Obesity

[Guest LisaB]

Royann,

First thing to say is that when you have high cholesterol, your body is producing something like 80%+ of that itself for some reason...probably some missing nutrient. I got that info from my brother who took a course where that was discussed. So of course what you eat could add insult to injury, but it isn't really that much of the overall problem. Also, fat obviously isn't being absorbed or broken down properly, which is primarily your liver's job and of course that of enzymes that do that work. So, you may want to look into herbs that help the liver like milkthistle and others and get yourself on digestive enzymes, I use NOW Plant Enzymes and the are gluten-free and work great. They helped me even before I knew I had Celiac and keep me going when nothing else worked. Also, I still don't know how it works or why for some people and not others, but whatever enzymes your lacking (for carbs, for fats, for protein, for everything!...) will determine how you gain weight I guess. For instance, it is said that carbs cause you to gain weight in the midsection of the body, but from what I understand, it is not having enough Amylase for digestion of carbs that would cause the weight gain. There are surely other factors to that, your blood sugar levels and insulin levels, etc. but that is part of the picture. If you do digest carbs properly, you would just be getting the energy boost, which we all know we don't get, right!

Also, about everytime I post on these boards I mention magnesium, it is really important and responsible for a lot in the body and something that is needed for Celiac patients, for instance here is a portion of some info I found:

Magnesium and Blood Pressure

Magnesium has an important role in reducing blood pressure.4 Magnesium deficiency has been found to allow for increased intracellular concentrations of sodium and potassium, which results in increased peripheral resistance and vasospasm.5 Additionally, some research points out that hypertensive patients with hypomagnesemia usually require more antihypertensive medications than hypertensive patients with normal magnesium levels.6 Diets that contain plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are good sources of potassium and magnesium, are consistently associated with lower blood pressure.7 The effect of various nutritional factors on incidence of high blood pressure was examined in over 30,000 U.S. male health professionals. After four years of follow-up, it was found that a greater magnesium intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of hypertension.8 The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure recommends maintaining an adequate magnesium intake as a positive lifestyle modification for preventing and managing high blood pressure.9

Magnesium and Heart disease

Magnesium may play a role in reducing coronary vascular resistance, increasing coronary artery blood flow parameters, and prevention of arrhythmias. Further, inadequate intake and absorption of magnesium are associated with the development of disease processes such as hypertension, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, and stroke.10 Evidence exists that indicates low body stores of magnesium actually increase the risk of a person having arrhythmias, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular complications.11 Surveys of the population in general have associated higher blood levels of magnesium with lower risk of coronary heart disease.12 Additionally, dietary surveys have suggested that a higher magnesium intake is associated with a lower risk of stroke.13

Magnesium and Osteoporosis

Magnesium deficiency may be a risk factor for postmenopausal osteoporosis. This may be related to the fact that magnesium deficiency negatively alters calcium metabolism and the hormone that regulates bone-calcium stores.14 Several studies have suggested that magnesium supplementation may improve bone mineral density and low intake and impaired absorption of magnesium have also been associated with the development of osteoporosis.

Magnesium and Diabetes

Magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism, influencing the release and activity of insulin, the main hormone that exerts control of blood glucose levels. Elevated blood glucose levels can increase the loss of magnesium in the urine, leading to increased magnesium loss from the body. Commonly, low serum levels of magnesium are often seen in poorly controlled diabetics.

The link to the full article is Open Original Shared Link

I love their Electolyte Stamina formula and I used to use Natural Calm magnesium, which was good, but did give me the runs so when I read more on this site I tried there magnesium + trace minerals and potassium and it works far better...infact you have to be careful, it is strong stuff and I had read on the Natural Calm site that you can go into a healing crisis when magnesium is introduced because there are some 300 actions in your system that may not have been happening because they are mag dependant and will now start doing their thing. Well, I didn't have that happen with Natural Calm (it did help my nerves and constipation and sleep greatly) but I sure as heck did with the Trace Minerals Magnesium, but even though I took too much and it was very intense, I could feel it doing good work in there! I contacted the company to verify they are gluten-free and a Dr. Starkey has contacted me and said that he is almost 100% sure they are but is double checking all the details for me and will be getting back to me shortly. I have not had any reactions myself, so I continued taking them and am feeling better but I will post his reply here when I get it.

Hope this helps,

Lisa B.

[Guest shar4]

Wow, Lisa, that's a lot of info, but I'm going to try it. My own theory is that my poor system is so out of whack, that it really doesn't know what it's doing right now. Honestly, I feel much better than I did a year ago, or even six months ago, but, as I said before, the weight gain is getting on my last nerve.

I love coming to this site for all the information. It speed the learning for all of us.

Thanks and blessings to all.

Sharon

[s-berry]

I have gained abouut 15 pounds since being diagnosed with celiac disease in May. My older brother was diagnosed about 5 years ago and I can remember him gaining about 30 in the first few months so it seems to be a pretty normal course of action.

I think when you're in active Celiac mode it's like a starvation diet. While you're eating normal or even excessive amounts of food, your body can't process or absorb much so it thinks its being starved. Once you go gluten-free and your body begins to heal itself you pack on all the weight you lost plus some because your body is protecting itself from starvation mode.

The unfortunate thing is by the time your body has healed itself so it can absorb nutrients, your metabolism is so screwed up that you can't drop what you've put on.

I don't know what the ultimate answer is but I think it probably is a combination of several things including exercise and eating gluten free. You might also want to try to eat in a way that will help you to restart your metabolism. I think they say that eating small protien rich mini meals several times a day can do this as well as weight and resistance training.

I am just beginning to take my celiac disease seriously. At first I liked the fact that I went from a size 12 to a 6 and wanted to stay that way. Now I'm back to a 10 and I'm trying to lose the right way because while being a size six might be appealing, I can't fit into my "skinny" clothes when I'm bloated anyway so it's pointless and too painful to continue.

Good luck to everyone, I hope you are all successful and remember that if you're healthy it will show in more ways than one and you will be beautiful regardless of how much you weigh

[Guest LisaB]

I think another factor in the weight gain is that you lose muscle as your illness goes undetected for 10, 20, 30+ years. If muscle is a large part of your metabolism and you haven't had proper nutrition, well we can all do the math on that one. I hear so many people say that they were very thin earlier in life, and that is the case with both my Mother and myself and then all of a sudden things changed and the weight piled on. With both of us, we have lost inches and some weight now that we are gluten-free, swelling seems to be going down all over our bodies slowly.

We had gone dairy free before going gluten free and both lost weight once the dairy was removed. SO from what I see, it must be partially food/fats the body can't do anything with (as in not having the enzyme potential to digest it, enzymes are created in limited amounts in the system and if too many are used for any one function they run out), partially lack of muscle to burn calories and partially that certain nutients effect the ability of the glands to regulate weight, insulin and hormone levels which both effect weight...many of the complaints that I read here and have gone through myself are hormone malfunctions (sleep problems, depression, SAD, anxiety disorders, osteoporosis and more). I am sure there are other factors as well.

[Guest Tish]

I enjoyed all your memos.. I had been diagnosed in May and have gained about 10 pounds and it is icky fat prior to that I had lost 47 pounds excersing and eating what I want but watching what I eat. Now that my favorites are out of the picture I cannot believe I have gained.. I had the doctor run a thyroid test but it was negative. I have always exercised at least 5 days to 7 days a week so this is very dis-heartening... I don't want to gain anymore and I need to loose now about 40 lbs. I simply do not understand it when I am not having cheese burgers, bear claws, pizza and pasta... Life just doesn't seem fair.

[Guest LisaB]

Tish,

I know honey, life doesn't seem fair at all! Are you sure that your gain isn't muscle? If you work out regularly and are now absorbing food better, you may be building muscle that you were not before. I think measuring yourself all over is a better gauge of your progress or lack of it in that direction.

[gf4life]

I just wanted to tell all of you that I am finally losing weight. For the first few months it was just the initial 5 lb loss that I always get when I start the gluten-free diet. After theat nothing for months. My scale broke and I didn't replace it right away. I got a new one last week and I was so happy to see that I had dropped another 5 lbs and everyday I am loosing a little bit more. In six months I have gone from 185 lbs. down to 171 lbs.! I am so excited. This hasn't happened in over 9 years. I just have not been able to lose weight without severely dieting. I'm only eating gluten-free/cf and limiting soy. I am still eating the occasional gluten-free donut, cake and cookies, and not conciously cutting calories or carbs either. Just wanted to share the good news.

Anyone else out there losing (unwanted) weight just by following the gluten-free diet?

God bless,

Mariann

[oreyes]

Congratulations Mariann,

I wish you continued success. I've gained about 10 pounds since being diagnosed three years ago. Actually, I'm at the weight I was before I really started having problems, which is too much. I was down to 131 and I'm now at 140 and my clothing is starting to get snug. I've been off work for seven weeks because I had surgery and will return Tuesday so maybe being on my feet, moving a lot more (I'm an operating room nurse) I'll be able to loose a little bit. I've been exercising at home but I may try a gym since there would be more equipment available. I'm trying, like you, not to eat the cookies, cakes, etc. because I'm getting married next month and I'd really like to shed a few of these pounds. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Best of luck with continued weight loss. I know it's not easy..............Judy

[gf4life]

I am now down to 160! I have been here for a few months, but as long as I can maintain it, then I'm fine with that. I still would like to lose another 25 -30 lbs. I know I can do it. The weight comes off easier in the summer, so I figure if I can maintain throughout the winter and lose every summer, then within two years I will be down to my ideal weight! I certainly feel good being less heavy and I look much thinner. My drivers license is up for renewal and although I could renew online, I am going to go in to get a new picture taken and have my lowered weight put on my card!! It is worth havint to deal with the hassle of the DMV!

God bless,

Mariann

[pixiegirl]

I'd like to say that there is some great advice here, I'm fairly new to being gluten-free, I started going gluten-free in...ohhh early October I think, for me I've lost weight, just a few pounds but I was normal/lean to start with.

I'd just like to make a couple of comments.. my mom has gluten problems too and she has gained weight since being gluten-free and of course there is a difference in our ages but my mom is far more active then I am, my job has me sitting in front of a computer all day, I start now at 6 am and walk away from it at about 5 pm, so its a long day of very little activity, whereas my mom is often busy and on the go all day long. The only real difference I can see (other then our age) is that she has tried to "replace" the bread/grain products that she can't have with gluten-free ones. I have not. And if you start reading the calorie content of some of the gluten-free baked goods, bread, cookies, pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, you will find its far higher in calories then its gluten filled counter part.

Instead I have tried to simplify my diet and try cooking in new ways with new flavors (like swordfish with homemade mango salsa last night, yum). Yes once in a while I will make a gluten free pizza but to me they are so not as good as gluten pizza that I don't bother with it very often. So I think that makes a huge difference.

My last comment is about this idea of your intestional track being so damaged and its difficult to get the proper nutrients that when you get healthy on a gluten-free diet your body enters starvation mode and trys to sock pile on nutrients and of course calories. Now I know this happens when you take too few calories out of your diet, but I'm wondering if this actually happens with celiac's. I looked around for some actually scientific literature documenting this and couldn't really find any. I'm not saying its not true, I'm just wondering... could it maybe be this.... that with such a damaged intestine you had to eat more calories to maintain your weight and health and consequently you eat larger portions or eat more often and have trained your brain to see a portion size of chicken to be... oh say the size of .... say 4 pieces of bread stacked up (couldn't come up with anything else that size) when actually a portion of chicken or fish is the size of a deck of cards? (to keep my eye on the prize I keep a deck of playing cards right on my kitchen counter).

I go out often with friends and the amount of food they eat at dinner (and the amount that is served in restaurants) is unreal. And while we eat we often spend the entire meal talking about losing or maintaining weight! Even when I have friends over and we have tea and I serve some cookies... I eat 2 of them, they eat 8. And they always comment on how little I eat... but then say, but how can you eat dessert? I eat anything i want to occasionally and its always in small portions.

I have recently read statistics that more then ever before American's are dieting.... buying diet books, food, joining gyms, diet centers, etc and unfortunatly we are fatter then ever. With that information one can conclude that dieting makes you gain weight, especially when you add to that statistic that most people who diet, regain what they lost and add on more. I couldn't agree more, dieting is bad for your health. What we need to do is make lifestyle changes, exercise more, eat less, eat better, care about what it is that we put into our systems. Not for a week or a month to lose weight, but lifelong ones to be healthy.

Just my ideas, such as they are.

Susan

[gf4life]

My last comment is about this idea of your intestional track being so damaged and its difficult to get the proper nutrients that when you get healthy on a gluten-free diet your body enters starvation mode and trys to sock pile on nutrients and of course calories. Now I know this happens when you take too few calories out of your diet, but I'm wondering if this actually happens with celiac's. I looked around for some actually scientific literature documenting this and couldn't really find any.

Pixiegirl, Actually, I think what was said is that while your intestine is damaged, your body is malnourished and that is when it enters starvation mode and stockpiles all the fat. Once the diet is started and you start to heal, some are finally able to loose weight. Others gain more, since they don't compensate for the higher calorie count of gluten-free products, and continue eating the larger portion sizes they were used to before.

Now for me, going on the gluten-free/cf diet was enough to start the weight loss. Other than swimming more in the summer, I have not altered my exercise at all. I have also not changed my portion sizes either, since I never overate to begin with. I do use the gluten-free pasta, breads and have occasional gluten-free cookies, candy, brownies, donuts and cupcakes. But since they are so expensive to make/buy, they are an occasional treat, rather than a common occurance in our household. The main thing I have done is just go on the diet, and thank God, the weight is coming off! I do notice that I snack less, mostly because gluten-free snacks are hard to come by. I also end up passing up a lot of foods when we are out, since most are not gluten-free, and the ones that are I am worried about cross contamination...So that might also be making a difference.

I think that the main reason for not finding any research about it is because until recently no one realised that obesity and celiac can be linked. Most doctors still believe this to be true. They think that you can only be celiac if you are rail thin and so sick that you have to be hospitalised. Now, of course we all know that this isn't true. That there are varying degrees of celiacs and some are thin, some are normal, and some are overweight. Until someone decides that they need to research specifically obesity in undiagnosed Celiacs, then you will never find much info on it. Only what those of us who have experienced it can say. I for one was told by one of my former GI specialists that I "couldn't possibly have Celiac Sprue, since I was overweight". I don't think so!

I am glad that you are doing well on the diet. If your mom continues to gain unneeded weight, you might have to share your deck of cards trick with her!

God bless,

Mariann

[pixiegirl]

Oh I'm sorry I misunderstood your statement about the intestine thing... My mom is stubborn and she eats bread (now gluten-free bread) at every meal. She says she "can't" give it up. She certainly isn't obese but if she continues like this she might be. I should have mentioned she is a dynamo... she's 79 and never stops... she runs her own house, works (!), sees friends, travels, lunches, and volunteers, and runs the 2 acre grounds of her home (which include tons of flower gardens and a half acre veggie garden, and you won't find any weeds in her beds).

I inherited one of my two celiac genes from her, I hope I also got her health and activity gene too! She's a tough customer at times but a wonderful person! I often take the attitude that I guess at her age, if she wants gluten-free bread she can have it.

If I came off as.... well... as something... (can't find the right word)... its just that I'm burnt out on diets... every single one of my friends is on a diet of some sort, most of them constantly (most of them don't need to be), and I'm sick of the dieting "lifestyle" I have a friend who has been Atkins for 2 years now... I'd like to add that when she started the diet she was 5'6" and 120 and today after 2 years of Atkins, no carbs hardly every, well she is the exact same size! But I can recite everything Atkins even though I've never been on it because its all she talks about. Another friend is South Beach.. for about 5 months now... she keeps telling me how much she loves it (ok thats fine) but if shes lost any weight in 5 months I can't see it! Again, she talks South Beach constantly. My boyfriend, sigh... he did South Beach, then Sugar Busters, and now the cabbage diet!! OH yes I forgot the grapefruit one. Now he could stand to lose about 10 pounds, but after all these diets... he's gained about 5 pounds!!

I keep telling them all that its not about never eating a carb again or having cabbage soup 2 meals a day... its about healthy eating, good food, new tastes, enjoying your meal time, a variety of foods, smaller portions and moving a bit more. Well, they all poo-poo me. So I'm just diet burnt out, thats all.

I've never had any problem losing a few pounds when I gain it, I just cut out some of the snacks I have and do smaller portions and in a week I'm back to where I want to be.

Best! Susan

[motherload]

I'm intuned with your issues. I'm 64 yrs. old, was diagnosed with celiac disease 4 yrs. ago, (now with coronary disease have 11 coronary stents), contend with hypothyroidism and have gained 75 lbs. since eating gluten free. My self esteem has bottomed out, resist social & family events, sleep much to avoid reality of being fat, don't look forward to like as the new "me". NEED HELP DESPERATELY!!!

[gfpaperdoll]

Motherload, Maybe you could read the Paleo Diet Book, & go back to eating whole foods with no rice or corn & no replacement grain goodies. - no potaotes, no beans, no corn syrup, no diet sodas (geez those sodas alone will kill a person), heck no sodas at all, drink water...