Weight Gain?

[townfather]

Hi, everyone, I want to ask if gaining weight is common on the gluten-free diet?

From Oct.-Dec. 06, I was nauseous all the time, and lost about 10 lbs. I was diagnosed with celiac about Jan. 1, 07, and since then i have kept the diet faithfully. I have always been a very thin guy, about 5'8, 135lbs. Now i weigh 165. i have the feeling its mostly liquid weight. of course, i will turn 50 in september, so it could be just middle age catching up to me. any help, before i have to completely change my wardrobe?!

[Karen B.]

Hi, everyone, I want to ask if gaining weight is common on the gluten-free diet?

From Oct.-Dec. 06, I was nauseous all the time, and lost about 10 lbs. I was diagnosed with celiac about Jan. 1, 07, and since then i have kept the diet faithfully. I have always been a very thin guy, about 5'8, 135lbs. Now i weigh 165. i have the feeling its mostly liquid weight. of course, i will turn 50 in september, so it could be just middle age catching up to me. any help, before i have to completely change my wardrobe?!

You may have been a very thin guy because you weren't absorbing all of the calories in your food. Or, like my hubby, maybe when you hit 45, it hit back? :-)

If you are eating a lot of gluten-free substitutes, they are generally higher in calories (and carbs) than their gluten containing counterparts. I took the following from the NutritionData site for the gluten bread and from Whole Foods for the sandwich bread...

One slice of plain (gluten containing) white bread:

64 calories, Carbs: 12g, Fiber: 1 g

One slice of Whole Foods Bakehouse Sandwich Bread:

150 calories, Carbs: 24g, Fiber: 0 g

Most gluten-free products contain more carbs and less fiber than their glutenous versions. Many of the baked products are much higher in fat as well. Tinkyada pasta and some of the bean pasta products seem to be the only exceptions.

That's one reason why I give away 3/4 of the gluten-free baked goods I make and eat salads for lunch every day. :-)

[dragonmom]

I lost 60 pounds and was amazed that I was losing weight so easily-not normal for me....then I was so tired and couldn't stand up straight, all the good stuff, found out I had celiac disease and after going gluten-free I wanted to keep the weight off, I exercised and didn't eat many gluten-free goodies. Well, now that I have gained everything back and more, I think my body has decided to go from malabsorption to massive absorption. I am trying to lose . Good luck with your gluten-free journey, I'd love to be thinner , but I'm really glad I have energy and can stand up straighter now. Brenda

[firtree]

I gained 25 pounds over the two years following my diagnosis.

As has been mentioned previously, premade gluten-free food has a

ridiculous number of calories in it (500 in one bagel, good grief!).

The only way I was able to get my weight back to "normal" was to

cut out many gluten-free bread products and just do without. I wish their

was an alternative. Good luck.

[kali-mist]

I have the opposite problem. I've always been thin (about 105lbs) and now that I'm on the gluten-free diet I feel like I'm losing more weight. I don't particularly like the gluten-free breads (I never really liked bread to begin with) so I guess I eat mostly rice and salad which doesn't have a lot of calories. I even started eating two dinners to try and increase my calorie intake, but that was just too much work. I drink those Boost shakes plus calories but so far nothing is making me gain weight. I just hope I don't lose any more weight because the people at work are starting to think I'm anorexic.

[gfpaperdoll]

If you want to lose weight while gluten free read the book "The Paleo Diet"

It is a very healthful way of eating.

[sickchick]

The first year I was sick I lost weight and then I gained and I wasn't able to exersize or anything

Now I am able to walk everyday, hard and I do 100 ab crunches a day with a small handweight, and I still struggle with the bloating from the gluten (hoping to be gluten free very soon I see my dr on the 30) But I do think it's a combo of diet and age definitely.

I will look for that book paperdoll as well!

Ordered Dr Green's book and it's on it's way!

lovelove

sickchick

[miles2go]

Hi, everyone, I want to ask if gaining weight is common on the gluten-free diet?

From Oct.-Dec. 06, I was nauseous all the time, and lost about 10 lbs. I was diagnosed with celiac about Jan. 1, 07, and since then i have kept the diet faithfully. I have always been a very thin guy, about 5'8, 135lbs. Now i weigh 165. i have the feeling its mostly liquid weight. of course, i will turn 50 in september, so it could be just middle age catching up to me. any help, before i have to completely change my wardrobe?!

Hi townfather, I don't know if gaining weight is common or not on the gluten-free diet. I've seen posts going either which way on this issue and I'm one of those thin people, who finds it more easy to lose than to gain weight. I'm 48 and am still this way, also had my blood pressure drop quite a bit after going gluten-free, and it was perfectly fine before that. You can check out your BMI online very easily, they have a range of healthy weights for each given height/sex, so I personally wouldn't be worried if I were you. I can empathize with your wardrobe concerns - us women are always up for that and it can be a pain - but I bought a few elasticized things waaay back, so if you have to go out to shop, just remember the untucked shirt look, if your workplace can accomodate!

If you're not obese or sticking ribs out all over the place, you're probably just fine, but that's jmho.

If you or other posters are really concerned, I would recommend a nutritionist/dietician in a heartbeat. They are literally worth their weight in gold!

Margaret