I can cook quite a few decent gluten-free meals for my trouble. The truly difficult part is getting it into my wife's head that snacking on carbs all day is NOT a bad thing for me; just because she's trying to avoid them doesn't mean that I should.