7 replies to this topic

[Mattress Rick]

Hello everybody,

I am new to Celiac.com and somewhat new to being gluten free. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with IBS after two years of anything I ate flushed through my system quickly and painfully. Even after the diagnosis I still sufered with little releif from the medication I was prescribed. A couple of months later someone had recommended that I stop eating wheat and see what happens. Two days late, after 2 years of suffering, it was like I never had a problem. Since then I've stuck to a gluten free diet.

The problem I have is that I can't seem to gain any weight. I'm 6'10" and roghtly 160-165lbs (it fluxuates). I was able to gain 15 lbs after the diet change and going to the gym three times a week but I've lost that weight and am back to my origonal weight. Are there any recommendations that someone can offer to gain weight? I'd like to get to roughly 190-200lbs.

[JNBunnie1]

Hello everybody,

I am new to Celiac.com and somewhat new to being gluten free. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with IBS after two years of anything I ate flushed through my system quickly and painfully. Even after the diagnosis I still sufered with little releif from the medication I was prescribed. A couple of months later someone had recommended that I stop eating wheat and see what happens. Two days late, after 2 years of suffering, it was like I never had a problem. Since then I've stuck to a gluten free diet.

The problem I have is that I can't seem to gain any weight. I'm 6'10" and roghtly 160-165lbs (it fluxuates). I was able to gain 15 lbs after the diet change and going to the gym three times a week but I've lost that weight and am back to my origonal weight. Are there any recommendations that someone can offer to gain weight? I'd like to get to roughly 190-200lbs.

Maybe you can tell us a little more? What are your eating habits, preferences, any other illnesses?
Were you this thin before you got sick?

[Mattress Rick]

Maybe you can tell us a little more? What are your eating habits, preferences, any other illnesses?
Were you this thin before you got sick?

My eating habbits are lots of healthy foods such as frozen veggies, chicken, some red meats, dairy (cheese), and I have a guilty habbit of eating my fair share of corn chips. I generally eat two meals and three "snacks" a day. Before I got sick, I was thin (so I'm aware that I have a high motabilism *spell check). I don't drink caffeine and rarely drink alcohol (gluten free). As far as other diseases I was diagnosed with Gilberts disease and as it was explained to me that I have a hard time processing fat.

[dilettantesteph]

My son and I have been working on gaining weight by eating lots of whole milk yogurt, like a quart a day each. We have each gained about 7 pounds since September. We eat homemade due to extreme sensitivity to gluten. I have a special whole milk source. I mix it with applesauce, but my son takes it unflavored, unsweetened, just straight. Homemade yogurt can be lower in lactose because of the milk solids or other things sometimes added to store bought yogurt. If you have problems with lactose, you can culture it for a longer time. We also find that we lose weight if we are getting gluten contamination, which is how we got too low to begin with. Good luck!

Sorry, I just read that you have a hard time processing fat. That probably won't work for you then. I guess lots of protein would be the way to go.

[Chaff]

I'm also trying to gain weight (5'2", 100 Lbs). My approach is to get lots of carb-heavy liquids into myself. So I'll put maple syrup on my gluten-free waffles and made homemade water kefir sodas with juice. I've heard sugars turn into fat in your system better than fats do, oddly enough. I can't eat much, so liquids is how I try to sneak it all in. Unfortunately, I seem to have a problem with fructose (water kefir is almost all fructose), and I hate commercial sodas, so I'm back to square one. But it might help you.

If you don't mind some of the weight you gain being muscle, you could always start doing some extreme exercising. I only gained weight twice in my life, one of which was when I ran almost every day. I must have gotten eight pounds in muscle over the course of a year or so.

The other time was when I lived in Germany and they forced food into me like a French goose. (!)

My nutritionist recommended I drink something like Ensure three times a day. It has soy in it, so I'm not doing that, but you could also add in a yogurt shake or smoothie or something along those lines several times a day. Like dilettantesteph, I made my own yogurt -- Greek yogurt actually -- for a while, and that was delicious and pretty easy to do in the stove with the lightbulb as a light source.

Anyway, I know how hard it is to gain weight, so I hope you are able to do it. Please come back and post here with your experiences, so other people can learn from your approach.

[JNBunnie1]

I've gone and read about Gilbert's a bit now, and while I haven't studied it in depth it
appears to have nothing to do with the digestive process of dietary fats. Have you
spent much time reading about it?

On the food front, whole plain yogurt, avocados, EVOO, butter, more meats in general
are a very good strategy for getting the calories and nutrition you need. Try and stick to
dark meat with your poultry, things like that. Generally speaking anything you can get
organic will be better than conventional. I would caution against loading up on anything
sugary, it's a fallacy that that always results in weight gain- I had to give up all processed
sugar and most natural sugars to gain any proper weight. It does work on some people,
but generally not those with a very fast metabolism like yours.

[DawnMarie213]

I've been trying to gain weight for ages now. (Only after switching to gluten-free was I able to.) Your other illness may have a bit to do with your struggle in gaining weight.

Things I eat the most are high in healthy fats. Salmon is amazing for you. High in Omega-3 for your brain, heart, and skin and in healthy fats, and protein. Greek yogurt (full fat, not non-fat. Check out Greek Gods yogurt) is also high in protein and fats but generally contains only a small amount of lactose. (I have a problem with lactose and I'm fine with it.) Try avocados, nuts, brown rice for your carbs.

Also, weight training exercises will help you build lean muscle and help you bulk up. Stay away from much cardio as that will burn off those calories you need.

[DerpTyler]

wow, all i can recommend is do some heavy exersicing, like a bulking workout, and eat like crazy! Lots of carbs and protein. Someone your height could pack on some serious muscle and strength with a solid workout!