Emotional Adjustment-eating Like Crazy

[nikki8]

Hi, I'm newly diagnosed and have been gluten-free for a little over 2 weeks now. I think I'm still in shock and I'm wondering if I'm depressed. The thing that's worrying me the most is that I'm eating like crazy. It's all gluten free stuff like rice cakes, rice crackers, and gluten-free candy. It's even low fat stuff (I'm supposed to be on a low fat diet due to another medical condition.) But I'm eating when I'm not hungry. That's not like me. I don't know why I'm doing this and I can't seem to stop. I've lost a lot of weight since I developed Celiac after having my baby 8 months ago. In fact, the dietician recommended I gain at least 5 pounds. Well, I'm probably on my way to gaining that weight. I'm just afraid I won't be able to stop. I don't usually eat because of emotions, but I think that's what I'm doing. i wonder if it's because I have to think about food so much more often than I used to. Or if I'm compensating for the things I can't have. I just crave salty, crunchy food. I also wonder if I'm eating more because I feel so much better since becoming gluten-free. I can actually eat without getting sick! I just can't eat whatever I want and I feel so sad sometimes.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent and any insight or common experiences would be appreciated.

Nikki (in Missouri)

[Ursa Major]

You're probably malnourished, due to malabsorption from celiac disease. Now that you're starting to feel better, and your villi are starting to heal, your body craves nourishment.

Give it what it needs, which is NOT what you're eating. Instead of eating gluten-free junk food and starchy foods, why not munch on healthy choices, like vegetables, meat, nuts, seeds and fruits all day long? Those are healthier choices, that will help you gain weight and give you the nutrients you so badly need. Both for giving your body the energy to heal, and to get vitamins.

Have you been checked for vitamin and mineral deficiencies? Everybody diagnosed with celiac disease really needs to have those tests done, as well as a bone density scan. Celiacs have been known to have osteoporosis as children already, due to malabsorption of calcium, magnesium and vitamin D.

[skore]

Hi Nikki,

I'm new to this forum too. I agree with Ursula that there might be healthier alternatives to what you are eating, but I just figured I would chime in and let you know I had a similar experience. I ate SO much more (I just metabolized the healthier foods faster I figured - I ended up eating about twice what I used to, and that was already a lot -5 big meals a day instead of 3.). As I detoxed off the harmful foods in my diet I craved salty and expecially crunchy things like a fiend. At the time the only "junk" food I could have was potato chips. I ate them until my mouth blistered from the salt and I had to stop, which luckily didn't take many bags. Detoxing was a crazy - litterally- experience, it was like (in my opinion is the same as) coming off a drug, my body had all the same withdrawls, reactions, fiendings, and cravings, I swear to God there were even frantic 'voices' from the yeast as it died off in my body(I had a systemic yeast and mold infection at the time). It was incredibly intense.

S.

[lindalee]

Nikki, cravings of chips and salty things can be deficiency of Omega 3's. Try some fish oil or flax seed oil. I always had those cravings. I take the fish oil now. Before I was taking it I stayed hungry all the time.

Altered bile flora causes our body to be confused and we eat too much.

[sunshinen]

I still go through eating phases. Sometimes actual cravings, sometimes just wanting to eat something because I'm tired of staring at everything I can't eat. So I mow down on the chips and rice crackers and rice bread and potatoes...

On one hand, all of that sugar and starch could be creating a cyclical craving that just feeds itself and needs to be stopped at some point. You've given up one type of sugar and are replacing it with another. I was amazed to find after cutting that stuff out, that the cravings for it actually stopped.

On the other, you have to acknowledge the emotional side, admit that it's not fair, mourn your loss of "normal" food, get that out of the way, and let your body have what it needs--food!!

Right now, don't worry about not being able to stop putting on weight! Chances are your body will adjust just fine. Everything is in flux right now, and you deserve to enjoy food. Try to adapt some healthier snacks. Add some peanut butter to those gluten-free crackers, have a boiled egg, or some fruit or berries. If you have to be more adventurous with your food and learn a new diet, it might as well be a healthy one! Treat yourself with the really good stuff, rather than the crappy alternative stuff.

[Tori's Dad]

I think you are going through a fairly normal process. My 5 year old ate us out of house and home for 3 weeks after going gluten free. Prior to that, and agian now, she was a fairly light eater.

With the 5 year old you can most likely rule out any psycological eating behavior so that tells me that it's normal for the body to say "hey I am actually getting nutrients!" and you have some catching up to do at first.

Hang in there!

[nikki8]

Thank you all so much for your input. I really wasn't making the connection to nutrition. So I'm going to focus on eating more nutritious foods instead of the gluten-free junk food as suggested. I'm also going to ask about the Omega 3's as suggested. I feel less panicked since reading your posts. Thank you for the support.

Nikki

[Helena]

I went through this way before I knew that I was celiac when my allergist put me on an elimination diet. It was psychologically tough---especially giving up sugar, dairy, and caffeine. I ate to deal with cravings and put on 5 pounds. I thought that was pretty funny given the *major* dietary restrictions. (this was the first time I went totally gluten free too. I was already off wheat, but I had difficulty adding oats back in---I never ate very much rye or barley, but after the diet I concluded that I shouldn't eat much of either.)

When I had the positive blood test results for celiac, I got anxious about having more dietary restrictions on top of the ones I already have. (Currently, I'm only eating rice, tapioca, meat, salmon, green tea, various veggies and fruits (all cooked), milk.

I cannot have: gluten, nuts, egg, soy, other legumes, corn, other grains, seeds, shellfish, fish other than salmon, chocolate, coffee, bananas . . . the list goes on.)

I dealt with the anxiety partly by eating more things that aren't good for me---lots of tapioca pudding with refined sugar and butter (that's as decadent a dessert as I can make, okay ) I had previously given up refined sugar and switched to sucanat just because I feel it is healthier.

I'm still working through the whole issue---the other week, I had a major craving for dessert and I made this delicious apple crumble (I tried to make a pie . . . but without xanthan gum or anything, the tapioca starch/rice flour crust was kind of crumbly. I shared it with some wheat eaters--and they loved the pie. It makes a huge difference to use freshly ground nutmeg.) But apple crumble therapy only goes so far

[luvs2eat]

When I was first diagnosed, I overdosed on all the yummy things I COULD have to compensate for all I felt I was missing... and put on about 30 lbs.!! I'm working to get that off... and am back to the sensible diet of lean proteins, fruits/veggies and small amounts of carbs.