Overweight Before I Was Diagnosed. Has Anyone Lost Weight Since Going Gluten Free?

[luvkin]

I have been gluten free for about 7 months and have lost 35 lbs. I believe it is a combo of things; I am not hungry all the time, I am not fatigued and not feeling panic and anxiety.

I feel soo much better that I am more active and I am eating at home more often.

My life has improved 100% since I have gone gluten free; because of this I find it very easy to remain gluten free. My husband

[Dedrasmom]

June of 2002, I was finally diagnosed with celiac disease. I immediately went gluten-free eating only fresh veggies, lettuce with oil and cider vinegar or lemon and hamburger patty. I was afraid to put anything into my mouth and reading ingredients to discover if any had gluten was just too overwhelming. I lost about 30#, going from 220 to 190 in 4 months. I felt great. All of the digestive tract symptoms disappeared along with migraines, depression, my blood sugars were almost to the point that I was experimenting (doctor's orders) with eliminating oral diabetic med. Then something happened....I think my body started being able to absorb food correctly again and I discovered gluten-free processed food. It is now 3 years later and I weigh 230#. I have stayed gluten-free during this time and my weight has come back and I struggle daily not to gain anymore weight. I try keeping the processed foods at a minimum and eat fresh veggies and meat. I do snack on popcorn...the kind I pop myself. I count carbs as to keep my diabetis under control. Even though I am still on glipizide, it is a very low dose. I am frustrated and angry. Now that my body is working right, it seems that even a starvation diet allows me to gain weight. My doctor says that I just need to eat less and exercise more. That sounds great on paper....or coming from her point of view....but if someone can gain weight on 800 to 1200 calories a day....I understand about the exercise but I have peripheral nueropathy and very flat feet. I wear orthodics but at times, my legs hurt so bad that I can hardly walk from one end of the house to the other. I am tired of the fight...I have looked into surgery but it is not recommended for celiacs....and I don't weigh enough to be a candidate anyway. I am almost ready to just give up...eat a loaf of 7 grain bread and have diahreha and throw up until I lose some weight. I know that in all honestly, every starch I eat or fat I eat goes right to the weight gain but I guess that all the will power I have to not eat gluten does not extend to not putting Smart Balance on my popcorn or mayo in my tuna salad. I hope that you have better luck and will power than I have.

Hi Sparkles,

I'm new here. Trying to read everything I can so I will be able to help my husband who was just diagnosed in December. I didn't read too much further in this thread so someone else may already have addressed this issue with you. From your decription of your concerns about losing wt. and orthodics and aches and pains it sounds very much like you could be hypothyroid. Go to www.thyroid.about.com. and read away on their forums. Just a thought and as you will see after reading there, good luck finding a good doc. It could be with the auto immune connection. I have had numerous thyroid problems and have an excellent doc and was able to lose 40# in the last 2 years doing WW. Good luck.

Belinda in NC

Dedrasmom