Weight Loss And celiac disease

[pita]

My wife was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and she was soemwhat thin by then. now that she started with a gluten-free diet she is loosing more weight!! She is also lactose intolerant.

Is weight loss normal WITH A gluten-free diet?? or is it only for a period of time, she has just been in this diet for 1 month.

[Shalia]

My wife was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease and she was soemwhat thin by then. now that she started with a gluten-free diet she is loosing more weight!! She is also lactose intolerant.

Is weight loss normal WITH A gluten-free diet?? or is it only for a period of time, she has just been in this diet for 1 month.

I lost a lot of weight going gluten-free simply because my eating got healthier. Maybe she's doing that?

I don't know what she can do to put on weight, but I do know my weight went down too.

Good luck to your wife.

Shalia

[CarlaB]

I still struggle with my weight, too. I am eating lots of veggies and protein and have cut out all my bad habits ... makes it hard to keep it on! I would think her weight would stabilize as her body heals and she adjusts to her new eating habits. Be sure she's getting enough good fat -- meat, coconut oil, olive oil -- for calories. I am eating five meals a day to keep my weight on!

[GFBetsy]

Another thing is that when you first go gluten free, your first reaction is to think of all the things you CAN'T eat. And in general, that will result in eating less than you normally do. Sit down with her and come up with a list of things that are easy to make/good to eat/readily available. Things like:

Potatoes (baked, mashed, french fried, etc)

Beef (burgers, roasts, steaks, etc.)

Pork (ribs, roasts, chops, etc.)

Chicken

Fish (salmon, mahi mahi, etc.)

Vegetables (corn, beans, broccoli, carrots, onions, etc.)

Fruits (fresh or canned, apples (sauce, too), peaches, pears, grapes, etc.)

Eggs (scrambled, boiled, etc.)

Chips (corn, potato)

Cereals from the health food store (also Post Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles)

(Check out the website www.eatingglutenfree.com for more ideas)

Then do these things:

1. Make a dinner menu with her - do Fish on Mondays, Soup on Tuesday, Chicken on Wednesday, Beef on Thursday, etc. Include things like Tacos (with fried Corn Tortillas), taco salad, chef salad, chili, Vegetable Soup, Roast Beef with potatoes and carrots, BBQ salmon, Hamburgers, etc. Make sure that every single thing on the list is gluten free.

2. Go to the store and BUY THE FOODS SHE CAN EAT. Make sure that there are things in the house that she can just pull out and eat without a lot of thought.

3. MAKE DINNER WITH HER EVERY NIGHT. Making dinner on your own can be discouraging enough, but it's worse when you are feeling deprived the whole time. Make sure that you make enough food so that she can have leftovers for lunch the next day. (That's one less meal that she has to open the fridge, stare inside, and close it because she feels like there is nothing to eat.)

4. Make chocolate chip cookies for her. (The Soft Batch Cookies from www.eatingglutenfree.com are FABULOUS). Do it while she's at work or at the library our at the gym or just out of the house, so that when she gets home the house smells wonderful and it's something that she can eat and hug her and tell her how much you love her and that you are willing to do whatever you have to do (including giving up gluten while at home yourself) so that she will get better. Make sure she knows that she is not alone - that you are willing to walk with her.

Believe me, it will help.

[Mayflowers]

I wish I had her problem. I'm was gaining since I went gluten free. I started out losing a couple of pounds an then started gaining. I have to stop chicken, red meat and turkey. I'm eating fish as my protein now. cripe.

[GFBetsy]

Just bumping this so that others can share insight.

[BostonCeliac]

Hey Pita --- I've also been gluten-free for a little over a month and without trying I've lost about 7 lbs... And I'm not even working out!! I also have a HUGE appetite and I eat all day long and still I'm loosing.

I've been trying to eat a lot of protein. I read this online regarding gaining weight & protein:

"...Get more protein. Protein provides the basic building blocks for muscles. It is recommended that you eat your weight in grams. For example, keep your protein between 1-1.5 times your bodyweight. For example, for a 150lb person, he/she would eat between 150g-225g of protein per day"

There were also tips to: "weight train, eat carbs (potatoes, rice, etc), add extra olive oil, eat smaller portions of food but more often throughout the day, consume as much unsaturated fat as possible, drink a gallon of water a day.."

I like to drink the Odwalla Super Protein drinks, they're gluten-free and lactose free and easy... The LaraBars are good too since they're high in protein & unsaturated fats with fruits and nuts (also lactose free, gluten-free) But I'm still trying to figure out how to balance this, I think it will come in time. I lost the most right in the beginning and now it seems to be steadying itself.

Good luck to you & your wife!

[Mayflowers]

Boston, dfficult to add more meat when you're intolerant to most of it like me.

[BostonCeliac]

Boston, dfficult to add more meat when you're intolerant to most of it like me.

Mayflowers -- No meat must make getting protein tough!

But I wasn't really saying to add more meat - but protein to her diet -- I recommended the LaraBars & the Odwalla Super Protein shakes (no meat in either) as examples... I personally find it hard to get enough meat into my diet being that i never know what to cook for dinner until the last minute, and i never have chicken/steak/pork in my fridge ever --- so I use those other things...

[GFBetsy]

There are other proteins available, though. Nuts, etc. Boston listed several of them.

Oops! Boston said it before i pushed Add! Sorry for the redundancy!

By the way, Pita, does your wife have other dietary issues (lactose intolerance, etc.)? If so, there are still a lot of great recipes out there that can meet those needs as well as being gluten free. Let us know if you need more help!

[Kaycee]

1. Make a dinner menu with her - do Fish on Mondays, Soup on Tuesday, Chicken on Wednesday, Beef on Thursday, etc.

2. Make sure that there are things in the house that she can just pull out and eat without a lot of thought.

3. Make sure that you make enough food so that she can have leftovers for lunch the next day. (That's one less meal that she has to open the fridge, stare inside, and close it because she feels like there is nothing to eat.)

4. Make sure she knows that she is not alone - that you are willing to walk with her.

Betsy, I so agree with what you have written. I was told once, to make a list of all the things I can eat. Beleive me, it was not a short list either. I think we have to concentrate on the positives of the diet and not the negatives.

Having something that I can just grab and eat, whether it is fruit, vegetables or something a bit naughty works a treat. If I have not got that something naughty when I feel I need it, that is the time where I could possibly do the worst damage to myself by eating something a bit suspect.

Knowing that I am not alone in this makes it so much easier. If I was doing the diet on my own, I might not have been so successful.

Pita, I can't help you with helping your wife put on weight, as my weight has been stable throughout this changeover, if anything, I would like to loose a bit. We could do a swap.

And another thing, if I make cooking flops, that are still edible, my husband will help me eat them if necessary. He has been a rock for me, and the reason I will keep going with the diet 100%. 6 months after we were married I was diagnosed with coeliac, and he has been so supportive over the last 9 monhts. I know I have to do it for myself first, but I had been on my own for so long, I know it is very hard to keep doing things just for yourself. Sometimes, when on my own I would loose the motivation to keep myself well. I feel at times even now, I need motivation from my partner to stay on track. I think all the love and understanding he offers me has been the best medicine for me.

So Pita, thank you for being so caring and concerned about your wife, it is this caring and understanding that will get you all through it. I know being the partner is not always easy, but I admire your determination to help.

Catherine

[pita]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. If it is hard for us (not celiac intolerant) I can imagine how hard it is for all of you. I am happy to find a place where one can find answers to questions that even some doctors can't answer, specially down here in Mexico where this is relatively new!!

I will try some of the suggestions and by the way, I do not know if I mentioned this or not, but my wife is also Lactose Intolerant. Any more comments and suggestions are welcome!

[par18]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. If it is hard for us (not celiac intolerant) I can imagine how hard it is for all of you. I am happy to find a place where one can find answers to questions that even some doctors can't answer, specially down here in Mexico where this is relatively new!!

I will try some of the suggestions and by the way, I do not know if I mentioned this or not, but my wife is also Lactose Intolerant. Any more comments and suggestions are welcome!

Hi,

The lactose intolerance may only be temporary if her intestines are damaged. She may be able to tolerate dairy later. If she starts gaining weight and feels ok she may try a little at a time later.

Tom

[Mtndog]

Hi,

The lactose intolerance may only be temporary if her intestines are damaged. She may be able to tolerate dairy later. If she starts gaining weight and feels ok she may try a little at a time later.

Tom

I was thinking the same thing. She may also be losing partially due to the diet and partially because her intestines haven't healed yet (not absorbing fats, proteins, vitamins). When I was first diagnosed, I had lost 60 pounds. 30 of the 60 was due to coming off a medication that made me gain a ton of weight, but the other 30 were just that I was really sick. It took me about a year to get back to my "normaal" weight.

Also pita- wanted to say welcome and it's wonderful that you're trying to help her! That support means everything!

[plantime]

Hi, Pita, welcome to the board! Your wife could still be "cleaning out" her body, since she has only been on the diet for a month. It could also be, as someone already said, that she is in a state of shock about how drastically her eating has changed, and is not eating enough. I hope she stabilizes soon!

[2tired]

Hi, Pita, welcome to the board! Your wife could still be "cleaning out" her body, since she has only been on the diet for a month. It could also be, as someone already said, that she is in a state of shock about how drastically her eating has changed, and is not eating enough. I hope she stabilizes soon!

I have been gluten free for 9 mths. and I have lost 50 lbs. I don't know where it will stop. I am trying to eat as much as possible, but food makes me sick. I have trouble getting it down. I feel worse now that I did before going gluten free.

[Mayflowers]

Mayflowers -- No meat must make getting protein tough!

It does now. I'm finding the only protein I can tolerate is.....fish. It's getting old already. I almost gagged on my tuna yesterday. I'm sick of it. I can also eat egg yolks. I'm only intolerant to the whites.

Thank goodness for peanut butter! Most beans bother me. Lucky for me I love vegetables. (and sushi)

[Mtndog]

I have been gluten free for 9 mths. and I have lost 50 lbs. I don't know where it will stop. I am trying to eat as much as possible, but food makes me sick. I have trouble getting it down. I feel worse now that I did before going gluten free.

I've heard people say this. That after eliminating gluten your body goes through a period where you feel worse instead of better.

But this sounds pretty serious. Are you sure you've checked EVERYTHING including personal care stuff? Could you be intolerant to something else. When I first went gluten-free, I replaced gluten with a lot of soy products and was sick for a long time until I realized soy was a problem too.

I'm sorry you feel so bad. Have you gone back to your GI to see if you're healing? A lot of people on here think it takes AT LEAST a year to fully heal. HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON!

[kimjoy24]

When I went on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet before going gluten-free (the SCD being way more strict than gluten-free diet) I lost almost 10 pounds in about a week. I was down to 105 pounds and I'm 5'8. I agree with the others that posted the initial weight loss may be because your wife has removed all or most of the junk food from her diet, and is eating whole foods in a more natural state.

It took almost a year for me to start putting weight back on, but now I'm hovering around 140. That's the largest I've ever been in my life, but it's actually normal for my height. I'm seeing a little flab now that I need to firm up, when before, it was just skin and bones.

I hope one factor that resulted in my weight gain is the fact that my gut has healed significantly (I did have severe malabsorption when first tested). However, I'm sure another factor is that I'm eating more processed gluten-free foods now (chips, crackers, cookies, etc).