Athletics And Gluten-freeing It...

[mellowyellowmushroom]

Hey...

I'm insanely athletic; I ran every day, even on gluten--in fact, got a high from it and felt so anxious I was nearly wearing myself into a rag when I was really ill (rather a long story).

But is there anyone else here who is or was an athlete, went off gluten, and had the detox leave them drained? I feel better...but so weary. Like I need to sleep a lot; though not in the foggy wheat-induced way.

How long did it take you to be back into a normal routine of running, biking, fencing (I fence), or whatever it is you did? And how long to gain a little weight? I'm 5'7 and 95 lbs.

Thanks so much for your responses.

[FMcGee]

I'm having this problem, too, but haven't been off gluten long enough to know how long it takes. However, if you're trying to gain weight (last summer I was right where you are now) and you're tired all the time, you might also be overexercising. I had to learn that the hard way, and had to learn to scale it back, especially when I felt worn out. That alone has helped - listening to my body, and not pushing it to the max every day. It can be a hard habit to break, once you get used to really pushing it hard, but overexercising is a real problem for a lot of people, and might be causing you to recover more slowly from the detox (?). I know more about exercise and nutrition than I do about gluten-free/celiac life, being new to the latter, so my two cents come more from the exercise side, but I've noticed a big difference in people (including me) who stop overexercising in terms of their energy level and overall health.

[lizard00]

I'm assuming you went gluten-free recently?

You're body is taking on the immense challenge of repairing itself after damage caused by gluten, and attempting to build up stores that perhaps were depleted. I worked out and ran before I was went gluten-free, I actually started running because I thought it would give me more energy. It did just the opposite, and I found that I wasn't making any real progress with time or distance.

I continued working out, but I know that I decreased my intensity. Not purposely, but my body just couldn't do it.

If you need to rest, then rest. Your body needs it now. Keep exercising in some form, but don't get yourself to the point of exhaustion. Gradually, my fatigue diminished, and now I'm pretty much back to where I started. (actually, I'm in better shape now than when I started) I haven't started running again because I'm 19 weeks pregnant and well... need I say more?

You should get your blood levels checked, to be sure. Vitamins, iron, etc. I was low in vitamin D and felt better within about a week of taking it.

[mellowyellowmushroom]

Thanks both of you!

Yeah, I just went off gluten last week entirely. I suppose it has to be individual; I'm just not very patient. The overexercising tip is a good one, thanks; I'm sure I probably have.

FMcGee : Did you / have you gotten joint or knee problems? (how long off gluten...?) My left leg started killing me when I had to eat a lot of wheat. It still hurts.

[FMcGee]

FMcGee : Did you / have you gotten joint or knee problems? (how long off gluten...?) My left leg started killing me when I had to eat a lot of wheat. It still hurts.

Hi! I have, indeed, had joint and knee problems. I'm only off gluten for about a week and a half (like I said, BRAND NEW at this, but the exercise/nutrition stuff is something I do have a bit of a background in). I've noticed a tiny bit of an improvement, but the thing that's helped the most is actually yoga. I run a lot, and that tends to tighten the IT band and put undue stress on the knee, so the yoga has helped me stretch that muscle, which is hard to get to ordinarily. I'm hoping it will improve even more with the gluten-free diet.

Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to carry on this conversation off-board. I think my e-mail address is available through my profile; let me know if it isn't and you want it.