[Run like an animal]

I just joined today and have found this site to be filled with great information. I am only one month into being gluten free and I am an avid runner. My running has improved incredibly. I knocked off 3 minutes off of a 7 mile run that I do all the time, placed in a race and my resting heart rate went from 58-60 to 48-51! I can't believe the difference and I haven't even realized my full potential. My body must have been really suffering and compensating whenever I ran since I now don't have that mental fight anymore and I feel like I have so much energy. Has anyone had a similar experience? Each day is still so exciting when I run. I'm now learning how to eat, carb load, and manage this disease. I'm 39 and I feel I have had this for at least 8 years. I know my body pretty well and once I hit 30 things were just not the same anymore.

Thanks to all for doing the research when it comes to carb loading and sports drinks/bars. Please share, I would love to hear any athletes who have had similar experiences.

-Run like an animal

[FMcGee]

I haven't had this experience, because I haven't been gluten-free as long as you have, but this makes me really happy. I hope I get this energy burst soon! I've heard this from other people, too, who aren't necessarily on this board. A couple of us here are still struggling with our energy levels, but I'm looking forward to knocking minutes off my long runs. Congratulations and enjoy!

[Run like an animal]

My recovery was pretty immediate. I started sleeping better, no more achy joints which I thought were from my running, no heavy feeling in my lower ab, I could go on but the most important result of course is the running. I was also severely anemic so I'm waiting for blood work results to see if that has improved and I have a colonoscopy next week so I'm not in the clear yet.

Well I hope you also have a similar experience with your running. When I ran I used to always feel very sluggish and I always thought it was mental or not enough sleep caused me to feel that way. Now I have to hold myself back. It's like my body is ready to perform and I have to learn how to manage this new machine. Just PR on a 10K last weekend and today I have a 5K. I'm really looking forward to see how I do.

How long are you into your recovery?

-Run like an animal

[the amazing kelly]

At the age of twelve I fell in love with running, but as a Celiac since age seven, it can be a challenge to balance the two. When I got married I was only 108 and my husband thought I was a little too skinny, I try and maintain 120, but it is a challenge on a gluten free diet. I found the thing that gave was the running. I moved to South Carolina from California and a friend, also a runner, helped me and told me the Gu is gluten free and having never used a suppliment like that beofre, it is great! I don't have to worry how much I ate and it sustains me. I have run in several races since I have been here and it is a great tool for any Celiac runner. Hope this helps!

[virginiabeach]

You don't state your age... I am 54. Two years ago, when my ex moved out, and I could finally live the level of gluten free I needed, my resting pulse was 80 to 100 (on toprol, to control rapid, irregular pulse. It's now 60 or below, the last of the toprol went in the trash a year ago.

My sport is not running -- it's martial arts. But yeah. And the carb loading and sports drinks have a place in the diet of a celiac that's not physically active -- they tend to be really portable.

Run like an animal, on May 22 2009, 09:58 PM, said:

I just joined today and have found this site to be filled with great information. I am only one month into being gluten free and I am an avid runner. My running has improved incredibly. I knocked off 3 minutes off of a 7 mile run that I do all the time, placed in a race and my resting heart rate went from 58-60 to 48-51! I can't believe the difference and I haven't even realized my full potential. My body must have been really suffering and compensating whenever I ran since I now don't have that mental fight anymore and I feel like I have so much energy. Has anyone had a similar experience? Each day is still so exciting when I run. I'm now learning how to eat, carb load, and manage this disease. I'm 39 and I feel I have had this for at least 8 years. I know my body pretty well and once I hit 30 things were just not the same anymore.

Thanks to all for doing the research when it comes to carb loading and sports drinks/bars. Please share, I would love to hear any athletes who have had similar experiences.

-Run like an animal

[one more mile]

I walk and don't do much else but notice that my hart rate went from the 90's to the 80's

[ironspider33]

I am sooooooooo experiencing the same thing.

4 weeks ago i went to the doc all bloated, and my bp was like 160/110 yet a resting heart rate int he low sixties at the doc office. I can rest and observe it at like 55pbm...

I've been gluten free for a month exaclty. even several days after starting the diet, I started , not stopping, on my runs. I've done ironman six times, but not since 2003 and since have gained an easy 40 lbs.

10 have fallen off this month. same running mileage (not where i want it to be ) but ran strong for a full 10k on friday for the first time that i can recall since 2003.

ALl i can say is, it's almost miraculous. improved mood, no more gas, no more 20 min session son the crapper (4-5 ttimes a day)...and sadly no more beer. However cider is fine:)

it's absolutely crazy the athletic improvement, the strength, and the 18 hour days i have now, whereas i used to want to sleep all day if i could. evenign naps were frequent.

i jsut hope it continues! i weigh like 225 now, down from almost 240 originally. I first thought it was jsut lactose intolerance. doc said, celiac was a mimicker...

anywho...i jhope to race another iron next year, all slim perhaps for the first time!

Cheers
Blair

[minniejack]

ironspider33, on Sep 28 2009, 06:45 AM, said:

I am sooooooooo experiencing the same thing.

4 weeks ago i went to the doc all bloated, and my bp was like 160/110 yet a resting heart rate int he low sixties at the doc office. I can rest and observe it at like 55pbm...

I've been gluten free for a month exaclty. even several days after starting the diet, I started , not stopping, on my runs. I've done ironman six times, but not since 2003 and since have gained an easy 40 lbs.

10 have fallen off this month. same running mileage (not where i want it to be ) but ran strong for a full 10k on friday for the first time that i can recall since 2003.

ALl i can say is, it's almost miraculous. improved mood, no more gas, no more 20 min session son the crapper (4-5 ttimes a day)...and sadly no more beer. However cider is fine:)

it's absolutely crazy the athletic improvement, the strength, and the 18 hour days i have now, whereas i used to want to sleep all day if i could. evenign naps were frequent.

i jsut hope it continues! i weigh like 225 now, down from almost 240 originally. I first thought it was jsut lactose intolerance. doc said, celiac was a mimicker...

anywho...i jhope to race another iron next year, all slim perhaps for the first time!

Cheers
Blair

Redbridge, and greens are good gluten-free beers. If you add a little water to the Redbridge, it tastes like Bud Light.

[A-Swiss]

Aside from the much needed energy boost after I was diagnosed (I was falling asleep at work at 2 pm - after 3 Red Bulls), I also found that I had a much more positive attitude to working out. I have always been an athlete, but my moods went from negative/shakey/lathargic to actually feeling the need to get in shape. I still have days where I could take a pass on hitting the gym, but it's been over a year and I almost feel bad if I don't go.

[chasbari]

Well, I don't run...but I could if I had to now. 9 months ago I could barely get out of a chair because my RA was so severe. Once properly DX'ed for celiac and on the gluten-free regimen my RA rapidly began to disappear. As a result I am able to workout like I was never able to even when younger. I have to feed the workout similar to you having to carb load for a run if I am to expect good results and I find that adequate protein intake is essential to keep the gut healing while doing hard physical work. I concentrate on whole foods and it is no secret that I pretty much stick to a paleo diet. I have become much more lean and yet stronger at the same time as never before. I eat lots of fruit before during and after workouts as well as plenty of meat, fish and eggs. My cholesterol is lower than ever, my BP dropped into the 80/50 range and my resting HR dropped from 76 BPM to the low 60's edging into the 50's in a very short amount of time. Energy levels are so much different now and my blood sugar just seems to regulate so much better. The one supplement I take because of bone density issues (osteopenia) is a D, Calcium and Magnesium supplement. I recently discovered that if I take the recommended dosage it seems to super charge my appetite and I cannot get enough food to eat. I now take one third the dose daily and I seem to regulate better in the appetite department. I certainly don't feel anywhere close to my chronological age of 49 anymore..I feel much younger.. and better than I have ever felt before. It's all bonus at this point.

[coltsfan18]

I just finished my second marathon (my first "gluten-free"). It was night and day training and running without gluten. My first time around, I had a ton of knee pain and had a lack of energy while training. Training gluten free I had NO pain and a ton of energy. I really enjoyed my long runs. It made all the difference in the world!! It is amazing how much eating gluten really slowed me down.