Overweight And Celiacs

[krackers]

Has anyone out there in celiac land had the experience of being overweight as one of their symptoms? and how long did it take to get down to a normal weight?

[Heather22]

Hi Krackers,

Yes, that is a common issue with Celiac. You should check out the other threads on this forum, as people discuss this in depth.

There's:

"Gluten and weight gain.."

"Celiac and gaining weight..."

Best wishes, Heather : )

[MACE]

That was one of my problems, was 197 and 171 and it has been coming down fast for me. But do see a real stand still if I mess up and eat some gluten.

[ianm]

I was obese before going gluten-free but I am now at a healthy weight and actually have abs. Not exactly abs of armor plated steel but close enough. Much better than big rolls of fat. The weight came off fairly quickly for me. I have to really watch what I eat to maintain the proper weight but that is a small price to pay.

[StrongerToday]

I was grossly overweight, topping the scale at over 200 (and I'm very short!). I've now lost 44 pounds. I think both the excess weight and the gluten intolerence are/were a result of poor eating habits. Too much fast food, pre-packaged food, frozen entrees.... (sigh - still miss that Stouffers!).

I'm not even trying to loose weight - it's just coming off as a result of eating healthy food and not being tempted to "just have a taste".

[MACE]

Hi again, I had tried to get rid of some of my weight but never had much luck doing so until this gluten problem was found. Like some have said it has just come off now without my really doing anything but staying away from gluten which is making me eat in a healtier way. So something good is coming from having this problem.

[debbiewil]

Yes, overweight all my life. Never could lose much, no matter how hard I tried and how well I ate - and I usually ate well. I've always LIKED to cook, and am not crazy about fast food. Also don't have much of a sweet tooth, so rarely ate deserts. Only been gluten-free for a few months now, but am down 2 sizes in clothes, and haven't even tried to lose weight. In fact, I've been eating more "junk" food and sweets since I went gluten-free than I ever ate before gluten-free. I've been trying out all the different gluten-free foods in the local stores, to see which ones I like, and since most of the gluten-free foods are deserts, cookies, breads and snack type stuff, I've actually been eating a lot more "junk' since I went gluten-free than I ever ate before.

Debbie

[Guest gfinnebraska]

I was never obese, but weighed more than I wanted to!! The weight came off pretty quickly after going gluten-free... but came off even better after going on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. You can read about that on here as well ~ search for "SCD". BUT, the bad part, if I get a tiny bit of gluten in my diet, I can balloon up 10 lbs. overnight. NOT fun at all... I have to watch it really close!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

[IronedOut]

I was never obese, but weighed more than I wanted to!! The weight came off pretty quickly after going gluten-free...

Did you replace the foods with gluten or just drop grains altogether? I dropped a lot of weight because of the malabsorption issues, but seem to have leveled off now that my iron is in better shape. I have only been gluten-free since 12/05.

[Rusla]

I have lost about 25 lbs since going gluten-free at the end of November. Everytime I even get a slight accidental glutening my weight stands still for at least two weeks. I accidentally got glutened at work 2 days ago (some crumbs on a desk).

[Ursa Major]

I used to be as skinny as a stick as a kid and couldn't gain any weight at all. Then when I got pregnant with my first child in 1979, I gained 45 pounds (despite eating very healthy and not very much), and was unable to lose the excess. The same happened with the other four kids (and the eight miscarriages) and when breastfeeding.

I tried every diet imaginable, haven't had anything white (white sugar, flour, rice, pasta) in the house for over twenty years, never have cookies or candies around, rarely bake, and didn't eat a lot. Nothing worked, I kept gaining! When I topped the scales at 238 pounds by last October (despite having severe, chronic diarrhea from May to October), I was getting very desperate (and was suicidal). Especially because my husband would constantly tell me I should eat less. When I told him that I was not eating too much, he would say, "The evidence proves otherwise!".

Then when I went on the gluten free diet, I lost 20 pounds in eight weeks! I haven't gone down more yet, because as somebody else said, every time I got glutened, the weight loss stopped. And I now found out that there are other diet issues, too, which likely stopped me from losing weight as well. Fortunately, I also didn't gain any of it back.

Now that I've figured it all out and will avoid all the offending foods, I am confident that I'll be losing a lot of weight in the next few months.

I don't bake with non-grain flours most of the time either (maybe once every two weeks max), because it seems that any starch (that isn't naturally in the foods I eat) will make me gain weight. I guess that I just can't handle any starch at all (probably hypoglycemia, which I have plenty of evidence for).

[Guest nini]

I was very skinny as a child and teenager, but once I got into my twenties I started packing on the pounds and couldn't get them off no matter what I did. Prior to dx almost 3 years ago, I was 260 lbs on a 5'2" frame... today I weigh 160 and I haven't even really tried to lose the weight, it just sort of fell off...

[Ursa Major]

Wow, Nisla, that's 100 lb you lost! Amazing. I am 5'6", but still, 238 lb was a lot. I am now down to 217, still a long way to go. But I lost what I did also without even trying. Now that I am done with all the testing, which set me back and I stopped losing weight, I should be losing again.

I would so like to be able to wear a bathing suit again! For many years I felt too ashamed to be seen in one, so haven't gone swimming in a long time.

The day I step on the scales and see I am under 200 lb will be a day to celebrate. I haven't been below that in 20 years, no matter what I tried.

[tiffjake]

I am overweight and always have been. I have noticed that when I get glutened I gain atleast 5 pounds over night. In fact, I got sick from something friday night, and when I got on the scale on sunday, I was 6 pounds heavier!!!!! And it is monday night and I have already lost 2 pounds of that. My weight really goes up and down with the gluten factor. But I have also really been eating a lot of junk and chocolate. I know that when I cut out all of the sugar I have been eating I will start losing faster!!

[Guest nini]

Wow, Nisla, that's 100 lb you lost! Amazing. I am 5'6", but still, 238 lb was a lot. I am now down to 217, still a long way to go. But I lost what I did also without even trying. Now that I am done with all the testing, which set me back and I stopped losing weight, I should be losing again.

I would so like to be able to wear a bathing suit again! For many years I felt too ashamed to be seen in one, so haven't gone swimming in a long time.

The day I step on the scales and see I am under 200 lb will be a day to celebrate. I haven't been below that in 20 years, no matter what I tried.

I do remember the day I got on the scale and it was under 200! I jumped up and down and ran around the house cheering! My family thought I was nuts.

Just yesterday I ran into a former co worker that I haven't seen in about 2 years... once she realized WHO I was, her eyes about bugged out of her head and she said "Oh MY GOD! WHERE DID YOU GO!!!!!! THERES LIKE HALF OF YOU GONE!!!!!" lol! It made me feel so good! Also, my daughter found a pic of me from about 4 years ago, and she blurts out "Whoa Mommy, YOU WERE FAT!!!!" thanks! yes babe, that I was!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/may...ni/DCP01619.webp here's a link to a pic of me before

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v121/may...ni/im000605.webp and here's a link to a pic of me now

[nettiebeads]

Has anyone out there in celiac land had the experience of being overweight as one of their symptoms? and how long did it take to get down to a normal weight?

I was able to maintain a regular weight after developing celiac, but after a divorce, knee injuries, fallen arch, I packed it on. But I've cleaned up my diet (finally eliminating the last gluten source) and started working out more. Last year I maintained a net weight loss of 1.5 lbs. So far this month I've lost 3, but have been working out and have firmed up quite a bit. You know the feeling, being able to zip up the jeans AND still able to breathe. 48.5 lbs to go!

[jerseyangel]

Wow

[luvs2eat]

I've always been an average weight... always wanting to lose about 20 lbs (and doing it several times). I didn't get the unexplained weight loss symptom of celiac, and AFTER going gluten-free, I packed on about 30 lbs!! At the moment I'm doing Weight Watchers on my own to try and lose about 40-50 lbs. I'm about 6 down... many more to go!!

[Rusla]

Actually during the last seven years was when my weight would go up and no matter what I did, I couldn't lose it. I had lost 12 pounds in two weeks and when I had to go back on gluten for a week I gained it all back and some. Now after being gluten-free for six weeks, I am now 28 pounds lighter and this was with eating three chocolate bars due to stress the other day. I drink more than 3 gallons of water a day and have one glass of orange juice each day. I hope to be down another 20 lbs by March 4.

Never in my life did I think I would long to get into a size 16 and now I do. I went from 130 lbs 7 years ago to 280 lbs till Nov. 28/05 and I am only 5'4".

[Ursa Major]

Thanks for the pics, Nisla! It really gives me hope to see what happened to you, just going off gluten.

Rusla, you must have been feeling terrible about yourself! I am so glad you've started losing too, and fast as well. I was gaining more and more, and as a result was treated with contempt by some of my adult children and my husband. That was the worst part, that nobody believed me that it wasn't my fault.

I always say, that when you see a whole family, mom, dad and all the kids being fat, it's their diet, they likely eat a lot of junk. But my husband and five kids are all very slim, and since I am the cook, and used to eat what they eat (and a lot of the time I'd eat less, which nobody believed, either), it was truly unexplained weight gain. I was always very health conscious and didn't allow junk in the house (no cookies, candies, pop, doughnuts, white flour, white sugar, white rice or white pasta etc.), except for special occasions like birthday parties.

My mother had the same problem and never figured it out. When I saw her last, in May 1986, she was overjoyed that for the first time since she was a kid she had lost enough weight to be able to wear pants. Little did she know that her weight loss was due to liver cancer, she died 3 months later. I believe it was because of undiagnosed Celiac disease.

[Heather22]

Wow Ursula, I'm sorry to hear about your mother. However, your postulation is very likely.

I completely know what you mean about the blaming-Celiac thing. When I don't feel great, I look like a chubby girl, despite being a fitness athlete and eating a clean, healthy diet. To everyone else, it looks like I eat too much and can't control my junk food cravings. But really, only me and my fiance know that it is due to Celiac and the weight gain is really not induced by poor eating habits.

I suppose that the only way to combat this is to increase awareness among our family and friends. When I try to do this though, it always feels like I am complaining and making up excuses. "No really, I haven't gained weight because I eat too much, it is because I have Celiac disease"......that doesn't fly most of the time, especially because Celiac is typified by "weight loss". I even noticed on the posters for Celiac awareness month on the subway, that the symptoms listed are hardly what most Celiacs experience.

[PreOptMegs]

Rusla--- I was drinking a TON of water too for a while, but I noticed that I was really drinking too much and overwhelming my kidneys. Furthermore, after I drank only 3 bottles of water one day, my weight went down about 3 lbs!! I would just be careful with that much water. Actually, 1 gallon per day is probably way more than you need at 5'4". Of course, it is your decision, but I had been through that already, so I thought I would just let you know!!

[Guest nini]

no prob Ursula! glad to share the pics... my mom used to get on me ALL the time about my diet and my weight and she NEVER believed me when I told her how little I ate. She didn't want to see it. She just likes to point out where I'm screwing up.

I'm sooooo convinced my mom has Celiac too, but she absolutely refuses to be tested or even consider it.

[Rusla]

Ursula-- You are so right. I would sit and look at my size 6 leather clothes and cry because I couldn't wear them. I hated people calling me a "fat cow" and worse, idiot doctors saying, "you need to lose weight" but were too stupid to find out what was wrong. I rarely go out except to work or friends places because I hate being in public and the added weight caused huge foot problems. I am hoping that I will lose another 20 lbs before I leave for Jamaica. I fear I may run into a shark there that will think I am a fat juicy seal.

It is unfortunate that happend to your mother but I think we can thank the medical profession once again for their apathetic attitude.

Water drinking,

The only reason I go through that much water is because the place I work in is very dry and we talk all day long on the phone or microphones so it does strain the vocal cords. It doesn't stress my kidneys like the coke did. When I am not at work, I really don't drink more than a gallon of water.

[Ursa Major]

Right, Rusla, doctors would tell me that my back problems would get better if I'd only lose weight! I then explained to them that I had the same back problems since I've been seven years old, and that they were the worst when I was so thin that you could blow right through me.

My back pain started getting better the day after I stopped eating gluten, and was obviously caused by food intolerances.

My husband also kept telling me that the problems I have with my feet and knees would be much better if I would only have more self control and stop eating 'all day long', so I would lose weight. Of course, since he is at work during the day, how did he watch me 'eating all day long?'. It makes it even harder when your own husband puts you down and won't believe you.

Last week I was testing the different lectin groups, and got so sick from rice on Monday that I couldn't eat anything on Tuesday, just drank water and chamomile tea that day. When I told him about that, he got that happy gleam in his eyes, and told me that was great. As in, fabulous, if you don't eat a thing, you'll lose weight even faster!

I told him that it wasn't good at all that I felt too bad to eat! But he'll never get it.