Undiagnosed Celiac Affect Muscle Growth And Fat Loss?

[Vlo1980]

Hi everyone!

My name is Vania and I've been training like mad for the past month. I workout 4 times a week for at least 40 minutes and there have been no changes to my body at all!! I lost 3 lbs but the bloating and extra stubborn fat are still exactly the same way they were when I first started. This doesn't make any sense because I have been on a really clean diet and I don't eat more than 1300 or 1400 cals a day! I can't lose anymore weight because I look like I'm too thin but the fat just won't go away!!!!! I haven't been diagnosed, I'm acutally in the process of getting that done but I know I have it and my daughter does as well. I was just wondering if some of you have had problems getting the results you were looking for or the desired fat loss, and if those problem areas disappeared after you were diagnosed and changed your diet. Can celiac disease actually eat away at your muscles if you're not on a gluten-free diet and keep you from developping good muscle tone?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to know about your personal experiences with training. Thanks.

[dtgirl]

Hi everyone!

My name is Vania and I've been training like mad for the past month. I workout 4 times a week for at least 40 minutes and there have been no changes to my body at all!! I lost 3 lbs but the bloating and extra stubborn fat are still exactly the same way they were when I first started. This doesn't make any sense because I have been on a really clean diet and I don't eat more than 1300 or 1400 cals a day! I can't lose anymore weight because I look like I'm too thin but the fat just won't go away!!!!! I haven't been diagnosed, I'm acutally in the process of getting that done but I know I have it and my daughter does as well. I was just wondering if some of you have had problems getting the results you were looking for or the desired fat loss, and if those problem areas disappeared after you were diagnosed and changed your diet. Can celiac disease actually eat away at your muscles if you're not on a gluten-free diet and keep you from developping good muscle tone?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to know about your personal experiences with training. Thanks.

This is interesting.. I train for figure competitions and def. had to put this on the back burner for a bit. I am not fat at all, but I could never change the composition of my body. I had a very, very difficult time gaining muscle and looking "toned", rather I just always looked small-ish. I am not sure if that makes since. I never have any problems with D, all my issues with celiac were bloating, fluid retention, and constipation. So, you are not alone.

[pele]

I suspect that long term malabsorption of nutrients is at the heart of not being able to grow muscle. It's not the gluten itself, but the malnutrition that it causes. In addition to being gluten free, you may need extra vitamins and minerals. You might want to get blood-tested for Vitamin D, B12, folate, iron and others. Eating yogurt or some other kind of probiotic rich food is probably a good idea. You might also want to have your thyroid checked.

And give yourself time to heal.

[Pac]

The last few year before I was diagnosed (this year) I had problems with gaining and then losing weight unpredictably and with no explanation (stress, diet...) - usually 3-4kg in a single week, then lost some of it, in total I gained over 15kg but lost a lot of muscle at the same time. I tried to work out as I was used to, but I was steadily loosing my strenght, in the end, I was strugling to pick up a 2kg book and sometimes slept several days in a row, unable to get up even to drink some water. My body was just too exhausted. So I would say yes, your problems can related to undiagnosed celiac disease.

But gaining fat while losing muscle is typical response of human body to any undernutrition, so the reason might be also that you are not eating enough calories or you have too much starch and sugar in your diet and not enough meat and fat.

[munchkinette]

If you are working out really hard then you need more food than that. Remember, depending on how much you've healed, you may not be getting the full 1400 calories.

Right now I'm at the beginning of a half marathon training plan, so I'm working on weight loss for about a month. Once my weekly mileage increases to a certain point, I have to raise my calorie intake. I actually put on some fat when I ran my last one, because I always felt hungry. My running improved SO MUCH when I stopped dieting. So basically, you need to balance the amount of working out with your calorie intake. You may also need to mix up your workout in order to lose: walk an hour on your days off, do one or two shorter high intensity workouts, etc.

And it DOES take a while to heal. I've always been able to do about 6 miles or 10K, even before I was diagnosed. I was only able to run double that (half marathon) for the first time THREE YEARS after starting the diet.

[chasbari]

Having been involved in fitness for most of my life I can relate to your frustration. By the time I was finally diagnosed in February I had gone through stages where I could barely get out of a chair or make it up steps. My body still seemed to occupy the same amount of space but, in hindsight, I realize my body composition had changed drastically in the last decade. My tolerance for strength training was almost nil by the time I went gluten-free. It would take almost 2 weeks to a month to reach baseline recovery if I did any hardcore weight training and that would only happen if I slept most of the day. My rheumatoid arthritis kept getting worse and worse as well. gluten-free wasn't enough for me and I finally went on a paleolithic diet regimen which, I understand, is similar to the SCD diet they have a thread going on about here that goes into much detail. I made the mistake of pushing too early in the healing process simply because, for the first time in over a decade I started to feel stronger. Thing is, my body was finally beginning to assimilate and absorb nutrients again for the first time in a long, long time and it was also fiercely trying to heal. Any heavy duty workouts took away the body's metabolic resources needed for healing. I had to cut back and be very conservative with workouts. About three months ago I turned a corner. I had lost 35 pounds by this time and have ended up dropping a total of 40 but the change in body composition has been stunning and I lost body fat I didn't even know I had. I am slowly but surely gaining strength but only on abbreviated workouts no closer than every three and a half days. I work out on a modified split and still only do about half the volume I normally would have done years ago. With this I am starting to make progress. If a workout causes me to drop immediate scale weight in excess of five pounds I cut way back again and I let my gut health be my primary gauge as to when and how hard I can work out. Hard to do but very necessary at this point. If I have a heavy work load I know I have to eat and sleep more than I care to but that is the cost of recovery. Remember, we're in this for long term health so good luck. I agree totally with the suggestion to get yourself checked for a number of vitamin levels as well as supplementing with a gluten-free version of D3, Calcium, Zinc and Magnesium while you are healing.

CS