Symptom, Weight Gain

[kjlieb]

Hello. Over the past 4 years I've put on about 20 lbs in spite of eating healthy and exercising regularly (I work in the fitness industry so I move my body constantly). I also experience constant abdominal bloat and fluid retention, fatigue and joint pain, some digestive trouble, borderline anemia and insatiable appetite. I have been tested for thyroid, lymes AND celiac which all came back negative.

I recently tried the Zone diet cutting out grains for the most part and immediately began to see an alleviation of all symptoms - I lost a few pounds and for once felt in control of my appetite.

Of course I fell off the Zone wagon over Thanksgiving and I've felt practically crippled with joint pain and my belly puffed right out again.

I'm convinced I must have a gluten sensitivity at the very least, if not a true celiac. From what I've read, it's a disease that causes malnourishment, so why the weight gain as a symptom? anyone know?

thanks!

[lbd]

Hello. Over the past 4 years I've put on about 20 lbs in spite of eating healthy and exercising regularly (I work in the fitness industry so I move my body constantly). I also experience constant abdominal bloat and fluid retention, fatigue and joint pain, some digestive trouble, borderline anemia and insatiable appetite. I have been tested for thyroid, lymes AND celiac which all came back negative.

I recently tried the Zone diet cutting out grains for the most part and immediately began to see an alleviation of all symptoms - I lost a few pounds and for once felt in control of my appetite.

Of course I fell off the Zone wagon over Thanksgiving and I've felt practically crippled with joint pain and my belly puffed right out again.

I'm convinced I must have a gluten sensitivity at the very least, if not a true celiac. From what I've read, it's a disease that causes malnourishment, so why the weight gain as a symptom? anyone know?

thanks!

Because your body thinks it is malnourished, it will sometimes begin to conserve what few resources it is getting, thus weight gain. That is what happened to me - as soon as I went completely gluten-free, I lost 10 lbs without even trying.

Laurie

[kjlieb]

Because your body thinks it is malnourished, it will sometimes begin to conserve what few resources it is getting, thus weight gain. That is what happened to me - as soon as I went completely gluten-free, I lost 10 lbs without even trying.

Laurie

aaahh... that would explain the constant hunger, right? did you have a positive medical test?

can you recommend a good book to shop/cook gluten free? right now I'm eating basics, the only grain being rice.

katie

[neesee]

I got very thin. 78 lbs. My total cholesterol was 96.

neesee

[henny]

I was like you....used to be really althletic, then as GI symptoms appeared I had steady weight gain, constant hunger, slow metabolism, bloating

I exercised regularly but it was a struggle due to low energy and stomach pain

went gluten free 2 months ago and everything corrected itself, including my weight.

I'm now 8 lbs from my 'goal weight' without even trying. And with my improved health, exercise is fun again! I'm guessing that I will end up well under my goal weight as time goes on, but that's fine with me as long as I feel strong

glad you are starting to feel better!!!!!!

[thankful]

Hello. Over the past 4 years I've put on about 20 lbs in spite of eating healthy and exercising regularly (I work in the fitness industry so I move my body constantly). I also experience constant abdominal bloat and fluid retention, fatigue and joint pain, some digestive trouble, borderline anemia and insatiable appetite. I have been tested for thyroid, lymes AND celiac which all came back negative.

I recently tried the Zone diet cutting out grains for the most part and immediately began to see an alleviation of all symptoms - I lost a few pounds and for once felt in control of my appetite.

Of course I fell off the Zone wagon over Thanksgiving and I've felt practically crippled with joint pain and my belly puffed right out again.

I'm convinced I must have a gluten sensitivity at the very least, if not a true celiac. From what I've read, it's a disease that causes malnourishment, so why the weight gain as a symptom? anyone know?

thanks!

[thankful]

Hello. Over the past 4 years I've put on about 20 lbs in spite of eating healthy and exercising regularly (I work in the fitness industry so I move my body constantly). I also experience constant abdominal bloat and fluid retention, fatigue and joint pain, some digestive trouble, borderline anemia and insatiable appetite. I have been tested for thyroid, lymes AND celiac which all came back negative.

I recently tried the Zone diet cutting out grains for the most part and immediately began to see an alleviation of all symptoms - I lost a few pounds and for once felt in control of my appetite.

Of course I fell off the Zone wagon over Thanksgiving and I've felt practically crippled with joint pain and my belly puffed right out again.

I'm convinced I must have a gluten sensitivity at the very least, if not a true celiac. From what I've read, it's a disease that causes malnourishment, so why the weight gain as a symptom? anyone know?

thanks!

hi,

I thought I would share with you about insulin resistance....I found out in may that i was insulin resistant from having a fasting glucose test done....I had no idea what that was....anyway, long story short, symptoms were what you described yours to be...I have lost 35 pounds now from eating low carb and feel great!!! Do have a fasting glucose test done by your doctor to check for insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome...I hope this helps..LoL

[mftnchn]

Since there is a relationship between celiac and diabetes this makes sense.

I also have weight gain as a symptom of celiac. I agree with the malnourishment comment. Another factor is inflammation response. I also lost weight very gradually and steadily on gluten-free diet even though before I could only lose weight on a very strict low carb diet. After I went on the specific carbohydrate diet this summer I lost another 10 pounds very suddenly about the second week. Due to the suddenness, I am pretty sure it was inflammation.

I recently saw a reference that said they now think that many more celiacs gain weight than lose weight before diagnosis. Sorry I can't recall the reference. There was a great article of one of the issues of Scotts celiac magazine which you can order from this site. It was about a very obese person who lost much weight after starting the gluten-free diet. She was telling her friends about it, who were also quite obese. 6 of them went to have testing for celiac and ALL of them were positive. That was an eye-opening article for me.

You might double check the posts on this site on celiac testing to make sure you had all 5 tests.

[kjlieb]

thanks to all of you for sharing your personal experiences and insight. I will follow up.

kt