Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Metabolism...


nerdolicious

Recommended Posts

nerdolicious Rookie

I was diagnosed nearly 10 months ago and have been strictly gluten free since. I noticed that now my metabolism is absolutely awful! I can eat 1200-1500 calories a day while going to the gym regularly and GAIN weight, which is just ridiculous. And it's not like I am eating junk food, my diet is very balanced and I rarely eat processed foods. I understand that my body was not absorbing nutrients very well before I was diagnosed, so it may still be in "survival mode". How long should I expect this to last? Will my metabolism go back to normal in time? This is getting sooo frustrating, especially with summer right around the corner.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



KuKuKaChoo52 Newbie

Are you getting enough fiber in your diet? Fiber should help keep you "regular". I have organic agave fiber powder that I drink every night before bed and I wake up ready to GO... Maybe give that a shot. I eat like 2000+ calories and hit the gym 3-5 times a week and I have lost weight since going gluten free. Make sure you are not getting any cross contamination or any hidden gluten, because that can make me constipated and bloated and feel like I am fat when really it is mainly just my body reacting bad.

Also you might want to switch up your exercise routine if all else fails. I have been doing metabolic circuit workouts which are really faced paced and burn tons of calories and that might help your metabolism.

Kelly777 Newbie

I packed on 15 pounds of the 60 I lost so I understand where you are coming from. I think that now you are taking in the nutrients you are also taking in calories. Just because it is gluten free does not mean it is low in calories. Bread for example--Gluten Free is much higher in calories than regular bread so I have really cut back on sandwiches and the like. Also, because I am able to eat a meal without getting sick I found myself eating more because it tastes so good. Now I am able to eat cheese without problems and that is packed in some calories so I have cut back on it. I started chopping up vegetables to snack on rather that grain snacks and chips. Just get a Rubbermaid container and fill it with all sorts of chopped vegetables and dip them in salsa. Get mild if you stomach still won't take to spices. Snack on them. Eat salads for lunch with some chicken or other meat on it and make your own Fat Free dressing using guar gum to bind it and make it appear as if it is the same consistency as oil based dressings. Be careful with guar gum and xanthan gum because both are considered laxatives. Also at night I have a meat patty or chicken and a whole bag of steamed vegetables if I need it. Popcorn makes a filling snack. But you really have to watch it because of the calorie content of the gluten free foods. And you will be better before you know it. Someone told me 6 months and I was so discouraged I thought it wouldn't happen but it did. I'm still having a problem but will have the colonoscopy and endoscopy on the 6th and should know what is up with that then.

nerdolicious Rookie

KuKuKaChoo52: I am making sure to get enough fiber, but taking a supplement is a good idea. I also know for a fact that I am not getting any cross contamination because I live alone and my kitchen is completely gluten free. I eat mostly whole foods and cook everything myself. Rarely, I will eat out, but only at places I trust. I replaced all my pans and cooking utensils and made sure to thoroughly clean all the cabinets and surfaces in my house when I moved in. I also had to buy a dishwasher, fridge, and oven when I bought my place and they have never had gluten in them. On a different note, I noticed that your picture is the Seahawks logo and that makes you totally awesome! I live close to Seattle and I am a HUGE Seahawks fan as well!

Kelly777: Thanks for your reply! I do not eat many gluten free substitutes at all; I don't even remember the last time I had gluten free bread or pasta. The only things I really eat that are processed are plain rice chex with soy milk or sometimes a gluten free protein bar after I work out. Once every few weeks I will have a gluten free cookie as a treat, but I only buy one at a time. My diet is a really good balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats and I never overeat. That's why I don't understand why I am having so much trouble with my metabolism. Maybe some of us will take longer than 6 months to recover? At 10 months out I am hoping this doesn't last much longer because I am going crazy!

Roda Rising Star

Have you had your thyroid checked?

nerdolicious Rookie

Yep, just had my yearly physical and all my blood tests came back perfectly normal.

Karl Otto Explorer

I use to be constipated all the time before, I went on the gluten free diet of mine. Since, that time, I have been going regularly ever since. I have not been in the state of being constipated for over 5 years now. Going regular will help you feel better and is better for you. Mostly it is the bread in the past that you ate the made you constipated before you found out you had Celiac Disease. Remember, the wheat, oats, barley, etc.... is what kept you sick all the time in the first place. After being on the Celiac Diet for the past 5 years, I still cannot eat anything with any kind of spices, yet. I still cannot tolerate nuts or tree nuts at this time. I still cannot eat anything with food processing chemicals and food preservitives, yet either. I too am wondering just how long it takes for your stomach and small intestine to go back to normal functioning. Then, again, it may depend on just how long you had this disease and how long you went without treatment before starting the gluten free diet.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



KuKuKaChoo52 Newbie

Oh dang you are lucky to be fortunate enough to live in your own place and have it completely gluten free! I'm finishing up college so I live with my parents and my kitchen is not gluten free... Sounds like you are on the right track though. I'd say just keep up the good work and things will get better, the fiber does work like a charm for me though. Other then that you'd probably have to post up what you typically eat each day for people to really understand what might be 'missing'.

Oh sweet a Seahawk fan =], you must be equally awesome! I live about 45 mins from Seattle, but have always been obsessed... I'm so stoked for this year(if the stupid jury thing on June 3rd goes well...)keep your fingers crossed.

claireyb Newbie

Nerdolicious, what did thyroid checks did they do? Did they check your free T4 and free T3 levels? Here in the UK doctor's don't often check the thyroid's conversion rate of T4 to T3.

mommida Enthusiast

There is at least a 10 % connection of Celiac to auto-immune thyroid disease, Grave's (overactive) and Hashimoto's (early stages flip-flop overactive to underactive until the thyroid is destroyed to underactive needing thyroid medication for the rest of your life.

Hashi's can be harder to diagnose. Can you get a refferal to an Endocronologist?

BIOTIN is naturally occuring in animal LIVER. Do you eat liver? I don't. I take the 5,000 liquid gel caps a day. It helps with metabolism, hair and nail growth.

taysic Rookie

I'm with clarieyb on this one. Check your thyroid again. It controls your metabolism. I'm not sure what tests they took but just because you don't show up with a thyroid disease doesn't mean you have thyroid problems - which usually are difficult to detect in external symptoms beyond fatigue, depression, and low metabolism.

Open Original Shared Link

Also note that celiac ends up being an autoimmune disorder as your body begins to attack itself in order to get rid of the gluten protein. It ends up damaging your thyroid a lot and could easily have caused Hashimotos Disease -- and weakened your thyroid.

Open Original Shared Link

  • 9 months later...
beemahoney Newbie

I was diagnosed nearly 10 months ago and have been strictly gluten free since. I noticed that now my metabolism is absolutely awful! I can eat 1200-1500 calories a day while going to the gym regularly and GAIN weight, which is just ridiculous. And it's not like I am eating junk food, my diet is very balanced and I rarely eat processed foods. I understand that my body was not absorbing nutrients very well before I was diagnosed, so it may still be in "survival mode". How long should I expect this to last? Will my metabolism go back to normal in time? This is getting sooo frustrating, especially with summer right around the corner.

I see that you posted this last May, and am wondering how things have turned out for you. I was diagnosed with Celiac in January of 2011. I eat a 1200-1300 cal strict gluten free diet - many vegetables, very balanced, high fiber, almost never eat gluten free "replacement" foods, exercise regularly, I do have a thyroid disorder, but have been on levothyroxin for 6 years prior to Celiac diagnosis, so this shouldn't factor in. I have gained 16 pounds without changing anything. I am extremely frustrated, and confused, and wondering where my metabolism has gone. I am very careful to eat a "rainbow" because I feel like I am nursing my digestive tract back to healthy absorption ability. I should add that I was not underweight (or overweight!) to begin with. I hope you have found the answer to this dilemma!

sa1937 Community Regular

I see that you posted this last May, and am wondering how things have turned out for you. I was diagnosed with Celiac in January of 2011. I eat a 1200-1300 cal strict gluten free diet - many vegetables, very balanced, high fiber, almost never eat gluten free "replacement" foods, exercise regularly, I do have a thyroid disorder, but have been on levothyroxin for 6 years prior to Celiac diagnosis, so this shouldn't factor in. I have gained 16 pounds without changing anything. I am extremely frustrated, and confused, and wondering where my metabolism has gone. I am very careful to eat a "rainbow" because I feel like I am nursing my digestive tract back to healthy absorption ability. I should add that I was not underweight (or overweight!) to begin with. I hope you have found the answer to this dilemma!

Welcome to the forum. Since this thread is kind of old, the OP probably won't see your post as she hasn't been on the forum since June 20. Perhaps others will chime in with what they've experienced.

Macbre Explorer

I can totally relate to this....I've been gluten-free since 12/2010 & have gained 12 lbs. I'm so frustrated because I eat a very balanced diet. We cook @ home and I only have 2-3 gluten-free cookies during the day when I'm craving sweets. I hardly ever have gluten-free bread and watch my carb intake. Had my tyroid checked 2 weeks ago & everything is ok. I workout 6 days/week 1 1/2 hrs. & still I battle the weight. I change up my exercise routine so I know it's not that. Food goes right through me so I'm not constipated, I'm actually wondering why I'm not the skinniest person out there considering how much "D" I have. I'm about to try protein shakes as a meal supplement hoping maybe that will work.

beemahoney Newbie

I can totally relate to this....I've been gluten-free since 12/2010 & have gained 12 lbs. I'm so frustrated because I eat a very balanced diet. We cook @ home and I only have 2-3 gluten-free cookies during the day when I'm craving sweets. I hardly ever have gluten-free bread and watch my carb intake. Had my tyroid checked 2 weeks ago & everything is ok. I workout 6 days/week 1 1/2 hrs. & still I battle the weight. I change up my exercise routine so I know it's not that. Food goes right through me so I'm not constipated, I'm actually wondering why I'm not the skinniest person out there considering how much "D" I have. I'm about to try protein shakes as a meal supplement hoping maybe that will work.

You can totally relate. Hopefully we will figure this out. I am not settling!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Wheatwacked replied to Heatherisle's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      34

      Blood results

    2. - Known1 replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      6

      FDA looking for input on Celiac Gluten sensitivity labeling PLEASE READ and submit your suggestions

    3. - Wheatwacked replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      31

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    4. - Wheatwacked replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      31

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,414
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    EBeloved
    Newest Member
    EBeloved
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
    • Wheatwacked
      Celiac Disease causes more vitamin D deficiency than the general population because of limited UV sunlight in the winter and the little available from food is not absorbed well in the damaged small intestine.  Taking 10,000 IU a day (250 mcg) a day broke my depression. Taking it for eleven years.  Doctor recently said to not stop.  My 25(OH)D is around 200 nmol/L (80 ng/ml) but it took about six years to get there.  Increasing vitamin D also increases absorption of Calcium. A good start is 100-gram (3.5-ounce) serving of salmon,  vitamin D from 7.5 to 25 mcg (300 to 1,000 IU) but it is going to take additional vitamin D supplement to be effective.  More importantly salmon has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio 1:10 anti-inflammatory compared to the 15:1 infammatory ratio of the typical Western diet. Vitamin D and Depression: Where is all the Sunshine?
    • Known1
      Thank you for sharing your thoughts.  I respectfully disagree.  You cherry picked a small section from the page.  I will do the same below: The agency is seeking information on adverse reactions due to “ingredients of interest” (i.e., non-wheat gluten containing grains (GCGs) which are rye and barley, and oats due to cross-contact with GCGs) and on labeling issues or concerns with identifying these “ingredients of interest” on packaged food products in the U.S. “People with celiac disease or gluten sensitives have had to tiptoe around food, and are often forced to guess about their food options,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. “We encourage all stakeholders to share their experiences and data to help us develop policies that will better protect Americans and support healthy food choices.” --- end quote Anyone with celiac disease is clearly a stakeholder.  The FDA is encouraging us to share our experiences along with any data to help develop future "policies that will better protect Americans and support healthy food choices".  I see this as our chance to speak up or forever hold our peace.  Like those that do not participate in elections, they are not allowed to complain.  The way I see it, if we do not participate in this request for public comment/feedback, then we should also not complain when we get ill from something labeled gluten-free. Have a blessed day ahead, Known1
    • Wheatwacked
      Here is a link to the spreadsheet I kept to track my nutrition intakes.  Maybe it will give you ideas. It is not https so browsers may flag a security warning. There is nothing to send or receive. http://doodlesnotes.net/index3.html I tracked everything I ate, used the National Nutrition Database https://www.foodrisk.org/resources/display/41 to add up my daily intake and supplemented appropriately.  It tracks about 30 nutrients at once.
    • Wheatwacked
      Hello @catnapt, That's so true.  Every person with Celiac Disease has different symptoms.  There are over 200 that it mimics.  Too many still believe that it is only a childhood disease you outgrow.  Or it's psychosomatic or simply a fad.  Idiots.  It's easy to get angry at all of them.   You just have to pick at the answers until you find the ones that work for you.  I too suffer from not being able to take the drugs that work for "everyone else".  SSRIs make me twitch ane feel like toothpicks are holding my eye open, ARBs cripple me.  Statins cause me intestinal Psuedo Obstruction.  Espresso puts me to sleep.  I counted 19 different symptoms that improved from GFD and dealing with my nutritional defecits.  I couldn't breath through my mouth until I started GFD at 64 years old.   My son was born with celiac disease, biopsy diagnosed at weaning.   So why are we the one-percenters.  Why, after being silent for so long, does it suddenly flare? There is the possibility that you have both Celiac Disease and Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity.  NCGS was not established as a diagnosis until 1980.  NCGS is diagnost by first elimating Celiac Disease as the cause, and showing improvement on GFD.  Nothing says you can't have symptoms from both.  Wheatbelly: Total Nutrition by Dr. Davis was helpful to me. We come to the forum to share what we've learned in dealing with our own symptoms.  Maybe this will help someone. Speaking of which if you don't mind; what is your 25(OH)D vitamin D blood level?  You mentioned a mysterious Calcium issue. Vitamin D, Calcium and Iodine are closely interactive. It is not uncommon for postmenopausal women to have insufficient intake of Iodine.   (RDA): Average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%–98%) healthy individuals; often used to plan nutritionally adequate diets for individuals You are a one-percenter.  You may need higher intake of some essential nutrient supplements to speed up repairing the damages.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.