Athlete

[Farrbody]

I've been diagnosed recently and I've been on the gluten free diet now for a couple of months. I am a runner doing some long distance and find that my energy level is not the same. I feel very depleted much faster. Before the gluten free diet, I was fine and could do half marathon and feel still fine.

Any athletes out there? Did you experience the same thing when you switched to gluten free diet? What should I supplement with or eat more of?

I also find that I cannot drink much at all any more? One or 2 glasses of alchohol hits my body much stronger and faster than it used to. Any one else found that also?

I think it has something to do with the carbs we eat now.

Any help would be appreciated.

Nancy

In training for Reach the Beach - a 200 miles relay race

[dally099]

hi nancy, i soooo no where you are coming from. i have a 10km race next weekend and a half marathon in aug, im training so next year i can run a 125km death race through the mountains. i have started to use sports drinks and bars gluten free ones of course which is something that i never had to do before. i also eat more fat and protein in my diet for the staying power. watch your blood sugar that can start to go a little nuts on you to, as the celiac diet is very high in refined carbs and of course our bodies burn through that pretty quick. i eat a lot more now than i did before thats for sure. i have never had to use carb bars and that kind stuff but im finding that for my long runs now i do. other than that i cant give you much more help as im still learning this stuff my self, i have found that cottage cheese and fruit is good as well as peanut butter and apples is good too. i have deffinately noticed that my tolerance for booze is lower, im pretty pied after 2 drinks so i guess its good in terms of cost but kind of sucks when you are trying to be social. let me know if you find any good snacks.

[AnneMarie]

Wow!!!

I came home from another disappointing run today to search for other celiacs experiencing the same thing.... and there you are! I have been gluten-free for about one month after 5 months of feeling awful and getting no help from GI doctors. Finally, despite a negative blood test, I decided to try eliminating gluten and, TA-DA, like a new woman.... (but still without confirmed diagnosis)

However.... 10days into the new diet I was running the fastest times I'd ever had (after watching my times get slower and slower during the months of feeling awful); running was once again making me happy! BUT now, 1 month into the diet, I'm finding that my times are getting slower again, and I'm feeling much weaker and definitely lacking endurance and ease of recovery! It's very depressing for me, and am left wondering "why".

If the gut hasn't yet healed, then I suppose I'm still not absorbing all the necessary nutrients? Maybe I need more protein?? Or as was commented, maybe our simple carbs burn-up too quickly.... Whatever the cause, I can't help wondering, is there something else wrong with me, or will I eventually start to get stronger again?

sad and frustrated

[dally099]

we eat such refined carbs that your body burns through them pretty quickly, i accually eat some protien now before a run, i had a steak last night for supper w/ a potatoe and went for a run 2 hours later, i also keep a jug of gatarade handy now and use it about midway through my run, never had to use that stuff before. i have given up on trying to train for a ultra marathon as i just cant get my weight to come up enough, im a very lean person for a 125km ultramarathon i need to pack on a few pounds, hard to do for me now. so im succombing to running in 10km events now. i have started to lift weigths again to give my legs some extra strength and i use my eliptical runner more now and put it on resistance mode to get the extra strength. you will figure it out as we all manage do. take your time, im still getting hives at the bottom of my feet and toes and let me tell ya not fun for a run! oh well good luck

[zkat]

Anne Marie,

I went through a similiar experience when I went gluten free. I had a surge of improvement about two weeks into it and then backslid for about a month. After about 2 months gluten-free, the surge of improvement came back. I am now running about 1 min per mile faster on long runs and almost 1 min 15 sec. mile faster on short runs. If I get glutened, my times automatically increase for about a week.

As far as diet, I try to avoid simple carbs unless I need a quick pick me up (before a soccer game for example). I stick with fruits, vegetables, protiens and nuts. It is an adjustment from the endurance mantra "carb load, carb load, carb load" but I am doing so much better.

I have also learned that sometimes I just have a bad run and it is not the Celiac's fault because non-celiac runners also have bad work-outs too. Yesterday is a good example. I live in North TX and it has been unseasonably cool and wet so far this summer. Yesterday was one of the first really warm days and very very humid. My long run was very very slow, but not from anything related to Celiac. It was the heat.

Don't give up. One of the things that gets me to the gym to lift or out to run is to tell myself my bones need the resistance training. It's good for me. It motivates me because I don't want to miss soccer games or runs due to stress fractures. Silly I know, but it is what get me there

Kat.

[lKrum]

My daughter has been gluten free for about 3 years. She was an all-state cross country runner for her first two years in high school, then she got injured and couldn't run for almost a year. She has recovered from her injury and is beginning to train again - but now she is suffering from bloating and constipation - which she didn't feel until she started running again - or she'll go through a bout of diarihea after a hard run. Any suggestions?