Carbohydrates

[blissfully-unaware]

Hi

I've recently been diagnosed with celiac disease.

I'm quite underweight (always have been) and my doctor expects me to put on certain amount of weight within the next 3 months. He said I need to increase my intake of carbs - basically get 50% of my calories from carbs. But I've been reading some of the other threads on this forum where protein is recommended to increase weight. What's the best way? I'm a vegetarian and have a healthy diet (maybe too healthy)!!

Thanks!

[Katie B]

I've been seeing a dietician for the same thing and you can get calories from protein, fat and/or carbohydrates so I'm not sure why he would want to focus on the carbs unless you're really deficient in them and need a lot for energy. Carbs are difficult for some people to digest since they have a more complex molecular structure than protein or fat - this might leave some undigested food in your intestines for bacteria to feed on which in turn causes bloating, gas, etc.

This might not be the case for you though so it's worth experimenting. I'm eating small frequent meals (5 a day) and have to calculate everything out in a spreadsheet to see exactly how many calories I'm getting - there are online calculators which will tell you how many calories you'd need to gain x amount of weight per week. It's been a helpful log to see if I'm reacting to anything so even though it's a pain it's worth it. If you're going to eat more carbs I'd stick to easier to digest ones like white rice. If you can tolerate quinoa then that's super nutritious, however, I'm not sure if it's hard to digest.

To add calories from fat you could try adding more healthy oils to your cooking and can even add it to rice. Avocados are an excellent source of calories as well. You mentioned you're vegetarian so I'll assume you eat animal products - cheese is calorie-dense and if you add things like protein to shakes and drink soy milk instead of water then you'll get more calories.

You might want to try some of those supplemental drinks as well - most are gluten and lactose free.

I'm not sure what % you're supposed to get from carbs, fat and protein but it might be worth seeing a dietician or doing more research. It might be good to analyze how much iron, B12 and calcium you're getting as well.

Hope this helps!

[missy'smom]

I have diabetes and can't have any "regular" carbs-no grains at all, no starchy veg etc. and am quite underweight but I have found that sufficient amounts of protein at every meal has helped me gain. So it does work. Over time, I've found for me, that I need closer to 5-6 oz. of meat per meal(3-4 meals a day) to keep my weight where I'm comfortable with it. It really does make a difference whether I eat 4 or 6 oz. I used to eat 4 meals a day but after switching to 3 it seemed that I gained so maybe 3 is better for me, maybe 4 keeps my metabolism up too much. I used to think four was better-more calories. I don't like meat that much but it works so well to keep my weight on and blood sugar balanced that I've made my peace with it. I can't argue with what works. That being said, fats are important sources of calories for me-avacados, nuts, etc.

[cassP]

Hi

I've recently been diagnosed with celiac disease.

I'm quite underweight (always have been) and my doctor expects me to put on certain amount of weight within the next 3 months. He said I need to increase my intake of carbs - basically get 50% of my calories from carbs. But I've been reading some of the other threads on this forum where protein is recommended to increase weight. What's the best way? I'm a vegetarian and have a healthy diet (maybe too healthy)!!

Thanks!

so, how long have you been gluten free?? it's possible that once your small intestine heals - you WILL start to put on a healthy weight because you will be absorbing more nutrients.

and how underweight are u??? do u know your fat percentage?

as far as diet- i dont know how to direct u. i personally do better on a meat & veggies diet. for ME-> the more grains i eat- the more weight i put on. like right now- ive got a good 5 to 8 annoying pounds left - and i know that if i take the grains out- it will come off. but your body may be different than mine.

im sure you will start to normalize after being gluten free. i think it's safe to say tho- add rice to your daily diet & you'll add something

[blissfully-unaware]

I've been seeing a dietician for the same thing and you can get calories from protein, fat and/or carbohydrates so I'm not sure why he would want to focus on the carbs unless you're really deficient in them and need a lot for energy. Carbs are difficult for some people to digest since they have a more complex molecular structure than protein or fat - this might leave some undigested food in your intestines for bacteria to feed on which in turn causes bloating, gas, etc.

This might not be the case for you though so it's worth experimenting. I'm eating small frequent meals (5 a day) and have to calculate everything out in a spreadsheet to see exactly how many calories I'm getting - there are online calculators which will tell you how many calories you'd need to gain x amount of weight per week. It's been a helpful log to see if I'm reacting to anything so even though it's a pain it's worth it. If you're going to eat more carbs I'd stick to easier to digest ones like white rice. If you can tolerate quinoa then that's super nutritious, however, I'm not sure if it's hard to digest.

To add calories from fat you could try adding more healthy oils to your cooking and can even add it to rice. Avocados are an excellent source of calories as well. You mentioned you're vegetarian so I'll assume you eat animal products - cheese is calorie-dense and if you add things like protein to shakes and drink soy milk instead of water then you'll get more calories.

You might want to try some of those supplemental drinks as well - most are gluten and lactose free.

I'm not sure what % you're supposed to get from carbs, fat and protein but it might be worth seeing a dietician or doing more research. It might be good to analyze how much iron, B12 and calcium you're getting as well.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your reply.

I've started eating brown rice instead of white rice because I'm already eating white rice flour pancakes for breakfast everyday, so felt too much white rice wouldn't be a good thing! I eat quite a bit of yoghurt everyday. Also, eat millets everyday. I was avoiding soy milk because I have Hashimoto's (read somewhere soy products should be avoided if one has thyroid disease), but my doctor said I can have soy.

My vitamin B12 levels are fine, although vitamin D was really low, so got one shot few weeks back. I'll get another test done in 3 months to see if I need another shot. Calcium levels were above normal - which my doctor thinks could be caused by the parathyroid hormone taking calcium from my bones (caused by low levels of vitamin D)!! Scary stuff. HB count was normal when I checked 7 months back.

[blissfully-unaware]

I have diabetes and can't have any "regular" carbs-no grains at all, no starchy veg etc. and am quite underweight but I have found that sufficient amounts of protein at every meal has helped me gain. So it does work. Over time, I've found for me, that I need closer to 5-6 oz. of meat per meal(3-4 meals a day) to keep my weight where I'm comfortable with it. It really does make a difference whether I eat 4 or 6 oz. I used to eat 4 meals a day but after switching to 3 it seemed that I gained so maybe 3 is better for me, maybe 4 keeps my metabolism up too much. I used to think four was better-more calories. I don't like meat that much but it works so well to keep my weight on and blood sugar balanced that I've made my peace with it. I can't argue with what works. That being said, fats are important sources of calories for me-avacados, nuts, etc.

I was avoiding eating too much carbs earlier as well because I was worried about getting diabetes. So asked my doctor who told me that my blood sugar levels are fine, so I can eat more carbs. Still unsure though!

I eat my 3 meals a day, and in between meals I usually eat nuts and fruit. I guess I need to increase the quantity of whatever I eat!

[blissfully-unaware]

so, how long have you been gluten free?? it's possible that once your small intestine heals - you WILL start to put on a healthy weight because you will be absorbing more nutrients.

and how underweight are u??? do u know your fat percentage?

as far as diet- i dont know how to direct u. i personally do better on a meat & veggies diet. for ME-> the more grains i eat- the more weight i put on. like right now- ive got a good 5 to 8 annoying pounds left - and i know that if i take the grains out- it will come off. but your body may be different than mine.

im sure you will start to normalize after being gluten free. i think it's safe to say tho- add rice to your daily diet & you'll add something

I have been gluten free for 2 weeks now - not a long time at all, so I don't know when I'll actually start putting on weight! I have a BMI of 16.5 - so quite underweight! I don't know my fat percentage.

I eat fair amount of rice daily. I guess I really need to increase the quantity!

[cassP]

I have been gluten free for 2 weeks now - not a long time at all, so I don't know when I'll actually start putting on weight! I have a BMI of 16.5 - so quite underweight! I don't know my fat percentage.

I eat fair amount of rice daily. I guess I really need to increase the quantity!

2 weeks is not a long time at all- you should definitely expect more healing & feeling better... and weight gain hopefully

hope u figure out what works for u

[blissfully-unaware]

2 weeks is not a long time at all- you should definitely expect more healing & feeling better... and weight gain hopefully

hope u figure out what works for u

Fingers crossed...

Thanks!!

[Katie B]

I have been gluten free for 2 weeks now - not a long time at all, so I don't know when I'll actually start putting on weight! I have a BMI of 16.5 - so quite underweight! I don't know my fat percentage.

I eat fair amount of rice daily. I guess I really need to increase the quantity!

2 weeks isn't long at all! If you had increased your calories by 500 each day for the past two weeks then that's approx. equivalent to 2 pounds so it could be a gradual process. If you do increase your meals to 5 and add as many calories in as possible then you might gain faster. The nuts you're eating are calorie-rich and good for your health so that's great. It just all comes down to the math. I'd encourage you to see how much you're currently getting from what you're eating and then modify as needed. My BMI is 17.7 and I need 2400 calories a day in order to gain a pound a week. Good luck and be patient! Once you hit the right amount of calories you won't have to worry or really work at it.

[blissfully-unaware]

2 weeks isn't long at all! If you had increased your calories by 500 each day for the past two weeks then that's approx. equivalent to 2 pounds so it could be a gradual process. If you do increase your meals to 5 and add as many calories in as possible then you might gain faster. The nuts you're eating are calorie-rich and good for your health so that's great. It just all comes down to the math. I'd encourage you to see how much you're currently getting from what you're eating and then modify as needed. My BMI is 17.7 and I need 2400 calories a day in order to gain a pound a week. Good luck and be patient! Once you hit the right amount of calories you won't have to worry or really work at it.

Thanks Katie B. My doctor says I need 2000 calories per day. I know I'm not getting that many - maybe 1500 calories instead. I realise I need to increase portion sizes, but it's hard because I seem to be getting odd symptoms since I went gluten-free (I barely had any sypmptoms before). I thought it would be easy to gain weight, but I guess it'll take time and maybe months!

[WheatChef]

The healing process takes a while and so normal weight gain can be quite difficult for some in the first couple of months. I'm at the 7 mo mark and am just not finally starting to put on weight that sticks. Do it right though and worry more about the quality of the food you're putting in your body instead of the quantity. As mentioned above your body is quite capable of getting calories from protein, fat and carbs (and alcohol!!!!) Technically fats are more efficient sources of raw calories as there are 9 Calories / g of fat compared to just 4 Cal/g of protein or carbs (7ish/g in alcohol) and your body is arguably better designed to make use of that source as well.

Just cramming carbs into your body can make you gain weight but it can also lead to pesky metabolic issues such as diabetes. Your body can put on weight from either building up healthy tissue or building up excess fat (build from digested fats AND carbs AND proteins) for buffering. I'd avoid the needed buffering from carbs.

The BMI kinda sucks though for gauging health, waist size is better and this will not be positively affected by excessive carb loading.

[blissfully-unaware]

The healing process takes a while and so normal weight gain can be quite difficult for some in the first couple of months. I'm at the 7 mo mark and am just not finally starting to put on weight that sticks. Do it right though and worry more about the quality of the food you're putting in your body instead of the quantity. As mentioned above your body is quite capable of getting calories from protein, fat and carbs (and alcohol!!!!) Technically fats are more efficient sources of raw calories as there are 9 Calories / g of fat compared to just 4 Cal/g of protein or carbs (7ish/g in alcohol) and your body is arguably better designed to make use of that source as well.

Just cramming carbs into your body can make you gain weight but it can also lead to pesky metabolic issues such as diabetes. Your body can put on weight from either building up healthy tissue or building up excess fat (build from digested fats AND carbs AND proteins) for buffering. I'd avoid the needed buffering from carbs.

The BMI kinda sucks though for gauging health, waist size is better and this will not be positively affected by excessive carb loading.

Thanks WheatChef. I haven't increased the quantity of carbs since going gluten-free. I'm trying to eat healthy fats like nuts, but that's about it. Being a vegetarian and don't drink alcohol really limits my options In fact, I think I'm eating less since I went gluten free. I'm also not keen on eating more processed foods. So still trying to figure out what's best to gain weight.

[RiceGuy]

I think the question of your percentage of body fat is an important one. Muscle weighs more than fat. Just weighing more isn't necessarily good. It should be in the form of whatever your body lacks. So it might be fat, or muscle, or both. There's also bone density to consider.

I don't know what sort of tests are done to determine these things. Have you had any such tests done? Although I'm no bone expert, the elevated serum calcium level might mean low bone density. If so, it may show up in waste products. I think I've heard of certain drugs doing that too.

Anyway, two weeks is a bit too soon to expect significant changes in body weight. I'd expect your weight to normalize over a longer period of time. I'm not sure how much sense it makes to push for quicker gain than what the body does on a balanced diet. However, if your total caloric intake is low for your lifestyle, then by all means increase it, in a balanced way.

[blissfully-unaware]

I think the question of your percentage of body fat is an important one. Muscle weighs more than fat. Just weighing more isn't necessarily good. It should be in the form of whatever your body lacks. So it might be fat, or muscle, or both. There's also bone density to consider.

I don't know what sort of tests are done to determine these things. Have you had any such tests done? Although I'm no bone expert, the elevated serum calcium level might mean low bone density. If so, it may show up in waste products. I think I've heard of certain drugs doing that too.

Anyway, two weeks is a bit too soon to expect significant changes in body weight. I'd expect your weight to normalize over a longer period of time. I'm not sure how much sense it makes to push for quicker gain than what the body does on a balanced diet. However, if your total caloric intake is low for your lifestyle, then by all means increase it, in a balanced way.

Thanks RiceGuy. I haven't had any tests for body fat percentage or bone density. I'm hoping that once my vitamin D levels are normal, the calcium levels will also be in the right range.

I would prefer to gain weight at a slower pace. Just trying to figure out what's the best way to increase proteins in my diet - I don't think I want to increase carbs (having enough already).

[missy'smom]

I would prefer to gain weight at a slower pace. Just trying to figure out what's the best way to increase proteins in my diet - I don't think I want to increase carbs (having enough already).

This is what I did. Pick your protein(meat). Get a scale and weigh the amount that you usually eat. I have a very cheap scale. It may sound nuts to weigh your food before eating it but my natural tendency is to not want much meat and I really was desperate to gain weight and really wanted to go about it effectively. I wanted to make sure I met my self imposed minimum requirement. Anyway, Either start with that and make sure you get that at EVERY meal-B,L,and D everyday. Or make adding one more ounce at everymeal, everyday your goal. Once you've maintained a certain level for a certain time period and are comfortable with it, in terms of shopping, coooking and digestion, up it one more ounce again. Sometimes I went by weight, sometimes grams of protein and in the beginning, when I was really taking baby steps to get from being a semi-vegetarian to being a meat eater, I went by slices(of deli-meat-ham etc.), adding one more slice at a time.

I should add though that I don't tolerate eggs but they are a good source of protein as is tofu. So, with little or no eggs, no dairy and no soy for me(allergies, both), my methods, and examples and successes are based solely on meat.

[blissfully-unaware]

This is what I did. Pick your protein(meat). Get a scale and weigh the amount that you usually eat. I have a very cheap scale. It may sound nuts to weigh your food before eating it but my natural tendency is to not want much meat and I really was desperate to gain weight and really wanted to go about it effectively. I wanted to make sure I met my self imposed minimum requirement. Anyway, Either start with that and make sure you get that at EVERY meal-B,L,and D everyday. Or make adding one more ounce at everymeal, everyday your goal. Once you've maintained a certain level for a certain time period and are comfortable with it, in terms of shopping, coooking and digestion, up it one more ounce again. Sometimes I went by weight, sometimes grams of protein and in the beginning, when I was really taking baby steps to get from being a semi-vegetarian to being a meat eater, I went by slices(of deli-meat-ham etc.), adding one more slice at a time.

I should add though that I don't tolerate eggs but they are a good source of protein as is tofu. So, with little or no eggs, no dairy and no soy for me(allergies, both), my methods, and examples and successes are based solely on meat.

Thanks missy'smom. I used to eat chicken sometimes before, but have been a vegetarian for quite some time. I'm not sure if I want to re-introduce chicken into my diet.

[RiceGuy]

Just trying to figure out what's the best way to increase proteins in my diet...

How about legumes? There are a wide variety of beans and lentils to choose from, and of course peas too. Grains like teff and amaranth are also high in protein, though not as much as legumes.

Lentils have the highest amount of protein of any legumes I'm aware of, and they require no soaking, and cook fast. Especially the red and yellow ones. Legume flours can be added to breads, crackers, and other snack foods too. Use bean dip in place of sour cream and cream cheese. Thicken soups and stews with red lentils instead of starch or grain flour. If you like pea soup, have it more often, as green peas offer a lot of protein. Just one pound of green peas has over 50% of the RDI of protein.

[Mike7]

Okay so here's a macro-nutrient breakdown:

1g of Protein = 4 calories

1g of Carbohydrates = 4 calories

1g of Fat = 9 calories

To gain weight, you must consume more calories than what you burn. However, exercise is necessary for the pounds you put on to be healthy, lean weight. Make sure you are active 30 min. a day and have some type of resistance workout. Resistance meaning weight lifting or using your body weight. This really doesn't have to be hard at all, just dedicate at least 15 min. of your day to get sweaty and knock out some push-ups and other muscle toning exercises. When you do this, combined with eating right (well portioned, nutritious meals), you can develop a fit body while putting on weight. You break down muscle fibers during your work out, and eating carb-rich, protein-packed foods fuels the recovery and building of lean mass.

Your doctor recommended a 50% intake of your daily nutrition to be carbohydrates. So your diet breakdown should be 15% good fat, 35% protein, and 50% carbohydrates.

[Mike7]

Oh and you wanted some sources for the protein, I have two: Organic Almonds/Almond Butter (put them on fruit, e.g. apples, bananas and they are amazing) and Open Original Shared Link (they are nutritious in almost every way possible). Good Luck!

[blissfully-unaware]

How about legumes? There are a wide variety of beans and lentils to choose from, and of course peas too. Grains like teff and amaranth are also high in protein, though not as much as legumes.

Lentils have the highest amount of protein of any legumes I'm aware of, and they require no soaking, and cook fast. Especially the red and yellow ones. Legume flours can be added to breads, crackers, and other snack foods too. Use bean dip in place of sour cream and cream cheese. Thicken soups and stews with red lentils instead of starch or grain flour. If you like pea soup, have it more often, as green peas offer a lot of protein. Just one pound of green peas has over 50% of the RDI of protein.

Thanks RiceGuy. I do eat lentils quite often, and beans sometimes. Peas are on my list of "least favourite vegetable"!! I'll try to include it in my diet (some day)! Thanks for the tip on amaranth. I tried making roti (Indian bread) using amaranth flour and it turned out pretty good - almost like the regular wheat rotis

[blissfully-unaware]

Okay so here's a macro-nutrient breakdown:

1g of Protein = 4 calories

1g of Carbohydrates = 4 calories

1g of Fat = 9 calories

To gain weight, you must consume more calories than what you burn. However, exercise is necessary for the pounds you put on to be healthy, lean weight. Make sure you are active 30 min. a day and have some type of resistance workout. Resistance meaning weight lifting or using your body weight. This really doesn't have to be hard at all, just dedicate at least 15 min. of your day to get sweaty and knock out some push-ups and other muscle toning exercises. When you do this, combined with eating right (well portioned, nutritious meals), you can develop a fit body while putting on weight. You break down muscle fibers during your work out, and eating carb-rich, protein-packed foods fuels the recovery and building of lean mass.

Your doctor recommended a 50% intake of your daily nutrition to be carbohydrates. So your diet breakdown should be 15% good fat, 35% protein, and 50% carbohydrates.

Thanks Mike7. While 1 gram of proteins = 4 calories, I believe 2 calories are used up to break down protein in the body? So that will leave us with a net of 2 calories from 1 gram of protein.

I do try to excercise for 30 minutes 5-6 times a week. I don't want to do more because I'm still not eating a whole lot. So losing more calories than actually eating would make things worse