[LuvMoosic4life]

I always hear that the typical celiac will gain wieght when going gluten free.

I havent been diagnosed with celiacs and havent even see a doctor yet, but I found the reason I've been feeling like crap and getting sick all the time is gluten. I tried elimination diets on my own and I found that going gluten free makes me feel amazing. IF I go back to eating gluten I dont neccesarrily gain wieght, ( I hate wieghing myself and just go by how I feel) but I feel like I am retaining water. The feeling I get after adding something like bread or cereal in my diet for a couple days is pretty much the same feeling I have before my menstrual cycle....tired, fatigued,muscle fatigue, headace, bloating, gas and even sinus problems. It has always been harder for me than an average person to keep my wieght down my whole life, I am not fat by any means, but I exercise and eat very healthy.... but when I went gluten free, I found I had more energy and the feeling of water retention was gone and my clothes fit me so much better.....is this something typical of gluten intolerance or even celiacs?

I also noticed that when I was gluten free my pre-menstrual syptoms were half as bad, I tried eating regular pasta one day during the time of my pms symptons just to see what would happen, I ended up spending 12 hours in bed, I felt so sick!!!

[shayesmom]

MSAU22, on Apr 13 2008, 07:35 PM, said:

I always hear that the typical celiac will gain wieght when going gluten free.

I havent been diagnosed with celiacs and havent even see a doctor yet, but I found the reason I've been feeling like crap and getting sick all the time is gluten. I tried elimination diets on my own and I found that going gluten free makes me feel amazing. IF I go back to eating gluten I dont neccesarrily gain wieght, ( I hate wieghing myself and just go by how I feel) but I feel like I am retaining water. The feeling I get after adding something like bread or cereal in my diet for a couple days is pretty much the same feeling I have before my menstrual cycle....tired, fatigued,muscle fatigue, headace, bloating, gas and even sinus problems. It has always been harder for me than an average person to keep my wieght down my whole life, I am not fat by any means, but I exercise and eat very healthy.... but when I went gluten free, I found I had more energy and the feeling of water retention was gone and my clothes fit me so much better.....is this something typical of gluten intolerance or even celiacs?

I also noticed that when I was gluten free my pre-menstrual syptoms were half as bad, I tried eating regular pasta one day during the time of my pms symptons just to see what would happen, I ended up spending 12 hours in bed, I felt so sick!!!

I never pursued formal testing for celiac, but I can tell you that once I went gluten-free, the difference was astonishing. Not only did I lose weight (which I needed to), but a ton of other symptoms that I had thought were "normal" also disappeared. I also found that avoiding dairy, soy and eggs helped a lot as well. I've stuck to the diet for 3 years now with no regrets. I occasionally will mess up with dairy or soy...but gluten I won't budge on due to the horrible fatigue, mood swings and bloat that I experience with even trace amounts.

And yes...the energy level is incredible. I feel great all day and get 3x as much accomplished as I did before. And yet when I go to bed at night, I fall asleep within minutes of lying down. And that's a strange thing for me as I've been an insomniac for decades. Having to go on this diet was probably the best thing that ever happened to me from a health perspective. I am just thankful that I went on it when I did and that I stuck with it until it became a permanent habit.

I hope things continue to go well for you too! Connecting the dots between diet and health is a very enlightening process.

[lizard00]

People usually gain weight for one of two reasons going gluten-free:

They were not absorbing nutrients, so once they begin to heal and absorb, they begin to gain weight. Which for most of these people, that's a good thing.
OR
They over-indulge in the gluten-free substitutes. Cookies are cookies; gluten free or not. Many of the gluten-free breads have more calories, but not all.

I personally lost weight going gluten-free. Because I ate better; more whole foods and WAAAY less processed. I didn't eat much to begin with, but pretty much all of what I did had to go. To be clear, I didn't cut carbs intentionally, I eat rice, quinoa, beans, etc. But the choices that I make are much healthier.

[camoflauge]

I have been battling the weight gain from eating gluten products. I'm not sure when the intolerance kicked in, but when I was pregnant with my first son I used it as an excuse to eat anything and everything I wanted. Plus, I've hated exercise since I was young, so except for a little walking here and there, I never did anything physical.

Fastforward through some medical problems that just about killed me and here I am.

I'm not sure exactly when I noticed I was intolerant to gluten-I think it was when I did a modified "Atkins" type diet-which is basically no grain. i lost 20-30 #'s doing that. in reality, it probably wasn't just the diet-it was avoiding wheat/gluten. When I am gluten-free I feel awesome, on top of the world, i can exercise daily and have energy to get it all done. On the flip side, when I've accidentally eating gluten I feel like crap-i have no energy, i'm starving-my stomach actually gurgles and sends a signal to my brain to eat whatever it wants, i get sinus junk, I also get more "depressed" feeling, i feel totally naseous, extreme fatigue, stomach cramping like it's that time of the month, i gain a few #'s from the time it starts digesting until it gets passed, then the big D hits and later that day I start feeling human again.

For me avoiding gluten is key to losing weight. I guess it just causes me to eat foods I don't need. On days I have avoided gluten it takes a LOT less to fill me up. On the days i've been glutened, I can't find enough to eat and actually end up "sick" from all the junk I've eaten.

I don't have an official diagnosis and probably won't get one because I don't need a dr. to tell me to avoid gluten. I feel bad enough that I don't even want any accidental gluten to ruin my good days. A few months ago I thought I could just cheat and live with the pain, but the more gluten-free i've become, the "worse" i feel when i do cheat or get accidentals-so I've made the decision of no more cheating, and to be mindful of the products I am eating.

It certainly is not easy avoiding wheat/gluten based products but it can be done. I've definately learned a TON on this website and it is where I come to looking for any hints, tips, tricks, product reviews, etc.

Heather